Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) brought over 30 athletes to the US Cross Country Skiing National Championships in Lake Placid, NY, in early January. The championship races consisted of four events over 6 six days. In addition to national titles, the US Ski Team uses these races to name international racing trips including World Cup, U23 and World Junior Championships, and U18 trip.
Max Kluck (Butte, MT), a BSF Pro Team member and University of Utah skier, had a podium finish in the classic sprint and earned a spot on the U23 World Championship team. Max will compete at Worlds in Lillehammer, Norway, in February. Pro Team Athlete Anders Weiss also had a top-three finish in the U23 category to earn himself a spot on the U23 World Championship team. Emma Reeder is the first alternate on the US women's team for U23 World Championships.
Luke Allan also had three top-10 finishes and will look to represent team Canada at the U23 World Championships in Norway.
Pro Team athlete and MSU Ski Team alum Emma Albrecht continues to have a standout year, finishing within the American top 6 in three events in Lake Placid, earning her a World Cup nomination in period 3. Emma currently sits in 5th position on the Super Tour national rankings list. Erin Bianco also earned a World Cup nomination.
"The level of racing at US Nationals is higher than I have ever seen," said BSF Pro Team coach Andy Newell, who spent 16 years racing on the US Ski Team before transitioning to coaching. "The field is creeping closer and closer to World Cup level, which makes for very competitive, small-margin racing. It requires a full team effort both from the BSF coaching staff and the athletes to pull off these top results at Nationals. I'm really proud of the club for how we showed up, bringing a huge contingent of athletes, and qualifying 8 athletes for international trips."
While junior racers have their own Junior National Championships to look forward to in March every season, the senior National Championships in January are still an important proving ground for these athletes, with the event deciding which juniors will get to race on the international stage this season. It's also a chance to test themselves against the top collegiate and pro racers as well. BSF juniors showed up ready to compete at Lake Placid despite challenging training conditions at home due to lack of snow. For many BSF juniors, these were their first races of the season.
Tula Higman had standout performances placing as the third overall junior and first U18 in the Classic 10k and third U18 in the Skate Mass Start race. Tula qualified to represent the US at both World Junior Championships and the U18 Scandinavian Cup trip. Sam Madsen also qualified to represent team USA on the U18 trip with 4th and 7th place finishes in the U18 category of the Skate and Classic races, respectively. These athletes will compete in Trondheim, Norway, and Ulricehamn, Sweden, at the end of the January.
Andrew Morehouse, BSF Nordic Program Director, noted, "All of our athletes, from junior to Pro Team, left their best on the courses. They showed up as great teammates and fierce competitors, demonstrating once again why BSF is one of the best clubs in the country!"
Max Kluck - U23 World Championships
Anders Weiss - U23 World Championships
Luke Allan - U23 World Championships
Emma Reeder - U23 World Championships alternate
Tula Higman - World Junior Championships & U18 Scandinavian Cup
Sam Madsen - U18 Scandinavian Cup
Emma Albrecht - World Cup nomination
Erin Bianco - World Cup nomination
