Hunter Salani

Position:
Alpine
Height:
6-0
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Vail, Colo.
High School:
Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy
Prev School:
Ski Club Vail/Team USA

Prior to CU—Salani trained with the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) for 15 years, where he was coached by Ian Lochhead—now CU’s alpine coach—for four years, and by Will Hadden for three years. He was a member of the U.S. Ski Team Development Team from 2023–25 and was named SSCV’s Downhill Skier of the Year in 2022–23.He comes to CU with 24.72 FIS points in slalom and 43.44 in giant slalom, ranking him in the top 200 worldwide in slalom. Salani has made 10 starts at the Junior World Championships (2023–25), highlighted by an eighth-place finish in the downhill in Italy in 2025 and five top-20 results overall. He has over 50 Nor-Am Cup starts, earning seven top-10s and four top-5s, along with two top-20 finishes at the U.S. National Championships and a 13th-place downhill finish at the 2024 Chilean National Championships. He has also raced as an independent athlete in college races, including a third-place finish in slalom at Loveland (Denver Invitational, 2025) and 12th in giant slalom at the CU Invitational in 2023. Since 2022, Salani has recorded nine FIS race victories—three in slalom, three in giant slalom, two in downhill, and one in super-G—and owns 19 career podiums.

High School—He graduated from Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy in Vail, Colorado, in 2023.

In the Classroom—He is interested in majoring in Media Productions at Colorado. He is interested in creating edits and filming for sports, like football and basketball.

Personal—Hunter Robert Salani was born February 25, 2005, in Vail, Colorado. His parents are Kim and Gerry Salani. He has one brother, Boden. He also competed in lacrosse and golf. He won the 3A State Championship in 2022 for golf. His hobbies include playing golf, football, and basketball.

Why Colorado?—”I chose Colorado because it was the best team, best school, best coach in college and provided the best resources to succeed.”