Team Summit and Team Breckenridge athletes shine bright in big mountain freeride competition

Originally written by Cody Jones in the Summit Daily on February 22, 2023

From Tuesday, Feb. 7, to Saturday, Feb. 11, Team Summit and Team Breckenridge Sports Club athletes flocked to Copper Mountain Resort in hopes of claiming a top-10 finish in the International Freeskiers Association’s (IFSA) big mountain freeride national and regional competitions. 

Making up a large portion of the field, Team Summit and Team Breckenridge athletes competed at Copper from Feb. 7-10.

In the freeride snowboard competition, Team Summit’s Emma Hyon took first place in the 15- to 18-year-old girls division while Dalilah Caldwell placed third.

Team Summit’s Lucas Lemire rode his way to a second-place finish in the 15- to 18-year-old boys snowboard division and Bode Kler placed third.

In the national freeride skiing competition, both Team Summit and Team Breckenridge put three athletes each into the top 10.

Team Summit’s Maddie Haser and Hannah Webb led the way in the 12- to 14-year-old girls ski division. Haser held onto her first-place finish in qualifiers to place first overall in finals, and Webb placed in a nearby second. 

Team Breckenridge’s Siri Krum placed seventh in the 12- to 14-year-old girls ski division and Baylie Bosson rounded out the top 10 for Team Breckenridge in 10th place.

Team Breckenridge’s Gavin Benedict placed 10th in the 12- to 14-year-old boys ski division, and Team Summit’s Morgan Fields placed fourth overall in the 15- to 18-year-old girls ski division. 

On Saturday, Feb. 11, athletes returned to Copper to compete in the International Freeskiers Association regional.

Hyon got her second first-place finish of the week in the 15- to 18-year-old girls snowboard division while Clara D’augustine placed second in the 11- to 14-year-old girls snowboard division.

Between Team Summit and Team Breckenridge, five athletes made up the top-10 in the 12-14-year-old girls ski division. Webb and Holly Ryan placed first and third, respectively, for Team Summit while Bosson notched the highest finish for Team Breckenridge in fourth place.

Team Breckenridge’s Anna Stafford placed fifth overall and Sloane Staayer finished in sixth. 

Justin Meaney placed first in the 12- to 14-year-old boys ski division for Team Breck while Tyrn Lifgren followed in third place. 

In the 15- to 18-year-old boys ski division, Team Summit’s Rudy Comai placed second overall while Team Breck’s Jack Stafford took eighth. 

Team Summit also competed in the  Rocky Mountain Freestyle (RMF) and Rocky Qualifier Series (RQS) mogul competitions at Copper and Winter Park.

Matthew Grattan and Annika Broecker recorded the highest finishes for Team Summit on the second day of the competition at Copper on Sunday, Feb. 12. Grattan placed second in the boys competition,  and Broecker placed fourth overall in the girls competition.

On the first day of the competition on Saturday, Feb. 11, Arabella Agee finished in eighth place overall for Team Summit.

In Winter Park on Saturday, Feb. 11, Kayla Broecker took home gold in the girls competition while teammate Georgia Kirschner placed a spot behind Broecker in second. 

Team Summit’s Alpine skiers rounded out the recent results from the club. In the Rocky Champions Qualifier super-G competition at Breckenridge Ski Resort on Saturday, Feb. 11, Eden Demino placed fifth in the women’s competition, Trevor Palmquist placed second in the men’s competition and Aaron Green followed in third.

All three competitors doubled back on Sunday, Feb. 12, to compete in the super-G again. 

Demino placed ninth overall and was preceded in the women’s competition by Team Summit teammates Anya Leunig and Natalie Strom. Leunig placed seventh overall, and Strom finished in eighth place.

Team Summit’s Blaise Turnbull led the competition on Day 2 of Breckenridge’s super-G competition. Turnbull placed third overall and was followed by Green in fourth and Palmquist in fifth. 

Team Summit’s Sebastian Bennett rounded out the results in the men’s super-G with a seventh-place finish.