BIOGRAPHY 
Aerialist Ryan St. Onge - who made the U.S. Ski Team at 14 - has taken things one step, one flip, one turn, one Junior World Championships medal and one World Cup and U.S. championships victory at a time. His passion for aerials and his steadiness have him, coaches say, at the edge of what could become ongoing major success.

UPDATE
With four top-10 finishes including a third place podium spot on the World Cup, St. Onge staked his claim on a truly successful freestyle season in 2008. The aerials veteran's podium performance was the third in his World Cup career and signaled something to his coaches: "He got his mental game back," Coach Matt Christensen said. "He has such incredible talent and if this confidence goes forward with him, well...he could be a force again."

FIRST TRACKS 
The son of a freestyle official, St. Onge skied at 2 when the family lived in Connecticut. He joined Winter Park's freestyle program when the family moved in the mid-Nineties to Colorado. Like so many young athletes then, he was a combined skier before settling into aerials. He won the 2000 Junior Worlds aerials title (after taking bronze in '99) and the 2001 NorAm aerials crown, and still occasionally skis moguls.

FIRST WORLD CUP 
Jan. 22, 1999 at Heavenly, CA (13th in acro)

OLYMPICS/WORLDS 
2007 Worlds - 18th in aerials. 2006 Olympics - 6th in aerials. 2005 Worlds - 6th. 2003 Worlds - 12th.

I AM 
"Stonj”...Taking college classes at Westminster in Salt Lake City, thanks to the U.S. Ski Team scholarship program; I also took French in the accelerated Hoyt Dartmouth Language Program...I won five Junior Worlds medals and my older brother, Chad, and I each medaled at the '97 Junior Worlds...Mountain biking but also heavy on water fun, such as SCUBA diving and sailing...Chinese food, especially sesame chicken...