Diggins, Koos Take U.S. XC Sprint ttles

US Cross Country Ski Championships

Mon, Jan  10, 2011 - By US Ski Team and Ian Harvey

RUMFORD, ME (Jan. 8) - Junior skier Jesssica Diggins, 19, (Afton, MN) and Olympian Torin Koos (Wenatchee, WA) battled an intensely motivated national championships field to take the top spots at the U.S. Cross Country Championships in the freestyle sprint Saturday.

The title for Diggins, skiing for Central Cross Country Skiing (CXC), capped an outstanding week at the weeklong championships at Black Mountain in Western Maine. Earlier this week Diggins was named as a member of the U.S. World Junior Championships Team which will compete in Otepea, Estonia from Jan.26-31. Dartmouth skier Sophie Caldwell took second while APU’s Sadie Bjornsen was third.

Says Toko's Ian Harvey, "This was a course for those who can generate a lot of speed with their legs on high speed sections, glide well, and have good finishing speed.  Jessie Diggins was tripped up in the A final, hit the top of the final downhill in 5th place well separated from 4th, and then hammered over the top, got in a low tuck, worked the small bumps and dips, let her skis run (flat), and shot into 3rd on the dip next to the 200 meters to go sign and then opened it up to take a clear win.  How impressive was that!  She's on her way shortly to World Junior Championships representing the stars and bars."

Jessie Diggins, CXC skier, wins freestyle sprint at US cross county ski championships (photo: Ian Harvey)

Olympic veteran Koos, now skiing out of the Methow Valley Olympic Development program,  demonstrated strong form and fitness at the championships But there was plenty of heat down the home stretch before he claimed his second title of the week. Second place went to Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO) skiing for the Sun Valley Ski Educational Foundation, while third went to Alaska Pacific University’s Lars Flora (Anchorage).

Koos said the race was fast and furious. "I just had to put myself in a position to make it happen at the end," he said. "I am pretty satisfied because in previous years this may not have been the finish for me. But I have been working on some technique for the really fast double pole skating and it seemed to pay off today. I feel day in and day out I am now in the kind of shape that I can be a top ten world cup skier."

Jessie Diggens leading it out (photo: Ian Harvey)

Says Harvey, "This was the first year since Torin was a kid that he hasn't been affiliated with the National team despite some strong international results including a podium in an individual World Cup race.  You have to have a lot of respect and admiration for how he circled the wagons and got his house in order, found some excellent support (Methow Olympic Development), worked his tail off, continued to develop his game (he is racing smarter now), and came out hungry.  The result was 2 more National Championships and solid standing as one of the US' top two sprinters.  Bravo Torin!"

In three days Koos heads back to Europe to train with the Swiss ski team in Davos, Switzerland.

The sprints closed a week of racing and battling Mother Nature, with volunteers doing yeoman's work in shoveling snow and preparing the race tracks. U.S. Championships in long distance events, 50k for men and 30k for women, will be held in Sun Valley in early April.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
January 8, 2011
U.S. Cross Country Championships
Rumford, Maine

Men’s 1.6k Freestyle Sprints
1. Torin Koos, Wenatchee, WA (Methow Valley Olympic Development)
2. Simeon Hamilton, Aspen, CO (Sun Valley Ski Educational Foundation)
3. Lars Flora, Anchorage (Alaska Pacific University)
4. Chris Cook, Rhinelander, WI (Steinbock Racing)
5. Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess, Bend, OR (Bend Nordic)

Women’s 1.4k Freestle Sprints
1. Jessica Diggins, Afton, MN (Central Cross Country)
2. Sophie Caldwell, Peru,VT (Dartmouth)
3. Sadie Bjornsen, Winthrop, WA (Alaska Pacific University)
4. Holly Brooks, Anchorage (Alaska Pacific University)
5. Lauren Fritz, Anchorage (Alaska Nordic)