US Nationals

HOUGHTON, Mich. (Jan. 5) – Defending champions Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) led every heat Saturday en route to winning the men's and women's freestyle sprint titles at the U.S. Cross Country Championships at Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Center. Randall, the first U.S. woman to win a World Cup cross country race, won her eighth U.S. gold medal while Newell earned his second. Randall survived a spill in her quarterfinal heat...

Watch most of the top men and women finishing the individual-start 10km and 15km classic races at nationals. For the full run-down on these races, read these articles: http://www.fasterskier.com/racing4934.html http://www.fasterskier.com/racing4933.html http://www.fasterskier.com/racing4931.html http://www.fasterskier.com/racing4930.html Men's 15km: (we missed 2nd-place finisher and US champion Lars Flora going through due to a brief confrontation with an over-zealous race offical. Apologies.) Women's 10km:

Randall (APUNSC/USST) won the women's qualification round by two seconds over SuperTour leader Laura Valaas (APUNSC/USST). Caitlin Compton (CXC/USBA), winner of the 5km freestyle race, was third. In the men's event Newell (USST) won by nearly three seconds over men's SuperTour leader Garrott Kuzzy (CXC). Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess skiied to an impressive third place. The top thirty men and women advance to the heats.

HOUGHTON, Mich. (Jan. 3) – Two-time Olympians Kikkan Randall and Lars Flora (both from Anchorage, AK) each won classic technique gold medals – for the women's 10K and men's 15K – Thursday at the U.S. Cross Country Championships. It was the seventh U.S. title for Randall, who recently became the first U.S. woman to win a World Cup cross country race, and Flora's fourth championship. “I felt good at the start, but my arms were...

Babikov skied away from the field, winning by over a minute ahead of Lars Flora (APUNSC/Factory Team). Andrey Golovsky made it a Factory Team sweep, finishing third, .1 seconds behind Flora. The US Ski Team took the next two spots with Kris Freeman in 4th and Chris Cook in 5th. Because both Babikov and Golovsky are not American citizens, Flora is the official National Champion, with Freeman and Cook also on the podium. Garrott Kuzzy...

Randall skied to a 22 second victory over the Factory Team's Kristina Strandberg. Morgan Arritola (SVSEF/USST) was another 31 seconds back in third. Since Strandberg hails from Sweden, Kate Arduser (APUNSC/Rossignol) took the bronze as the third American. 5km Freestyle champion Caitlin Compton (CXC/USBA) was 5th, a mere .2 seconds behind Arduser. Switzerland's Karin Camenisch (Rossignol) rounded out a tight pack in 6th, 1.4 seconds out of 4th. SuperTour leader Laura Valaas (APUNSC/USST) finished 10th,...

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Marius Korthauer knew America’s best distance Nordic skier started just 30 seconds after him on New Year’s Day – and the Alaska Nanook was determined to not let Kris Freeman catch up. Korthauer accomplished that mission, and it helped skate him to fifth place Tuesday in a 10-kilometer freestyle race on the opening day of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships. “I didn’t look back on purpose, but when I got the...

More excellent photos from the freestyle event, as well as a wax report, can be found at the Ivan Babikov (Factory Team) – 1st Place (Photo Credit: Factory Team) Kris Freeman (USST) – 3rd Place, 2nd American (Photo Credit: TokoUS) Men's Podium (Photo Credit: Factory Team) Women's 5km Freestyle Liz Stephen (USST) – 2nd Place (Photo Credit: TokoUS)

HOUGHTON, Mich. (Jan. 2) — Close to 30 teams are expected to compete for the College Cup during the U.S. Cross Country Championships underway at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center in Houghton, Michigan. In addition to serving as the national championship races for U.S. Nordic skiing, the event also awards the College Cup to the best-performing collegiate team in the two distance races. College skiers earn points for their institutions based on their finishes...

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner HOUGHTON, Mich. — Kikkan Randall’s win on Thursday didn’t carry nearly the same magnitude as her historic victory last month, but it instead displayed a different benefit — she’s helping raise the Alaska Pacific University team, including a pair from Fairbanks, to greater heights. Randall, who by claiming a sprint in Russia Dec. 16 became the first American woman to win a Nordic skiing World Cup race, handled the competition in a...

Lief Zimmermann (USST/BSF) skied strong and consistent to earn honors as the top American and national champion in the men’s race. Compton dominated the women’s field, winning the 5km Freestyle by 24.7 seconds in a time of 13:47.1. Elizabeth Stephen (USST) 14:11.8 finished second ahead of Swiss native Karin Caminisch (Rossignol) 14:17.3. Tazlina Mannix (APU) crossed the line as the third American finishing in 14:19.6. Compton, the 2007 overall Super Tour Champion joined the US...

In impressive fashion, Caitlin Compton captured the first title at the 2008 Senior Nationals with a time of 13:47, 24 seconds ahead of Liz Stephen. Rossignol's Karin Camenisch rounded out the top three, finishing 6 seconds behind Stephen. More to follow…

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN — Three web cams, including streaming video and the audio from the event announcer, will be available during all of the races. One camera will cover the start area and another will catch all of the finishers. The Nordic skiing national championships include four races over a week. The first will be the classic technique distance race on Tuesday, January 1, with the freestyle distance race on Thursday, January 3. The individual sprint...

Ivan Babikov beat Leif Zimmerman by 15.6 seconds to win the Men's 10K Freestyle race at US Nationals in Houghton, MI. Kris Freeman was third, 6.6 seconds behind Zimmerman. More later…

HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN (December 30, 2007) — The fences are up, trails are marked and there is plenty of snow. Skiers have started arriving in Houghton, Michigan, for the 2008 U.S. Cross Country Championships. The first of four cross country ski races kicks off New Year's Day 2008. More than 460 skiers have registered, representing close to 30 colleges, various ski clubs and the U.S. Ski Team. Several Olympic skiers will vie for the national championship,...

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Good snow, World Cup and Junior World Championships start slots plus another big field of competitors should equal intense competitions for the 2008 U.S. Cross Country Championships, starting New Year's Day at Michigan Tech. “We'll have about 450 athletes racing again. I'm excited about what should be more great racing,” U.S. Cross Country Head Coach Pete Vordenberg said. “We're going to have another huge field and there's a lot at stake, so...

U.S. National Championships The Mt Itasca Biathlon Association in Coleraine, Minnesota has been awarded the 2008 North American Biathlon Championships. The North American Biathlon Championship is an IBU Continental Championships, a sanctioned event, which will feature Sprint, Pursuit and Mass Start races. The race dates are March 20-23, 2008. Athletes from all over the U.S. and Canada will be competing. In addition to the North American Championships, the event will also serve at the U.S....

U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Disabled Team will compete HOUGHTON MI — For the second year in a row, the national championships for cross country skiing will take place in Houghton, Michigan. The U.S. Cross Country Championship will be held at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center, January 1-6, 2008. Members of the U.S. Ski Team — including Olympians Kris Freeman, Andy Newell and Kikkan Randall — will be among the 400 skiers competing in the...

The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team may not do its early season training in Fairbanks anymore, but team members will be there in March. That's because the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks has been selected to host national cross-country skiing distance championships on the Jim Whisenhant Ski Trails at the Birch Hill Recreation Area. Read the full article in the Fairbanks News-Miner: http://www.adn.com/sports/story/9276436p-9191284c.html