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Official 2023/2024 U.S. Ski Team Nominations Announced

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U.S. Ski & Snowboard earlier Wednesday announced the 23 athletes nominated to the cross-country skiing national team for the 2023/2024 season. All athletes named under objective criteria were accurately predicted on this website last week. Swap in Zak Ketterson (discretion) for Hunter Wonders (retired), and today’s announcement is precisely what was previewed here on May 1.

Athletes new to the national team this season include D-Team skiers Haley Brewster, Brian Bushey, Max Kluck, Ava Thurston, and Derek Richardson, universally known as “Buster.” Welcome to these five, and congratulations to all 23 athletes.

“This past season was an important one for USA XC ski racing, with the men moving up to sixth in the Nation’s Cup standings and earning the maximum World Cup quota for the first time in our history,” said Chris Grover, national team Program Director, in a USSS press release.

“We also witnessed the USA squad fighting for third in the Overall Nation’s Cup going into the last weekend of racing. As we set our sights on the 2023-24 season, we have aspirations of exceeding this past year’s performances by focusing on key strategies in technique, equipment and preparation. We have a young team that is still building valuable experience on the World Cup, and will no doubt turn more heads in the coming years.”

Notably, this 2023/2024 World Cup season presumptively features a half-dozen races in North America in February 2024, including four races in Canmore and two races in Minneapolis.

The official 2023/2024 World Cup calendar will be confirmed by FIS later this month following Spring Congress. The official national team naming — which should presumptively be coterminous with the names given here, unless someone like unexpectedly retires in the next few months or is busted for doping or some such — will occur this fall.

The official announcement is below. Domestic club affiliations are per USSS.

2023/2024 Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team

A-Team

Women

Rosie Brennan (club: APUNSC)

Jessie Diggins (SMS)

Julia Kern (SMS)

JC Schoonmaker gets air at NordicX in Anchorage last month (photo: Jim Kohl, @kohlphoto)

Men

Ben Ogden (SMS)

JC Schoonmaker (APUNSC)

Sophia Laukli at World U23s in February (photo: Gavin Kentch)

B-Team

Women

Sophia Laukli (Team Aker Dæhlie)

Novie McCabe (APUNSC)

Sydney Palmer-Leger (SMS)

From left, Luke Jager, John Steel Hagenbuch, Gus Schumacher, and Zanden McMullen at the finish of the men’s 20km mass start classic, World U23s, January 2023. (photo: Gavin Kentch)

Men

John Steel Hagenbuch (Dartmouth College)

Luke Jager (APUNSC)

Zak Ketterson (Team Birkie)

Zanden McMullen (APUNSC)

Scott Patterson (APUNSC)

Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars)

D-Team

Women

Haley Brewster (University of Vermont)

Samantha Smith (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation)

Ava Thurston (Dartmouth College)

Derek “Buster” Richardson, far left, races at Junior Nationals in Fairbanks this March. (photo: Eric Engman)

Men

Brian Bushey (University of Utah)

Michael Earnhart (APUNSC)

Walker Hall (Methow Valley Nordic Team; University of Utah)

Max Kluck (Bridger Sports Foundation)

Will Koch (SMS)

Derek “Buster” Richardson (APUNSC)

Development Team Coach Greta Anderson, right, at 2023 World Masters, Seefeld, Austria. (photo: courtesy Shannon Brockman)

Coaches and Staff

Cross Country Program Director: Chris Grover

Head Coach: Matt Whitcomb                    

World Cup Coach: Jason Cork                                     

D Team Coach: Kristen Bourne

Development Team Coach: Greta Anderson                                                                            

Cross Country Sport Development Manager: Bryan Fish                       

Cross Country Sport Coordinator: Adam St. Pierre              

Cross Country Press Officer: Leann Bentley

Service Staff

Head of Service: Oleg Ragilo

World Cup Service: Bjørn Heimdal    

World Cup Service: Tim Baucom                         

World Cup Service: Eli Brown    

World Cup Service: Chris Hecker

World Cup Service: Karel Kruuser    

— Gavin Kentch

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