Clay Fuller ’25 at the start of the Empire State Winter Games Skier Cross event. Photo: USASA Adirondack Region/Facebook
Earlier this month, two of our Freestyler’s competed in the ESWG skier cross competitions. Clayton Fuller ‘25 and Aston Ferrillo ‘26 took 2nd and 3rd both days. The competition was tight, and everyone gave it their all on these long days.
Skier cross is an event where there is a course with drops, turning banks, and rollers. 4 skiers go at once and it is a race to the finish. The skiers are faced with a diverse course and trying to overtake the other skiers at the same time.
Clayton aimed to place 1st both days, but things did not go as planned. The course did not have many turns and was straight, so the race came down to weight. There was one person who Clayton was lighter than and because of that, his opponent’s weight gave him more momentum. To put it simply, Clayton and his opponent both have notable talent and skill in the sport, so the deciding factor was weight. Clayton was happy to place second, but next time, he is planning to place first. “I know if the next course has more turns, I will win,” he says.
This was Aston’s first time doing skier cross. His background as a racer helped him out and it came easy to him. He was happy to place third both times and enjoyed the experience. He was racing against athletes who have been doing skier cross for years, so his third place was impressive. “I thought it was a fun competition, and I like how people didn’t take things as seriously as in ski racing,” he noted.
