U.S. Freestyle Ready for World Champs
Kreischberg, AUT (Jan. 13, 2015) – After a seven-podium weekend at the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort, USA, the top U.S. Freestyle aerial and mogul athletes are keeping the momentum going into the 2015 FIS Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships in Kreischberg, Austria. The aerial athletes and coaches already arrived safe and sound in Austria, with the moguls team departing Tuesday.
Kreischberg is a mountain located in southern Austria and is part of the Gurktaler Alps. The ski resort held the FIS Snowboard World Championships in 2003 and has since then been the stage for World Cup races in a variety of disciplines.
Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, VA), Kiley McKinnon (Madison, CT) and Mac Bohonnon (Madison, CT) led a very strong aerials performance at the Visa Freestyle International. Caldwell claimed the top spot for the women while McKinnon and Bohonnon both jumped to second place podiums. Fellow World Champs teammates Alex Bowen (Springville, NY), Jon Lillis (Rochester, NY) and Mike Rossi (Long Valley, NY) also had great jumps at Deer Valley, with Bowen and Lillis finishing in the top 10.
Patrick Deneen competes in front of thousands of fans at the 2015 Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort. (URTUR.com)
On the moguls side, K.C. Oakley (Piedmont, CA) and Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) captured two podiums at Deer Valley, a first and third place, while Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT) took to the Champion mogul course with a second place finish in duals. Oakley and teammate Sho Kashima (South Lake Tahoe, CA) were each recently added to the World Champs roster for the U.S. Kashima will replace Bryon Wilson, who was injured during the duals competition at the Visa Freestyle International. Wilson is planning to return to competition in the coming weeks.
With a very successful World Cup weekend behind them, this strong team of 14 athletes is fired up and ready to take on the world in Kreischburg. You can follow all the U.S. Freestyle action from the 2015 FIS Freestyle Ski & Snowboard World Championships on Facebook and Twitter.
Fans can also watch the World Championships live on YouTube.
UPDATED: 2015 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Aerials Men
Mac Bohonnon (Madison, CT)
Alex Bowen (Springville, NY)
Jon Lillis (Rochester, NY)
Mike Rossi (Long Valley, NJ)
Aerials Women
Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, VA)
Kiley McKinnon (Madison, CT)
Moguls Men
Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA)
Troy Murphy (Bethel, ME)
Tom Rowley (Long Beach, NY)
Sho Kashima (South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Moguls Women
Ali Kariotis (Tiburon, CA)
Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT)
K.C. Oakley (Peidmont, CA)
Keaton McCargo (Telluride, CO)
Sophia Schwartz (Sun Valley, ID)
EVENT SCHEDULE
All times are Kreischberg local time.
Wednesday, Jan. 14
4:30 p.m. – Aerials Qualification
Thursday, Jan. 15
6:00 p.m. – Aerials Finals
Sunday, Jan. 18
8:15 a.m. – Moguls Qualification
2: 00 p.m. – Moguls Finals
Monday, Jan. 19
8:15 a.m. – Dual Moguls Qualification
2:00 p.m. – Dual Moguls Finals