By Gavin Kentch
U.S. Ski & Snowboard recently officially announced the athletes named to the team for this year’s U18 Scando Cup Trip. Athletes will be in Gjøvik, Norway, outside of Lillehammer, from February 15–23. They will have the chance to compete in up to four events, two sprints and two distance races.
Presumptive nominations were first reported by Nordic Insights in early January. On the one hand, everything I first reported here was accurate; all of these athletes had indeed qualified for the trip. On the other hand, due to trip leaders’ ability to secure additional funding, one athlete declining starts here to race at World Juniors instead, and the absence of field size caps for these races, five additional athletes and at least two coaches have been added to the roster originally reported. These athletes were previously listed as alternates in my January 6 article.
Team nominations are based on an athlete’s two best performances in the three national championship races held in Anchorage in early January.
Here are the seventeen American athletes named to this year’s team:
Women
Niki Johnson, Tahoe Endurance Club
Britta Johnson, Tahoe Endurance Club
Ally Wheeler, Casper Nordic Club
Annelies Hanna, Ford Sayre Nordic
Tula Higman, Bridger Ski Foundation
Linnea Ousdigian, Loppet Nordic Racing
Lena Poduska, Jackson Hole Ski Club
Ruth Krebs, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club
Mia Stiassny, APU Nordic Ski Center
Men
Nate Streubel, Jackson Hole Ski Club
Will Bentley, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail
Quinten Koch, Plain Valley Nordic
Noa Kam-Magruder, Alaska Winter Stars
Vebjorn Flagstad, Alaska Winter Stars
Oskar Flora, APU Nordic Ski Center
Callahan Waters, Bridger Ski Foundation
Logan Drevlow, Loppet Nordic Racing
These trips will be staffed as follows:
Team leader and head coach: Greta Anderson, U.S. Ski Team
Medical support: Dr. Katie Eichten
Service staff
Head of service: Julien Bordes, Tahoe Endurance
Service: Lydia Youkey, Mount Bachelor Sports Education Foundation
Service: Etienne Bordes, Tahoe Endurance
Service: Luna Wasson, Jackson Hole Ski Club
Service: Erik Flora, APU Nordic Ski Center
Schedules and results for the race series may be found here (FIS results page) and here (Equinor Norgescup page). Racing starts on February 20.
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 toAmerican 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.
