AVSC athletes come up big for USASA Nationals in Copper

It was a good time to be an Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club athlete last week as the team dominated the 2024 USA Snowboard and Freeski Association National Championships at Copper Mountain.

15-year-old Hunter Maytin won the FIS Open division of the halfpipe competition with a score of 92.75 for his final run. Also for the halfpipe, AVSC’s Hanna Lamm placed fourth with Owen Nelson taking seventh.

Maytin’s teammate and former defending halfpipe champion 19-year-old Nick Geiser earned a 91 score and second place. Geiser would also take third place in slopestyle.

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For the junior men halfpipe (ages 17-18) Nico Savi took first place followed by another first place for Ryder Hutchinson in the youth men halfpipe (ages 15-16). Caleb Gordon took home second place for the breaker halfpipe (ages 13-14), with Dax Hilleke earning third place for the youth halfpipe.

For menehune slopestyle (ages 11-12), Boti Bartha came in first place followed by a third place ranking in the menehune halfpipe, as well as 15th place in menehune rail jam. Xander Souki took third in the grommet slopestyle (ages 9-10). Overall, Souki placed in the top 10 in three events, with a ninth in halfpipe and seventh in rail jam. 

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On the girls side, Adelay Strugatskiy earned third place in the under-10 ski cross, as well as fifth place for ruggie girls halfpipe (ages 7-8), sixth place for slopestyle and seventh for rail jam. 

When all was said and done, AVSC walked away with a total of 11 medals and four national champions, (Hunter, Nico, Ryder, Boti). Out of the 22 athletes to compete, the team celebrated 24 top-10 finishes.