The U18 National Alpine Championships wrapped up in Aspen, Colorado, on March 3, 2025, and SSWSC athlete Abby Olson is the U18 National Champion in downhill and giant slalom. She also narrowly missed the podium for the super-G race, ending her second run in 4th place. With Olson’s series-long results, she also won the U18 Overall National Championship title for women. Owen Wither had a strong race series for the men, finishing on the podium in 2nd place in the downhill. With two additional top ten finishes, 9th in the giant slalom and 9th in the slalom races, Wither ended up 4th for the men’s overall U18 National Championship series.

Olson used excellent touch, composure, and speed to win the women’s downhill on February 27 and claim her first U18 Championship, winning both runs of the two-run downhill race. SSWSC athlete Caley Goforth jumped from the 49th start position to 7th, showing she will be a contender in future events.  Bella Fisher finished 27th and Rewani Shrestha 45th.

Following a strong training run, Wither held his nerve and performed well in the first run of the downhill, finishing 4th with only 0.16 seconds off the lead.  He fought through a bumpy second run for the 2nd fastest time and moved himself onto the podium for a 2nd place finish by a mere 0.02.

After a few top 15 training runs, Matthew unfortunately tripped the wand on his first run and made a costly mistake going onto the flats for his second ru,n finishing in 30th position.  Nicholas didn’t manage the second run, and DNF’d and Willem finished in the 50th.

The super-G was a grind, and the course set was tight and challenging. Abby was the top performer with a 4th place finish, while she knows she can ski better, she was proud of her grit and getting it to the finish line.  Rewani finished 42nd while Caley DNF’d and Bella did not start. Unfortunately, the men didn’t fare very well in the SG with Owen finishing 22nd, Nicholas 40th, Willem 48th, and Matthew a DNF.

Thirteen U18 alpine athletes qualified to compete in the U18 National Alpine Championships in Aspen, Colorado, February 25-March 3, 2025. Logan Grosdidier, Abby Olson, Caley Goforth, Bella Fisher, Hazel Fernley, Rewani Shrestha, and Kat Cosby qualified for the women, and Adrian Beauregard, Caman Beauregard, Nicholas Bradford, Willem Bradford, and Owen Wither qualified for the men (Matthew Kafka is an alternate and will compete in super-G and downhill races only). Logan Grosdidier and Abby Olson automatically qualified with their results from the NorAm Cup. Grosdidier did not compete in the U18 National Championships, she is competing in the 2025 Junior World Championships in Italy, Adrian and Caman Beauregard did not compete, and Hazel Fernley and Kat Cosby did not compete due to injury.