DENVER – Junior
Mia Hunt of the University of Denver ski team has qualified for a spot in women's slalom at the FIS Alpine World Cup this weekend in Killington, Vermont.
Hunt secured a starting position and will make her World Cup debut on Sunday, Dec. 1, as the world's top alpine skiing circuit makes its first stop in North America this season. Run 1 of women's slalom from Killington Resort begins at 8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. ET) and will be broadcast on Outside TV. If Hunt qualifies for a second run, that will take place at 11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) and will be televised live in the U.S. on NBC.
The Park City, Utah, native gets set for the Stifel Killington Cup after winning a time trial on Friday against a U.S. Ski Team member in Aspen, Colorado. The time trial featured three full slalom runs, with the athletes' first run being combined with either their fastest second or third run.
Hunt had a two-tenths of a second lead after Run 1 and used her time from her third descent to win the trial by six-hundredths of a second.
"My teammates were there and cheered me really hard out of the start on Run 3, which gave me that extra push for the last run," Hunt said to DenverPioneers.com.
A former member of the U.S. Ski Team Alpine Development Team, Hunt represented the United States at the 2024 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships in France.
Hunt has raced in 18 collegiate events in her career and has recorded 14 top-20 finishes and three top 10s, including coming in 10th in slalom at last year's Utah Invitational on Jan. 18. She owns seven top-10 finishes in Nor-Am Cup races and posted a career best in second place in slalom on April 8 in Panorama, British Columbia, Canada.
The DU ski team is currently in Aspen doing on-snow training before starting the Nor-Am Cup season in the coming weeks. The NCAA campaign kicks off for the Nordic squad on Jan. 2 in Alaska, while the alpine group begins the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association circuit by hosting the Denver Invitational on Jan. 6-8 at Loveland Ski Area and Copper Mountain Resort.
In addition to Hunt, Denver skiing alums
Katie Hensien (United States) and
Amelia Smart (Canada) are also expected to race in Killington this weekend.
DONATE: Fans interested in donating to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
