Four medals. Five riders competing. One unforgettable day.

Let's talk about what happened on that mountain.

Seamus O'Neill and Cole Anderson met in the finals of Snowboard Junior Men 17-18, starting on opposite sides of the bracket as if it were scripted. These two have battled for years back home and it's always anyone's race. Cole came in as the defending 2025 national champion. Seamus had been eyeing that top spot for a long time.

In 2024, Seamus was favored to win the 15-16 division as a 15 year old. He looked amazing in training and was ready. Then he broke his collarbone screwing around in the park after practice on training day. Gone. In 2025, he came back and finished 3rd on the national podium while Cole took gold in the 17-18. Seamus was happy to be on the podium, but he knew what he was capable of. This year, he came through. Gold.

Cole was an incredible friend and teammate through all of it. Finishing as defending champion and still landing on the podium with bronze is not a small thing. But more than the result, he was genuinely happy for Seamus and showed it. That is not easy to do, and it says everything about who Cole is.

Reese Moryn was the fastest woman on that mountain all day. She was not just winning, she was putting on a clinic. Honestly, the only thing separating her from the men was the 100 lbs of inertia they had on her. Her flow and graceful yet aggressive riding style is something to stop and watch. And on top of that, she brought a contagious energy to the entire team, witty, always smiling, always locked in. Gold.

Spencer Dicks stepped onto a full gate BX course at Nationals for the first time in his life, in Open Class Men, after a career in slopestyle. That alone is worth acknowledging. He then proceeded to crash in his semi-final, fight back with an absolutely aggressive and wild run to finish 3rd in the heat, and then go on to win the small final for 5th overall. It was the most fun race of the day to watch. The natural ability is there, and if he keeps at this, Open Class podium is coming.

After BX wrapped and the awards were done, the night was not over. Piper Tate went out under the lights for Rail Jam, 24 girls on an icy course, many of them from east and west coast programs with former professional freestyle riders as coaches. Piper had never competed in Rail Jam at this level. Her coach, me, cannot do any of the tricks she was throwing down. None of them.

She finished 2nd and won Best Trick.

She was locked in all night, composed, focused, and threw down some of the hardest tricks on the course. She hustled her way to that podium on attitude and sheer will.

None of this happened in a vacuum. We had support from Coaches Jacob, Josh, and Cody from the G-TEAM, and Abby from Lake Superior Freestyle cheering and coaching alongside us all day. Coach Cody Schram raced Open Class himself and had a great day on the course. We showed up as one Minnesota team and it showed. Piper and Charley P were out on the course all day supporting the BX riders, and Charlie Tate was at the bottom cheering with the families despite a last-minute injury that kept her from competing. She would have dominated. No question.

Here is the part I want every parent and rider to sit with for a second.

Nobody gave these results to our kids. No amount of resources, fancy gear, or expensive coaching gets you to that podium. What gets you there is the work you put in, the belief you have in yourself, and the teammates standing next to you. That is what we have.

Yesterday, we went four for five on the podium.

Our riders have it. Our coaches just do our best to back them up.

More to come from Day 2.

Coach Tommy
BENT OXEN