WHISTLER, British Columbia — Whether it was divine inspiration or just a lucky guess, U.S. coach Matt Christensen is feeling a lot better about the unenviable decision he made two weeks ago.
That's when he had to choose between a veteran aerial athlete and a relatively unproven rookie.
"It was the toughest decision I've ever had to make as a coach," Christensen said.
On the one hand, he had Mariano Ferrario, a former Olympian who has 17 top-10 World Cup finishes. On the other hand, he had Corey Hacker, who was making his first appearance in a world championship Thursday afternoon.
Christensen opted to fill the final spot on his roster with Hacker because, "he has done everything we've asked him to do. He's been training hard. Now he's on fire."
That decision seems awfully insightful after Hacker placed second in Thursday's qualifying rounds. The modest 28-year-old didn't envision this result.
"My plan today was just to make it into the finals," said Hacker. "I'm really excited."
What makes Hacker's feat even more admirable is that he scored the afternoon's second highest marks in weather that made the normally daring athletes cringe. Hacker scored 234.31 behind Belarus' Alexei Grichin, who scored 239.01.
Hacker's teammate, Eric Bergoust, summed up the feelings of most of the athletes competing in the qualifying round of the 2001 FIS Freestyle World Championships in Whistler, Canada.
"It was kind of tough," Bergoust said. "We had perfect conditions during the training and then between the first and second jumps, we got this heavy, thick, wet snow."
Bergoust said he did what all of the other U.S. skiers had to do on their second jumps, which was to perform less difficult tricks.
"Today isn't really a good gage of how any of us jump . . . anyone can win an aerial. It's like judging a golf tournament off two strokes. It's tough to be consistent."
All six of the American men qualified for Saturday's finals. Joe Pack was fourth with 226.49; Brian Currutt was fifth with 225.11; Jerry Grossi was seventh with 219.83; and Bergoust was ninth with 216.93.
It is expected to snow off and on until Sunday, so the weather could be a factor in the finals.
One adjustment the skiers made starting at the very top of the hill. This helped them overcome any reduction in speed caused by the sticky snow.
"All of a sudden you've got to throw your game plan out the window," said Pack, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the world. "When you see people landing on their faces and landing on their backs, you just don't know what's going to happen."
Only one U.S. woman qualified for Saturday's finals. That was Kelly Hilliman who scored a 159.91 to place ninth.
"It feels really good," she said. "I had a really big breakthrough on my jumps in training yesterday. I just tried to do what I did yesterday."
Hilliman said she was excited to be in the finals, but disappointed none of her teammates would be competing with her.
"I think it's a bummer," she said.
Australian Jacqui Cooper won the competition handily with a score of 186.91. Cooper is one of five woman in the competition who attempted triples. She placed second two weeks ago in Deer Valley.
The Mogul Finals are scheduled for noon on Friday. American Hannah Hardaway placed first in the women's qualifying round. She won the event in Deer Valley. Jillian Vogtli and Shannon Bahrke also qualified. Four American men qualified for that event: Toby Dawson, Evan Dybvig, Alex Wilson and Garth Hager.
E-MAIL: adonaldson@desnews.com