More than 30 Eagle County locals named to U.S. Ski & Snowboard rosters for 2025-2026 season

More than 30 athletes with ties to Eagle County and/or Ski and Snowboard Club Vail were named last month to U.S. Ski Team rosters across six disciplines. The 2025-2026 season will reach a crescendo at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, set for Feb. 6-22. Several local athletes are expected to represent the U.S. at the 25th Olympiad.

Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn and River Radamus headline the U.S. Alpine ski team roster. The FIS World Cup Alpine ski season began on Oct. 25 in Solden, Austria. SSCV Alumna Paula Moltzan claimed her sixth-career podium with a runner-up finish in the giant slalom at the event as Shiffrin finished fourth. In a month, local fans can catch their Alpine skiing heroes at the inaugural Copper Cup at Copper Mountain (Nov. 27-30) and at the Birds of Prey World Cup at Beaver Creek Dec. 4-7.

Snowboarder Ollie Martin is one of Team USA’s up-and-coming Olympic hopefuls. The 16-year-old SSCV athlete claimed his first World Cup win in Calgary in February and won bronze in both the big air and the slopestyle at the FIS Snowboard World Championships in Engadin, Switzerland at the end of March. SSCV freeski and snowboard program director Chris Laske has eight athletes between slopestyle and park and pipe on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard squad.

Similar to the 2022 Olympic cycle, Eagle County is also well represented in the freestyle department this quadrennial.

World Championship dual moguls silver medalist Tess Johnson is coming off her best season ever, having claimed her first World Cup win in seven years en route to a third-place finish in the overall moguls standings. She’ll be joined by 2022 Olympian Kai Owens and Elizabeth Lemley, who had her season cut short by an injury prior to the World Cup opener in Ruka. Veteran Dylan Walczyk is on the men’s team and newcomer Abby McLarnon made the D Team. McLarnon took bronze at the 2025 FIS Junior World Championships in dual moguls and also nabbed a pair of podiums at the U.S. championships this spring.

Support Local Journalism

Donate

“We are coming off of one of the most successful seasons in U.S. freestyle history,” said Matt Gnoza, U.S. Ski & Snowboard freestyle sport director, in a press release. “The athletes are working harder than ever, and our team is well-equipped heading into an Olympic season. I am excited to build on last year’s momentum and support these athletes throughout the season.”

A maximum of four athletes per gender per sport will be selected to represent the United States in Milano Cortina. Kauf has already earned a spot based on her results from last year. The FIS Freestyle World Cup season is set to kick off in Ruka, Finland, Dec. 6-7, 2025. The Deer Valley World Cup on Jan. 16-18 serve as the final World Cup before the Olympics and the last chance for athletes to qualify for the Games.

Two-time paralympian and 2022 Paralympic silver medalist Thomas Walsh joins Audrey Crowley on the Para Alpine Ski Team. Crowley, who also played softball for Eagle Valley High School in 2024, enjoyed a breakout 2024-2025 season, earning her first World Cup podiums as well as a giant slalom bronze medal at the 2025 FIS Para Alpine World Championships.

“After showing strong improvements last season, the team has been putting in lots of work to start the off-season to prepare for a Paralympic year,” stated Erik Leirfallom, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Para Sport Director. “With new fresh faces and accomplished veterans, I am excited to see all they can accomplish.”

The Para Alpine team’s season begins in Steinach am Brenner, Austria Dec. 10-12. The 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games are March 6-15.

Haley Brewster was named to the cross-country ski team’s development roster. The junior and senior national champion in the 20-kilometer freestyle, who has a pair of NCAA runner-up finishes to her name and claimed an historic U23 World Championship silver medal in 2024, will compete this winter as a graduate student at the University of Vermont. Carbondale product Kate Oldham is also on the B team this year.

Cross-country Program Director Chris Grover said the Olympics is just one highlight to look forward to this winter. The World Cup Finals will be held at the site of the 1980 Winter Olympics — Lake Placid, New York — and marks the second time in three seasons that the circuit will come to the U.S. after a 40-year absence.

“It’s been a very productive preparation season for the team, with excellent conditions for training and increased on-snow training opportunities with the return of the Eagle Glacier facility in Alaska,” Grover stated in a press release. “This team has so many athletes who are poised for personal bests and career-defining results. As a staff, we’ve been working on several new projects to ensure that these incredible athletes have every tool they need to succeed.”

Brewster, along with Aspen-native and former SSCV athlete Graham Houtsma, made the World Cup debuts during the 2024 North American swing that saw the best athletes in the World descend upon Canmore, Alberta’s famed course and Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, MN.