TRS Senior Is Top-Ranked Freeride Snowboarder

Story by Rhett Workman, as published March 18, 2026, in the Snoqualmie Valley Sport Journal blog (https://snovalleysports.wordpress.com).

Two Rivers senior the best in her age group in the sport of freeride snowboarding

A Snoqualmie Valley teen is excelling in a growing action sport: freeride snowboarding.

Two Rivers High School senior Molly Blair is the top-ranked freeride snowboarder in the U19 age group according to the International Freeskiers/Snowboarders Association, and has three wins in the regular season to prove it. Blair will be representing the Valley at the association’s upcoming Junior Nationals event in
April in Golden, BC, Canada. (Courtesy photo)

Two Rivers High School’s Molly Blair has been the top-ranked competitor at her age all season throughout the Pacific Northwest. Blair finished first in three out of four regular season competitions, and had a solid third-place showing this past weekend at an event up in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Blair has been active in the sport for the past several years and is part of the Snoqualmie Pass-based Alpental Freeride team. After getting a taste of the sport with her friends, she got hooked. “I realized I really enjoyed the format and wanted to push my snowboard skills and get serious about competing. Last year was my first year being very focused and I ended the season placing third at Nationals and being fourth overall in the America’s. I just missed qualifying for Junior Worlds in Austria by 1 spot (they took the top 3 overall),” Blair tells us by email.

Freeride, according to the Two Rivers senior, is different from regular snowboarding as they run primarily in fresh terrain (non-used by other snowboarders). Athletes are allowed to study the course prior to their runs in order to get maximum scoring opportunities, then they perform their routine using extra drops and tricks to get more points. Routines are scored by judges using such factors as line choice, technique and style/energy.

Her mom, Tana, understands the hard work her daughter has to do in order to excel. “At the level of competition Molly is at, it requires a lot of travel,” Mrs. Blair tells us. “This year alone we have traveled to Alyeska Resort near Anchorage, AK, Whistler, BC, Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass for regular season competitions. Nationals will be in Golden, BC, at Kicking Horse Resort. Travel, plus gear, plus lift tickets can get expensive.”

Mrs. Blair adds, “To be honest, most sports are nowadays are expensive if you want to compete at the top level. Molly puts in the work to prepare for the season in the gym, cross trains on her mountain bike, and is up on the mountain riding as much as she can get there (even in a bad snow season – her snowboard has taken a beating this year). She rides in the rain because she may have to compete in the rain. She is dedicated and we enjoy supporting her because she is driving her goals and executing on the work to get there.”

Molly is the top-ranked woman at the U19 level by the International Freeskiers/Snowboarders Association, and has the scores to prove it. She is averaging a score of around 26-30 points per routine during the season thus far. This past weekend, she scored a 27.20 to take third in that event up at Whistler, and that was only a small sliver behind the winner, from Colorado. So these meets are very competitive as well, which also makes her out-of-competition work more critical.

“During non snowboard season I try to train at least four days per week in the gym,” Molly said. “I have snowboard-oriented workouts that focus on preparing for the season and staying in snowboard shape. During the season, I still continue in the gym two-three times per week focusing on maintaining strength and endurance. There are some competitions that athletes have to hike to access the start, so being in shape to do that is also important. I pay attention to my diet. I eat what I enjoy, but I focus on getting enough protein daily to fuel energy and recovery.”

But in addition to the work she puts in in the weight room and elsewhere to stay in top shape to compete, she also has academic responsibilities to balance as well. And that is something she has become very good at. “I think building good relationships with (my) teachers is very important,” Molly tells us. I keep them informed about being out and connecting with them when I get back to know which assignments/tests I have missed and are priority to work on. The freeride competitions often occur mid- week and are three days long, so I do miss a chunk of school days to travel and compete. Two Rivers has worked with me to utilize my sport and training for educational purposes as well and the teachers have been a huge support to my goals in snowboarding.”

Mrs. Blair also has high praise for the school. “Since she started going to Two Rivers in her sophomore year, she has fully managed her education. The traditional school format did not work for her but she is thriving at Two Rivers. A big part of that is how they treat their students, like adults, and they are responsible for their work and competencies. I no longer check grades or worry about her school where before it was a constant battle,” Mrs. Blair tells us. She added extra praise for Two Rivers teacher Charlie Kinnune, the now-retired Mount Si High School football coach who has taught at the high school level in the Snoqualmie Valley School District for almost 35 years. “Coach (Kinnune) has been a key player in Molly’s success at Two Rivers and I cannot say enough about him as a person and mentor/advisor to Molly,” Mrs. Blair said.

The team consists of about 50 snowboarders and skiers, of which there are several other kids from the Valley. Those include Major Colonna, Owen Strupich, Milo Sorrelgreen, Brielle Schwab, Henry Feffer, the Abramson’s, Olivia and Otis, the Joppa’s, Elle and Wilder, and Kyle Sciacqua. The program is affiliated with the Summit Ski School, which offers ski instruction up at the Pass.

The camaraderie Molly enjoys with teammates and fellow competitors is music to the ears of her mom. “Girls in action sports are extremely supportive of each other. They support, cheer and encourage progression,” Tana Blair said. “When you send your daughter out to hike up to terrain that isn’t open to the public, then watch her snowboard down double black terrain taking drops and throwing tricks, it’s something to watch. Then, they wait in the finish corral and cheer each other on with hugs at the finish. That’s super cool. There are not a ton of girls in freeride snowboarding which brings them even closer together to build up each other and the sport. We are even now seeing the snowboard girls connecting with the ski girls bringing the two teams into one unit, which is really cool to see.”

Molly, after graduating from Two Rivers, intends on continuing to pursue her passions in the sport. “I plan to keep making connections and pursuing freeride competitions either through qualifying for the IFSA Challenger Series and/or Natural Selection Tour. I will continue to work on my social presence and gaining recognition by brands and riders. I also want to travel and hope to do that through freeride snowboarding,” she tells us. Molly adds she is hopeful to get brand sponsorships in time for the 2026-27 snowboard season.

If you think your son or daughter might be interested in learning more about the sport, the Alpental Freeride Development Team, which is the feeder program for the main team Molly Blair is now on, would be the place to go to learn more and also take part in lower-level local competition. More information about that can be found by contacting the ski school up at the summit. As for a message to the community, Molly’s mom had this. “Support young action sports athletes! They aren’t mainstream sports and aren’t normally affiliated with a school, so they regularly get missed in sports recognition,” Mrs. Blair tells us. “These programs are mostly parent sponsored with little to no assistance from outside sources. They are the students that disappear for a few days, traveling to amazing places with crazy spectacular views to launch themselves down mountains letting gravity play a role in their sport. It’s dangerous, it’s fast, it’s different.”

Mrs. Blair also adds that it is currently challenging for the community to support Molly in her endeavors as the competitions are not always spectator-friendly owing to the terrain being used not being open for public access and there not being live-streaming of most events. There is a webstream though that will be up for the junior nationals in Golden, which is April 5-7 at the Kicking Horse Mountain ski resort, to the west of that British Columbia mountain community. We will work to get more information for you on that and have that for you here.