Jack Young is one of the strongest sprinters in the U.S., but his success didn’t happen overnight; in fact, it didn’t happen for years. In high school, he traded in the baseball glove and the football pads to chase something out of the ordinary – cross country ski racing. Fast-forward, the former football QB turned five-time Vermont state cross country ski champ, and the first-ever Colby College skier to be named to the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, is now one of the fastest sprinters in the country. He was named to the Stifel. U.S. Cross Country Ski Team through a non-traditional route, and it was never if he was going to make an impact on the U.S. cross country scene; it was a matter of when. 

Now, Young has represented his country at the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, Norway, consistently qualified for FIS World Cup sprint heats and placed in the top 30 in the world more than once; one would assume that Young made the right decision by choosing skiing all those years ago. Representing the Craftsbury Green Racing Project out of Vermont, and starting his second year on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, Young is looking to accomplish a goal any athlete in the world dreams of – making Team USA and representing his country at the Olympic Winter Games. But for Young, it’s all about the moments that got him here, the people who inspired him, like his sister Callie Young, and the unconventional journey that led him to compete at the highest level of the sport. 

Young is the latest athlete featured in U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s “On the Rise” series, presented by Zions Bank. Through community service, sponsorships and charitable donations, Zions Bank is committed to fueling economic growth and enhancing the quality of life in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.

What initially drew you to the sport?
I was drawn to the sport initially through a BKL (Bill Koch League) in Newport, VT, close to my hometown of Jay, VT. This is where my mom first took my older sister and I to learn how to cross country ski. I immediately loved the individual competition — especially in shorter races. 

When you were younger and getting into the sport, what were your goals? 
When I was younger, my goals were mostly about having fun and improving. I played all of the sports when I was a kid, so skiing wasn't the most important part of my life. In other words, I wasn't expecting to be the best then. I wanted to have fun competing and get a little better every year. 

What is your biggest accomplishment?
My biggest accomplishment in my skiing career is qualifying for heats in all seven world cup and World Championship skate sprints last winter. Since it was my first time going to Europe and by far the longest time I'd been on the road, I wasn't expecting to be so consistently successful. I'm always aiming for consistency, so that string of top 30s in my mind is more impressive than any single, better result I had last year. 

What is your ultimate goal? 
My ultimate goal is to unlock my genetic potential fully. There will be countless results goals along the way that I measure year-to-year, but when I retire from this sport, I want to feel like I have left no stone unturned. I want to do everything in my power to compete at the highest level possible.

Who are your heroes? Both in & out of the sport.
My heroes are David Ortiz, Tom Brady, and my older sister, Callie Young. Ortiz is my favorite athlete of all time because of how clutch he was in important situations. He handled pressure better than almost any athlete ever, which allowed him to lead the redsox to multiple World Series championships in my lifetime. Brady is one of my heroes because of his consistency and longevity. He is a poster child for doing everything in his power to consistently perform much longer into life than most other professional athletes. Callie is my ultimate hero because she has always been my role model. When we were younger, she always competed at a higher level than I did in skiing. Her work ethic back in those days inspired me to get better. I certainly wouldn't be where I am today without her as my number one childhood training partner. 

You win $5,000 in prize money: What do you do with it?
I will likely throw most of it in my retirement fund. However, I also want to get a nice espresso machine. So $5,000 minus an espresso machine would go into my retirement account. 

Do you budget or follow any structure related to spending?
I do... somewhat. It's very important in this line of work because of how unsteady and unreliable the income is. However, I could do a better job of this.

What’s one money habit you follow?
I always make sure to set aside a portion of my taxable income for retirement. Sometimes its more than other times, but every bit counts.

Follow Jack on Instagram and follow along through his 2025-26 season. 

Next week, the best up-and-coming moguls skiers will flock to Winter Park, Colorado, for U.S. Freestyle Selections, hoping to earn start positions at domestic moguls World Cups. 

The event begins on Friday, Dec. 12, with the women’s moguls competition, followed by men’s moguls on the 13th and dual moguls on the 14th. The full competition schedule is available on FIS and is subject to change. There are 130 athletes scheduled to compete, representing seven countries, including Stifel U.S. Ski Team member Abby McLarnon, who is in her rookie season with the team. 

On-Site Spectating

Spectators are encouraged to join and can walk to the course via a designated roped-off lane from Balcony House. The closest free on-site parking is in the North Bench Lot, though can fill up early. Free parking is also available in the Vintage Lot, a short cabriolet lift ride from the base. There is accessible parking in the Moffat Lot. Additionally, you can enjoy paid covered parking at the base ($50 a day on Saturday / Sunday, $40 Monday-Friday, and $20 for half-day parking starting at 12pm).

Virtual Viewing

For those who can’t make it in person, the event will be streamed on Twitch, and will be on the monitors of the Balcony House lodge.

Daily Schedule

Women’s Moguls | Dec. 12
Men’s Moguls | Dec. 13
Dual Moguls | Dec. 14

Mikaela Shiffrin of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team pulled off yet another home win over Thanksgiving weekend, this time at Copper Mountain, Colorado at the Stifel Copper Cup presented by United Airlines. Just 30 minutes away from her home in Edwards and in front of thousands of screaming fans, Shiffrin took her 104th World Cup win by more than 1.5 seconds. Paula Moltzan finished in eighth place. 

It was Shiffrin’s 67th slalom win, and her fourth straight slalom race—having won in Sun Valley at the 2025 Stifel Sun Valley Finals in March, then Levi, Finland and Gurgl, Austria. Out of the 17 domestic slalom World Cup races that Shiffrin has competed in since 2011, she has won 12 of them. 

“With the home crowd, there's some extra pressure that comes with it. But I'm also trying to enjoy myself,” said Shiffrin. “Every race is a different new mentality and a new way to practice and I think the best thing that I can do is just get the exposure and keep working on it. It all came together today.”

The course was exhausting with two, nearly minute-long slalom runs at more than 10,000 feet above sea level. Plus, the women had shipped over from Europe, with only a few days to adjust to the altitude and the Rocky Mountain time zone. 

“It was really challenging because of the fatigue from traveling on Monday, arriving at midnight, training this week,” said Shiffrin. “And all the excitement around a home race and racing GS yesterday. It’s the first double race series of the weekend of the season and then a really long slalom course. It was all of these factors, but my skiing on the second run was so much fun.”

Moltzan also nailed a top 10—an impressive feat given a hard fall she took in Saturday’s giant slalom race. Battling a swollen elbow and an aching neck, she skied to eighth place with the fourth-fastest second run, and was pleased with her result. 

“I have some whiplash from hitting that gate pretty hard,” said Moltzan, who considered not racing in the slalom. “I think when I crashed yesterday, I was like, there's no chance. And then as the day progressed, I was like, you know what? I've raced in a lot more pain than this, so I'll be fine.”

Nina O’Brien also qualified for a second run, finishing 26th. She was pleased to take home some World Cup points and race just a couple of hours from her home in Denver. 

Annika Hunt and Kjersti Moritz did not qualify for a second run. Elisabeth Bocock and Liv Moritz were well on their way to qualify for second runs with very fast first runs, but both had trouble right near the finish line and DNFed.  

Behind Shiffrin, Lena Duerr of Germany took second place and Lara Colturi of Albania third. Duerr also won the Stifel HERoic Cup—a $10,000 prize for the top woman between all U.S. World Cups, provided by Stifel Financial. Between Duerr’s sixth-place finish in the Stifel Copper Cup giant slalom and second place in the slalom, she beat Shiffrin by just two points. Lara Gut Behrami won the 2024-25 Stifel HERoic Cup, having accumulated the most World Cup points between Killington, Beaver Creek and Sun Valley. 

Copper Mountain was an excellent host of their first World Cup in 24 years, running four seamless back-to-back races, bib draws, concerts and more to thrill the packed U.S. crowd. The Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes signed autographs and posed for pictures for hours, making sure they inspired every kid watching the race. The men are expected to be back at Copper in 2026, with the women likely returning to Killington, pending FIS calendar confirmation. 

Next in the 2025-26 season, the women head to Tremblant, Canada, for a pair of tech races. But first? “The best celebration would be to go home, maybe watch a movie tonight with my family. I think Aleks is going to be able to hang out for a bit,” said Shiffrin. “Just like some hot tea and a burger.”

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

Jessie Diggins delivered one of the standout performances of the weekend in Ruka, charging to second place in the women’s 20k skate mass start, her 80th World Cup podium, and reminded the world why she’s the reigning overall World Cup champion.

From the opening kilometer, the race took shape, with Sweden’s Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson leading, along with Norway’s Heidi Weng in the chase. Diggins had to hold on from the get-go. 

Diggins—last year’s winner of this race—tucked in right behind the Norwegians and Swedish women. Maximizing every downhill with her trademark tuck skate, staying calm, patient and perfectly positioned. As Kikkan Randall mentioned in the commentary of the race, a 20k is all about energy management, and Diggins executed that strategy from the start, until the last kilometer.

At halfway, around 10k, she sat just five seconds off the lead, the lone non-European surrounded by a sea of Swedish and Norwegian red and blue. Karlsson and Andersson continued to trade pulls at the front, with teammate Jonna Sundling sitting in third, but Diggins held her ground as the pace continued to rise.

With about 15k skied, Diggins remained only a few seconds back, with many wondering if she had it in her to make it to the front. Karlsson then launched an acceleration on the final lap, looking to outpace her teammates and string out the lead pack. Diggins visibly dug deep—at one point literally pounding her legs with her hands on the final downhill—before setting up one final push of her own.

And on the final Ruka climb, Diggins delivered the move she’s known for. She surged past Karlsson on the outside, almost getting caught in the netting, with a perfectly timed attack and skied over the top. Though it wasn't enough to catch Sweden's Sundling, who took the win, Diggins claimed her first World Cup podium of the season, her 80th of her career, and set the tone for what's to come. Norway's Heidi Weng finished third.

For the men, it was all about Zak Ketterson. With frozen, lightning-fast tracks, the men covered the 20k course in just 44 minutes. The conditions created a high-speed, tactical race—and two Americans were right in the mix.

Ketterson and Gus Schumacher skied confidently near the front from the early laps, consistently positioning themselves in the lead train. With about 2k to go, Schumacher suffered an unfortunate crash after skiing on a broken ski for a few kilometers after a tangle with another racer. Though he was back on his feet quickly, the burst of momentum was gone and he lost critical spots in the tightly packed group. For Ketterson, it was all about staying calm and ensuring that he was keeping his momentum up to the finish line. 

"I have had a ton of mass start races, both on World Cup and elsewhere, where I just was frantic and wasting energy for large parts of the race," said Ketterson, when asked about the importance of pacing. "That meant I’d always reach the critical stage at the end of the race with no energy left. I think I’m finally learning to be calmer and spend energy more efficiently."

Ketterson carried his form from his career-best World Cup finish two days earlier in the 10k classic. He held strong through the final lap and powered across the line in ninth—his first individual World Cup top-10 finish and another breakthrough moment in what is shaping up to be a standout season. Norway's Harald Oestberg Amundsen was first, Einar Hedegard was second and Sweden's Edvin Anger was third. 

"It feels amazing. My previous career best was from the end of the 2021-22 season, and I wasn’t able to come close to it for the next three seasons," said Ketterson. "It really wore at my confidence and self belief that it wasn’t able to beat that mark despite working my butt off year-after-year. To feel now that I finally got rewarded for years of hard work is the best feeling an athlete can ever feel."

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team had several athletes on course today, with Alayna Sonnesyn skiing to a top-30 result in 27th, Sophia Laukli  39th, Kendall Kramer 45th, Julia Kern 54th and Kate Oldham 62nd. For the men, Schumacher was 39th, Kevin Bolger 44th, John Steel Hagenbuch 45th, Zanden McMullen 57th, JC Schoonmaker 62nd and Luke Jager 64th. 

Now, the team heads to the site of the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, Norway for a set of three races next weekend. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

Nina O’Brien led the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women in the giant slalom at the Stifel Copper Cup presented by United, taking 11th place. Mikaela Shiffrin was 14th. 

Snow fell overnight at Copper—a welcome sight in the dry west—but caused a short delay in the start. However, the sun came out by first run and the course crew slipped the new snow off to unearth a perfect track. 

First run proved challenging for the U.S. women, who battled the light coming in and out and a long, leg-burning course at nearly 11,000 feet above sea level. After first run, O’Brien sat in 13th, Paula Moltzan 16th and Shiffrin 18th – and all felt they had more to give. 

“It’s those conditions where it’s easy to feel so good, but if you push too hard, it’s also not really fast,” said Shiffrin. “You have to really find the perfect balance. I felt really good though, so we’re going to go back and analyze it and see what to do better.” 

With the delay of race from the morning, the track was dark at the 1:30pm MT second run start time. Shiffrin raced first for the U.S. women and was pleased with her result.

“It’s really difficult to be really fast consistently for the whole run,” said Shiffrin. “I was able to execute like 90 percent of the run, so I'm psyched because it's hard to change your mentality between the first and second run of a race. To actually really put that into play and execute it, I feel like I was able to do that for the most part and that's a great direction for the coming races.”

O’Brien, who was also celebrating her 28th birthday, dialed up the aggressiveness on her second run, which bumped her up to 11th place overall. “I was really trying to go for it. You can see how aggressive everyone is skiing,” said O’Brien. “I'm not completely satisfied because I feel like I could have cleaned it up a little bit further, but I'm proud of the effort and it's a real pleasure to be racing here at home.” 

Molzan also turned up the aggression, but put her head through a gate panel and crashed out of the course. She DNFed but is OK. 

Keely Cashman and Tricia Mangan started at the Stifel Copper Cup, but did not qualify for a second run. Elisabeth Bocock was skiing fast first run, but crashed on the pitch. She is OK. 

Alice Robinson of New Zealand took the win by nearly a second. Julia Scheib of Austria was second and Thea Louise Stjernesund of Norway third.  

While it wasn’t the results the Stifel U.S. Ski Team women were hoping for, they were thrilled to be racing in front of the home crowd. 

“I've done a lot of World Cup races in Colorado and I've never seen this many people,” said Shiffrin, who hails from Edwards – just a short drive away from Copper. “It's really exciting to see so many people. There's so much enthusiasm. It's just amazing to be home and to have this kind of turnout for the World Cup.”

“I feel so lucky; my whole family's here,” said O’Brien, who lives in Denver. “I got to spend Thanksgiving with them. It happens to be my birthday too, so I'm feeling lots of love from everyone and hopefully everyone watching had a good time too.”

The women race slalom on Sunday to close out the weekend.

RESULTS
Women’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH

Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025
12:00 p.m. – women’s slalom, run 1 – LIVE on Outside TV (free)
1:00 p.m. – women’s giant slalom – tape delay on NBC & Peacock
2:00 p.m. – men’s giant slalom – tape delay on CNBC & Peacock
3:00 p.m. – women’s slalom, run 2 – LIVE on Outside TV (free), CNBC & Peacock

A warm, wet snowfall turned Saturday’s classic sprint in Ruka, Finland into a grind, with saturated tracks and noticeably slower qualification times than the 2024-25 season. On a day when skis mattered more than ever, athletes had to fight for every inch on one of the World Cup’s most demanding sprint courses. Jessie Diggins led the way for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, in 10th, with Ben Ogden in 12th, Rosie Brennan in 15th and Gus Schumacher in 25th. 

Ruka’s sprint track is considered a “classic” for a reason: the final climb rises the equivalent of a 10 to 12-story building—22 meters of vertical and positioning on the hill is everything. Skiing over the top cleanly to carry momentum into the long double-pole finish straight is key, and races are often decided by fractions of a second.

All eyes were on the four U.S. athletes who advanced to the heats. Rosie Brennan, who has had an unconventional and interrupted summer of training due to illness, took an important early-season step by qualifying for the sprint heats. In her quarterfinal heat, Brennan skied confidently, sitting between third and fifth throughout the course. Her tempo up the final climb matched the leaders, but despite a powerful double pole to the line, she narrowly missed advancing. Still, Brennan walked away encouraged.

“I’m really happy with today,” Brennan said after finishing 15th. “I was in a tough heat and am happy with how I skied it. Without a proper build into the season, I definitely feel I am missing some form and fitness, but doing back-to-back races was a huge win for me and each time I get to race, I am getting some good stimulus to build with moving forward.”

Jessie Diggins delivered, following the 10k classic fifth-place result the previous day. In the semifinals, Diggins lined up with a stacked field, finishing fifth in the heat, just outside of the top two that automatically advance to the finals, and wrapped up the day in 10th overall—an impressive start to her classic sprint season.

On the men’s side, Ben Ogden showed his "Benny Shuffle" in real time and advanced through to the semifinals before his day was cut short. However, a top-15 result is a positive metric this early in the season. 

"Definitely happy with today on the whole," said Ben Ogden. "I thought the qualifier wasn’t the best, but I felt good in the heats -- it was definitely a tricky quarterfinal to get through. And it's only the first week on the snow, so too early to know how I'm feeling, but good to be racing again."

Gus Schumacher also landed in the top 30, placing 25th and adding another World Cup points-scoring race to his resume. 

“Feeling pretty good after qualifying in classic for sure!” Schumacher said. “Definitely a tough ski weekend to start with near-freezing conditions and precipitation… made yesterday fairly rough, but my body feels strong. Excited for tomorrow! That race has been pretty good to me in the past. I think if I can stay relaxed and near the front I can compete up there with the leaders. We’ll see!”

The dominant Norwegians led the podiums of the day. For the men, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo claimed his 99th individual World Cup victory, with teammates Erik Valnes in second and Ansgaar Evensen in third. Kristine Stavaas Skistad took home another sprint victory, with Sweden's Jonna Sundling in second and Maja Dahlqvist in third. 

For the rest of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, Julia Kern was 41st, Kate Oldham 47th, Alayna Sonnesyn 50th and Erin Bianco 51st. For the men, Kevin Bolger was 35th, Jack Young 39th, Zak Ketterson 53rd, and JC Schoonmaker was 65th.  

With two race days now complete, the World Cup field will take to the start line one more time in Ruka on Sunday for the 20k skate, a race historically strong for several U.S. athletes.

Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live, with men kicking things off at 4:00 a.m. ET and women at 5:45 a.m. ET.

RESULTS
Women
Men

Troy Podmilsak of the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team brought home his first World Cup victory on Nov. 28 in Secret Garden, China, the venue that played host to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Although Podmilsak was the 2023 big air world champion, he still lacked a World Cup victory in his trophy cabinet — that has now changed. 

Podmilsak impressed the judges in a challenging field, finishing the day with a 185.50 across his two scored runs. Troy showed off his right triple 2160 with a mute grab, the trick he premiered at the 2023 World Champs. Alongside the 21, Podmilsak threw a switch right triple 1980 with a safety grab. He was joined on the podium by Canada's Dylan Deschamps in second and New Zealand's Luca Harrington in third.

Mac Forehand, the only other American man to progress through to the finals, finished right off the podium in fourth. Forehand impressed the judges with his switch left triple 1980 with a mute grab, but couldn't clean up his second trick enough for a podium finish.

Konnor Ralph just missed the finals, finishing 11th overall. Hunter Henderson finished 21st, Cody Laplante 27th and Keagan Supple 54th.

On the women's side, Marin Hamill finished 13th and Grace Henderson 23rd. Neither American woman qualified for finals. Great Britain's Kirsty Muir brought home the win, joined by Canada's Naomi Urness in second and China's Mengting Liu in third.

The Stifel U.S. Freeski Team will continue their residency in China with the Beijing Big Air next week and Secret Garden Halfpipe in two weeks.

RESULTS
Women
Men

Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athletes Lily Dhawornvej and Brooklyn DePriest joined American Judd Henkes in the first World Cup final of the 2025–26 snowboard big air season in Secret Garden, China.

The riders battled windy conditions and a worn-down jump left over from the rescheduled freeski finals earlier in the day but the Americans held strong and delivered an impressive performance to kick off the season.

In her first two jumps, Dhawornvej attempted to put down the same trick she stomped in qualifications — a back-10 drunk driver — but was unable to stick the landing and washed out on both attempts. An under-rotated front-10 drunk driver on her final run ended her chances of a podium finish, but the up-and-comer walked away with invaluable experience heading into a crucial 2025–26 season.

Japan swept the women’s podium with Mari Fukada taking first place, Reira Iwabuchi second and Miyabi Onitsuka third.

In his first World Cup finals appearance, Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team rider Brooklyn DePriest washed out on his first jump but bounced back with a massive switch back triple 19 mute on his second attempt to keep himself in contention. With the pressure on, DePriest dropped in for his third and final run and delivered — a clean back-18 melon that put him in third place just ahead of fellow American Judd Henkes.

After landing a competition-first front-butter 1440 in qualifications, Henkes looked to make another statement on the World Cup stage. His first jump — a front-1 nose butter to switch back-12 melon — earned a score of 79.00 and placed him in second but his next two runs, a hardway cab-12 indy and a cab-9 off the toes, while incredibly stylish, were not enough to keep pace with China’s Yiming Su and Chunyu Ge.

Japan’s Ryoma Kimata joined the hometown heroes to round out the men’s top three. DePriest finished the day in fifth — a major leap from his previous World Cup best of 24th — and Henkes took sixth.

The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team remains in China for another round of big air competition in Beijing next weekend, Dec. 5–6.

Results
Women
Men