By Angie Kell
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KINCAID PARK, Anchorage, Alaska — Erica Lavén, a foreign national skier for the University of Utah, handily won the classic sprint final at 2025 U.S. National Cross-Country Championships this cold and windy Saturday afternoon in a time of 3:29.66. Following the Swede, Estonia’s Mariel Merlii Pulles of Team Birkie finished in second place, about 15 meters back, in 3:30.95. Rounding out the podium, quickly approaching and hot on Pulles’ heels, was 19-year-old-Sammy Smith (Sun Valley/USST) with a time of 3:33.96.
Smith, currently in her first year at Stanford, a world-class university that is very good at very many things but maybe not so much at skiing, only put skis on the snow for the first time this season *not even a month ago* (more on her other gasp-worthy feats to follow shortly).
As the first American across the line, Smith therefore became the U.S. National classic sprint champion. Following her on the domestic podium, was Erin Bianco of Bridger Ski Foundation in second, and Nina Seemann of Dartmouth in third. Bianco and Seemann were fifth and sixth overall, respectively, in the final.
from left: Erin Bianco, Sammy Smith, and Nina Seemann (photo: Gavin Kentch)
Smith, a former U.S. Junior Nationals freestyle skier, I mean, an elite soccer player who played on the U17 World Cup team, I mean, a member of the National Cross-Country Skiing A Team, closed out her first semester of her freshman season on the Stanford soccer team only last month. She was first on snow on December 15, after the semester ended and she headed back home to Sun Valley.
Despite her win today, Smith described this scenario to Nordic Insights as “obviously not ideal going into an event like this.” But her overall athletic prowess clearly provided the training required to take home a national championship, the first U.S. Nationals podium finish of her career. (Smith won three SuperTour races here last December: a skate sprint, a classic sprint, and a 10km classic. She also, by the way, has ten career World Cup top-30 finishes. Again, Smith is 19 years old.)
Turning to today’s race, in a course she said she loved, Smith discussed the details of the final.
“I definitely did not have the best start I was hoping for,” Smith said. “I slipped for about my first four or five strides. I was not in the position I wanted to be going up the first hill. As I result, I kind of ended up getting boxed out and was not where I wanted to be up going into Gong Hill, and I knew Gong Hill was going to be ‘my hill’ in the sense that it was chance for me to catch up with the leaders.
“I unfortunately did not find myself in the best position there and I got a little bit off the front end, but I did my best to try to catch back up at the end. It was good, though, and it was really fun. And credit to all the other athletes; they had great races.”
Smith, primed to continue the winter racing season when she is not playing soccer, has her eyes on the future. When asked what lies next for her season, she said, “This year is my last year as a junior, so Junior Worlds. Ideally, if I could go there and have a strong performance, it would be really fun to throw down a couple more races there.”
“In terms of the World Cup,” Smith continued, “I don’t really know what opportunities I’ll get. If I get the chance to go over, I’d love to compete there again and see how the rest of races go here and see what chances I have.”
Bianco remarkably took domestic silver today, despite having a rough recovery period after setting the fastest time in the morning’s qualification round.
“After the qual, just in that rest period, I was freezing cold and couldn’t get any foods down,” Bianco said of a day with air temps in the mid-teens but wind chill only slightly above zero Fahrenheit thanks to a persistent north wind that cut through the exposed stadium all day long.
“I was feeling very queasy and was just trying to get simple sugars in. I went into quarter a little depleted but gradually warmed up and got some sugar in me. I was proud of how I skied today, and I had really, really good skis, so thanks to my coaches for that.”
Bianco also stated of Anchorage, “I love it here. I love the hard, fast-packed course. I love the gradual climb and the just one pretty tough climb, and the recovery.”
Seemann, who rounded out the U.S. podium with her third-place finish, told Nordic Insights that her race went well. “It was good. It was really hard out there, and cold, but it was a fun race, good competition. I was definitely kind of tired and cold and tired by the final. It was a good race.”
Seemann earned World Cup start rights as the SuperTour leader following Period 1 races in Birkieland last month, but elected to forgo the seven races of the Tour de Ski in favor of four races here at Kincaid Park. “My goal this year is to qualify for U23 Championships, so I figured I had the best shot of doing that if I came here,” Seemann reasoned.
Racing continues here tomorrow with mass start classic races, 20km for open racers and 10km for U20 and below. There are 82 women entered in the 20km and 96 in the 10km; you can find start lists here.
Results: qual | heats | final results (unofficial)
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.
