Mia Hunt Killington SL photo/ @mr.jayriley
“Skiing on the World Cup has been my dream for so long; it’s crazy that it’s finally becoming a reality.”
The alpine ski racer from the University of Denver, Mia Hunt, has secured victory in a time trial, thereby earning a place on the FIS World Cup circuit. She is set to compete in her first World Cup race this weekend in Killington, Vermont, in slalom.
She stated, “I’m feeling super excited! The whole thing is still a bit surreal to me; the time trial process happened so fast.”
“The fact that it’s a home race is extra cool too, and I honestly couldn’t ask for a better way to debut. I know it will be super special,” she continued.
Time Trial Day
Prior to the Stifel Killington Cup, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team Development Women, University of Denver, and various other teams were training in Aspen, Colorado.
Hunt was invited to the time trial on the Development Team’s course.
She stated, “Overall, I felt super grateful for the opportunity to time trial and knew I had to make the most of it, because I had no clue when I’d get another chance.”
This time trial consisted of three full slalom runs, with the athletes’ initial run being combined with either their quickest second or third run. Following the initial attempt in the time trial, Hunt held a lead of -0.20. She secured victory in the trial by executing a swift third run, ultimately winning by -0.06.
Several female athletes were practicing and timing themselves on the course, which Hunt noted contributed to the atmosphere resembling a typical training day. Nevertheless, Hunt was only in competition with one other athlete from the U.S. Team for the fastest time, aiming to secure a position to compete on the World Cup stage.
Hunt explained, “To be honest, I thought I’d be much more nervous than I was. To me, it felt like a completely normal training day, and I treated it as such.”
“So I went in with a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality, and either way, I was getting some great training in with the D-team girls. I was excited to see where I stacked up against them,” she stated.
Leading Up to This Moment
Raised in Park City, Utah, Hunt grew up skiing for Park City Ski and Snowboard Club. From her club she was invited to compete on the U.S. Ski Team’s Development Team in 2021 and 2022. She transitioned onto the University of Denver NCAA Alpine Ski Team in 2023.
She has been a Denver Pioneer for two seasons now and is entering her junior year of collegiate racing.
During her freshman year, she qualified for the DU NCAA Championship Team. Impressively, she achieved 12th place in the slalom, assisting the team in winning the alpine title at nationals.
In the previous season, Hunt attained her best result on the NorAm circuit. She earned 2nd place at the NorAm Cup Finals held at Panorama Resort, British Columbia.
Additionally, she participated in the FIS Junior World Championships and achieved 4 top-15 results on the NCAA circuit.
Hunt explained that having her team at the time trial from the University of Denver added to her performance. She explained, “It was so nice to have my teammates and coaches there too. They fired me up before my runs, and it was comforting to have so many people on the hill supporting and rooting for me. They were also there to celebrate with me when I won, which was very special.”
Killington World Cup Bound
This weekend Mia Hunt will make her debut on the World Cup circuit in her homeland.
She stated, “I feel so lucky to be able to have my World Cup debut in the U.S., where I know the crowd will be so energetic and full of people that I know. I couldn’t ask for anything better!”
As a newcomer to the World Cup, particularly during the first event, it is essential to maintain composure and manage the first-time jitters.
Hunt stated, “I’ll have to make sure to stick to my routine. There will be a lot of better skiers doing different things than me, but I have to remember what works for me, despite what everyone else is doing.”
“Some advice that a friend gave me is to remember that it’s easy to get intimidated, but everyone else out there is just like me, trying to accomplish the same thing,” she continued.
Hunt is looking to go full throttle in the Killington World Cup: “[My goal] is to not leave anything on the table. I’ll be skiing in a completely new environment with new competitors, so it’s hard to make expectations. As long as I go out there and ski as best I can, I will be happy.”
More High-Achieving Goals for this Season
As a member of the Denver Pioneers, Hunt aspires to attain excellence both for her collegiate team and within the NorAm circuit.
Her objectives for the current season include securing a top three position in the NorAm slalom standings, clinching victory in a NorAm slalom race, earning a podium finish at the NCAA championships, and contributing to her team’s pursuit of a national championship title.
The last four seasons, the University of Denver has successfully achieved 3rd place overall at the NCAA Championships. The last time that DU triumphed as a team at the NCAA championships was in 2018. They are looking to ski into that overall first place position this season.
The first alpine NCAA race is January 6th at the DU invitational in Loveland, CO, and the first NorAm race is on December 12th at Panorama Resort.
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About the Author: Ellie Hartman
