The Trail Team (TTT) just announced eight new elite athletes for its 2025 roster chosen from a pool of eighty applicants. Twenty-four states (as well as Canada) were represented in the applicant pool, with a median age of twenty-four. Trail results, as well as athletic and community goals were central to the selection process.
Now in its third year, the team will be supporting rising trail running stars with more opportunities than ever before. Founded in December 2022 by Team USA mountain running veteran and former collegiate runner, Andy Wacker (who is also the social media director for ATRA), The Trail Team pursues the following mission statement: “Our mission is to independently support and develop rising athletes into the best professional trail runners in the world through mentorship, skill development, and media exposure.”
2024 reflections
The first two editions of The Trail Team in 2023 and 2024 successfully supported six elite athletes (three male and three female) each year, as well as a larger group of Trail Team Club athletes. Read about the 2023 team here, and the 2024 team selection announcement here.
Lara Hamilon at Golden Trail Series. Photo: GTWS
Reflecting on the 2024 team, there were several outstanding performances.Lara Hamilton placed 27th in Golden Trail World Series (read more about Hamilton’s backstory here). Sarah Carter placed 26th in Golden Trail World Series, Cade Michael won the Whistler 50k, was 10th at Headlands 25k, and was 26th in the Golden Trail World Series. Sadio Fenner won the 2025 Tallahassee Half Marathon and Remi Leroux was 10th at Mammoth Trail Fest.
In addition to The Trail Team accomplishments, the 2024 club team was also successful. Garrett Corcoran placed 18th in Golden Trail World Series final race and won the 2025 Napa Valley Marathon. Andie Cornish was 7th at the USATF Mountain Running Championships. Oakley Olson placed 8th at the USATF Mountain Running Championships.
2025 elite team roster
Emily Clarke racing at 2025 Way Too Cool 50K.
Emily Clarke
Age: 24
Bio: Emily is an alumna of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and University of Nevada, where she specialized in the 10,000m. She placed eighth in the 2024 USATF Trail Half Marathon Championships and second in Way Too Cool 50k in 2025. She currently resides in Flagstaff, AZ.
Shea Aquilano on the trails.
Shea Aquilano
Age: 23
Bio: Shea currently resides in Boulder, CO and focuses on ultra-distance trail events. Shea placed sixth at Black Canyon 100k in February, 2025, and will race the 2025 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in June. She competed on Team USA at the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships 87km event in Austria, and will race the 2025 Gorge Waterfalls 100k in April with a focus to earn a spot on the 2025 US Mountain and Trail Running Team. Shea is a firm believer in the power of aid station pickles (read more about midwesterners and their love of pickles) and has a knack for rationalizing any experience into a good one.
Oakley Olson racing at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand.
Oakley Olson
Age: 21
Bio: Olson, of Mountain Green, Utah ran NCAA track and cross country for Utah Valley University. In her first mountain race in 2022, Oakley finished fifth at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in the Junior Race in Chiang Mai, Thailand for Team USA. She placed eighth at the 2024 US Mountain Running Championships, first in the 2024 Collegiate Mountain Running Championship and set an impressive Fastest Known Time (FKT, learn more about FKTs here) on Mount Timpanogos near her home in Utah. In addition to her mountain running success, she holds several impressive track personal records including school record 3,000M Steeplechase in 10:22, 4:49 mile, 16:48 5K, 9:45 3K, and 4:27 1,500M.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to progress from Team USA Juniors to the Trail Team Club and now the 2025 Elite Team. The support from coaches, mentors, and friends in the mountain and trail running community has been instrumental in my development as an athlete. I hope to give back by advocating for greater opportunities for young women in the sport.
“This year, my goals with The Trail Team are to secure professional sponsorship, represent Team USA at the 2025 World Championships in Spain, and contribute to the sport’s growth by supporting efforts toward Olympic inclusion.”
Sophie Wright on the trails.
Sophie Wright
Age: 22
Bio: Wright currently resides in Bellingham, WA and runs for Western Washington University (until the end of March 2025). She will be living primarily in Golden area CO, and spending several training months (April and May) in Anchorage, Alaska. She is the 2022 Cirque Series Alyeska Pro Division Champ, Western Washington University program record holder for the mile and owns a top-five finish in the historic Mount Marathon race in Seward, AK (read about Mount Marathon here).
“Making this team has been a huge goal of mine for a while and I am beyond excited to be a part of the journey this trail season!”
Kyla Christopher-Moody racing cross country.
Kyla Christopher-Moody
Age: 23
Bio: Kyla lives in Bozeman, MT where she is finishing her masters degree in Earth Sciences at Montana State University while running track and cross country. She is a 4-time All-Big Sky Conference award winner, and the school record holder in the mile and 3k at Montana State.
“I’m so stoked to be a part of this program with such a fun, talented, and hard working group of people. A dream come true. I’m looking forward to honing in my skills as a trail runner and racer and absolutely ripping through beautiful parts of the world.”
On the trails with Hawk Call.
Hawk Call
Age: 25
Bio: Hawk currently resides in Provo, UT. He excels in Obstacle Course Racing (OCR) as well as trail running. He graduated from Utah Valley University where he ran cross country and track. Hawk placed 2nd in the 2024 USATF Mountain Running Championships, and 6th at the Broken Arrow Skyrace 23k. He will be racing Sunapee Scramble in June to try and earn a spot on Team USA in the Classic event at the WMTRC.
Devin Pancake racing in the mountains.
Devin Pancake
Age: 24
Bio: Devin is a Utah State alum, where he ran 4:00 in the mile. In 2024 he placed 2nd in the Antelope Island 50k behind Adam Peterman. Devin works as a GIS Analyst and enjoys planning routes, finding trails, and making topographic maps of local running areas. Devin is a recipient of the All In Collective Scholarship and coached by Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy
The University of Oregon Ducks Track and Field team hosted the Oregon Preview at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on March 22, 2024. Photo: Eric Becker/Oregon T&F
Jeret Gillingham
Age: 22
Bio: Jeret found his passion for the trails while attending Western Washington University, where he set the conference record in the steeplechase, placed sixth at Mount Marathon in Seward, AK, and spent the summers chasing local Fastest Known Times (FKTs). He is currently competing for Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ where he hopes to find success on both the track and the trails.
New for The Trail Team in 2025
The Trail Team is making several changes in 2025 to expand opportunities for athlete development and community involvement. Wacker shares the most significant team developments in 2025, “We have eight elites in 2025 (more than 6 that we have had in the last 2 years). We are also expanding to include ultrarunners in our elite team. We are hosting five training camps for our runners this year (up from 3 last year). We are adding more resources at these camps, such as physical therapy, meetings with registered dieticians, conducting sweat tests and meeting with marketing managers at running brands to provide opportunities to train (like a professional), and build an athlete’s brand.”
The beauty that is Moab.
Trail Team Camps will be hosted in several “trail-cation” destinations including Moab, UT, Grand Lake, CO, Mammoth Lakes, CA, Vancouver, Canada, and Garmisch, Germany (the latter of which will be paired with the opportunity to race at the 2025 World Mountain Running Association World Cup Finals Race in Slovenia).
In addition to team camps, the 2025 Trail Team is prioritizing several key races. The races are as follows:
Sunapee Scramble, June 1, 2025
Broken Arrow Skyrace, June 19 to 22, 2025
World Mountain Running Association World Cup Final, August 23 and 24, 2025
Mammoth Trail Fest, September 25 to 28, 2025
World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, September 25 to 28, 2025
Moab Trail Half Marathon, November 8, 2025
Donate to The Trail Team.
Follow The Trail Team here, and support these rising stars who seek to compete at the most prestigious trail races and become the best trail runners in the world. Make a tax deductible donation earmarked to The Trail Team.
