Over spring break, the 5C Ski and Snowboard Team brought home two trophies from the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard National Championships that took place at Lake Placid, New York. On March 19, the women’s team placed first in slopestyle, and on March 21, the women’s team placed third overall for freeski.
The ski and snowboard team started their season by competing in the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association Southwest League. This league contains schools from Southern California, Arizona and Nevada.
Next, the team went to regionals, where they competed against Northern California schools like Berkeley and Stanford. From there, only the top three placing teams at regionals receive an invitation to nationals. Both the men’s and women’s alpine teams placed second, booking their trips to Lake Placid.
“Our women’s freestyle team always has success every year because they really push themselves and they do great,” captain Asher Wolf PZ ’28 said. “Lanie Pidwell [PZ ’27] has been doing great; she’s one of our best freestyle athletes, and she got fifth overall at nationals for freestyle. She did a backflip in big air, which is crazy.”
Team captains praised newcomers and veterans alike for their bravery in attempting new skills and, for some, even learning to ski. The team developed a culture that emphasizes pushing all of its riders to keep improving on their mountain sports journeys, regardless of experience level.
“What makes me most proud as a captain is to see how much everyone improves throughout the year,” captain Will Sedo HM ’26 said. “Skiing and snowboarding are traditionally pretty individual sports — it’s just you and the hill — but the way we were able to support each other as a team and create that positive environment is really cool to see.”
Leila Jahic SC ’28, captain-elect for the 2026-2027 season, qualified for the tournament and was a part of the winning slopestyle team. During her training, Jahic had been working on tricks like the 180, boxes and rails.
“I’ve skied a lot in my time,” Jahic said. “I used to be on a big mountain team, which is more traditional. Park style jumps and that stuff always really scared me. I spent a lot of the season learning some tricks, and some of them I didn’t really get down until nationals. Getting to do anything new for the first time at nationals was really awesome.”
As a future captain, Jahic plans to use a PVC rail to practice in the off-season. Since there won’t be much more snow to practice on, she plans to set up the PVC on Mudd Field and make it accessible to other teammates.
“Our captains [are also students], Jahic said. “It’s kind of shocking to see some of the teams you compete against, they have like four coaches and their own home mountain. We’re self-organizers.”
Because of the tight turnaround between the regionals and nationals, the team had only four days to finalize logistics for nationals. They managed tasks independently, such as renting a car and flying across the country.
The team also had to make a quick adjustment to weather conditions. Because the team practices close to campus and is well-versed in West Coast skiing conditions, which tend to be more powdery, they had to adjust to the East Coast’s icier conditions upon arriving at nationals.
“One of the things that keeps ski racing so interesting, in my mind, is that every day is a new condition on the hill,” Sedo said. “Every single day and every single hour you’re out there, it changes a little bit, and you have new conditions to have to respond to almost simultaneously as you’re racing down the hill. That’s what makes it such an intellectually interesting sport for me.”
After spending the last three seasons as a team captain, managing the challenges of running a ski team in Southern California without easy, consistent access to on-mountain training, Sedo is excited to see how the captains who follow him lead the team to even higher levels.
“I think as we grow into more of an established presence on campus, it’s going to be awesome to see what the team becomes and how that fits into the Claremont community,” Sedo said. “I’m really optimistic for the team ahead and can’t wait to see all the growth and what’s next.”
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