After a disappointing first round of finals on Saturday, the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Cross Team took to the Mt. St. Anne course looking for redemption in the final World Cup of the season. With perfect conditions, a well-designed course and an impressive showing of American fans, the squad was primed and ready to leave their mark on the 2023-24 season. Jake Vedder came away with a fourth place finish. 

It was an exciting first round of racing for the men, with Nick Baumgartner advancing through his 1/8 heat to join teammates Connor Schlegel and Vedder for the first quarterfinal. The three Americans were joined by Canada’s own Eliot Grondin, who had already clinched the 2023-24 FIS World Cup snowboard cross Crystal Globe after a dominant season. The hometown hero led the way throughout most of the course until Vedder made an impressive push at the finish to steal the lead from Grondin and secure his place in the round of semifinals.

The start of the course proved costly yet again in the semifinals, with Italian Omar Visintin making an uncharacteristic mistake following the opening roller section, speaking to the technical difficulty of the course and making the first of two semifinals a three-man race. Vedder avoided the chaos and continued his impressive day of racing with a crafty pass on France’s Merlin Surget to finish close behind Grondin and guarantee himself a top-four finish to close out the season in front of a rowdy crowd cheering “USA” at the finish.

In the final race of the final World Cup of the season, the four fastest men of the day lined up in the start gate to take on the pristine Mt. St. Anne course for the final time. Despite a clean start and holding on to third throughout the first half of the race, Vedder fell to fourth to finish just off the podium behind German Leon Ulbricht in third, Australia’s Cameron Bolton in second and Grondin in first, who finished his dominant season with back-to-back victories on home soil.

On the women’s side of competition, American Stacy Gaskill and Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Jacobellis, who earned her 60th career podium with a second place finish in Montafon just a week prior, were both knocked out of competition in the quarterfinal round, taking 10th and 12th place overall, respectively.

After finishing the season in Mt. St. Anne following a grueling few months of back-to-back European races, the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team snowboard cross racers return stateside for some well deserved time off before setting their focus on summer training heading  into the 2024-25 season.

RESULTS
Women
Men

Jaelin Kauf and Charlie Mickel took home the dual moguls National Championship titles at the Toyota U.S. Freestyle Moguls Championships at New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley Resort. 

After receiving upwards of 30 inches of snow in the last 24 hours, putting on a dual moguls event seemed daunting. However, with only an hour's delay, the incredible Waterville staff and volunteers were able to clear the powder and run the event. 

Kauf, the queen of Lower Bobbies run at Waterville Valley Resort, secured her seventh National Championship title, sweeping the podium alongside Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team members Elizabeth Lemley and Alli Macuga. Lemley finished just behind Kauf in second, followed by Macuga in third. This is Lemley’s second and Macuga’s first national championship podium.  

Mickel earned his second national championship title, but first in dual moguls. Gavin Tobey of Wasatch Freestyle joined Mickel on the podium in second and Jackson Crockett of Park City Ski and Snowboard in third. 

Four U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team members brought home new season’s bests in today’s giant slalom World Cup Finals in Sella Nevea, Italy. Laurie Stephens led the team, finishing in second place. 

Conditions today in Italy have been described as the “most interesting conditions” skiers have experienced all year. It was warm, sunny, mushy and everything in between, leading to an extremely high number of DNFs and DSQs. 

On the women’s side, Stephens stayed on course, which was all she needed to earn her best giant slalom finish of the season, second place in the women’s sitting classification. Allie Johnson did not finish run two. 

The day's theme was earning new personal bests, and the men took that idea and ran with it. Jesse Keefe, Patrick Halgren and Spencer Wood all earned new season’s bests, finishing sixth, eighth and 13th, respectively, in the men’s standing event. Ravi Drugan was disqualified in the second run of the men’s sitting class, and Matthew Brewer did not start. 

Along with today's second place, Laurie Stephens also finished third in the overall season giant slalom standings alongside Anna-Lena Forster of Germany in first and Barbara Van Bergen from The Netherlands in second. 

Next, on March 25, the U.S. will take on the final race of the season, super-G finals in Sella Nevea. The race will begin at 5:00 a.m. ET and can be streamed on FIS TV. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

Due to gusty winds and worsening weather conditions, the highly anticipated 2023-24 freeski slopestyle season finale in Silvaplana was canceled Sunday morning. With results from qualifications standing as final, Jay Riccomini (he/him) was the top finisher for the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team, taking home third overall for the women. Teammate Hunter Henderson earned fourth overall on the men’s side of competition.

Despite a season plagued with cancelations and rescheduled competitions, the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team still managed to put on a show all season, capturing the 2023-24 FIS Freeski Nations Cup and sweeping the overall men’s park and pipe standings. 

After an impressive showing all season, Mac Forehand secured the 2023-24 FIS World Cup slopestyle Crystal Globe with teammate and 2023-24 FIS World Cup big air Crystal Globe winner Alex Hall close behind in second. The two join 2023-24 FIS World Cup halfpipe Crystal Globe winner Alex Ferriera to complete the American sweep of the men’s overall podium, with Ferreira taking the top spot after a perfect five-for-five wins World Cup season. Hall landed in second and Forehand was just five points behind in third.

With podiums in Laax, Copper and Silvaplana, Riccomini finished the season third overall in the 2023-24 FIS World Cup women’s slopestyle standings.

“This season has been one for the books,” said Stifel U.S. Freeski Team sport director Skogan Sprang. “I can’t express how proud I am of all the athletes on both the slopestyle and halfpipe teams for supporting each other and creating a positive environment that breeds success.”

“We’ve had the most podiums ever, by the most variety of athletes ever and the most first time podium athletes ever,” Sprang continued. “The coaches have done an amazing job of fostering this environment while the athletes are pushing innovation and creativity and still having fun and enjoying every moment.” 

The Stifel U.S. Freeski Team heads back to the states (with extra luggage in tow) for a well-deserved break before they carry this season’s momentum into summer training.

RESULTS
Women’s slopestyle 
Men’s slopestyle

OVERALL RANKINGS 
Women
Men

On Sunday, March 24, the final downhill of the season was canceled due to weather and safety. Despite the disappointing end, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes Bryce Bennett and Ryan Cochran-Siegle officially ended the season in their top downhill ranks ever. Bennett was fifth and Cochran-Siegle eighth.  

The racers arrived to the Saalbach venue ready to roll Sunday morning, but the conditions were the opposite of what had transpired the last 10 days with snow and wind—creating a difficult job for the course workers. The race was initially delayed by a few hours, but after salting, hosing and slipping, the organizing committee made the difficult decision to cancel the final downhill race. 

“Well, winter came back to Austria at the exact wrong time,” joked Bennett. “The organizing committee here in Saalbach did everything possible to make it happen but the weather conditions did not allow.” 

This decision also ended the fight for the downhill Crystal Globe. It was a tight race between Swiss star Marco Odermatt and Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin, with a gap of 42 points between the two racers. Odermatt came out on top for his third discipline globe. He also claimed the giant slalom, super-G, downhill and overall titles this season — four globes in total. 

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team also had a lot to be proud of this season. Bennett and Cochran-Siegle showed strength and consistency to become a solid force on the downhill circuit. Bennett opened the season with a win and a podium, sporting the red leader's bib for the next races. Cochran-Siegle was a mere hundredth from a podium in Kitzbühel and had multiple top 10 results. The two skiers are more fired up than ever to continue the momentum into the next season along with the rest of the speed team. The team took the fifth spot of the downhill Nations Cup as well; they were just shy of overtaking the Austrians in fourth. 

“It was a good season, highs and lows. We are ready to move forward. I think our entire team has been pushing really hard,” said Bennett. “In Kvitfjell we had six guys in the top 20 which has not happened in over a decade, so I think we have a strong team moving forward and we are excited to keep pushing.”

The grind is not over for the downhillers, who will now stay in Austria for a few more days to test skis and prep for the next season. 

CUP STANDINGS
Men's downhill

Paula Moltzan took home the national championship giant slalom title in 2024, winning the Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships presented by Stifel at Sun Valley Resort. It is Moltzan’s second giant slalom title in a row.

It started out overcast and drizzly for first run with 18-year-old Elisabeth Bocock punching it into first place and Moltzan on her heels. However, the weather took a turn second run, with showers turning into blizzard-like conditions at the top of the course and pouring rain at the bottom second run. But the poor visibility and deteriorating course conditions didn’t seem to affect Moltzan and Bocock, who finished within .05 seconds of each other, and 2.49 seconds ahead of Madison Hoffman of the University of Utah. Moltzan took the win; Bocock was second.

Bocock has had quite a week, having already won the super-G national championship. She also stood on the GS junior podium with her sister Mary Bocock, who finished sixth overall and third for the juniors. Tatum Grosdidier was second, finishing just off the overall podium in fourth.

The men and women race slalom on Sunday to wrap up the Toyota U.S. Alpine Championships presented by Sun Valley.

Brenna Huckaby and Keith Gabel landed back on the podium in the first of two snowboard cross events at the snowboard cross World Cup Finals in Big White, British Columbia, Canada. 

It was a cloudy, cool day with temperatures hovering just below freezing in Big White. This created perfect compact snow conditions for a snowboard cross event. Snow started to fall halfway through the day, covering the icy racing surface with a layer of powder, complicating things for racers. 

The team had a strong showing in the qualification round, sending 10 athletes to the finals. Brenna Huckaby led the women in the semi finals, winning her heat to advance to the big final. Dennae Russell and Courtney Godfrey of Team Utah advanced to the women’s small final.

Ultimately, the women’s LL-1/LL-2 big final was a battle, with Huckaby finishing second overall. This is Huckaby’s fifth podium of the season. Russell finished fifth, followed by Godfrey in seventh. Godfrey is returning from a gnarly fall in Pyhä in February, which forced her to withdraw from the races due to concussion protocol. 

In the stacked men’s LL-2 event, Zach Miller, Keith Gabel, Evan Strong and Joe Pleban advanced to the finals for the United States. Gabel put on a solid performance to make his way onto the podium for the fourth time this season, finishing third overall. Just off the podium was Miller in fourth, Strong in sixth and Pleban in eighth. 

Noah Elliott, the current World Cup overall Crystal Globe leader, was leading in the men’s LL-1 big final until an unfortunate fall took him out of podium contention. He finished fourth on the day. 

In the final event of the day, Mike Minor continued his successful season, finishing fifth in the men’s UL classification. Colby Fields of Adaptive Action Sports took 10th.

Tomorrow, the team is back in action in Big White for the final snowboard cross event of the season, where the snowboard cross Crystal Globes will be awarded. Brenna Huckaby currently leads the women’s LL-2 snowboard cross standings, with 130 points separating her and Romy Tschopp of Switzerland. Noah Elliott is sitting in second place, with the opportunity to take over the standings tomorrow. Qualifications are slated for 2:00 pm ET, with finals at 3:30 pm ET.
 

Jaelin Kauf earned her third moguls National Championship title today on the infamous Lower Bobbies run at the Toyota U.S. Freestyle Moguls Championships at Waterville Valley Resort. 

The East Coast endured a ferocious winter storm that dropped over 10 inches on the resort overnight. To ensure a fair and consistent event, the format was modified to one qualification run instead of two for the 59 athletes. However, the conditions did not damper the day for the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team women’s moguls athletes, sweeping the top six in each round of today’s competition. Wearing bib 1, Kauf held on to the top position throughout the day, never losing her lead. This is Kauf’s sixth National Championship win across moguls and dual moguls, five of which came from Waterville.

Just behind Kauf was Kasey Hogg, a Connecticut native who put down consistently strong runs throughout the day. She finished just 0.33 points off the top box. Tess Johnson rounded out the podium, finishing third, earning her sixth career national championship podium. 

The junior podium was led by Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team member Elizabeth Lemley, who finished fourth overall. The podium was completed by Reese Chapdelaine of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail in second and Olivia Maurais from the Winter Park Competition Center in third. 

Jackie Wiles snagged 13th place at the World Cup Finals downhill on Saturday, March 23, in Saalbach, Austria to close her impressive 2023-24 comeback season. 

Wiles landed a career-best second-place finish in the downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy this season, six years after her first and only World Cup podium. After sitting out the 2022-23 season following surgery and rehab of a right knee full patella tendon reconstruction, Wiles’ goal heading into this season was simply “getting back to herself.” Finishing the season ranked 14th in the world in downhill was beyond her expectations. 

“I’m psyched to be in the top 15 at the end of the season,” Wiles reflected. "Coming back this year, I had expectations to try and get back to myself, but after being away with injuries, you just never know. I knew that if I skied the best that I could, I could have a great season. So to be able to come out and actually execute this year, get past some fear, and feel confident, I’m really psyched.”

With a storm coming in, there were several course holds and delays on Saturday due to high winds. It was a race to the finish for the downhill Crystal Globe. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter put on a show for the home crowd, finishing first and moving ahead of Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami to walk away with the globe. Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec and Italy’s Nicole Delago each slid across the finish line to round out the podium in second and third, respectively. 

“The most rewarding moment this year was the podium in Cortina,” said Wiles. “I’ve had such a special feeling there, and to have everything come together on a day and have family and friends after so many tough years of injuries and coming back and being able to do that proved a lot to me. It was really special and meant a lot to me.”

Wiles is looking forward to heading into a summer prep period healthy for the first time in a while and to “coming back with a bit even more fierce and fight to me.” 

Teammates Mikaela Shiffrin and Lauren Macuga watched the race from the finish, and Shiffrin was joined by Norwegian boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who was also injured in January. Kilde and the entire team celebrated Shiffrin’s third-place overall finish in the standings at the award presentation following the race. Gut-Behrami was first overall with 1,716 points, while Italy’s Federica Brignone was second with 1,581 points. Despite missing six weeks of competition, Shiffrin still amassed 1,409 points. 

The 2023-24 World Cup season will conclude on Sunday, March 24 with the men’s downhill. 

RESULTS
Women’s downhill 

CUP STANDINGS
Women’s downhill 

HOW TO WATCH 

March 24 (ET)
6:15 a.m. - men’s downhill - Peacock

Lauren Macuga wrapped her breakthrough 2023-24 season with a solid 14th place and earned herself some World Cup points to boot on Friday, March 22, at the final super-G of the year in Saalbach, Austria. 

Despite heavy rain overnight and humidity into the early hours of Friday, temperatures cooperated, and the sun was shining for both the women's and men’s super-G. Out of the gate bib 5, Macuga skied a run she could be proud of to close a standout season in which she ended up ranked 13th in the world in the discipline. 

“Nothing has really set in,” the 21-year-old reflected on her season, which featured three top-10 results, including a career-best top-five in Kvitfjell. “It’s still crazy to think about it…it’s been incredible. I was just hoping for a super-G point this year, and now here I am running super-G at Finals. I don’t know, something clicked, and I’m just having fun.” 

The Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka won Friday’s super-G, followed by Italy’s Federica Brignone .28 seconds off the pace, and Norway’s Kajsa Lie Vickhoff in third, .30 out. Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami was seventh, but she finished strong enough to walk away with the super-G Crystal Globe to add to her impressive collection this season. 

Though Mikaela Shiffrin wasn’t racing the super-G, she and teammate Jackie Wiles were in the finish area to support Macuga, or “Cougs,” as the team calls her, cheering for her as she crossed the finish line. The women’s speed team has had a great vibe all season, and Macuga is a big reason for that positive energy. 

“The team is really good, obviously,” she said with a laugh after Wiles and Shiffrin hugged her. We have so much fun, and I think that’s what helps a lot. We enjoy being here, we all hang out…, and we get some mad Catan games going.” 

Up next for Macuga is a camp at Palisades, Tahoe, for some slalom and giant slalom. 

World Cup Finals will wrap for the women with a downhill on Saturday, March 23. 

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

CUP STANDINGS
Women’s super-G

HOW TO WATCH (ET)

March 23
6:15 a.m.  - women’s downhill - Peacock

March 24
6:15 a.m. - men’s downhill - Peacock