VAIL, Colo. April 17, 2021 – As the winter season winds down and the snow begins to melt, competitive skiers from around the nation flocked to Aspen to take part in the U.S. Alpine Championships these last two weeks. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail had many current and former athletes invited to this elite event and at the end of eleven days, SSCV emerged with 44 top twenty finishes, three podium spots, and one event win. 

The competition began in earnest on Monday, April 5, with the men’s slalom race. In a field of 75, SSCV’s Henry Heaydon settled into seventh after two speedy runs down the course, followed by alumni Alex Leever and Kellen Kinsella in eighth and 11th, respectively and teammate Colbey Derwin in 12th. 

The next day’s giant slalom event had some great showings by SSCV alumni. Flying down the course, Bridger Gile bounced back from a disqualification the day before to step up to the podium in third. His former SSCV teammates River Radamus, Cornelius Cooper, and Axel Bailey landed within the top twenty in 10th, 15th, and 18th respectively. 

In the super-G, Radamus soared down the course with grace and speed in his carves, taking home gold for the event. Gile and Cooper also landed among the top ten in ninth and 10th. In the men’s alpine combined event, Radamus grabbed third with his win in the super-G and a technically sound slalom run. Cooper guarded the podium in fourth, Gile took up sixth, and Heaydon finished the event in 19th. 

Saturday, April 10 marked the end of the men’s competition and the beginning of the women’s with the downhill event. Rounding out a terrific couple of days on the slopes, Gile ended the event in 7th. He was followed by Cooper in 11th, current SSCV athlete Trent Pennington in 13th, and Bailey in 18th. 

Looking to make their mark and set the tone for the rest of the week, the women took to the downhill course with vigor. SSCV alumni, Ava Sunshine Jemison and Sarah Schleper sped into the top ten for the event in fourth and ninth respectively. Current athlete, Zoie Palmer, landed in 13th for the day. 

In the super-G event a few days later, Emma Resnick proved to be a formidable opponent in a field dominated by older athletes, taking seventh overall and third among the juniors. Jemison and Schleper grabbed ninth and 13th, respectively, followed by current SSCV athlete Liv Moritz, a first-year FIS athlete finishing at the top of her year of birth, in 17th and teammate Nellie Rose Talbot in 18th. Alumna Nicole Rountree-Williams raced into the finish just a few tenths of a second behind Talbot, taking 19th. 

The next day saw Rountree climb up the ranks in the women’s alpine combined to score ninth overall. Moritz, with another top finish for her year of birth, and Talbot took 10th and 15th respectively, followed by teammate Tegan Wold in 17th and Schleper in 18th. 

The giant slalom saw Talbot secure 8th, Schleper ninth, and Emma Resnick went home with tenth overall and third for the juniors once again. Jemison and current SSCV athlete Lucia Bailey landed in 14th and 19th, respectively. 

In the final event of the lengthy competition, the women quickly maneuvered their way through the slalom course. At the end of two runs, Wold grabbed seventh. Teammates Reece Bell and Allie Resnick tied for 10th, and Emma Resnick, Caroline Jones, and Bailey finessed their way down the course into 12th, 15th, and 16th, respectively. 

“It was a great culmination to the season to have such a large number of SSCV athletes and alumni qualify for U.S. Alpine Championships and for them to have maintained their best efforts through the end of the championship series,” said SSCV Executive Director, Kirk Dwyer. “SSCV athletes stayed focused and worked hard until the very end of a season like no other, supporting each other along the way.”

Complete results are available at www.fis-ski.com.

Photo caption: Ski & Snowboard Club Vail alpine athlete Liv Moritz charges down the slalom course at US Alpine Championships in Aspen this past week.