Troy Murphy was oh-so close to making the U.S. moguls ski team for the 2014 Winter Olympics, the last man out when the team was selected.

Since then he’s taken some big steps to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

Troy Murphy of Bethel has established a reputation for attempting difficult jumps, and his ability to land those moves helped him win the moguls event at the U.S. freestyle championships in March. File photo

Troy Murphy

Murphy, 22, of Bethel, recently won the U.S. moguls championship at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with a score of 93.95.

“The maximum score is 100 points,” said Matt Gnoza, the U.S. moguls coach. “And he skied a 93-point run, which is unheard of. I think he changed the face of U.S. freestyle and moguls.”

Murphy, a 2010 graduate of Gould Academy, doesn’t know about that. But the championship certainly put an exclamation point on a season in which he made big strides.

“I think it’s a cool thing for sure,” said Murphy in a phone interview from Alaska, where he went free skiing after the championships. “I always believed I could win it, so it’s not a huge surprise to me.

Gnoza said the title has thrust Murphy into the spotlight.

“I think it might have surprised those who didn’t realize how hard he has been working and what his goals are,” said Gnoza. “It probably didn’t surprise anyone on the staff, but definitely some other international teams that might have been looking in. (Murphy) might have put them on notice. This was him kind of saying, ‘Here I am.’

“It kind of officially put him on the map. He’s always been on the map. This may have changed his location.”

If Murphy is going to continue his rise on the U.S. team, he knows he has to become more consistent. Murphy is known for attempting jumps with high degrees of difficulty. If he lands them, it gives him an edge in competition. But he knows he has to become better in every aspect of his skiing.

“I’ve just got to ski as much as possible, train every opportunity I can,” said Murphy. “You never really get quite enough time on snow, at least to me. I’ve got to take advantage of that as much as possible, especially for my turns and speed.

“I think my jumps are good, but there’s always something to learn.”

Gnoza isn’t worried about Murphy’s training regimen. “A guy like Troy, he puts in a lot of time, working out in the gym and with dry-land training,” said Gnoza.

At the U.S. freestyle championships, Murphy started eighth in the qualifying round, not an especially good spot. “I knew I had to do the best run I possibly could,” he said. “In the gate I was pretty fired up. I wanted to do that run and let everyone else see if they could beat it.

“I was in the right mental spot for that run. It just clicked, I didn’t have to think about it.”

Gnoza said that run proved to everyone how good Murphy can become.

“That was a huge step,” he said. “I don’t see any reason Troy can’t be a consistent podium skier for us on the international level.”

Murphy finished the season ranked 11th overall and fourth among Americans in the World Cup standings. Jeremy Cota, a Carrabassett Valley native, was the top U.S. competitor in seventh place in a big comeback year for him. After a disappointing pre-Olympic year, Cota competed on the U.S. ‘C’ team this year but earned his way back to the ‘A’ team with his World Cup results, including a second at Tazawako, Japan, on Feb. 28. “He’s right there again,” said Gnoza.

Murphy’s top finish was a fourth at Val St. Come, Quebec, on Feb. 7. He will remain on the ‘B’ team next year.

“It would have been nice to make the ‘A’ team this year,” said Murphy. Gnoza said he’s close, but needs some better international results.

Murphy, the World Cup rookie of the year in 2014, plans on working on some jumps with even higher degrees of difficulty this summer. Gnoza likes that.

“I would rather have him shooting for the stars than settling for mediocrity,” said Gnoza.

Murphy’s sights are set on 2018 and Pyeongchang, South Korea, site of the next Winter Olympics.

“That’s the goal, absolutely,” said Murphy. “But it’s more about trying to work to get my run as good as possible for when I go into that. I need to become more consistent and then be able to lay down that run when it counts.

“If you’re concerned about (making) the Olympic team, your mind is already in a bad place.”

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