OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. — Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) athlete Riley Hughes overcame a moment of déjà vu and delivered a standout performance to claim the silver medal in the individual moguls event at the U.S. National Championships on March 29.
Competing at Palisades Tahoe Resort, the 17-year-old landed a strong run despite a slight hiccup on the final air jump, which brought back memories of a knee injury he suffered in a similar situation last year.
“I was in the air thinking, ‘just stay calm, just stay calm, land it,’” Hughes recalled. “And it worked really well.”
Indeed, it did. Hughes placed second with a score of 80.14, trailing only U.S. Ski Team athlete Dylan Marcellini, who took the title with an 86.20. Hughes led a trio of SSCV skiers into the top four, finishing ahead of teammates Jiah Cohen (78.95) and Jameson Kust (77.01). In doing so, he also secured the junior national title.
“It felt surreal,” Hughes said of his silver medal finish. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about for years.”
Coming into the event, Hughes was focused on reaching the super final, especially after placing fourth in dual moguls earlier in March at the Stratton Mountain NorAm — an event in his preferred discipline. Once he landed a cork 10 on the top air, he shifted his focus to gaining speed in the middle section of the course.
“I’d been struggling with going big enough into the bottom air in training, so I was focused on keeping my speed up,” Hughes explained. Though his skis briefly swerved through deep ruts on the final jump, he managed to hold his form.
“It threw off my axis a bit,” he said, “but I stayed calm and finished the trick.”
Hughes’ impressive season didn’t go unnoticed by SSCV mogul program director Freddy Mooney.
“Riley’s had a breakout year,” Mooney said. “He earned prequalified status with strong NorAm Cup results and backed it up at nationals. His work ethic is outstanding, and this is just the beginning of his success.”
Marcellini also won the overall NorAm Cup title. SSCV athletes Porter Huff, Cohen, Hughes, and Kust finished the NorAm season ranked third, 16th, 23rd, and 28th, respectively. Hughes also finished ninth in dual moguls and 15th in the combined rankings.
A former Team Summit skier, Hughes has spent the last four years with SSCV. After being sidelined by injury last spring, he focused heavily on strength training, increasing his squat by 35% in six weeks.
“Overall, I’m really happy with this season,” Hughes said. “That silver medal was something special.”
The result has boosted his confidence heading into next year.
“It’s opened my eyes to the possibility of earning World Cup starts in 2025-26,” he said. “That all depends on my results at next year’s nationals and U.S. Selections in December.”