U.S. Ski & Snowboard Announces 24/25 Season U.S. Freestyle Ski Team

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US Aerials Team
The US Mixed Aerials Team taking home the Gold at the 2023 World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia. | Picture: US Ski and Snowboard Team Website

U.S. Ski & Snowboard officially announced the 30 athletes who have accepted their nominations and been named to the 2024-25 Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team rosters for moguls and aerials. All athletes qualified for the team based on the existing freestyle moguls and aerials World Cup criteria.

The 2024-25 aerials team is headlined by 2022 Olympic aerials team gold medalists Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld. Joining them is 2023 world champion Quinn Dehlinger and Winter Vinecki, who finished second in the overall 2023-24 season standings.

2022 Olympic silver medalist Jaelin Kauf, who finished second in the 2023-24 overall season standings, leads the moguls team nominations along with Olivia Giaccio, the first woman to win a World Cup with a cork 1080. The menโ€™s side is highlighted by Nick Page, who landed on the podium three times last season.

Karenna Elliott, Tasia Tanner and Connor Curran are all moving up to the aerials A team for the first time following breakthrough 2023-24 seasons.ย Elliott earned her first World Cup win in Lac-Beauport, Canada; Curran finished on the podium for the first time in Deer Valley; and Tanner was awarded the coveted 2024 FIS Rookie of the Year award. Additionally, this yearโ€™s roster includes new talent, with two athletes being called up to the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team from Park City Ski & Snowboard.

The U.S. Moguls Team took home the Nations Cup for the 23/24 season. | Picture: FIS Ski Website

There are also three promotions to celebrate on the moguls team. Kasey Hogg, Dylan Marcellini and Landon Wendler have been nominated to the A team for the 2024-25 season. Last year, Hogg became the first woman to throw a cork 1080 in a World Cup qualification run, the second woman to throw one in a World Cup behind teammate Olivia Giaccio. Marcellini and Wendler both earned their first World Cup podiums in Deer Valley and Bakuriani, Georgia, respectively.

โ€œThe 2024-25 Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team is an extraordinary group of athletes who embody the spirit and excellence of American freestyle skiing,โ€ said Matt Gnoza, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Freestyle Sport Director. โ€œWith a perfect blend of seasoned champions and rising stars, this team is poised to achieve great things in the coming season. Last yearโ€™s successes laid a strong foundation and I am eager to see how this talented crew builds on that momentum. Iโ€™m excited to support these athletes as they continue to push the boundaries of the sport heading into a World Championship season.โ€

The 2024-25 moguls World Cup moguls season is set to kick off in Ruka, Finland on Nov. 30, 2024. This season brings additional chances for U.S. freestyle fans to watch the action on home soil as the aerials World Cup circuit kicks off in Lake Placid, New York for the first time since 2018 on Jan. 18, 2025. Additionally, the moguls athletes return to the birthplace of freestyle skiing, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, for a set of moguls and dual moguls events Jan. 25-26. The domestic World Cup season wraps with the Super Bowl of freestyle skiing: the Intermountain Health Freestyle International at Deer Valley, Feb. 6-8. 19 moguls and nine aerials World Cups are scheduled, including World Cup Finals in Livigno, Italy, the site of the 2026 Olympic Winter and Paralympic Games. For the full domestic freestyle World Cup schedule, click here.

The season will conclude in Engadin, Switzerland, for the 2025 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships Mar. 18-30. Four athletes per gender per sport will be selected to represent the United States against the best in the world.

Menโ€™s Podium aerials
Chris Lillis in third place at the 2023 Aerials World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland. | Picture: FIS Ski Website

Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team

(Hometown; Club; College; Birthdate)

AERIALS

A TEAM

Women

  • Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, VA; University of Utah; 9/14/1993)
  • Karenna Elliott (Cincinnati, OH; Elite Aerial Development Program/Park City Ski & Snowboard; Utah Valley University; 5/24/2000)
  • Kaila Kuhn (Boyne City, MI; University of Utah; 4/8/2003)
  • Dani Loeb (Pintlala, AL; Elite Aerial Development Program; University of Utah; 8/10/2001)
  • Tasia Tanner (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard/Fly Freestyle; University of Utah; 7/26/2002)
  • Winter Vinecki (Gaylord, MI; Park City Ski & Snowboard; University of Utah/St. Maryโ€™s University School of Law; 12/18/1998)

Men

  • Connor Curran (Cincinnati, OH; Park City Ski & Snowboard/Elite Aerial Development Program; Utah Valley University; 9/23/2004)
  • Quinn Dehlinger (Cincinnati, OH; Elite Aerial Development Program; Salt Lake Community College; 6/8/2002)
  • Chris Lillis (Rochester, NY; Bristol Mountain Freestyle Team; University of Utah; 10/4/1998)
  • Justin Schoenefeld (Lawrenceburg, IN; Perfect North Slopes; Utah Valley University; 8/13/1998)

DEVELOPMENT TEAMย 

Women

  • Kyra Dossa (Cleveland, OH; Park City Ski & Snowboard; University of Utah; 1/24/2004)*
  • Megan Smallhouse (Reno, NV; Park City Ski & Snowboard; University of Utah; 1/16/2001)

Men

  • Derek Krueger (Cleveland, OH; Elite Aerial Development Program; University of Utah; 6/2/2003)
  • Ian Schoenwald (Kaysville, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; Utah Valley University; 6/18/2004)*
Justin Schoenefeld
The Gold winning mixed team from the 2022 Beijing Olympics: Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld. | Picture: @jrschoenefeld

MOGULS

A TEAM

Women

  • Olivia Giaccio (Redding, CT; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; Columbia University; 8/15/2000)
  • Kasey Hogg (Kensington, NH; Wasatch Freestyle; University of Utah; 1/8/2003)
  • Tess Johnson (Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; Harvard Extension School; 6/19/2000)
  • Jaelin Kauf (Alta, WY; Grand Targhee Ski & Snowboard Foundation/Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; University of Utah; 9/26/1996)
  • Elizabeth Lemley (Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 1/22/2006)
  • Alli Macuga (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; University of Utah; 9/24/2003)
  • Hannah Soar (Somers, CT; Killington Mountain School; University of Utah; 6/4/1999)

Men

  • Dylan Marcellini (Walnut Creek, CA; Wasatch Freestyle/Olympic Valley Freestyle; University of Utah; 9/29/2002)
  • Nick Page (Park City, UT; Wasatch Freestyle; 8/1/2002)
  • Landon Wendler (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; Los Angeles Film School; 10/12/2000)

DEVELOPMENT TEAMย 

Women

  • Kai Owens (Vail, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; University of Utah; 8/16/2004)
  • Sami Worthington (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard/Wasatch Freestyle; University of Utah; 6/15/2004)

Men

  • Cole McDonald (Park City, UT; Wasatch Freestyle; University of Utah; 3/6/2003)
  • Asher Michel (Winter Park, CO; Winter Park Competition Center; 12/9/2005)
  • Charlie Mickel (Durango, CO; Wasatch Freestyle/Durango Winter Sports Club; University of Utah; 7/6/2004)
  • Dylan Walczyk (Rochester, NY; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 6/25/1993)
*Newly named to the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team
Kai Owens with coach during the Moguls competition in Ruka. | Photo: Mateusz Kielpinski via FIS Ski Website

2024-25 FREESTYLE COACHES AND STAFF

Anouk Patty – Chief of Sport
Matt Gnoza – Freestyle Sport Director
Tami Strong – Freestyle Team Manager
Maddison Beck – Freestyle Athletic Development Coach
Ryan Odeja – Freestyle Press Officer
Alex Cohen – Sport Psychologist

Aerials
Vladimir Lebedev – Aerials Head Coach
Stanislav Kravchuk – Aerials World Cup Coach
Matt DePeters – Aerials World Cup Coach
Peter Toohey – Aerials Athletic Trainer

Moguls
Bryon Wilson – Moguls Head Coach
Steve Desovich – Menโ€™s Moguls World Cup Coach
Joshua Kober – Moguls World Cup Coach
Jill Radzinski – Moguls Athletic Trainer

 


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