Tess Johnson and Kai Owens post top-15 finishes in Waterville Valley World Cup mogul event

Rudi Garmisch/FIS
A slew of Eagle County athletes competed in FIS World Cup events on Friday.
After several weeks of rest, mogul skiers went back to work in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, considered the birthplace of freestyle skiing. World Cup leader Perrine Laffont of France continued her success in this comeback season — she took last year off to recharge and refocus — taking the win on the Lower Bobby’s course with a 77.43-point run in the super final.
Jaelin Kauf finished 0.04 points back in second and former SSCV skier Olivia Giaccio pleased the American crowd with a third-place finish. On the men’s side, Mikael Kingsbury captured his 93rd-career World Cup victory, taking the title with an 84.95.
Vail’s Tess Johnson posted a 74.78 in qualification, where she trailed only Laffont. Fellow SSCV alumna Kai Owens was in seventh after the qualifier. The teammates would finish 13th and 15th overall, respectively. In her World Cup debut, Reese Chapdelaine — who is fresh off claiming a Junior World Championship gold medal earlier this month — placed 24th. SSCV skier Nash Lucas placed 30th in his seventh World Cup start while SSCV alumnus Dylan Walczyk finished ninth.

The mogul competition continues with a dual moguls event on Saturday, which will be broadcast on Outside TV at noon MST; a tape delay will be shown on Peacock and CNBC on Sunday at the same time.

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Meanwhile, River Radamus and Kyle Negomir placed 34th and 39th, respectively, in the super-G in Kitzbuehel, Austria on Friday morning. Marco Odermatt won his seventh race of the year, scorching the Streifalm slope in 1 minute, 13.25 seconds, 0.11 ahead of Raphael Haaser in second as Stefan Rogentin rounded out the podium in third. The speed weekend continues with a downhill on Saturday and a slalom on Sunday. Negomir will compete in the downhill while Radamus will rest up for the slalom, according to a U.S. Ski and Snowboard release.
Bryce Bennett was the top American in 19th.
“I have been skiing good super-G and it was alright, but it was more about trying to figure out the edges,” said Bennett. “It was almost like another training run for me. I’ve been struggling with ice and we tried a new solution today. We are really close and I feel confident to be dialed in for tomorrow.”