Four Steamboat Skiers Named to U.S. Freestyle Team

Steamboat Springs —The wind off the Continental Divide carries a bite that settles deep in the lungs, a familiar chill for anyone who has spent a winter watching the snowplows carve paths through the streets of Steamboat Springs. It’s a quiet kind of cold, the kind that makes the breath visible and the air crisp against the skin, a sensory reminder of the altitude and the season.

In this landscape of powder and pine, four skiers with roots in the Steamboat community have been named to the United States Freestyle Ski Team, a roster released by U.S. Ski and Snowboard that spans moguls and aerials disciplines. The selection highlights a generation of athletes who have grown up on these slopes and are now representing the nation on the global stage.

Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio were named to the Women’s Moguls A Team, while Abby McLarnon joined the Women’s Moguls B Team. On the men’s side, Landon Wendler was selected for the Men’s Moguls B Team. Each of these athletes brings a distinct history of achievement to the squad. Kauf, Giaccio, and Wendler all competed in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games, bringing recent international experience to the group. Giaccio’s standing is particularly notable; she was the Overall Crystal Globe winner last season, a title that marks her as the top-ranked World Cup skier based on overall points. Her consistency is matched by her competitive edge, having secured four individual World Cup wins and finishing as high as second at the U.S. Championships.

Kauf’s resume is equally dense with accolades. She captured silver medals in both moguls and dual moguls at the Milan-Cortina Games, adding to a collection that includes a silver from Beijing 2022. In 2025, she claimed the World Championship in dual moguls at St. Moritz, Switzerland, and dominated the World Cup circuit, winning titles in dual moguls, moguls, and the overall standings. She is also a seven-time U.S. Champion, a record that underscores her longevity and dominance within the country.

McLarnon, the youngest of the group, has already made her mark on the junior circuit. She placed third in dual moguls at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea, and continued that momentum at the 2025 Junior World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where she finished third in dual moguls and fourth in the discipline again. At the 2025 U.S. Championships in Palisades-Tahoe, California, she secured third place in both moguls and dual moguls, proving her ability to compete at the senior level.

Wendler’s path has been defined by close finishes and steady improvement. He reached as high as second on the World Cup Circuit, achieving that result at Nanto-Toyama, Japan, during the previous season. His Olympic results in Milan-Cortina saw him finish 17th in moguls and 26th in dual moguls, but his domestic success tells a different story. He was third in both moguls and dual moguls at the 2023 U.S. Championships in Waterville, New Hampshire. On the NorAm Circuit, he found his stride earlier, taking first in dual moguls at Val St. Come, Canada, in 2022, and winning the moguls event at Killington, Vermont, in 2020.

Matt Gnoza, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Freestyle Sport Director, framed the team’s goals around the momentum gained from the Olympics. “At the Olympics, we took home four of the six available medals in women’s moguls and the gold in the aerials team event,” Gnoza said. “This season, our focus is on building on that momentum and continuing to raise the performance level across the entire program. We see a real opportunity for growth on both the men’s moguls and men’s aerials sides, and with new staff and athletes stepping into expanded roles, I’m excited about the depth, energy and potential of this team.”

The road ahead is long and demanding. The moguls season begins on December 12 in Ruka, Finland, setting the tone for a year of travel and competition. For fans in the valley, there are two opportunities to watch these athletes race stateside: one stop in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, and another in Deer Valley, Utah. The pinnacle of the calendar, however, lies in Europe. The World Championships are scheduled for March 6–21 in Montafon, Austria, a destination that will test the endurance and skill of every member of this team. As the first flakes begin to fall on the peaks above Steamboat, the anticipation grows, carried on the same cold wind that defines this place.