Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club announced today 25 athletes and alumni have been named to U.S. National Teams. Six current SSWSC athletes and 19 SSWSC alumni were named to alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle/moguls, ski jumping, nordic combined, snowboard halfpipe, snowboard cross, and teams. “SSWSC is the only club in the nation with athletes named to all seven of the 2024-2025 U.S. Ski & Snowboard national teams: alpine, cross country, freestyle, freeski, ski jumping, nordic combined, and snowboarding. This remarkable achievement represents the grassroots passion in our community for each of these sports. It also reflects the incredible support these athletes have received from our local ski areas, schools, businesses, coaches, and donors that have helped make their success possible. Our entire community plays a key role in each athlete’s journey, and we can all celebrate what they have achieved,” said Dave Stewart, SSWSC Athletic Director. “We are proud to have these athletes representing our community and country on the international stage, and I know they will continue to inspire SSWSC athletes of all ages to pursue their dreams both on and off the snow.”

U.S. Alpine Team
SSWSC alum Jett Seymour was once again named to the U.S. Alpine B Team. Seymour is a two-time National Champion in slalom and an NCAA slalom Champion. Seymour had his best result on the World Cup tour in 2023 with a seventh place in Chamonix, France, and led the U.S. men’s team with four top 30 World Cup slalom results in 2024 including a 15th at Palisades Tahoe. Tatum Grosdidier, Jay Poulter, and Cooper Puckett were named to the U.S. Alpine C Team. These three will also ski on the NCAA circuit, with Grosdidier joining Poulter on the University of Utah Ski Team and Puckett returning to Dartmouth College. Grosdidier won her first NorAm Cup GS in 2024, the first NorAm victory by a female SSWSC athlete since 2015, and Puckett won a NorAm Cup GS, his second NorAm win.

U.S. Freestyle Ski Team
SSWSC alums Olivia Giaccio and Jaelin Kauf were named again to the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team Moguls A Team, and alum Landon Wendler was also named to the A Team for the first time. Giaccio was named U.S. Ski & Snowboard 2024 Freestyle Athlete of the Year and finished 3rd overall in World Cup moguls rankings for the 2023-2024 season, and Kauf was 2nd overall with 20 World Cup podiums between them. Wendler had an amazing 2023-2024 season leading to his nomination with his first World Cup podium finishing 3rd in dual moguls in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and scoring three other top 10 results.

U.S. Ski Jumping Team
SSWSC alum Erik Belshaw was named to the U.S. Ski Jumping A Team. Alums Decker Dean and Annika Belshaw were named to the B Team, current SSWSC athlete Jason Colby was named to the C Team, and SSWSC athlete Sawyer Graves was named to the D Team. Erik Belshaw jumped to silver in the men’s individual jumping event at the Junior World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, the first Junior World Championship podium in history for a US male athlete in ski jumping. Belshaw also jumped 230 meters in a ski flying World Cup in Oberstdorf, GER, the longest jump in history for an SSWSC athlete and second longest jump in United States history, and was named U.S. Ski & Snowboard 2024 Ski Jumping Athlete of the Year.

U.S. Nordic Combined Team
SSWSC alums and siblings Annika Malacinski and Niklas Malacinski were named to the U.S Nordic Combined A Team. Alum Alexa Brabec was named to the B Team, and current SSWSC athletes Haley Brabec, Arthur Tirone, and Ella Wilson were named to the Development Team. Alexa Brabec raced to two historic silver medals at Junior World Championships, one individual and one in the team sprint, earning the first-ever medal for the US in nordic combined women’s events at the Junior World Championships and was named U.S. Ski & Snowboard 2024 Nordic Combined Athlete of the Year.

U.S. Snowboard Team
SSWSC alum, former SSWSC Snowboard Director, was named to the U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Pro Team. In fall of 2022 Schaffrick left SSWSC to be assistant coach of the U.S. Snowboard Pro Halfpipe Team. She previously competed on the U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Team for seven years before returning to coach for SSWSC in 2015. SSWSC alum Rochelle Weinberg was named to the Snowboard Rookie Team.

In Snowboard Cross, SSWSC alum Cody Winter was named to the U.S. Snowboard Cross Pro Team and SSWSC athlete Virginia Boyd was named to the Development Team. Boyd earned her first NorAm Cup win in snowboard cross in 2024 and qualified for the 2024 Junior World Championships. Winters became the first U.S. snowboarder since 2007 to finish ranked in the top 25 in the World Cup standings in both alpine (18th) and snowboard cross (22nd).

U.S. Freeski Team
SSWSC alum and summer trampoline and ramps coach Riley Jacobs was named to the U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Pro Team, and SSWSC alum Cael McCarthy was named to the U.S. Freeski Rookie Halfpipe Team. Jacobs had several top-five finishes and finished last season with a top-10 world ranking. McCarthy won the final halfpipe NorAm of the season in Aspen on March 20, 2024, earning him the overall NorAm Cup and a World Cup spot next year for all events. McCarthy skied in three World Cups last year, with his best finish in Mammoth, where he qualified for finals and finished 13th. He is one of just a few athletes at this level who still compete in two disciplines—slopestyle and halfpipe.

U.S. Cross Country Ski Team
SSWSC alum and current University of Colorado Ski Team athlete Trey Jones was named to the U.S. Cross Country Development Team. Jones had a breakthrough 2024 season as a freshman at CU, qualifying for Junior World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, and earning his first national team nomination by meeting objective criteria with a top-400 season-end world ranking in sprint.

Photo credit: Ann Battelle, Landon Wendler in Park City, Utah