Gold medalist Noah Elliott and silver medalist Mike Schultz celebrate during the medal ceremony for the men's snowboard banked slalom LL1 at the 2018 Paralympic Games on March 16, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Six athletes, including five medalists from the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, were named to the U.S. Paralympics Snowboarding National Team today by U.S. Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee.
Brenna Huckaby (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), Mike Schultz (Saint Cloud, Minnesota) and Noah Elliott (St. Charles, Missouri) headline the team as gold medalists from PyeongChang. All three captured two medals in their Paralympic debuts with Huckaby becoming the only U.S. athlete to go undefeated in individual competition at the 2018 Winter Games.
“Coming off an incredible Paralympic Winter Games, our program is carrying a lot of momentum into this upcoming season as we prepare for world championships in March 2019,” Kevin Jardine, director of U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding said. “With a collective eight medals won in PyeongChang, this group knows they have a target on their back and they’re ready to elevate their game to stay on top.”
Joining the U.S. team at the helm of the program is head coach Alex Tuttle. The Stratton, Maine native was a former member of the U.S. Snowboard National Team and is a FIS world cup, X Games and junior world championships medalist. Tuttle comes from Carrabassett Valley Academy where he served as the snowboardcross head coach and program director.
"I am excited to work with the motivated individuals of U.S. Paralympics Snowboarding and be a part of such a well-respected program,” Tuttle said. “Team USA has set the bar for excellence and I look forward to helping them continue to raise it."
The U.S. team comes off a historic performance in PyeongChang where athletes won 13 medals (five golds, five silvers and three bronzes) in the disciplines of snowboardcross and banked slalom. At the Games, Team USA nearly tripled the number of medals won by the next closest nation with nine of those medals coming from Paralympic newcomers.
The 2018-19 season will kick off with world cup competition in November followed by the World Para Snowboard Championships in Phyä, Finland (March 25-April 1) and world cup finals in Klövsjö, Sweden (April 2-10).
2018-19 U.S. Paralympics Snowboarding National Team
Brittani Coury (Durango, Colo.)
Noah Elliott (St. Charles, Mo.)
Keith Gabel (Ogden, Utah)
Brenna Huckaby (Baton Rouge, La.)
Mike Schultz (Saint Cloud, Minn.)
Mike Shea (Castaic, Calif.)
