The final event of the Freeride World Tour Challenger series took place at Arapahoe Basin April 15-16. Edwards skier Joey Leonardo placed fourth no the second day to punch his ticket to the Freeride World Tour next winter.Casey Day/FWT Edwards skier Joey Leonardo has qualified for the 2026 Freeride World Tour (FWT). The 22-year-old placed […]
Edwards skier Joey Leonardo has qualified for the 2026 Freeride World Tour (FWT). The 22-year-old placed fourth at the final stop of FWT Challenger series at Arapahoe Basin on Wednesday to wind up second in the overall season rankings. He’ll join Glenwood Springs skier Kelly Hilleke — who won the second event at the two-day competition at A-Basin and was the overall season champion as well — and nine other athletes from Region 2 on next year’s FWT.
“Boy am I excited about it,” Leonardo said. “It’s a childhood dream come true.”
The FWT Challenger series is the penultimate step to the FWT, which is the highest level of freeride skiing and snowboarding on the planet. Nine Region 1 (Europe, Oceania and Asia) and nine Region 2 (North and South America) athletes are awarded slots on the FWT based upon their season rankings on the FWT Challenger circuit, which included four scheduled stops this year.
Leonardo won the FWT World Junior championship in 2020 and placed eighth in 2021. Never a member of an official ski team, Leonardo was coached by his dad, Jeff, who grew up in New Jersey and didn’t start to ski until his late teens.
“I couldn’t have done it without him, and my mom as well,” Leonardo said. “I’m eternally grateful for everything they’ve done for me. I definitely wouldn’t be here without them.”
The 2021 Battle Mountain graduate has spent the last four years pursuing a degree at Montana State University, honing his freeride skills at nearby Bridger Bowl. His results database is a little sparse — he only competed in one competition each year from 2022-2024 — as he leaned into his studies more than the slopes. It’s been worth it though: Leonardo graduates in a couple weeks with a major in environmental science with a land and rehabilitation focus and a minor in Spanish.
“I know skiing is not entirely a reliable career and getting an education is a good thing, so I’ve definitely prioritized that,” he said.
This past winter, however, Leonardo took advantage of having just a three-credit course load. He competed at four FWT Qualifier events — which included a pair of victories at Copper Mountain and a bronze at Crested Butte — and three FWT Challenger competitions. His original goal was to accumulate enough points to make it into the four-star competitions for next year.
The first Challenger stop at Whitewater in Canada was canceled due to unsafe conditions. Without the guarantee of an eventual makeup competition in A-Basin, Leonardo knew he couldn’t fall at stop No. 2 at Kirkwood Mountain Resort on March 29-31, as final rankings are determined by an athlete’s two best results.
“I just tried to play it smart,” he said of his mindset going into Kirkwood. “I didn’t try to do anything too crazy, just linked up a bunch of features, threw a left 3, right 3 in. I just wanted to stay on my feet, have a good run.”
He was rewarded with a victory.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for that comp, I wouldn’t be on the tour next year,” Leonardo admitted before adding that he came into the Whitewater makeup event on April 15 at A-Basin with a similarly conservative approach. “I knew I was ahead and I figured if I just landed a good run, not doing anything too crazy again — like it worked in Kirkwood — that it would be good enough.”
He didn’t hold back too much, however, on the icy east wall of “The Legend,” turning two 360s in addition to a front and backflip off various features.
“I just didn’t do enough at the top,” Leonardo said of his 10th-place showing, which left his FWT dreams on life support going into the next day.
“It turned the pressure on for sure,” he continued. “I knew for the second day I would have to step my run up if I wanted to make it.”
The Edwards product, who grew up skiing mostly at Vail and Beaver Creek, did exactly that. He charged into “Tom and Jerry” with zero hesitation and popped a massive backflip into “narrow North Pole.” Then he stomped a left 360 into a front flip off the Hollywood wind lip midway through. He continued to rack up points on the lower section of the course, dropping another left 360 and a second back flip. At the bottom of “land of the giants,” he tweaked a safety grab through the hallway air cliff.
“The venue was awesome,” Leonardo said of A-Basin, which he only skied at once or twice growing up and not at all in the last seven years. “It could have used a bit more snow. It definitely added a scariness factor to the runs — there was a lot of no-fall zones.”
Hilleke took the win while Canadian Lochlan Harvey placed second and Aspen’s Canyon Cherney picked up the bronze. Even with a wooden medal, Leonardo left satisfied.
“It was just a great week and (I’m) thrilled with the outcome,” he said.
It’s an exciting time in the world of freeriding. The International Olympic Committee is expected to announce this year whether or not the sport should be included in the 2030 Olympic program.
“I just think that would be so cool — even if I didn’t get to participate — just for the growth of the sport,” Leonardo said. “But that’s in the future and I’m just looking forward to this next winter more than anything.”
Good news: there will be a global championship in 2026, too. The inaugural FIS Freeride World Championships are set for Feb. 1-6 in Andorra. Freeride is also coming back to the U.S. It was announced April 14 that the FWT will return to the country for the first time since 2017 as the YETI Alaska Pro brings athletes to the technical spines of Haines.
“Bringing the Tour back to Alaska has been a dream in the making for years,” stated Nicolas Hale-Woods, CEO and founder of FWT, in a press release. “Haines offers some of the most dramatic and respected terrain in the world—it’s the ultimate freeride venue.”
Alaska also hosted FWT events in 2015, 2016 and 2017. U.S. resorts have hosted more than 100 FWT Junior, Qualifier and Challenger events.
Next year, Leonardo plans to base himself out of Tacoma, Washington, but will spend a couple months in Europe over the winter since he’s guaranteed the first four FWT stops. If he can be in the top-13 at the finals qualification cut, he’d get to go to Alaska and earn FWT starting rights for next year as well.
“For awhile I’ve been saying that even just to get one winter on the tour, even if I wasn’t able to re-qualify, that would be sufficient. But I know as soon as I get a comp in or two, I’m definitely going to want to do this for another year,” he said. “Competing with the best of the best, I’m going to have to step my game up. But it’s just something I’ve really wanted for a really long time, so I’m excited to give it my best shot.”
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police said Monday there were no injuries after shots were fired near an Under-20 World Cup women’s water polo game between China and Canada in the city of Salvador. China won 12-8 on Sunday — the opening day of the tournament — but footage showed the game being briefly interrupted […]
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police said Monday there were no injuries after shots were fired near an Under-20 World Cup women’s water polo game between China and Canada in the city of Salvador.
China won 12-8 on Sunday — the opening day of the tournament — but footage showed the game being briefly interrupted as players got out of the pool, laid down and took cover by a small barrier after hearing gunshots outside the water polo venue in the Pituba neighborhood. China led Canada 3-2 at the time.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Story Links Coming off of its first-ever Big West regular season title, Hawai’i will open its 2025 season with a nonconference match at Long Beach State on Thursday at 4 p.m. HT. Following Thursday’s season opener, the Rainbow Wahine will head up the California Coast to take on Pepperdine Sunday at […]
Coming off of its first-ever Big West regular season title, Hawai’i will open its 2025 season with a nonconference match at Long Beach State on Thursday at 4 p.m. HT.
Following Thursday’s season opener, the Rainbow Wahine will head up the California Coast to take on Pepperdine Sunday at 9 a.m. HT. UH trails the all time series against both schools (3-10-4 vs. LBSU, 0-6-1 vs. PEP) but won the last meeting against The Beach with a 1-0 victory in the regular season finale last year.
| HAWAI’I (12-8-1, 8-1-1 Big West) at Long Beach State (6-9-3, 3-5-2 Big West) // Pepperdine (12-4-5, 6-1-3 WCC) | ||||
| Date / Time | Thursday, Aug. 14 Hawai’i at Long Beach State — 4:00 p.m. HT Sunday, Aug. 17 |
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| Location | Long Beach, Calif. | Malibu, Calif. | |||
| Live Stream | Thursday | |||
| Live Stats | Thursday | Sunday | |||
| PDF Notes | Hawai’i | Long Beach State | Pepperdine | |||
| Social Media | @HawaiiWSoccer  | #HawaiiWSoccer | @HawaiiWSoccer  |
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HEAD COACH MICHELE NAGAMINE
At Hawai’i: 86-115-25 (14th season)
Collegiate Record: 110-145-26 (17th year)
SERIES VS. LONG BEACH STATE
Overall: LBSU leads, 10-3-4
Last Meeting: Oct. 31, 2024 (UH won, 1-0)
Streak: W1
SERIES VS. PEPPERDINE
Overall: PEP leads, 6-0-1
Last meeting: Sept. 19, 2010 (PEP won, 2-0)
Streak: L2
ON THE PITCH
DID YOU KNOW?
2024 Big West Midfielder of the Year Nalani Damacion finished tied for third nationally and first among all freshmen with seven game-winning goals. Her seven game-winners were also the most by any NCAA freshman since 2015 (Cece Kizer, Ole Miss).
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS!
Hawai’i is coming off of a magical 2024 season in which it captured the program’s first ever Big West regular season title. The Rainbow Wahine dominated the Big West regular season, going 8-1-1 and setting a school record for conference wins while finishing with 25 points – the most by a Big West school since 2016. The regular season title gave UH the right to host the semifinals and finals of the Big West Championship, however, the ‘Bows saw their historic season come to an end with a semifinal loss to CSU Bakersfield.
» Set a school record with a nine-match unbeaten streak that ran from Sept. 12-Oct. 20.
» Seven match winning streak was the longest in a single season and tied the overall program record.
» Outscored teams 12-6 in 10 league games, with all eight wins coming by one goal.
» First Big West team to start 5-0 in conference play since 2010 (UC Irvine).
RAISING THE EXPECTATIONS
The Rainbow Wahine enter the 2025 season with lofty expectations following last year’s conference regular season title. UH was picked first in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, marking the first time since 2008 that the program has been tabbed as a preseason conference favorite. It’s also the first time since Hawai’i joined the Big West that it has been picked to finish atop the conference. Additionally, Amber Gilbert and Nalani Damacion each earned Preseason All-Big West recognition.
FAB FRESHMEN TO SUPER SOPHOMORES
A huge key to last season’s Big West regular season title run was the contributions UH got from a number of freshmen. The Rainbow Wahine’s group of eight sophomores combined for three Big West All-Freshman honors and eight conference player of the week recognitions a year ago as freshmen and will be counted on to play key roles again in 2025.
» Kennedy Justin earned Big West Goalkeeper of the Year honors last year as a redshirt freshman.
» Justin became the first freshman ever to claim that honor and matched a school single-season record for goalkeeper wins with a record of 11-8-1.
» Nalani Damacion was named Big West Midfielder of the Year after leading the team with seven goals.
» Damacion became the first freshman ever to claim the honor.
» All seven of Damacion’s goals were game-winner, ranking third nationally and first among freshmen.
» Alice Davidson earned Big West All-Freshman honors after finishing with four assists (T-1st on team).
» UH earned six total Big West Freshman of the Week honors (Damacion: 5x; Laule’a Ah Mook Sang: 1x)
RAINBOW RELOAD
The Rainbow Wahine will welcome in a talented group of eight newcomers to compliment their deep pool of returnees. UH brings in three players out of the transfer portal while adding five freshmen to the mix in 2025. Defenders Rikako Hayami and Solala Nasu will fill some key roles on the back line while three-year Division I goalkeeper Julia Ortega gives UH depth in the net. Isabella Kaemmerer, Karissa Kira, Saira Johal, Montana Longcrier and Sophia Nygaard make up the group of five incoming true freshmen.
» Hayami spent the 2024 season at Arizona and previously was an NJCAA All-American in 2023.
» Nasu returns home after spending freshman season at South Dakota State; was the three-time HHSAA State Tournament Most Outstanding Player from 2022-24.
» Ortega has totaled 137 saves in 29 career starts in goal at Southern Utah and Arizona State.
» Kaemmerer and Kira were high school and club teammates, winning an ECNL U17 national title in 2024.
Olivia Ekponé made her return to Aggieland to join head coach Pat Henry’s staff at the start of the 2024/25 season. Since landing back in College Station, she took on the role of athletics assistant for the Maroon & White, helping in multitude of roles for the track & field program. Assisting on the track, she […]
Assisting on the track, she aids both Coach Pat Henry and Coach Kurt Henry with the decorated 400m and sprint groups for practice and meet day preparation. Her experience as an athlete helped those groups, as she contributed to the men’s programs fifth NCAA Outdoor National Title and first SEC Indoor Championship during the 2025 season.
Her groups on the men’s side accounted for 10 points at the NCAA outdoor championships and eight points at the indoor championships. Collecting honors throughout the season, Ekponé’s squads tacked on 13 All-America accolades and three conference medals. The women’s team also saw success through her leadership, with 19 All-America honors and three league medals.
As an athlete, Ekponé was a four-year letterwinner and 12-time All-American for the Maroon & White. She played a key role in securing the women’s team’s fourth NCAA outdoor championship in 2014 and the program’s first SEC outdoor team title in 2013. She also anchored the women’s 4x100m relay team to a national title at the 2014 outdoor meet, winning the final in 42.80. Her outstanding performances won her SEC Runner of the Year honors in 2014, and helped guide the team to another trio of top-three program finishes during her time as a student-athlete.
She also etched her name in the Aggie history books, as Ekponé remains the school-record holder in the women’s outdoor 200m with a time of 22.23, as well as ranking in the top-10 in both the indoor 60m (7.25) and outdoor 100m (11.11).
Following her graduation, Ekponé stayed in the track & field world, as she worked for MileSplit and FloTrack in a sports media roll covering athletes from the youth to professional levels.
Saturday will mark the start of my 20th year here at SBJ. Twenty years since I shifted away from a career as an attorney and into sports journalism — and I’ve never looked back. Research. Data analysis. Writing. Editing. Podcast hosting. Moderating panels. Even playing beach volleyball in my suit jacket and pants alongside Olympian […]
Saturday will mark the start of my 20th year here at SBJ. Twenty years since I shifted away from a career as an attorney and into sports journalism — and I’ve never looked back.
Research. Data analysis. Writing. Editing. Podcast hosting. Moderating panels. Even playing beach volleyball in my suit jacket and pants alongside Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings. I’ve tackled a number of duties and responsibilities at SBJ. Now, it’s time for my next role: sports media beat reporter.
As many reading SBJ Media will know, I’m no stranger to this area, having written about TV viewership for years. Now, I’ll formally expand on that expertise and take on all intersections of media and sports business.
I’m champing at the bit to start this next challenge. Thank you to so many in the business that have already reached out. I look forward to working with all of you!
And I want to hear from all SBJ readers. What are you paying attention to? Who do we need as a guest on the SBJ Sports Media Podcast? Got a tip? Email or call anytime.
SBJ remains the tip of the spear for those seriously tuned in to sports business, and I’m incredibly honored to be taking on this new role.
Let’s rock!
Story Links Montana State’s Champ’s Kids Club has announced a new partnership with The Future Fan, as the Bobcats prepare for the start of the 2025-26 sports season. The Future Fan is a U.S. company based in Arkansas that partners with other colleges and professional sports teams around the country to fulfill […]
Montana State’s Champ’s Kids Club has announced a new partnership with The Future Fan, as the Bobcats prepare for the start of the 2025-26 sports season.
The Future Fan is a U.S. company based in Arkansas that partners with other colleges and professional sports teams around the country to fulfill their exclusive membership programs.
This season’s Champ’s Kids Club membership ($50) includes an exclusive club t-shirt, mini-pennant, stickers, lanyard, and credentials, along with free admission to all home volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball games, and men’s and women’s tennis events. An additional perk is discounts on birthday parties at volleyball or basketball games and exclusive kid’s club events throughout the year.
The Future Fan will ship Champ’s Kids Club kits directly to your home. Fans should expect their kits within two weeks of ordering. To sign up for Champ’s Kids Club, sponsored by Billings Clinic, go to msubobcats.com (Fan Info).
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), in conjunction with Visit Lincoln, is bringing the excitement beyond the court this summer with the AVCA First Serve Block Party, a free three-day celebration in Lincoln’s Railyard outside Pinnacle Bank Arena, Aug. 22–24, 2025. Fans can look forward to live entertainment, interactive activities, special guest appearances, and a […]
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), in conjunction with Visit Lincoln, is bringing the excitement beyond the court this summer with the AVCA First Serve Block Party, a free three-day celebration in Lincoln’s Railyard outside Pinnacle Bank Arena, Aug. 22–24, 2025. Fans can look forward to live entertainment, interactive activities, special guest appearances, and a festival-like atmosphere leading up to—and during—AVCA First Serve, the nation’s premier collegiate volleyball showcase.
The AVCA First Serve Block Party transforms the Railyard into volleyball central with attractions for fans of all ages, including:
Check out this map with more info on the Block Party grounds and booths.
Daily Highlights:
Volleyball fans won’t want to miss the Rally Towels Giveaway for the first 200 fans each day and ticket giveaways at every watch party located at the stage.
“Lincoln is known for its incredible volleyball community, and the Block Party is the perfect way to connect fans, athletes, and the sport in a fun, energetic setting,” said AVCA CEO Dr. Jaime Gordon. “We’re thrilled to bring the excitement outside the arena and into the heart of the city.”
For more information on AVCA First Serve, including match times, go here.
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