Ski and Snowboard Club Vail alumna grabs podium on final day of U.S. Alpine National Championships in Vail

Kjersti Moritz capped off a banner year with another big performance on Tuesday.

The former Ski and Snowboard Club Vail and Vail Mountain School athlete slid up three spots on the second run to finish third in the slalom on the final day of the U.S. Alpine National Championships.

“I’m so excited,” the 21-year-old said after claiming her first senior-level national championships podium on the hill she grew up skiing down. AJ Hurt held onto her first-run lead to win for the second-straight year at Golden Peak. Hurt finished with a two-run time of 1 minute, 34.05 seconds.

“It’s nice,” the 25-year-old two-time Olympian said. “It’s nice to be done and nice to end on a good race.”

Nina O’Brien, who at one point lived in Edwards but now calls Denver home, finished 0.18 seconds back for second.

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“It feels great, honestly,” said O’Brien, who posted four top-8 GS finishes on the World Cup this year en route to a 10th-place result in the discipline standings. “I feel like I’ve not been letting myself see the finish line of the race season until today, so I’m really glad I could end it on a high note.”

While overcast skies brought in the coldest temps of the championships — which admittedly isn’t saying much — the course’s hard-packed snow still softened into a slightly sugary texture, Moritz said.

“It was a little soft the second run, but much better than I thought it would be,” she added.

For the dual-sport Middlebury athlete, Tuesday’s performance was a fitting finish to a fantastic season. Moritz made her World Cup debut at Copper Mountain and made starts on the top circuit in Canada the following weekend as well. When she returned to Copper in early December, she captured the first of her four NorAm Cup victories with a win in the giant slalom on Dec. 9. After heading back to Italy for a pair of Europa Cup races, Moritz competed in Semmering on Dec. 27 and 28 in the World Cup GS and slalom, respectively. Despite participating in those high-level opportunities, Moritz admitted she felt “really unbalanced” with her skiing at the start of the New Year.

“I kind of went freesking once and figured some stuff out and I think that really helped me for the rest of the season,” she said. “It just made me more confident on my skis, which helped every race after that.”

Moritz won the slalom at Mont Saint-Sauveur, Canada on Jan. 9 and was victorious in the giant slalom in her first collegiate race of the season on Jan. 30. The next weekend, she won another Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association race at Stowe Mountain Resort. Then, in Bromont, Canada, the sophomore claimed back-to-back NorAm slalom wins before winning on home snow at the Middlebury Carnival. Moritz said she’s definitely taken a jump in slalom this season as she’s worked to get more on her outside ski and into the front of her boot.

“I’m still struggling a little bit mentally in GS with my knee,” she said, referencing an injury suffered in 2023. “And feeling a little bit nervous, but I’m excited the season is over and I can start fresh now.”

Moritz would earn second-team All-EISA honors for the second-straight season and went to the NCAA championships in Utah earlier this month with high hopes. She wound up leading Middlebury in the giant slalom with a sixth-place result, claiming second-team All-American honors, but in her opening slalom run skied off course and had to hike back to a gate.

“Definitely a little bit upset,” she said of NCAAs. “I didn’t ski my best GS there and then I hiked in the slalom, but it was such a cool experience, I love all my teammates and Middlebury also did really well as a team.”

Having claimed the NorAm Cup slalom title — one year after her sister, Liv, accomplished the same feat — Kjersti Moritz has World Cup starts in the event next winter. She plans to follow her sister’s approach and race as many as possible.

“I think it takes a little bit to adjust to that level,” Kjersti Moritz explained. “So, I’m glad I have the whole season to do that.”

On Jan. 25 in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, Liv Moritz broke through the World Cup top-30 for the first time, going from bib 42 to finish 13th overall. Kjersti said she was not only proud of her twin sister, but gained confidence watching her place so high in her first chance at a World Cup second run.

“Just to show it’s super possible,” Kjersti Moritz said. “It shows that even if you’re not making top 30, you can still pipe it into the top 15.”

Liv Moritz suffered a concussion during the last World Cup weekend in Are, Sweden. She returned to racing for the first time on Tuesday, blasting into fourth place — just 0.55 off the lead and 0.17 back from O’Brien in second — after run 1 but opted out of a second after experiencing dizziness, Kjersti Moritz said.

Now that the season is officially over, Kjersti Moritz is looking forward to returning to Vermont for the final few weeks of school.

“I’m looking forward to going back and being a student without athletics,” she said. “Reconnecting with friends I haven’t seen all winter.”