Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s freeride had great results this past Saturday, 3/26, in the USSA Freestyle National Championship halfpipe competition at Stratton.

Under sunny skies, and on the hard snow of Vermont, the SSCV Freeride Team took first, a pair of fourths, and a pair of sixths in the men and women’s ski superpipe competitions.

Davis Wise, an SSCV Vail Freeride Pro-Team member fresh off his Silver medal at World Cup finals in LaPlagne, took first.

Just behind Wise was his teammate, Broby Leeds. Leeds is an up and comer from Wolcott, Colorado, and he attends Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy (VSSA).  Leeds placed fourth, with only a few tenths of point keeping him off the podium.


Broby Leeds



“Broby was skiing well from the moment he arrived in Vermont,” said coach Elana Chase.  “He has increased his aptitude and the technicality in his run with a huge switch trick, and I had a good feeling that he was going to have his best result of the yea

John Leonard, also with SSCV and VSSA, broke into the top ten with his sixth place finish in the finals, his first top ten at a USSA National Championship.

“Leonard had some of the largest amplitude (height) of the day,” said Chase.  “While John’s trick may need some polishing, his ability to go high is sometimes hard to teach, and he has just got it.”

In the women’s halfpipe, SSCV also made a mark with Kendall Deighan being the only female to land a 900 spin, and this helped her secure her a fourth place finish missing a podium spot by just a few hundredth of a point.  Behind Deighan in 6th place was Chloe Lee.


Kendall Deighan



“Chloe was only woman to perform a switch trick in her run,” Chase said.  “When she combines that with more amplitude, she will be knocking on the door of a podium finish.”

“Every athlete from Vail, male or female, that attended this championship event landed in the top ten during the afternoon finals. I couldn’t be happier,” said coach Chase

SSCV has over a dozen freeride and snowboard athletes qualified for the USASA National Championships at Copper Mountain 4/3 through 4/7.