Nineteen-year-old Australian moguls skier Nicole Parks scored her best World Cup result and first finals appearance in Calgary, Canada, today.

The Australian Institute of Sport / NSW Institute of Sport athlete finished 15th, after qualifying for the final in 16th place.

The fifth round of the World Cup was won by American Hannah Kearney, who is unbeaten in five World Cup appearances this season and has a vice-grip on the title. Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe was second while USA’s KC Oakley was third.

With the World Cup season drawing to a close, Parks has emerged as an athlete with real potential, having finished in the top 20 in each of her events this season, and was unlucky not to have been in several finals before today.

AIS mogul skiing program head coach Steve Desovich said that he was pleased with the performances of Parks and teenage teammates Britt Cox and Matt Graham, who both finished 20th today, which was a personal best for Graham. .

“We know what each athlete needs to work on to take the next step but this year has been very encouraging,” Desovich said.

“Today I was really pleased for Nicole because she has gone close to making the finals several times this year.”

The AIS program now head to Deer Valley, UT, USA, site of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games to compete in the final North American World Cup of the season.