Twenty athletes nominated to 2019-20 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team

Mon, May  6, 2019 - By Tom Horrocks

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Ski Team cross country nominations for the 2019-20 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen Colo.) will lead an experienced team of athletes heading into the 2019-20 season, which includes the return of FIS Cross Country World Cup to the U.S. for the first time in 19 years on March 17 in Minneapolis, Minn. North American World Cup events will also include Quebec City, Canada, March 14-15, and for the second consecutive season, the World Cup Finals will also be held on North American soil in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, March 20-22.

The 2019-20 team also includes largest D-Team the U.S. has fielded in many years with nine athletes, including all four members of the gold-medal winning 2019 FIS Junior World Ski Championships men’s relay team: Luke Jager (Anchorage, Alaska), Ben Ogden (Landgrove, Vt), Johnny Hagenbuch (Ketchum, Idaho), and Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska).

Julia Kern, Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan and Jessica Diggins are among 20 athletes nominated to the 2019-20 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. (U.S. Ski & Snowboard - Reese Brown)

Athletes nominated to the team open the season with the first on-snow training camp May 18-31 in Bend, Ore., and Mt Bachelor ski area.

Each athlete accepting the nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world-class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including an elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine, and high performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official U.S. Cross Country Ski Team announcement will be made in the fall.

2019-20 Cross Country Nominations

(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A TEAM

Men
Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 7/14/91)
Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 5/14/87)

Women
Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 11/21/89)
Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 12/21/98
Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 3/22/90)
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 8/26/91)

B TEAM

Men
Kevin Bolger (Minocqua, Wisc.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 4/11/93)
Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 1/28/92)

Women
Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 9/12/97)
Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Craftsbury Nordic; 1/30/90)
Hailey Swirbul (Aspen, Colo.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 7/10/98)

D TEAM

Men
Johnny Hagenbuch (Ketchum, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 10/1/2001)
Luke Jager (Anchorage, Alaska; APU/University of Utah; 1/17/00)
Noel Keeffe (Steamboat Springs, Colo.; SSWSC/University of Utah; 8/24/99)
Zak Ketterson (Bloomington, Minn.; NMU; 4/2/97)
Ben Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School/University of Vermont; 2/13/00)
Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Winter Stars; 7/25/00)

Women
Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 2/19/98)
Novie McCabe (Winthrop, Wash.; MVNT; 12/15/01)
Kendall Kramer (Fairbanks, Alaska; NSCF-FXC; 6/25/02)