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A few hours earlier, Bretz was standing atop the medal podium in Stoneham, Quebec, after clinching his first World Cup win. The gold medal around his neck allowed him to forget the weight that typically comes with being both a high school student and pro snowboarder.

"I was so psyched,"he says. "At the beginning I couldn't really believe it. And then it started soaking in."

The Mammoth Olympic Academy (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) senior burst onto the pro stage last year with a win and two other podiums on the World Cup circuit, as well as two top-three finishes in the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix.

After enjoying so much success in his first pro season -- and ripping up Mammoth Mountain in the offseason -- Bretz appears primed for superstardom.

"Last year was hectic," says Bretz, the youngest rider on the U.S. Snowboarding men's pro halfpipe team. "Juggling school and snowboarding was hard. There was a lot of pressure on my back. Once spring came around, I kind of basked in my glory from over the year. I looked back and knew I raised my game. Now I want to do it again."

He'll get that chance this winter while competing on the Winter Dew Tour, where he'll go up against halfpipe legends like Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. Bretz, who's sponsored by the likes of Oakley and Nike 6.0, also hopes to earn an invite to this winter's X Games and eventually compete for an Olympic spot.

"Greg's come a long way in a short period of time," says U.S. Snowboarding halfpipe coach Mike Jankowski. "The sky is the limit for Greg -- he can do anything."

While Bretz is determined to reach that potential, he's keeping his early success in perspective.

"I don't consider myself a pro snowboarder at this point," he says. "I've won one contest. Being pro is legendary like Shaun White and Tony Hawk. Maybe I'll be there someday."

Until that day comes, don't expect Bretz to kick back and relax too often.

360 AROUND THE OTHER SIDE

This is the inaugural season for the Winter Dew Tour, an extension of the Dew Tour, which is the leading pro circuit for skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross. In addition to Bretz, fellow high school snowboarders Ellery Hollingsworth and Zach Black, as well as skiers Bobby Brown and Matt Duhamel, were slated to compete in the three-stop tour that concludes with the Toyota Championship Feb. 19-22 in California.

Brian A. Giuffra covers high school sports for ESPN RISE.