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Led by Rev Tour qualifiers, Team Summit riders, skiers excel in early season

Alpine skier Camden Palmquist earns trip to join US Ski Team in Europe

Team Summit snowboarder Alyssa Moroco executes a front boardslide at Copper Mountain Resort.
Photo by Chris Wellhausen

Team Summit Park & Pipe Director Teddy Goggin thinks the novel coronavirus restrictions on sports have left athletes hungrier to take advantage of the opportunities they are given.

Goggin and Team Summit Executive Director CB Bechtel have seen that approach and positive attitude manifest across the organization’s teams and athletes, and specifically in the freeskiers and snowboarders who have qualified for Rev Tour contests in the coming weeks.

“I’m just really excited for the future,” Goggin said. “We believe in long-term athletic development, and seeing that unfold through many years with hard work as well as rest. This has been exciting to take part in. It’s not one day, or competition that matters, but progress over many years.”



That group of Rev Tour qualifiers includes freeskiers Alex Thisted and Daniel Hough. Goggin said Hough’s skiing has been notable for the consistent amplitude he’s executed with visually astounding tricks above the halfpipe while Thisted has skied very consistently and hungry in slopestyle.

“She matches the intensity of each course and walks away with podiums from every single competition.” Goggin said.



Thisted, who skis in the 13-14 age division, finished in second place at the Jan. 27 Futures Tour in Park City, earning her the top national ranking in the discipline for her age. Thisted executed a switch (riding backward) 540-degree spin and a 270-degree spin rotating backside on rails bigger than any she’d ever hit before. Thisted said she’s particularly proud of how her grabs have improved this season.

Hough, who skis in the 15-16 age group, finished in fifth place at Futures Tour halfpipe finals on Jan. 28. He’s a part of a strong group of halfpipe skiers Bechtel said is showing Team Summit can have as much success in the pipe as they do on the slopestyle course.

Team Summit’s freeski Rev Tour qualifiers for next week’s competition in Aspen also include Sergei Hough, Stone Karnacewicz and David Schlicht. On the snowboard side, Ellie Weiler, Alina Cospolich and Alyssa Moroco are also heading to Aspen. Team Summit is still waiting to hear if Caleb Dhawornvej and Alex Strachan will join their teammates. Dhawornvej, who competes in the 13-14 age division, is currently ranked first in his group in the the nation.

The elder snowboarder of the bunch at 18 years old, Weiler’s success this season means a lot to her. She hadn’t competed since her strong finish at 2019 USASA Nationals due to a torn ACL last season. In her first contest back at the USASA Rocky Mountain Series slopestyle event in difficult conditions in Winter Park, Weiler won thanks to a run that featured a big frontside lipslide and a tucknee wildcat flip, among other tricks.

“It’s just another level of nervousness and adrenaline when the bib is on, so I was happy to land a run,” Weiler said.

Rounding out Team Summit’s freestyle athletes, Walker Robinson is the top-ranked skier cross male in the 13-14 age division nationally and has a pair of first-place finishes this season.

Team Summit’s mogul program has had five skiers qualify via U.S. Selections at Winter Park to compete at the NorAm level: Jackson True, Colin Hassel, Evelyn Harris, Nicole Caves and Roxy Patnode.

The 16-year-old Harris, who has won two out of three Rocky Mountain Freestyle competitions this year, said Friday’s divisional championship second place for her at Copper Mountain Resort has been the highlight of her season thus far. Harris executed a backflip with a truck-driver grab — grabbing her skis out in front — on one jump before stomping her favorite trick, a back X — backflip while crossing skis — on the bottom air. The performance has Harris especially excited for junior nationals in Park City in a couple of weeks.

“It was the best run I’ve ever skied,” Harris said.

In Team Summit’s Alpine ski program, Alpine Director Aldo Radamus highlighted Camden Palmquist’s selection to compete in Europe later this winter as part of a U.S. Ski Team development group.

The opportunity comes at a crucial time in Palmquist’s career, as the 17-year-old achieved a career-best performance by winning the 60-plus skier Murphy Roberts Holiday Classic men’s slalom Friday night at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs.

Bechtel said the U.S. Ski Team group Palmquist was selected to join in Europe for a 3-week competition swing includes only six kids who aren’t already on the team. Palmquist is one of them and will get the chance to race in Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Italy.

“I’ll go over there and not only get a new race environment, but get more comfortable racing in that different race environment,” Palmquist said.

Other top Alpine performers for Team Summit thus far this season include U-16 skiers Ella Snyder, Stella Buchheister, Kai Boyer and Stan Buzek who reached the podium in slalom at a qualifier for the Rocky Central Regional Championships. At the U-14 level, Jevyn Palmquist has won seven out of the eight tech — slalom and giant slalom combined — races he’s competed in this year. In those same events, Seth Montgomery has taken second eight out of eight times.

At Super-G races at Ski Cooper Feb. 4-5, U-12 skier Aaron Green won two Super-Gs while Trevor Palmquist took second.


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