Experience may be the most fitting descriptor to explain the path Kathy Pruitt of Santa Cruz, Calif., took in snaring her title at the first leg of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT Mountain Bike Series today at Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, N.J.

It was the first Jeep mountain biking win for Priutt, including past Jeep King of the Mountain mountain-cross events and this inaugural Jeep 48STRAIGHT dual slalom event, earning her a $5,000 cash payout and valuable standings points toward the season championship, where a new 2008 Jeep Grande Cherokee awaits.

Pruitt’s advantage heading into the day was clearly experience, and the 10-year veteran and 2007 U.S. National Champion, used every ounce of it to earn the title. In the first race of the day, she matched up against three-time World Cup winner Fionn Griffiths of Great Britain and advanced with back-to-back wins. In the semi-finals against former U.S. Open Champion Lisa Myklak of Boulder, Colo., Pruitt won the first race but lost the second by a slight margin, moving into the finals thanks to the time differential advantage. There she faced prohibitive favorite Melissa Buhl of Chandler, Ariz., the reigning World Champion and U.S. National Champion who reached the Championship Heat having not lost a single race. Pruitt stormed to a win in a tight first race, and took advantage of a spill by Buhl in the second race to secure the victory.

“I didn’t come here with the intention of winning, but I’m really proud of myself for earning this title,” said Pruitt. “I’m really sorry that Melissa fell, but I’m glad I had a chance to go up against her in the final. We have all had our falls, and that’s the way it is sometimes. She is my buddy and my first reaction was to stop, but I reminded myself that there was $5,000 waiting for me at the bottom of the hill. This is my biggest achievement to date, and now I want to take this momentum to the World Cup circuit and see what I can do.”

Each event of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT summer season will receive national broadcast coverage on CBS Sports, representing the most visibility of any mountain biking event in the sport. The event at Mountain Creek will air on CBS Sports on September 28.

Jeep 48STRAIGHT now heads to The Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah, on September 19-20 for the second leg of the summer tour, with the season finale set for October 24-25 at The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

JEEP 48STRAIGHT MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES - EVENT #1
DIABLO FREERIDE PARK - VERNON, N.J.
AUGUST 23, 2008 RACE RESULTS
Women
1.    Kathy Pruitt - Santa Cruz, Calif.
2.    Melissa Buhl - Chandler, Ariz.
3.    Lisa Myklak - Boulder, Colo.
4.    Stephanie Nychka - Gresham, Ore.
5.    Dawn Bourque - Campton, N.H.
6.    Allie Burch - Patterson, N.Y.
7.    Karen Eagen - Lowell, Mass.
8.    Fionn Griffiths - Great Britain