Adam Stiefel, 19, of Peterborough, recently returned from US National Freestyle Moguls Championships which were held in Snowbird, Utah. He is a post-graduate student at Killington Mountain School in Killington, Vermont, where he attended high school for three and a half years, after doing fall and spring terms at ConVal in his freshman year. At US Nationals, Adam placed a very impressive 12th in the Qualification Rounds for Singles, which earned him a spot in the Finals; he ended up in 13th place after the Finals runs. He finished 14th in the Duals Event.
In an abbreviated and much different competition season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Killington Mountain School team has definitely had to make adjustments: no training trips abroad, a pared-down competition schedule, quarantining when needed, and constant testing for the virus. They typically train in Whistler, Canada during the summer for two-three weeks, and travel to Europe in the fall for another two-week training block; because of the pandemic, neither of these trips could happen.
Luckily, the US Ski Team was able to open the season with Freestyle Selections back in January at Winter Park, Colorado, where Adam placed 11th in both events in two days of competing, making the Final rounds each day. Freestyle Selections is held each year in the early season to determine spots for NorAm events, which are competitions held in the US and Canada; again, that obviously could not happen this year due to COVID-19.
Both Freestyle Selections and the National Freestyle Moguls Championship are highly competitive, and bring together the nation’s best mogul skiers: US Ski Team members, as well as academy athletes from all over the country like Adam and his teammates.
His personal-best results in these events were satisfying yet bittersweet, as Adam’s competitive career is coming to an end: he will be attending Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, in the fall.