River Radamus and Other Young Talent Leap Up the Ranks of the U.S. Ski Team After Banner Performances in 2022

With the 2022 alpine racing season ending just a few short weeks ago, America’s top ski racers are already looking toward next winter as the U.S. Ski Team this week announced its alpine nominations for the 2022-23 season.

The team saw big cutbacks in size after the 2014 and 2018 Olympics, but coming off of the 2022 Beijing Games, this year’s roster of 42 athletes is only two fewer than last season. World Junior Championships results look to have factored into several decisions as well, with a handful of young athletes making big jumps up to the more elite levels of the team.

Reigning World Cup overall champion Mikaela Shiffrin and Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle are the marquee names on the A Team for next season. Shiffrin is joined on the A Team by Breezy Johnson, Nina O’Brien, and Paula Moltzan.

After a tough Olympics in February where the superstar did not bring home a medal, Shiffrin rebounded to capture her fourth overall title at the World Cup Finals in March.

“This season [was] one of the most confusing seasons I ever did,” she said after securing the globe. “I felt motivation, I felt triumph and really good moments, but I also had some tough moments.”

Related: The commentary around Mikaela Shiffrin has turned toxic

Johnson was on a tear in World Cup Downhill heading into the Games, with three straight second-place finishes, but suffered a season-ending knee injury days before she was set to fly to China. Now on the road to recovery, Johnson will be a name to watch once again next winter.

Read more: Breezy Johnson on the future of the U.S. Ski Team

Joining the men’s elite team for next season is River Radamus. The youngest men’s A Team athlete by six years, Radamus turned heads at the 2022 Beijing Olympics not only with his zebra-inspired hairstyle, but also with his hard-charging skiing that saw him finish just shy of a medal in fourth place in the giant slalom.

Although Radamus’ jump to the A Team is impressive, the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail alum has been a name to watch ever since he burst onto the international scene with a triple gold medal performance at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games. He’s enjoyed a steady ascension through the GS ranks on the World Cup since then. Radamus finished last season ranked 15th in the world in GS, good enough to secure a spot on the A Team alongside World Cup winners Steven Nyman, Travis Ganong, Bryce Bennett, and Tommy Ford.

Several young athletes also made the jump up to the U.S. Ski Team’s B Team for next winter. Ava Sunshine Jemison, Lauren Macuga, Allie Resnick, and Alix Wilkinson all made the cut for the women.

Jemison took home a super-G silver medal at last season’s World Junior Championships, and Macuga captured bronze in the downhill. Resnick is the reigning 2022 NorAm GS champion. That title guarantees her a start in every World Cup GS next season and the Vail native is currently ranked 53rd in the world in slalom and 76th in GS. Wilkinson scored her first World Cup points in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany last winter and also made her Olympic debut in Beijing, although she did not finish either race she started.

Isaiah Nelson leapt up to the B Team for the men on the back of a gold medal super-G performance at the World Junior Championships. Though his speciality is currently super-G, Nelsson is a solid all-around skier and expected to hold his own in multiple disciplines next season.

Other notable names nominated to next season’s team include two-time Olympians Jared Goldberg and Jacqueline Wiles, as well as World Cup slalom standout Luke Winters.

Check out the entire roster of the 2022-23 U.S. Ski Team team below:

(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A TEAM

Women

• Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho; Rowmark Ski Academy; 1/19/1996)
• Paula Moltzan (Prior Lake, Minn.; Buck Hill Ski Team/Ski and Snowboard Club Vail and University of Vermont; 4/7/1994)
• Nina O’Brien (Edwards, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy/Team Palisades Tahoe; 11/29/1997)
• Mikaela Shiffrin (Edwards, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 3/13/1995)

Men

• Bryce Bennett (Olympic Valley, Calif.; Team Palisades Tahoe; 7/14/1992)
• Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.; Cochran’s/Mount Mansfield Ski & Snowboard Club; 3/27/1992
• Tommy Ford (Bend, OR; Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation; 3/20/1989)
• Travis Ganong (Olympic Valley, Calif.; Team Palisades Tahoe; 7/14/1988)
• Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah; Park City Ski and Snowboard/Sundance Ski Team; 2/12/1982)
• River Radamus (Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 2/12/1998)

B TEAM

Women

• Keely Cashman (Strawberry, Calif.; Team Palisades Tahoe; 4/4/1999)
• AJ Hurt (Carnelian Bay, Calif.; Team Palisades Tahoe; 12/5/2000)
• Ava Sunshine Jemison (Edwards, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy; 6/20/2002)
• Lauren Macuga (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 7/4/2002)
• Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.; Attitash Race Team/Stratton Mountain School; 10/5/1996)
• Allie Resnick (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 9/1/2001)
• Jacqueline Wiles (Aurora, Ore.; White Pass Ski Club; 7/13/1992)
• Alix Wilkinson (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Team Palisades Tahoe; 8/2/2000)
• Isabella Wright (Salt Lake City, UT; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation; 2/10/1997)

Men

• Erik Arvidsson (Woodside, CA; Team Palisades Tahoe and Middlebury College; 9/3/1996)
• Bridger Gile (Aspen, Colo., Aspen Valley Ski Club/Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/15/1999)
• Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah; Snowbird Sports Education Foundation; 6/15/1991)
• Kyle Negomir (Littleton, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 10/3/1998)
• Isaiah Nelson (Wayzata, MN.; Buck Hill Ski Racing Club; 4/3/2001)
• Ben Ritchie (Waitsfield, VT; Green Mountain Valley School; 9/5/2000)
• Jett Seymour (Steamboat, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and University of Denver Ski Team; 11/5/1998)
• Luke Winters (Gresham, Ore.; Sugar Bowl Academy; 4/2/1997)

C TEAM

Women

• Katie Hensien (Redmond, Wash.; Rowmark Ski Academy; 12/1/1999)
• Zoe Zimmermann (Gilford, N.H.; Burke Mountain Academy; 5/16/2002)

Men

• Camden Palmquist (Eagan, Minn.; Team Summit Colorado; 4/15/2003)
• Jay Poulter (Bondville, Vt.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club/Stratton Mountain School; 7/1/2003)
• Cooper Puckett (Steamboat, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 3/31/2003)

D TEAM

Women

• Elisabeth Bocock (Salt Lake City, UT; Rowmark Ski Academy; 9/3/2005)*
• Mary Bocock (Salt Lake City, UT; Rowmark Ski Academy; 10/3/2003)
• Kaitlin Keane (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 11/26/2004)*
• Storm Klomhaus (Boulder, Colo.; Team X Alpine and University of Denver Ski Team; 7/17/1998)
• Kjersti Moritz (Edwards, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 11/28/2004)*
• Emma Resnick (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 7/23/2003)
• Dasha Romanov (Thornton, Colo.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 5/3/2003)

Men

• Justin Bigatel (Park City, UT; Burke Mountain Academy; 4/29/2003)
• Ryder Sarchett (Ketchum, ID; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 7/28/2003)
• Jack Smith (Sun Valley, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 4/24/2001)

*Newly named to the U.S. Ski Team