USA Climbing’s 2025 National Team Trials Presented by YETI kicked off in Austin, TX this week. Up first at Mesa Rim Climbing Center was the Lead discipline, which welcomed 51 athletes. The stakes were twofold: spots on the National Team Trials podium and on the 2025 Lead National Team, which designates athletes to represent the U.S. at international World Cup events sanctioned by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC).

Adriene Akiko Clark Wins Women’s Lead

Adriene Akiko Clark is no stranger to Team Trials, winning bronze in Lead just one year ago. After nearly missing her last clip, Clark powered to the top of the Finals route. That was following a top in Semi-Finals and earned her a well-deserved spot on the podium, taking Gold in Women’s Lead. Her impressive combined performance also secured her spot on the 2025 Lead National Team.

Clark reflected on her mindset during Finals, “I felt that if I was my happiest I would be my best.”

Behind Clark in a close second for Silver was Ella Fisher. Reaching the finishing clip off a crimp, Fisher also topped the Finals route. Although Fisher is a repeating competitor, this was her first time on the podium at Team Trials.

Finally, winning Bronze was Melina Costanza. Costanza is another seasoned competitor and was the 2024 national champion in both Boulder and Lead. In an impressive turn of events, Costanza also topped the Finals route. Those combined performances earned her a spot on the 2025 Lead National Team.

Adriene Akiko Clark and Melina Costanza both earned enough National Team Ranking points to join the 2025 Lead National Team, alongside Natalia Grossman, Brooke Raboutou, and Annie Sanders.

Sergey Lakhno Wins Men’s Lead

Sergey Lakhno went from 3rd in Semi-Finals to Gold in Finals after climbing with his usual methodical style and positive attitude. Lakhno’s comeback is even more impressive taking into account that he placed 22nd at his last Team Trials. Now, following his Bronze placement in Lead at the 2024 YETI National Championships, Lakhno finds himself on the 2025 Lead National Team.

Even though Lakhno abided by the routesetters run-and-jump on the Finals route and successfully started the first move, he commented that this was the hardest part of the whole route for him. “It felt pretty low-percentage, but I got it right,” Lakhno said.

Behind him in Silver was Declan Osgood. Osgood chose the run-and-jump option on the Finals route before falling with a positive motion point at almost the same move as Ross Fulkerson. With a final score of 34+, Osgood bumped Fulkerson off the podium by only 1.5 points. This split second decision earned him his spot on the 2025 Lead National Team.

Also climbing to the podium for the first time during the competition was Dillon Countryman, who ended with a Bronze medal. Although he fell earlier than expected during Semi-Finals, Countryman, nicknamed “Bob”, was the first to try the intended run-and-jump beta on the Finals route. Although not unusual, nobody in the Men’s category topped any routes on either day. Interestingly, all three athletes on the podium began the Finals route with the intended run-and-jump beta, rather than the popular yet risky alternative of jumping from the mat to the start hold.

In the end, Lakhno, Osgood, and Cruz Padilla all earned enough National Team Ranking points to join the 2025 Lead National Team, alongside Colin Duffy and Jesse Grupper.

2025 Lead National Team: 

Adriene Akiko Clark
Melina Costanza
Colin Duffy
Natalia Grossman
Jesse Grupper
Sergey Lakhno
Declan Osgood
Cruz Padilla
Brooke Raboutou
Annie Sanders

Full results from the 2025 National Team Trials Presented by YETI can be found here. You can rewatch the Semi-Final and Final rounds on Outside TV.

Follow @usaclimbing on social media for competition updates and behind-the-scenes action.