Former CVA mogul skier DiGravio vies for spot on U.S. Olympic team

Friday, December 16, 2005

By TRAVIS LAZARCZYK
Staff Writer

By TRAVIS LAZARCZYK

Staff Writer

David DiGravio had a plan. Upon graduation last spring from high school, the former Mt. Blue football star would devote a year to skiing before enrolling at Bates College in the fall of 2006. With a lot of hard work, perhaps he'd earn a spot on the U.S. freestyle ski team.

Last Saturday, DiGravio earned that spot on the U.S. Ski Team. The chance to earn a spot on the Olympic team that will compete in Torino, Italy in a couple of months, that's a welcome change of plans.

"It was my goal to make the U.S. team this year," said DiGravio from Park City, Utah, where he's currently training. "The Olympic trials aren't something I was thinking of too much."

DiGravio earned his spot on the U.S. Ski Team by winning the mogul event last Friday at the U.S. Selections competition in Winter Park, Colo. On Sunday, DiGravio finished first among candidates for the team on the final day of the selections. Barely 19 years old, DiGravio is the youngest member of the U.S. team.

"I just went out and skied my runs to the best of my ability," DiGravio said.

"The event last week was critical," said Glen Eddy, DiGravio's coach for the past six years and the director of freestyle skiing at Carrabassett Valley Academy. "It determined what level you'll be competing at the rest of the year. You have to be peaking in early December."

With his spot on the U.S. Ski Team, DiGravio qualifies for the Olympic Trials Dec. 30 at Steamboat Springs, Colo. In order to be one of the likely four U.S. male freestylers in Torino, DiGravio has to win the event. That's a tall order considering the competition includes a number of strong skiers, including uber-athlete Jeremy Bloom, the reigning World Cup moguls champ who also played wide receiver for the University of Colorado.

"I have to win (the Olympic Trials)," DiGravio said. "There's no podium."

"The U.S. men's mogul team is by far the deepest in the world right now. The guys on the A team have all won World Cup events and (DiGravio) has got to beat them all," Eddy said. "It'd be a stretch to win, but it's possible."

Whether he makes the Olympic team or not, this should be a breakout season for DiGravio. High school was split between Mt. Blue and Carrabassett Valley Academy, and playing football each fall left little time for dry land training or trips around the world to find snow.

"This is the first year I've had months of training before selections, that's probably the biggest thing," DiGravio said.

"In Maine, maybe you get to ski at Thanksgiving, but it's rough. It's not ideal," Eddy said.

DiGravio, who was the Pine Tree Conference Player of the Year in 2004 as a utility player/safety/kick returner for Mt. Blue, found out his old football team was in the state championship game while he was training in France. Even without a year-round focus on skiing, DiGravio has had plenty of success, including winning Eastern championships, a second place at the Junior Olympics, and a fourth at the U.S. Freestyle Nationals

After the Olympic Trials, DiGravio will compete in a pair of World Cup events, Jan. 12-14 at Deer Valley, Utah, and Jan. 20-22 at Lake Placid, N.Y.

"If I do well in those, I'll get some other World Cup starts," DiGravio said.

Also on the horizon are the U.S. Freestyle Championships at Killington, Vt., in March, and the Junior World Championships in Russia. As a senior at Mt. Blue, DiGravio led the Cougars with 27 catches for 390 yards and had 57 tackles. When he enrolls at Bates in the fall, he plans on joining his older brother Ron on the Bobcats football team.

"That was the plan," DiGravio said, "but if the skiing goes well..."

DiGravio has already proven this year, plans change.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com