North Lake Tahoe Freestyle skier has first World Cup win

USSA - Veteran K.C. Oakley's started her day learning she was going to World Championships next week. It ended with her first career World Cup win, throwing down a stunning win to upset Canada's Dufur-Lapointe sisters with a huge three-point win in front of a packed house at Deer Valley Resort. Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA) scored his first podium of the season finishing third behind Canada's Mikael Kingsbury.

Oakley, a UC Berkeley graduate, grew up in Piedmont, CA and skied the slopes of Lake Tahoe at both Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows resorts. Now that she is getting her Master's degree at Westminster College in Utah, she is a member of the Park City Freestyle Ski Team.

"This is just so fun," said Oakley. "I’m really just weirded out right now, not too sure about what’s going on, but it’s awesome. I just got told I was going to worlds yesterday, so this has been a great couple days. I’m processing it still, and we still have one more day of competition, so maybe things can get even better!"

A four-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team, Oakley had only one previous podium - a third from 2012 in Calgary. She missed an opportunity for Sochi with an injury, but has come back strong this season. "Coming back from injury, it was just about getting back out there. I love this course, especially at night. I know speed is always on my side, so I went for it. My runs weren’t perfectly clean, but I just went for speed and it worked out."

Oakley has taken advantage of the resources provided by the U.S. Ski Team and has scored 13 World Cup top-10 results since being named to the Team. Oakley finished the 2013 season with a U.S. Championship podium at Heavenly Mountain Resort.