Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s (SSCV) Freeski Team athletes of all ages are seeing great success this past month from the youngest development level athletes to the elite junior and senior athletes.

Aaron Milligan and Paula Cooper, SSCV full-time freeski athletes and Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy students, head off this week to the 2015 FIS Junior World Ski Championships from March 28- April 1 in Chiesa in Valmalenco, Italy where Aaron qualified to compete in slopestyle and Paula in halfpipe with the best junior freeski athletes in the world.  SSCV freeski coach and halfpipe specialist Pete O’Brien is among the US coaching staff invited to join the US Junior World team in Italy.

Last week Aaron and Paula along with SSCV teammates Bobby Sonntag, Zach Fedrizzi, Felix Coudouy, Emerson Lawton, Sammy Schuiling, Cas Sheridan, Connor Flynn and Cole Pates, competed in an elite field of athletes at the US Revolution Tour in its last stop at Mammoth Mountain, California.  After the conclusion of this event the final standings for the tour were posted with SSCV’s Paula Cooper sitting in 2nd place overall for the tour and Aaron Milligan sitting in 4th place overall for the tour among a field of over one hundred competitors.   Milligan also took third place in Slopestyle at Mammoth.  Among other highlights in Mammoth, Cole Pates made it to finals in slopestyle with a strong run and Felix Coudouy made it to finals for Halfpipe.

Another set of elite development level freeski athletes from SSCV qualified for and competed in the USSA Junior National Freestyle Championships in freeski held this past week in Park City:  Jack Ganley, the youngest SSCV athlete to qualify, Izak Little, Michael Brown and Pearson Black in halfpipe, and Michael Brown and Pearson Black also qualifying in Big Air.  Pearson took 3rd (bronze) in his U15 age class in Big Air at Junior Nationals.

Bob Sonntag, SSCV Freeski Coach commented, “I was very proud not only that these athletes qualified for one of the most esteemed events in the country, but that they tried new things and performed extremely well among a stacked field.”

For complete results go to ­­­­­­­­­­ http://teamparkcityunited.com/juniornats2015/.