By Gavin Kentch
Late December finds us well into the ski season (hopefully, for most places), and at least two weekends into JNQ season. Junior Nationals qualifying races began last weekend for the Midwest, Great Lakes, Intermountain, Pacific Northwest, and High Plains divisions. This weekend saw a second weekend of JNQ racing for the Midwest, as well as the first scored races for Alaska, Far West, Rocky Mountain, and New England. Mid-Atlantic will commence its JNQ season in January.
Junior Nationals this year will be held in Soldier Hollow, from March 9–15, 2025.
Here’s a roundup of weekend qualifying races from across the country, arranged from west to east as is my wont. Full results linked in at the bottom of each section.
Alaska: Besh Cup 1 and 2, Anchorage
Saturday: Classic sprint
Men
Top three overall: Erling Bjørnstad, University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA); Justin Lucas, APU; Murphy Kimball, UAA and U.S. Ski Team
Top three U20: Justin Lucas, Murphy Kimball, Cole Flowers
Top three U18: Noa Kam-Magruder, Vebjorn Flagstad, Basile Plattet
Top three U16: Jack Leveque and Raven Spangler (in the top-30 overall open heats), I *think* that Braxton Thornley is third overall U16, as being first in the U16 bonus heats, but don’t quote me on that, sorry, cross-referencing a few different results sheets against each other here
Women
Top three overall: Kendall Kramer, University of Alaska Fairbanks and U.S. Ski Team; Marit Flora, UAA; Piper Sears, APU
Top three U20: Piper Sears, Sammy Legate, Amaeli Kam-Magruder
Top three U18: Mia Stiassny, Olivia Soderstrom, Maya Tirpack
Top three U16: Alise Elliott, Faith Harlamert, Talia Smith
Sunday: 5/10km mass start skate
Men
Top three overall (10km): Matt Seline, UAA; Scott Patterson, APU and USST (ret.); Tabor Greenberg, University of Vermont
Top three U20 (10km): Tabor Greenberg, Davis Isom, Justin Lucas
Top three U18 (10km): Vebjorn Flagstad, Noa Kam-Magruder, Gabe Black
Top three U16 (5km): Jack Leveque, Raven Spangler, Ethan Elliott
Women
Top three overall (10km): Kendall Kramer, UAF and USST; Astrid Stav, UAA; Mariel Merlii Pulles, Team Birkie
Top three U20 (10km): Piper Sears, Amaeli Kam-Magruder, Greta Bochenek
Top three U18 (10km): Mia Stiassny, Tania Boonstra, Elliot Sensabaugh
Top three U16 (5km): Noa Kam-Magruder, Solvej Lunoe, Talia Smith
Also shout-out to Nordic Insights reporter Merridy Littell, 16th in the sprint and 15th in the 10km, and staff photographer Anna Engel, 30th in the sprint and 14th in the 10km.
Far West: ASC Classic Holiday Sprint and Paco’s Distance Skate, ASC Training Center
Saturday: Classic sprint
Women
Top three overall: Niki Johnson, Britta Johnson, Alice Jowers
Men
Top three overall: Quinn Holan, Pascal Wettermark, Ben Crawley
Having a hard time separating out age ranges from overall here, sorry. Full results link at bottom for those who know how Far West scores this.
Sunday: 5km interval-start skate
Women
Top three overall: Britta Johnson, Niki Johnson, Kili Lehmkuhl
Top three U18: Britta Johnson, Niki Johnson, Aili Scott
Top three U16: Raegan Czeschin, Hailey Gordon, Adeline Purvance Rassuchine
Men
Top three overall: Quinn Holan, Cabot Godoy, Elio Adriani
Top three U20: Cabot Godoy, Pascal Wettermark, Walker Rawlinson
Top three U18: Quinn Holan, Ben Crawley, Alden Behan
Top three U16: Elio Adriani, Griffin Tuscano, Luka Karnickis
Rocky Mountain: RMN/SSWSC JNQ, Steamboat Springs
Friday: 5km interval-start classic
Men
Top three overall: Corbin Carpenter, Benjamin Barbier, Luka Riley
Top three U20: Benjamin Barbier, Henry Magill, Charles Ben Oldham
Top three U18: William Bentley, Campbell McLaren, Tristan Thrasher
Top three U16: Sawyer Landers, Peter Kan, Freedom Bennett
Women
Top three overall: Rose Horning, Sophie Spalding, Mica Bodkins
Top three U20: Rose Horning, Grace Olexa, Kiri May
Top three U18: Antigone Loomis, Anna Rhodes, Davis Brosterhous
Top three U16: Georgia Bishop, Sophia McGinnis-Smith, Maia McGinnis-Smith
Saturday: 5/7.5km mass start skate
Men
Top three overall (7.5km): Corbin Carpenter, Benjamin Barbier, William Bentley
Top three U20 (7.5km): Benjamin Barbier, James Sowers, Henry Magill
Top three U18 (7.5km): William Bentley, Campbell McLaren, Finn Veit
Top three U16 (5km): Bode Rhodes, Jackson Mayer, Walker Dunn
Women
Top three overall (7.5km): Karolina Kaleta, Rose Horning, Sophie Spalding
Top three U20 (7.5km): Rose Horning, Grace Olexa, Kiri May
Top three U18 (7.5km): Anna Rhodes, Antigone Loomis, Eva Minotto
Top three U16 (5km): Georgia Bishop, Maia McGinnis-Smith, Luca Archie
Midwest: CXC Cup, Mt. Itasca
Saturday: skate sprint
Women
Top three overall: Helen Townley, Sydney Drevlow, Elsa Lindfors
Top three U16: Linnea Ousdigian, Evie Malec, Abigail Skomorph
Men
Top three overall: Declan Hutchinson, Logan Drevlow, Anders Westanmo
Top three U16: Jack Rudolph, Reid Thompson, Palmer Hunt
Having trouble wading into U20/U18 results here, sorry
Sunday: 5/7.5km interval-start classic
Women
Top three overall (7.5km): Linnea Ousdigian, Sydney Drevlow, Hanna Koch and Zoe Devine (tied)
Top three U20 (7.5km): Sydney Drevlow, Hanna Koch and Zoe Devine (tied)
Top three U18 (7.5km): Elsa Lindfors, Helen Townley, Lila Golomb
Top three U16: Linnea Ousdigian raced up in the 7.5km, and won it outright; among U16 girls racing the 5km, it was Evie Malec, Eleanor Mody, and Claire Britton for the podium
Men
Top three overall (7.5km): Logan Drevlow, Declan Hutchinson, Oliver Miatke
Top three U20 (7.5km): Oliver Miatke, Eddie Snider, Anders Westanmo
Top three U18 (7.5km): Logan Drevlow, Anders Decker, Eli Andre
Top three U16 (5km): Reid Thompson, Jack Rudolph, Palmer Hunt
New England: Henchey Memorial Eastern Cup, Craftsbury
Saturday: classic sprint
Top three overall women: Quincy Massey-Bierman, Ava Thurston, Sofia Scirica
Top three overall men: Luke Allan, Jack Christner, Finn Sweet
Full age-group results in Instagram caption above; thanks NENSA!
Sunday: 5/10km interval-start skate
Women
Top three overall (10km): Ava Thurston, Quincy Massey-Bierman, Shea Brams
Top three U20 (10km): Greta Kilburn, Maddie Hooker, Gillian Fairfax
Top three U18 (10km): Ruth Krebs, Annelies Hanna, Kiera Stabile
Top three U16 (5km): Olivia Hanna, Antonia Schramm, Mia Gorman
Men
Top three overall (10km): Luke Allan, Jack Christner, Finn Sweet
Top three U20 (10km): Luke Rizio, James Underwood, Chad Walsh
Top three U18 (10km): Albert Raymond, Thomas Beland, Joseph Sluka
Top three U16 (5km): Foster Whitworth V, Patrick Hollan, Max Fey
High-level domestic racing resumes with U.S. Nationals, which kick off in Anchorage on January 2. The JNQ circuit then picks up once more in mid- to late-January, depending on your region.
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 years one and two of Nordic Insights, and in turn the only reason why there is a year three 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, last season’s GoFundMe may be found here. Thank you for your consideration, and, especially, for reading.
