The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athletes took on the bumps in Bakuriani, Georgia this morning for the first time since the 2023 Freestyle World Championships, with Hannah Soar landing on the podium in third. Seven finished in the top 10. 

It was overcast with light snowfall today, and the U.S. women started off the day strong, with all six competitors making it to finals. Alli Macuga had a slow start to the day qualifying last in 16th place, but turned things around in finals to qualify for her first career individual moguls super finals. Three made the finals for the men: Dylan Walczyk, Dylan Marcellini and Nick Page. 

In super finals, the U.S. women once again showed their consistency and depth across the board, with Soar earning her first podium of the season, finishing third, followed by Macuga in fourth, a moguls personal best, and Jaelin Kauf in sixth. Just outside the super finals was Elizabeth Lemley in eighth, followed by Tess Johnson in 10th and Olivia Giaccio in 12th. 

"Getting fourth today was another huge step for me in the right direction," said Macuga. "Qualifying 16th was hard for me to accept, but had to remember that the only way to go from there was up. I’ve been figuring out a lot about my skiing and was very proud of it, especially to get fourth place."

"It was great to get a podium at the end of these seven weeks on the road. It’s a Christmas miracle!" said Soar. 

Page finished in fourth place in a tight competition on the men's side, bouncing back from his results last week in Alpe d'Huez, France. Dylan Walczyk was just outside super finals in seventh overall. Dylan Marcellini landed in 13th, Landon Wendler in 21st and Cole McDonald finished 26th. 

“Today’s event was another step in the right direction that I was happy with. I liked how I was building through the training days and was able to stay on that trajectory for the contest," said Page. "With conditions getting more challenging this afternoon, it showed a few weaknesses that I am still working on in a way that’s kind of exciting. It’s giving me a framework and allowing me to have conversations on what I need to do to improve. There’s something really special about learning, growing and finding ways to get better every single day. I love that process and am excited to keep building to what’s next.”

Tomorrow, Dec. 23, the team takes on the dual moguls event in Bakuriani, Georgia before taking a break for the holiday. Watch live at 4:30 a.m. ET on skiandsnowboard.live 

RESULTS
Women
Men

Today in the mixed aerials team event in Changchun, China, Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes Winter Vinecki, Chris Lillis and Quinn Dehlinger put on an aerials masterclass to land atop the podium. 

The athletes have been battling extreme cold and heavy winds in China the entire week, and today was no exception. Despite the conditions, Vinecki, Lillis and Dehlinger put down near-perfect runs to win the mixed aerials team competition by more than 30 points over the second-place finishers. There was additional focus on Winter Vinecki today, as she is working to improve her triples on snow and it has never been more clear that her hard work is paying off. She appeared cool, calm and collected as she put down a clean back-lay-full-full to help the team secure their victory. 

The U.S. also had two other teams jumping in today’s competition: USA 2, made up of Kaila Kuhn, Connor Curran and Justin Schoenefeld, who finished in fourth, and USA 3 of Karenna Elliott, Tasia Tanner and Derek Krueger who came in sixth. While the U.S. is known for mixed team aerials, having won gold medals in both the 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the 2023 World Championships, for many of these athletes, this was the first aerials team competition they had ever started. It was a great experience and training for them to prepare for upcoming events, and look for USA to keep dominating. 

The team is now moving into a holiday break back in the United States for training in preparation for their domestic World Cup at Deer Valley Feb. 1-3.

RESULTS
Mixed Aerials Team

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team women’s moguls athletes once again showed their speed and strength in today’s dual moguls event, landing Olivia Giaccio and Alli Macuga on the podium in second and third, each earning new personal bests. 

It was another bluebird day in Alpe d’Huez, France, and emotions were high across the board. Olivia Giaccio put on yet another stunning performance today to put herself in the big final against World Cup leader Anthony Jakara. They were neck and neck throughout the entire run, but Jakara was just a bit quicker, landing Giaccio in second place. Although it wasn’t a win, this second place was still incredibly meaningful to Olivia as it was her best career finish in a dual moguls event, improving upon her previous top finish in third last year in Almaty. This podium was particularly special because Giaccio’s parents were there to witness it in person. 

Just behind Giaccio was Alli Macuga, who finished in third place, capturing her first career World Cup podium. Macuga smiled ear to ear from the moment she finished her last run till she stepped off the podium. 

“I can nearest put into words how much I’ve worked for this; ever since I knew mogul skiing was a thing, I’ve looked forward to the day I would get my first podium,” said Macuga. “I am beyond happy with my performance and such fun duals today! I am so grateful for my family always cheering me on and pushing me to get there and my coaches for guiding me; finally, my teammates/best friends cheered me on and pushed me to do my best!”

Just off the stacked podium was Tess Johnson who finished in fourth, followed by Elizabeth Lemley in fifth and Hannah Soar in sixth. Jaelin Kauf unfortunately DNFd during her 1/16 final run, finishing in 27th. 

Nick Page led the pack for the U.S. men, finishing in 13th, along with Dylan Marcellini in 15th, Dylan Walczyk in 22nd and Cole McDonald in 24th. 

The team is headed to Bakuriani, Georgia, for another set of moguls and dual moguls events Dec. 22-23.

RESULTS
Women
Men

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes kicked off their second World Cup of the season today in Changchun, China, highlighted by Winter Vinecki’s second career win and a podium for Chris Lillis. 

This is the first time the aerials team has been back in China for a World Cup since the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, where the U.S. took home the aerials team gold medal. The rare daytime event was a change of pace for the team, but one that they took in stride. 

During qualifications, Karenna Elliott and Quinn Dehlinger both finished first, setting themselves up nicely for the finals. Elliott ended the day with a new personal best, finishing in ninth place and scoring a personal best score of 88.51, improving upon her previous record of 12th from Engadin last yearm

“I’m very happy with my performance today. I did some of the best jumps today that I’ve done this season,” said Elliott. “It was incredible to qualify in the top position against so many great competitors. Even though I didn’t get a super high score on my final jump, I’m proud of myself for putting down another nice jump and landing it in competition. Walking away from this competition with a new personal best score and placement has given me confidence, and I am looking forward to future competitions. Since we have a month of training before our next competition at Deer Valley, I think I will be throwing some new tricks and am confident that this will be my best competition season yet!"

Tasia Tanner also scored a new personal best, landing in eighth place.

“Getting that new personal best today was really exciting. It was nice to take the momentum from Ruka and just keep moving forward,” said Tanner. “I was able to get my highest score ever and put down a clean jump. Obviously, there’s still room for improvement, but overall, I’m really happy with how I performed today. It’s been a long road to get where I’m at today, with this being my first healthy season in over two years. I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season goes, and I can’t wait to compete on home snow again at Deer Valley!”

In finals, Winter Vinecki showed how much her triples have progressed since she started training them on snow only a few weeks ago in Ruka. Her newfound skills and perseverance helped her earn her second career victory. This is the first win from a U.S. woman in about three years. 

"It was not easy out there today, but I am so excited to have made the most of it and put my triples to my feet for the win," said Vinecki. "We were battling some brutally cold temperatures and strong winds all week and today was no exception. With still only having a handful of days of triples under my belt, I cannot thank my team around me enough for giving me so much encouragement and support so that I could get triples done again in this World Cup here in China. It has been a big few weeks for me so to top it off with a win and put on the yellow bib for the first time in my career feels incredible. I am excited for a little family time over the Holidays and then get some solid training in before the Deer Valley World Cup, where I am eager to keep this momentum going!"

Finishing behind Vinecki was Kaila Kuhn in seventh, followed by Tanner in eighth, Elliott in ninth, Megan Smallhouse in 14th, and Dani Loeb in 17th.

Olympic gold medalist Chris Lillis, who won his gold medal in China in 2022, also had a strong showing today, finishing in second place to earn his seventh career podium.

"I'm absolutely amped to put down another solid competition in some very tough weather and land on the podium," said Lillis. "I feel I'm in a great position to get back to home base and get some solid training in to continue my push for the Crystal Globe. Sharing a podium today with Winter was also super exciting as we have been teammates for eight years and it was a pleasure watching her get rewarded for taking the step up to the triple kicker. After a small Christmas break, all my focus will be on crushing Deer Valley!"

Quinn Dehlinger finished in seventh, Connor Curran in 17th, Justin Schoenefeld in 18th, and Derek Krueger in 20th. 

The team is headed into a training block before their next World Cup event in Deer Valley Feb. 1-3. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team kicked off the weekend with a moguls event in Alpe d’Huez, France, and Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio landed on the podium.

Men’s qualification was Thursday, where two U.S. men, Dylan Walczyk and Dylan Marcellini, qualified for today’s finals. 

It was a beautiful bluebird day in Alpe d’Huez, with soft snow conditions favorable to the U.S. team. The morning started with women’s qualifications, where all seven women competing moved on to finals, showing the depth and skill of the team. 

Four women made it to super finals where Jaelin Kauf finished in second, and Olivia Giaccio snagged third place for the third week in a row. Jakara Anthony of Australia won the event. Also in the top 10 were Hannah Soar in fifth, Liz Lemley in sixth, and Tess Johnson seventh. Alli Macuga was 12th and Kai Owens 16th. 

“Today was a lot of fun,” said Kauf. “The course was skiing super well, and I was stoked with my skiing in the middle. I still feel like I have a lot of improving left to do, but I am moving in the right direction. I’m excited for another duals comp tomorrow!”

The men had another solid day of skiing, with Dylan Marcellini finishing in 11th and Dylan Walczyk in 14th. Cole McDonald finished qualifiers in 23rd, followed by Nick Page in 49th. 

Next up, the men and women compete in dual moguls on Saturday.

RESULTS
Women's moguls
Men's moguls 

Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athlete Jaelin Kauf secured her eighth career World Cup win and fifth dual moguls win on Saturday, Dec. 9, in Idre Fjäll, Sweden. 

Kauf is known as one of the fastest women on the World Cup moguls circuit, which was on full display today in Sweden. Early in the heats, Kauf started knocking out the best of the best, including the most dominant women’s moguls skier in the world, Jakara Anthony. 

"I’m super happy with today; I had so much fun skiing," said Kauf. "The first few events [this season] I didn't bring the skiing to competition that I wanted, but today I finally hit that skiing I’d been searching for. It felt really good to lay down some really fun skiing and just let it go."

Despite low visibility, it was a battle of the Americans today with multiple U.S. head-to-head heats. Olivia Giaccio and Alli Macuga battled in the round of 16, pushing each other to ski faster and having fun in the process. The women motivate each other on and off the snow, cheering each other on even when skiing side by side. 

The U.S. women once again packed the top 10 with Johnson just outside the small final in fifth, followed by Giaccio in sixth, Hannah Soar in seventh, Kai Owens in eighth, Liz Lemley in ninth and Alli Macuga in 13th. 

Nick Page led the men with a seventh place finish. Dylan Walczyk followed in 14th, Cole McDonald in 19th, and Dylan Marcellini in 28th. 

Next up the team is headed to Alpe d’Huez, France for another set of moguls and dual moguls events Dec. 15-16. 

RESULTS:
Women
Men 

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athletes had another successful day in Idre Fjäll, Sweden, with Nick Page snagging second place and Olivia Giaccio bringing home third for the second week in a row. 

"I tried to keep things simple and focus on my process and execution run after run; it was sweet to have things pan out results-wise," said Giaccio. "I'm very proud of the effort and process focus I've been putting into my performances, and I am hungry for more in duals tomorrow!"

Idre Fjäll is a favorite stop for many U.S. athletes, as Page and Liz Lemley earned their first World Cup wins at the venue in 2022, and Page has now podiumed there four times. 

“Today was special," said Page. "It felt really nice to bounce back after last week and compete with the guys at the top again. There’s a lot to be said about learning from mistakes and growing from them. Last week offered me an opportunity to understand what went wrong — and once I processed all that I was able to adjust for this event. I’m happy with how I competed today and am excited to keep it rolling into duals tomorrow!”

Page sat in first after his superfinals run but was bumped into second by moguls World Cup leader Mikael Kingsbury.

This event setup differed from most, with women’s qualifications happening the day before finals instead of the same day. Some of the women were nervous about how this would impact their performance, along with the low visibility and snow throughout today’s finals; however, this did not stop the U.S. women from shining once again.

Just off the podium was Tess Johnson in fourth, followed by Jaelin Kauf in fifth, Lemley in sixth, Hannah Soar in seventh and Kai Owens in 12th. Alli Macuga finished qualifications in 33rd. 

On the men’s side, Cole McDonald finished finals in eighth, followed by Dylan Walczyk in 17th, Landon Wendler in 21st, and Dylan Marcellini in 30th. 

The team is looking forward to the first dual moguls World Cup of the season tomorrow in Idre Fjäll. 

RESULTS
Women’s moguls
Men’s moguls

HOW TO WATCH
Saturday, Dec. 9 
6:30 am ET - Idre Fjall dual moguls - skiandsnowboard.live 

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes kicked off the 2023-24 World Cup season this morning, Dec. 3, in Ruka Finland and landed seven in the top-10. 

Ruka is a newer stop on the aerials circuit, being added to the schedule consistently back in  2021. The team has been stopping in Ruka for preseason training for years and it has now become a familiar hill for the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes. The venue offers athletes to get comfortable with new tricks and try new jumps in competition as they enter a new season.

Chris Lillis led the American men and placed fourth among a strong field of competitors.

Next for the strong American team was Quinn Dehlinger and Derek Krueger, who finished in ninth and 11th in finals. Connor Curran finished 16th and Justin Shoenefeld 19th. Ian Schoenwald and Ashton Salwan of Park City Ski & Snowboard are racing out the men's side, finishing in 23rd and 26th, respectively. 

"It was one of my best starts to the season so far and I was happy with my performance" said Lillis. "A fourth place will hopefully be a stepping stone to making a run at the Crystal Globe. Next up I’m looking towards having a solid week of training before our next event in China!"

It was an exciting day for the women, with four making it to the finals. Dani Loeb tied her personal best World Cup result with a fifth place, and teammate Kaila Kuhn followed in sixth. Outside the super finals was Winter Vinecki in eighth and Tasia Tanner in 10th. However, aside from the results, the day was highlighted by Vinecki competing on the triple jump for the first time -  this is a skill that is rare in the women’s field. 

"I feel more confident in myself than ever as jumper and am having so much fun hitting the triple" said Vinecki. "I am eager to see what the rest of the season holds and beyond!"

Next up, the aerials athletes will head to Changchun, China for their next World Cup event Dec. 16-17. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athletes kicked off the 2023-24 World Cup season today in Ruka, Finland, with Liz Lemley and Olivia Giaccio going two-three on the podium. The American women also packed six into the top 10, and swept second through fifth place.

It was the fourth World Cup podium for both Lemley and Giaccio and a personal best result in moguls for Lemley, topping her previous best of third in Alpe d’Huez in 2022. 

Ruka is a staple on the moguls circuit, held annually starting in 2011, and consistently provides great results for the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Team. Back in 2021, Giaccio earned her first World Cup win in Ruka in women’s moguls. 

“For the first event of the year, my strategy was simply to have fun and put my best effort into executing my plan that my coaches and I set out to accomplish,” said Giaccio. “I wanted to go big on my jumps, nail my landings, and ski aggressively - and I was able to do that when it counted!” 

It was an overall great day for the U.S women’s team, with six athletes making it to the final. Just off the podium, Hannah Soar in fourth, Jaelin Kauf in fifth, Tess Johnson in eighth and Alli Macuga in 10th. Kai Owens finished in 19th. Impressively, during a practice run on Friday, Macuga took a fall and fractured her hand, but still competed and earned a top 10. 

It was Johnson’s first World Cup event back from back surgery this summer. Her eighth place finish is a testament to her dedication and strength. 

“I’m so stoked on today! It was everything I could have hoped for with qualifying in fifth and competing finals with a bottom air cork. It makes me hungry for more, but I’m taking the day to celebrate how far I’ve come since back surgery in April,” said Johnson. “Also I’m so very proud of my teammates for skiing so well and inspiring me every day. It’s an honor to be a part of this team.”

On the men’s side, Dylan Walczyk finished in 13th, Cole McDonald in 17th, Landon Wendler in 19th, Dylan Marcellini in 25th and Nick Page in 37th.  

Up next, the team will travel to Idre Fjäll, Sweden to compete in moguls and dual moguls December 7-9th. 

RESULTS
Women
Men