US Nationals – FasterSkier.com

Swirbul Sweeps Houghton–Karsrud Takes Men’s Sprint

Ken RothJanuary 7, 2023

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN: Welcome to FasterSkier’s on-location coverage of the United States National Cross-Country Ski Championships from Houghton, Michigan. This week, Houghton hosts the U.S. National Cross-Country Championships on the Michigan Technological University’s trails system. Today’s event was the freestyle sprint. Even though the race was held under the organizing umbrella of the national championships, today’s event was not a national championship race; as it is part of the US. SuperTour. U.S. Ski and Snowboard has...

News US Nationals

Swirbul Three-Peats, Jager Triumphant in U.S. Nationals

Ken RothJanuary 6, 2023

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN: Welcome to FasterSkier’s on-location coverage of the United States National Cross-Country Ski Championships from Houghton, Michigan. This week, Houghton hosts the U.S. National Cross-Country Championships on the Michigan Technological University’s trails system. Today’s event is the 20-kilometer classic mass start. There were several questions to be answered at the beginning of the day: the women’s side has been dominated by Hailey Swirbul. Swirbul has won the two previous races, the 10-kilometer individual start...

News US Nationals

Two in a row for Swirbul, Karsrud wins for NMU

Ken RothJanuary 4, 2023

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN: Welcome to FasterSkier’s on-location coverage of the United States National Cross-Country Ski Championships from Houghton, Michigan. This week, Houghton hosts the U.S. National Cross-Country Championships on the Michigan Technological University’s trails system. Today’s event was the Classic Sprints. Weather again played an outsized role in today’s proceedings as temperatures hovered around freezing all night. The overnight forecast varied from freezing rain, to rain, to rain mixed with snow, to straight snow. During ski...

News US Nationals

Swirbul Sizzles, Kirkeng Dominates U.S. National Championships 10 k Individual

Ken RothJanuary 2, 2023

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN: Welcome to FasterSkier’s on-location coverage of the United States National Cross- Country Ski Championships from Houghton, Michigan. This week, Houghton hosts the U.S. National Cross-Country Championships on the Michigan Technological University’s trail system. The U.S. Nationals mean many things to different competitors. For some, it’s their initiation into the world of high-end competitive ski racing; for others it’s their chance to burnish their credentials; and for still others it’s a combination of competition...

News Results US Nationals

2022 Junior Nationals Recap: After Long Wait, Minneapolis Hosts Top US Juniors for Full Slate of Racing

Ben TheyerlMarch 16, 2022

To trace the thread of the past, present, and future of American cross-country skiing, all you have to do is look at a golf course in Minneapolis that touches 3 of those 10,000 lakes in Minnesota; Theodore Wirth Park. Over the past week, America’s most-skied loop played host to the US Ski and Snowboard Junior Championships (formerly Junior Nationals, or “JNs”), bringing the top under-20 year old skiers from across the nation together for the...

Continental Cup Regional / Local US Nationals

Norris and Brennan Lead a Strong Showing for APU with Wins at the SuperTour 15k Mass Start Classic

FasterSkierJanuary 17, 2022

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ella Hall The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued Sunday with 10/15-kilometer mass start classic races, featuring SuperTour, RMISA collegiate, and Intermountain junior national qualifier divisions. With overnight temperatures in the low teens which rose to roughly 20 degrees Fahrenheit by start time, tracks looked ideal for kicking and gliding on the meticulously groomed trails at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, ID. Today’s races featured four laps each,...

Continental Cup Regional / Local US Nationals

Sun Valley SuperTour Rundown: Brennan and Norris Lead the 10/15k Mass Start Classic

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 16, 2022

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in the men’s 15k and women’s 10k mass start classic, which took place this morning in Ketchum, Idaho. The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued this morning with 10/15-kilometer classic races at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, Idaho. While temperatures were warmer than at the start of yesterday’s...

Continental Cup Regional / Local US Nationals

Brennan and Hagenbuch Skate Away with Wins in Sun Valley SuperTour 5/10k Interval Start Free

FasterSkierJanuary 16, 2022

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl The final weekend of SuperTour racing in Period II, and the final weekend within the Olympic qualification window, kicked off Saturday at the Lake Creek Nordic Center in Ketchum, Idaho. Part of the 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational, the SuperTour races were held in conjunction with a Montana State University RMISA event and an Intermountain XC junior national qualifier. Highlighting the size of the event, there were 157...

Continental Cup News Regional / Local US Nationals

Sun Valley SuperTour Rundown: Brennan and Hagenbuch Smash the 5/10k Interval Start Skate

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 15, 2022

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in the men’s 10k and women’s 5k interval start skate, which took place this morning in Ketchum, Idaho. After just over a week off from racing, the Period II western swing of SuperTour racing continued this morning in Ketchum, ID. The SuperTour races were part of the 2022 Sun Valley...

Continental Cup US Nationals

In-Depth Race Coverage: Slow Heats with Tight Finishes in the SoHo SuperTour Classic Sprint

FasterSkierJanuary 8, 2022

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl Precipitation was no longer a threat for the final day of racing in Soldier Hollow on Friday, a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint offered alongside the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships, yet classified as SuperTour only. However, athletes still faced unseasonably warm weather as blazing sun brought temperatures into the low 50’s on course during the midday heats. Howling wind and rippling bibs could be heard as background noise as...

Regional / Local US Nationals

Soldier Hollow SuperTour Rundown: Ogden and Bøe Win a Warm and Slow Classic Sprint

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 7, 2022

Here’s a quick results recap from today’s SuperTour classic sprint in Soldier Hollow. Stay tuned tomorrow for detailed coverage including comments from athletes. On a second warm and slow day of classic racing, temperatures in Soldier Hollow, UT climbed into the low 50’s as athletes raced through the heats of the 1.5 kilometer sprint. In the women’s race, Katharine Ogden (USST/SMS T2) won each round of racing, from the qualifier to the final, where she...

US Nationals

In-Depth Race Coverage: Patterson and Martin Lead 10/15k Interval Start Classic in SoHo

FasterSkierJanuary 7, 2022

By Rachel Bachman Perkins, Ella Hall, and Gavin Kentch Thursday marked the final day of racing at the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Soldier Hollow, UT. (Friday’s classic sprint is a SuperTour only, not part of the National Championship series.) After prime conditions in Sunday’s freestyle sprint and Tuesday’s 20/30-kilometer freestyle distance races, warm and wet weather made its way into the forecast just in time for the 10/15k interval-start classic races. Temperatures that...

US Nationals

Craftsbury Duo Patterson and Martin Bring Home National Titles in the 10/15k Interval Start Classic

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 6, 2022

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in Soldier Hollow this morning. Warming temperatures and liquid precipitation set the tone for the final stage of the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championship in Soldier Hollow. The livestream showed athletes of all levels struggling to find kick on the challenging Olympic caliber course. In the women’s 10-kilometer interval start classic,...

US Nationals

Rosie Brennan and Scott Patterson Take Distance Skate Races in Noteworthy Day for APU

FasterSkierJanuary 5, 2022

By Gavin Kentch, Ella Hall, and Rachel Bachman Perkins Tuesday brought distance races to Soldier Hollow, in the second full day of racing at 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships. The story at the front of the field was strong performances by athletes who had begun the year racing on the World Cup, as Rosie Brennan dominated the women’s field to win by over a minute, and Scott Patterson took the men’s race by roughly twelve...

US Nationals

Scott Patterson and Rosie Brennan Earn 20/30k National Titles in Soldier Hollow

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 4, 2022

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and plenty of photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in the men’s 30k and women’s 20k, which took place this morning at the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah. Perhaps becoming a theme of the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships, the 20/30-kilometer mass start freestyle distance races were both won by athletes who have spent...

News US Nationals

JC Schoonmaker and Caitlin Patterson Take Skate Sprint National Championships

Gavin KentchJanuary 2, 2022

By Gavin Kentch and Rachel Bachman Perkins The 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships began in Soldier Hollow, outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sunday with skate sprints. JC Schoonmaker, recently returned from Europe, took his first national championship with relative ease for the men, while Caitlin Patterson, who was the first American in all four races at 2018 U.S. Nationals, returned to her Olympic-year winning ways by taking the victory for the women. Will...

US Nationals

U.S. Senior National Classic Sprint Rundown (Updated with Images & Audio)

FasterSkierJanuary 7, 2020

Racing at the 2020 U.S. Senior Nationals wrapped on Tuesday with a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint. Although the day came down to six skiers in both the men’s and women’s finals — as is the norm — what flummoxed a few skiers of note were the dicey conditions, which left the tracks covered with slow-me-down lake effect snow. Post-race interview with Hunter Wonders Canada’s Julien Locke (CNST) won the men’s final in 4:03.83 — a time...

News US Nationals

U.S. Senior Nationals Distance Classic Rundown

Gavin KentchJanuary 5, 2020

This post will be updated throughout the day with additional information. The last time Erik Bjornsen (APU/USST) raced at mid-season U.S. Nationals, it was January 2014. Competing at Soldier Hollow in a series of races designed to choose the American team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Bjornsen captured his last mid-season national title when he won the 15-kilometer classic interval start race. He was followed by Reese Hanneman, Kris Freeman, and Sylvan Ellefson,...

News US Nationals

Nationals Notes: Distance Course Preview

Gavin KentchJanuary 5, 2020

Midway through the 2020 U.S. Cross-Country Championships in Houghton, Michigan, a couple of things are becoming clear. SMST2 skiers are skiing very well, with podium finishes for Ben Saxton, Alayna Sonnesyn, Sonnesyn again, Kyle Bratrud, and Ian Torchia. APU skiers are skiing well, with podiums for Hailey Swirbul, Erik Bjornsen, and Swirbul again. And 19-year-old Gus Schumacher of Alaska Winter Stars has arrived, his brace of podium finishes announcing him as likely the most dominant American junior...

US Nationals

U.S. Senior Nationals Distance Skate Rundown

Gavin KentchJanuary 3, 2020

This post will be updated throughout the day with additional information. At the final SuperTour stop before this week’s Cross-Country Skiing National Championships, Riitta-Liisa Roponen of Finland took the win in a 10-kilometer freestyle interval start race over the fastest Americans in Sun Valley in mid-December. Friday morning, the scene changed to Houghton, Michigan, but the final result was the same, as Roponen (Finland’s Oulon Hiihtoseura club team) covered two laps of the 5 k course...

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