Freshman snowboarder Maddie Morgan placed first in the women's Rail Jam over the weekend at Massanutten Resort. (Photos by Andrew Smith)
Skiers, snowboarders sweep team podium finishes at Massanutten
2/18/2026 9:30:00 PM | Ski & Snowboard
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The Flames and Lady Flames concluded Southeast Conference competition before traveling to Snowshoe for this weekend’s Mid-Atlantic Regionals.
Liberty University's men's and women's ski and snowboard teams swept all four divisions of Sunday's USCSA Southeast Conference Rail Jam at Massanutten Resort.
In the women's ski division, a trio of freshmen — Kennedy Denecker, Danah Osborne, and Cicilia Tinney — placed second, third, and fourth, respectively, to lead the Lady Flames to a first-place team finish with 9 points, ahead of JMU (14), UNC Chapel Hill (34), Lees-McRae (37), Duke (39) and Virginia (41).
Despite competing without sophomore Eli Malek, one of the Flames' top performers, Liberty's men's skiers were even more dominant. Sophomore Jack Swartzentruber, senior Cameron Brandenburg, sophomore Jack Albee, and junior Blake Stillman swept the top four positions to pace the Flames (6) past JMU (18), UVA (36), Lees-McRae (38), UNC Charlotte (50), and Duke (55).
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Sophomore Jack Swartzentruber led a first- through fourth-place sweep in the men's skiing Rail Jam at Massanutten.
On the men's snowboard side, Julian Cook led a 1-2-5 finish for the Flames, with fellow freshman Syrus Castanaga-Acerra placing second and junior Christian Bassoo fifth as Liberty (8) won decisively over Lees-McRae (17), JMU (22), Appalachian State (50), UVA (53), UNC Charlotte (57), UNC Chapel Hill (104), and Duke (116).
"Castanaga-Acerra wasn't around for the first event," Liberty Head Coach Tyler Sherbine said of the Rail Jam at App State Mountain. "He's a weapon."
The women's snowboard competition was the closest of the day as the Lady Flames totaled 17 points to edge Appalachian State (20), UVA (28), Lees-McRae (32), JMU (46), Duke (70), and UNC Chapel Hill (77). Individually, graduate Maddie Morgan landed in first place, followed by freshman teammate Hailey Lemke (third).
The Flames and Lady Flames had their second competition of the season scheduled for Beech Mountain (N.C.) Resort canceled by the snow that blanketed much of Virginia and North Carolina. Last weekend, the team traveled to Mount Snow in Vermont to catch some air on larger jumps than are available at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre or Wintergreen Resort, where they have season passes.
"The season's been weird so far, but it's finally picking up, and it's been fun," Sherbine said. "Mount Snow had a bunch of really nice jumps and a great terrain park. We spent four days up there and it was extremely beneficial in giving our skiers and riders a big boost of confidence in landing longer jumps. There was a 55-footer we were hitting that was scary for some riders at first, but once everyone started hitting them, it wasn't too bad."
This Saturday and Sunday, Liberty will travel to Snowshoe Mountain to compete in Rail Jam and Slopestyle events in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. That is the qualifier for the USCSA National Championships set for March 8-14 at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y., site of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games, where the Flames and Lady Flames will compete in Big Air (skiing), Boardercross (snowboarding) Slopestyle, and Rail Jam events.
"We haven't competed at Snowshoe as long as I've been part of the team, and we are really excited for their terrain park and trails," Sherbine said, noting the team traveled there for a training trip in 2024. "It will have bigger jumps that we haven't seen this season."
Liberty currently has the top skiers and snowboarders in all four divisions of the Southeast Regional rankings — Swartzentruber in men's skiing, Denecker in first and Osborne in second in women's skiing, Cook in men's snowboarding and Morgan in women's snowboarding.
After this weekend's competition, the Flames and Lady Flames will travel to Seven Springs (Pa.) Mountain Resort, Sherbine's home slopes, for a final training trip before nationals.
