By Gavin Kentch
A record-breaking 27 athletes were named to the U.S. Cross-Country Skiing National Team for the 2024/2025 season, U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced in a press release earlier Thursday. The athletes range from returning World Cup winners like Sophia Laukli and Jessie Diggins to the six men on the D-Team who were named to the national team for the first time.
Also of note is Bernie Nelson, formerly USST Development Coach and more recently a Trail to Gold coach during last year’s Tour de Ski, who rejoins the national team this season as part of the World Cup service staff (roughly equivalent to “wax tech,” though everyone in that truck does a lot more than just wax skis).
News of the athletes named to the national team was first reported by Nordic Insights in April.
The athletes on this year’s U.S. Cross-Country Ski Team are as follows. All club and college affiliations are per USSS. Three athletes (Julia Kern, Gus Schumacher, Sammy Smith) attend or attended the college listed but did not ski for them as an NCAA athlete, but you probably only care about that distinction if you are a massive dork like me.
A Team
women
Rosie Brennan (current club: APU; college: Dartmouth)
Jessie Diggins (SMS)
Julia Kern (SMS and Dartmouth)
Sophia Laukli (Team Aker–Dæhlie and University of Utah)
Sammy Smith (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and Stanford)
men
Ben Ogden (SMS and University of Vermont)
JC Schoonmaker (APU and University of Alaska Anchorage)
Gus Schumacher (APU and University of Alaska Anchorage)
B Team
women
Haley Brewster (University of Vermont)
Novie McCabe (APU and University of Utah)
Sydney Palmer-Leger (SMS and University of Utah)
men
Kevin Bolger (Team Birkie and University of Utah)
Michael Earnhart (APU Nordic Ski Center and Alaska Pacific University)
John Steel Hagenbuch (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and Dartmouth)
Luke Jager (APU and University of Utah)
Zak Ketterson (Team Birkie and Northern Michigan)
Will Koch (SMS and CU Boulder)
Zanden McMullen (APU Nordic Ski Center and Alaska Pacific University)
D Team
women
Kendall Kramer (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
Ava Thurston (SMS and Dartmouth)
men
Fin Bailey (SMS and University of Vermont)
Zach Jayne (Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation and University of Utah)
Trey Jones (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and CU Boulder)
Murphy Kimball (Alaska Winter Stars and University of Alaska Anchorage)
Jack Lange (SMS and Dartmouth)
Derek “Buster” Richardson (APU Nordic Ski Center and Alaska Pacific University)
Jack Young (Craftsbury Green Racing Project and Colby)
First-time athletes on this year’s national team include all D-Team men save Richardson: Bailey, Jayne, Jones, Kimball, Lange, and Young make their U.S. Ski Team debuts here. Kendall Kramer and Kevin Bolger were not on the national team in 2023/2024, but have been on the national team in prior seasons.
At 27 athletes, this is the largest national team this century, and I believe ever. Eight of this year’s national-team athletes are affiliated with Stratton Mountain School (SMS), and eight more with Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center (APU). Brewster, Steel Hagenbuch, and Young are also currently based in New England, while Kramer and Kimball are additional athletes in Alaska. The largely bicoastal distribution of high-level skiers in this country continues (see article linked below for a deep dive on this).
[Read more: Where Do Skiers Come From? A Longitudinal Analysis of USST Athletes, 2004–2023]
“This team enters the 2024/2025 season with great confidence,” said Program Director Chris Grover in a USSS press release. “The continued success and leadership of our women’s team is now matched with the tenacious energy and breakthrough performances of our young men’s squad. Our World Cup service program continues to provide incredible experience and depth, propelling U.S. athletes towards historic milestones. The U.S. cross country community is energized and working harder than ever before. We can’t wait to watch this group of talented athletes show off their abilities on the World Cup, at the 2025 Trondheim Nordic World Ski Championships, and the 2025 Schilpario World Junior and U23 Champs.”
The service staff remains largely unchanged from 2023/2024 save for the addition of Bernie Nelson, who last season coached for Auburn Ski Club.
“Bernie Nelson is the first full-time woman technician to join the [American] World Cup Service Team in history and highlights our continued commitment to excellence in athlete support and improving gender equity in our staffing ranks,” said Grover in the press release.
National team coaches and staff for 2024/2025 are, per the USSS press release, as follows. Nearly all the names here are unchanged from last year’s announcement. The few exceptions: Among service staff, Per-Erik Bjørnstad and Tim Baucom were not affiliated with the national team last year, but have been in prior years. Wax tech Karel Kruuser appears to have moved on. And Nelson, of course, is new to Yolanda (the USST wax truck), at least as full-time national-team staff.
Coaches and Staff
• Chief of Sport for U.S. Ski & Snowboard: Anouk Patty
• Cross Country Program Director: Chris Grover
• Head Coach: Matt Whitcomb
• Cross Country Sport Development Director: Bryan Fish
• World Cup Coach: Jason Cork
• D Team Coach: Kristen Bourne
• Development Team Coach: Greta Anderson
• Cross Country Press Officer: Leann Bentley
• Cross Country Sport Coordinator: Adam St.Pierre
• Cross Country Technical Advisor: Allan Serrano
• Uniforming: Art Myshrall
Ski Service
• Head of Service: Oleg Ragilo
• World Cup Service: Per-Erik Bjørnstad
• World Cup Service: Eli Brown
• World Cup Service: Tim Baucom
• World Cup Service: Paul Choudoir
• World Cup Service: Bjørn Heimdal
• World Cup Service: Chris Hecker
• World Cup Service: Bernie Nelson
You’re reading this on Nordic Insights, one man’s labor of love dedicated to publicizing American nordic skiing. Last season’s GoFundMe is literally the only reason why I turned a profit in year one of Nordic Insights, and in turn the only reason why there is a year two of Nordic Insights for you to be reading now: I was okay with working for very little money to get this love letter to American cross-country skiing off the ground, but I didn’t want to lose money for the privilege of doing so. If you would like to support what remains a brutally shoestring operation, this season’s GoFundMe may be found here. Thank you for your consideration, and, especially, for reading.
