An Army ROTC Scholarship recipient, Cum Laude Society member, Conor History Medal winner, Joseph M. Massik English Prize winner, and Coaches’ Award winner, Gina Mulcahy ’25 accomplished a lot in her four years at Holderness. This winter, she added to her long list of accolades when she earned the title of 2025 USASA Nationals 17-18 Junior Women Slopestyle National Champion.

A Season of Purpose

Recognizing that this year would likely be her last chance to ski competitively, Gina wanted to make the most of it: “ The whole season I just tried to focus on having fun and making the most of being able to ski every day.” Balancing fun and focus, Gina dominated regional competition, finishing in first place for New Hampshire qualifiers.

For Gina, improving on the slopes was the result of a concentrated effort to excel at the little things: “ If you talk to Coach Pete Elliot, you'll know the focus is on fundamentals. The biggest tricks are made up of smaller tricks. It's not just hucking these big tricks; it's breaking them down into smaller parts and learning the smaller parts, and then putting it all together in the end.”

As the season approached, Gina had several aspects of her skiing that she wanted to focus on: her rails, her spins, and her grabs. From airbag and trampoline sessions on campus in the fall to the jumps and rails of Loon in the winter, Gina remained committed to her goals.

Ready for Nationals

When the calendar flipped to April and Nationals approached, Gina was excited: “There's so much like camaraderie around Nationals. Seeing so many different skiers from so many different parts of the country, seeing it all come together was honestly what I was looking forward to the most.”

As competition neared, Gina remained confident in the hard work that had brought her there: “ I knew I just needed to focus on myself. I needed to take deep breaths and not listen to what other kids in my age group were doing. I was just trying to focus on visualizing my own run.”

Her winning run was the culmination of all the training she put in throughout the season as she executed a right 540 Japan grab, spins in both directions, and clean rails to claim the National Championship. 

Skiing for Life

As she stood on the podium receiving her medal, Gina reflected on all that skiing has meant to her: “It's been such a big part of my life. I’ve grown up with skis before I could even talk. I've been skiing competitively since I was 12. It's just meant so much to me in terms of how I manage myself and how I manage my stress. I cannot imagine life without it.”

As she prepares to embark on her next journey at Georgetown University, planning to double-major in International Politics and Government while being a member of the Army ROTC program, Gina shared advice for her fellow skiers: “Skiing is very individual. It's important to focus on yourself, find out what your strong suits are, and reach out if you need help. You can't compare yourself to other people because you're not going to have the same progression.”