Calgary (AB), Canada – Vermont’s mogul queen, Hannah Kearney, edged out Canadian sisters Chloé and Justine Dufour-Lapointe on their home turf to earn her 43^rd World Cup victory on Saturday at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. Canadian men, however, successfully achieved victory at home as Quebec’s  Mikael Kingsbury and Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh skied to first and second place finishes, and in so doing, Canada secured four out of six podium places in Calgary. Japan’s Sho Endo finished third.

Kearney is now just three World Cup wins away from the all-time freestyle moguls record, currently held by U.S. Freestyle alumna Donna Weinbrecht. Kearney now has a total of 65 podium finishes.

“It feels good to be back on top of the podium,” said Kearney. “Both of my runs had really good components overall, so looking forward I want to put that all together in one run. I just enjoyed it today and that helped me ski a little more aggressively.”

“I’m super happy about my performance today,” said second-place finisher Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, of Montreal. “It was freezing outside, but we did our best to stay warm and compete well. It was still beautiful here and Calgary always challenges us with a great course. I think we adapted well and it ended up being a great day.”

The U.S. had four other women finish in the top 20 with K.C. Oakley (Piedmont, CA) in 11^th, Keaton McCargo (Telluride, CO) in 15^th, Mikaela Matthews (Frisco, CA) in 16^th and Ali Kariotis (Tiburon, CA) in 17^th.

For the men, Kingsbury won his fifth consecutive moguls title in Calgary in impressive fashion after scoring an 85.78.

“I had a really great day and really followed our plan,” said Kingsbury, of Deux-Montagnes, Quebec. “I knew I had  to be intelligent with my skiing. For me it’s five straight victories here and I’m super happy because the conditions weren’t great. I’d like to mention how great Simon skied too. It was a great day for him and our team. Our coaches really prepared us well for this competition”

“To get my best result ever in Calgary is great,” said Quebec City’s Pouliot-Cavanagh. “It’s a tough course and I performed well. I kept my intensity up and skied very well throughout the entire day. I could not ask for more to start the year this way. I’m super happy about how things went and to be on the podium with Mik. Our team really challenges each other. Really any of us has a shot and finishing in the top-three. It’s exciting.”

It was nevertheless a good day for the U.S. men, who placed three in the top 10. Bryon Wilson, of Butte, Mont., just missed qualifying for the second final, finishing seventh. Teammates Troy Murphy and Jeremy Cota, each from Maine, followed close behind in eighth and ninth.

The World Cup moguls and aerials teams are both back in action this weekend at the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Utah before the World Cup completes its North American swing in Lake Placid and at nearby Whiteface Mountain, N.Y., at the end of the month.  In between, skiers will make a quick trip across the pond for aerials and moguls in Kreischberg, Austria, Jan. 14-19.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup
Calgary (AB), Canada – Jan. 3, 2015

Men’s Moguls

Women’s Moguls