Freestyle

Kariotis and Cota Finish Fourth in Moscow

by
USSA
2016-03-05 12:03
 

MOSCOW, Russia (March. 5, 2016) – The U.S. mogul skiers closed out the season with strong performances in the dual moguls World Cup finals. Jeremy Cota (Carabassett Valley, ME) and Ali Kariotis (Tiburon, CA) led the U.S. team with a pair of fourth place finishes. Dylan Walczyk (Rochester, NY) and Brad Wilson (Butte, MT) also finished in the top 10.

The competition in Moscow was the first of its kind, taking place in a city and on scaffolding. With a wet and warm competition day, the course in Moscow was slushy and fast. Skiers were averaging a run time of 12 seconds. Kariotis was one of the fastest on the women’s side, winning all of her duals at the line and earning her best World Cup finish to date.

“This course was definitely a hero’s course,” stated Kariotis. “It was very flat with big jumps, so it was kind of an air show. It really came down to who was willing to go the fastest and go the biggest. There weren’t a lot of limiting factors out there or big challenges. It came down to judging at the end and unfortunately that didn’t work out in my favor, but I was happy with my day.”


The scaffolding course in Moscow was the first ever in a moguls World Cup competition. (FIS)

The stacked men’s field featured big airs, fast skiing and some tight duals. Cota barely lost to Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury in quarterfinals before going on to face another Canadian, Philippe Marquis, in the small final.

“The strategy today was a little different,” said Cota. “As soon as you got out of the gate, you were going straight and trying to hang on. There were less tactics than a different course but the jumps were big and it was a good show. Competing here was great. They did a good job with it and a lot of people turned out, so it made for more exciting skiing and was a good showcase for the sport.”

France’s Perrine Laffont took the duals win for the women ahead of Canada’s Andi Naude in second and Norway’s Hedvig Vessel in third. On the men’s side, Kingsbury took home yet another win. Benjamine Cavet of France was second and Marquis third.


Jaelin Kauf celebrates her World Cup Rookie of the Year win.

After posting the top finish for the U.S. team at the World Cup in Deer Valley in February, including her first career podium, Jaelin Kauf (Steamboat Springs, CO) was named the 2016 FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup Rookie of the Year.

“This season on the World Cup has been very exciting,” said Kauf. “It’s different, but it’s really fun. I had some great finishes and some not so great finishes, but it’s a learning experience and I’m really looking forward to next year.”

The 2016 moguls overall titles were awarded to Chloe Dufour-LaPointe and Kingsbury. Matthews led the U.S. in the women’s overall season standings, finishing sixth. Walczyk led the men standing in 10th. With two globes and a handful of athletes sitting in the top 10 in the overall standings, Canada took home the Nation’s Cup. Strong performances in the latter half of the season saw the U.S. team finish second in the standings.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Ali Kariotis and Jeremy Cota posted the top finishes for the U.S. in moguls World Cup finals, both finishing just off the podium in fourth.
  • Nessa Dziemian was 11th, Mikaela Matthews 16th, Jaelin Kauf 17th and Keaton McCargo 18th.
  • Dylan Walczyk was 5th, Brad Wilson 8th, Tom Rowley 13th and Joe Discoe 19th.
  • Matthews and Walczyk were the top U.S. finishers in the overall World Cup standings, finishing sixth and 10th respectively.
  • Jaelin Kauf was named 2016 FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup Rookie of the Year.
  • The U.S. team finished second in the Nation’s Cup standings, based on the World Cup points across all of its athletes.

 

QUOTES

 Ali Kariotis
This course was definitely a hero’s course. It was very flat with big jumps, so it was kind of an air show. It really came down to who was willing to go the fastest and go the biggest. There weren’t a lot of limiting factors out there or big challenges. It was a really fun course – you could just ski fast and take as much speed as you wanted. I really enjoyed it.

I won every single dual across the line. That was a big goal of mine and I was really happy with it. It came down to judging at the end and unfortunately that didn’t work out in my favor, but I was happy with my day.

This season was so short with so few World Cups, but I think our team really started progressing at the end and I’m really excited for what we can do next year.

Jeremy Cota
The strategy today was a little different. As soon as you got out of the gate, you were going straight and trying to hang on. There were less tactics than a different course but the jumps were big and it was a good show. Competing here was great. They did a good job with it and a lot of people turned out, so it made for more exciting skiing and was a good showcase for the sport.

We have a lot of talented, salty dogs on this team. If our performances continue to improve like they have towards the latter part of this season, I think we would be one of the biggest threats next year.

Jaelin Kauf, 2016 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year
This season on the World Cup has been very exciting. It’s different, but it’s really fun. The team is awesome and I really enjoyed it a lot. I had some great finishes and some not so great finishes, but it’s a learning experience and I’m really looking forward to next year. I’m hoping next year to be most consistent with my placing and my skiing.

 

RESULTS
Men’s Dual Moguls Results
Women’s Dual Moguls Results
Men’s Moguls Overall Standings
Women’s Moguls Overall Standings
Nation’s Cup Standings

 


 


Preview the new U.S. Ski & Snowboard website.


Preview