Nine SSWSC Freeride Team members and five Snowboard Big Mountain Team members traveled to Snowbird, Utah, for the IFSA 3* Junior National Big Mountain competition on February 27, 2025. Top junior athletes from around the U.S. attended the event, which took place on Silver Fox, a run known for its demandingly steep and challenging terrain. Amidst the iconic Snowbird Tram backdrop, SSWSC athletes have proved they have what it takes to compete at the national level.  All five snowboard athletes put down solid runs, and everyone qualified for the finals. In the ski division, all U-15 men qualified for finals, with three athletes in the top 10.

SSWSC alumna Ellie Reynolds won the U-19 women’s ski competition, winning both the qualifying run and the final. Ellie overcame challenging, hardpacked conditions and put down a fantastic run on Silverfox, sending both Standard and Pistachio airs. She graduated from Steamboat Springs High School at the end of first semester and is now training at Snowbird for the rest of the winter.

Qualifying all athletes was quite an accomplishment and a testament to each athlete’s skillful and strategic approach to the competition.  “Qualifying all U-15 boys in the top 20 was an amazing accomplishment, said TJ Chase, Freeride Competition Coach. “Other teams and coaches at the event took notice and were extremely impressed by the quality skiing displayed by our SSWSC athletes.” After all first-run scores were tabulated, Brannigan Murphy was the top qualifier for the boys, qualifying 3rd. His impressive threes and huge sends wowed the crowd below. After laying down a solid finals run, Murphy ended the comp in 4th place, earning a top-five finish.  Banks Ward, who was 9th going into finals, took advantage of the quality snow conditions and moved up two spots to finish 7th. 

Oliver Dalzell, who qualified in 10th position, finished 15th. Paddock Whitten finished the competition in 17th, Thomas Drever finished in 18th, and Fergus Kemp finished 22nd. In the U-19 boys division, Thomas Agosta finished 19th after qualifying in the same position. Robbie Wodnik finished 34th, and Oscar Dalzell finished 43rd. For the U-19 women, RMFS Rippin’ Ladies ambassador Zoe Chase DNF’d after tumbling off the “Standard Air” cliff band in the middle of the venue.

In the Snowboard division, Reid Graham, who participated in his first Junior 3* National, finished in 2nd place.  First-time National competitor U-15 girls snowboarder Jayla McGlone also finished on the podium in 2nd place. For the U-19 snowboard men, Cooper Malia and Calvin Lieberman finished 6th and 9th place, respectively. In the U-19 women’s snowboard division, Riley McNew finished 4th.

The weekend-long event was one of the last 3* National events of the season. With only a handful of events left, including A Basin 2*, Aspen/Snowmass 2*, and the Breckenridge 3* National,  many SSWSC athletes are still in position to make it to Junior Freeride Championships, which will be held in Kirkwood, CA April 6-13, 2025.

FULL RESULTS