US Cross Country Ski Championships Preview

Ben Lustgarten winning the 30k classic mass start at US Nationals in Soldier Hollow last January (Photo Sarah Brunson)

Callie Young on the podium at the Fort Kent Eastern Cup back in December (Photo Chris Young)

Last Updated: 02.Jan.2018

Five of the Green Racing Projects skiers and four Craftsbury Nordic Ski club juniors are currently in Anchorage, Alaska, where US National Championships kick off tomorrow. The races are planned to go off at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, where they expect hundreds of juniors, college athletes, and professional skiers to contest the four races. Besides National Championship titles, there’s a lot at stake in these races. For the younger athletes, the first three races are used to pick teams for World Junior Championships and U23 World Championships later this year in Goms, Switzerland. Younger athletes can qualify for U18 Scandinavian Cup races. On the senior side, all four races are the final chances to score points that count towards Olympic qualification, along with the earlier SuperTours.

The four CNSC juniors competing are Callie Young, Phoebe Sweet, Alex Lawson, and Griffin Wright. Callie and Phoebe are both second year U18’s, Alex (who now races for Middlebury College) is a second year U20, and Griffin is a first year U18. Callie just won the freestyle sprint at the Fort Kent Eastern Cup, and all four juniors are looking good for the upcoming races.

The Green Racing Project skiers include Caitlin Patterson, Kaitlynn Miller, Liz Guiney, Ben Lustgarten, and Adam Martin. Both Caitlin and Ben go into US Nationals as the SuperTour leaders, so they’ll be looking for more strong performances to cement their standings. Ben was last year’s 30k classic National champion, and both Caitlin and Kaitlynn had podium performances.

Race Schedule:
Wednesday, January 3: 10/15k Freestyle Individual Start
Friday, January 5: Freestyle Sprint
Sunday, January 7: 20/30k Classic Mass Start for seniors, 5/10k Classic for juniors
Monday, January 8: Classic Sprint

Results from the races will be available on the Anchorage Nationals website, and live video streaming will be on the US Ski and Snowboard Facebook page, so stay tuned!