The last time U.S. Biathlon had an athlete in the top 10 was in 2022 when Irwin skied to seventh place in the individual event at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China.

Irwin, who shot clean in the sprint, was followed by teammate Grace Castonguay in 74th with one miss, skiing to a World Cup personal best after making her debut in Hochfilzen. Jackie Garso, of Lake Clear, finished in 80th with three misses in standing.

Irwin continued to have a strong weekend, finishing 21st in the Dec. 16 pursuit after only two missed shots in her first stop in prone. In the mass start on Dec. 17, Irwin shot 20 for 20, the first of her World Cup career, landing her in 13th to round out the weekend.

“Just incredible to have two of my races go clean. It’s just unreal. It’s really just a dream come true to have all of this come together,” Irwin said. “The wax team did such an amazing job and my coaches did an amazing job preparing me, so to be able to share this weekend with so many amazing people who have helped me get to this point is just so cool. I can’t wait to come back to Lenzerheide next year for World Championships.”

The men’s 10km sprint on Dec. 15 brought a strong showing by the U.S. men’s team. Sean Doherty led the group in 27th with one missed shot. Jake Brown and Vincent Bonacci finished in 48th and 49th, respectively, to both qualify for the pursuit on Dec. 16, Bonacci’s first World Cup pursuit qualification. Campbell Wright finished just out of pursuit contention in 72nd with two misses on the day.

In the pursuit, Doherty skied to 37th place after one miss in each of his four shooting bouts, while Bonacci followed suit, also missing four, finishing 48th. Brown did not start the pursuit.

The U.S. Biathlon team will now head into their holiday break before the second trimester of World Cup racing begins in Oberhof, Germany, on Jan. 4.

Highlighting the new year will be World Championships taking place Feb. 7 to 18 in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, and March 8 to 10 will bring the IBU World Cup back to home soil for the first time since 2019, taking place at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah.