UC San Diego showed up strong for our first race weekend, bringing home 16 of the 48 medals up for grabs, including 7 golds! It felt like spring this past MLK weekend, with temps in the 40s and not a cloud in sight—perfect conditions for a race.

We kicked off the weekend with Slopestyle, where the China Peak park crew curated a 2-jib, 2-jump course for us. Rails were slid, jumps were spun, and UCSD showed out. Our very own Lorenzo Machicao took first place in Men’s Snowboard, and Ben Scheerger secured third in Men’s Ski. On the women's side, Adelka Hancova landed second place, and Stella Neuschul took third in Female Ski Slopestyle.

The team got an early start, warming up on fresh groomers before tackling the Giant Slalom event. The snow was fast, and our athletes were absolutely flying down the course! In a huge performance, Ivan Ijzerman took first for Men’s Alpine Ski, and Jordan Flood claimed first for the Women’s Alpine Ski. Later in the day, our female snowboarders hit the slalom course, where Izzy de la Cruz and Elli Gaver secured second and third place, respectively.

To close out the day, the team headed back to the main lodge for Rail Jam. Our park crew showed up big, with Lorenzo taking first for Men’s Snowboard and Owen Burns claiming first for Men’s Ski. On the women’s side, Adelka grabbed third for Ski, while Elli took third for Snowboard.

Sunday saw our alpine athletes back on the hill for Skier Slalom and Snowboard GS. In an incredible display of dominance, Jordan Flood and Ivan Ijzerman both secured first-place victories once again in their respective slalom races. We also saw another skier join the podium, with Lancia Carson taking third in the event. On the snowboard side, Izzy de la Cruz capped off the weekend with a third-place finish in GS.

With our first competition wrapped up, the team is off to an incredible start with a monster performance. We are beyond proud of all our athletes—both returning podium finishers and first-year racers making their competition debuts! As we continue to grow together, both competitively and as teammates, we can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store. A huge shoutout to everyone who competed, and we’ll see you at Bear Valley!