Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Cross Country Athlete Tristan Thrasher Brings Home Bronze in Freestyle Skate Race at the 2024 U.S. Cross Country Junior Nationals
SSWSC athletes bring home multiple top-10 results
The U.S. Cross Country Junior Nationals took place last week, March 11-16, in Lake Placid, NY., the 1980 Winter Olympic Games site. Fifteen Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club athletes qualified for the Junior Nationals, and 13 attended the event along with three SSWSC coaches to represent the Rocky Mountain region in the races. Over 500 cross country ski athletes from across the country, including ten different divisions nationwide, were represented. The trails and facilities have recently seen major upgrades, and even with the lean eastern winter, trail conditions were good and held up well in spring weather conditions. Mt. Van Hovenberg is the official name of the race venue, and it has a reputation for demanding race courses. Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Cross Country Athlete Tristan Thrasher brings home bronze in freestyle skate race and SSWSC athletes bring home multiple top-10 results.

The series of races began on Monday, March 11, with an individual-start freestyle skate race, 5K for U16 athletes and 7.5K for U19/U20 athletes. Snow overnight and during some of the races added a challenge to the racing. SSWSC’s Tristan Thrasher led all Rocky Mountain athletes with a third-place finish in the U16 male race. Henry Magill also clocked a fast 7.5k time and finished 6th in the U18 male race. Tig Loomis and Georgia Bishop set the tone for their week with two top-twenty finishes, placing 17th and 18th in the U16 female race. Kiri May broke into the top 30 with a 28th-place finish in the U18 female race, as did Campbell McLaren, who finished 24th in the U18 male race.

Next up was the classic sprint on Wednesday, March 13. The 1.4K course demanded speed and power to gain an advantage over the competition. Despite being spun 180 degrees in his semifinal by a fellow racer, Henry Magill fought hard in the B-final (A-Final is the top 6 racers, B-Final is the top 6-12 racers) to capture an 8th-place finish in the U18 male race. Campbell McLaren had a solid result, finishing 18th in the U18 male Sprint. Tristan Thrasher struggled to find grip in his semifinal but then totally dominated the B-final to score 7th place overall in the U16 male race. Charlie Wiedel qualified 27th and was knocked out of the quarter-finals in the U16M heats. Kiri May and Grace Olexa skied a strong qualifying race, and both qualified for the sprint heats. May skied well but did not advance to the semis. She finished 16th overall in the U18 female race. Olexa did not advance from the quarter-final heat and finished 28th overall in the U18 female contest. Tig Loomis qualified mid-pack in the U16 female Sprint and did not advance from her quarter-final heat, finishing 20th overall.

Friday, March 15, the race was a mass-start classic race, with 5K for U16 and 10K for U18. Tristan Thrasher was just nine seconds from 3rd place in the U16 men’s race, finishing 5th. In his first Junior Nationals, Charlie Wiedel finished a respectable 30th in the U16 male race. On the girl’s side, Tig Loomis led the way for SSWSC U16 females with a 14th-place finish; her teammate Georgia Bishop came in 19th. Kiri May displayed grit after crashing hard on her first lap, injuring her shoulder, and went to finish 17th in the U18 female race.

Saturday, March 15, was the mixed-gender, four-person, 3.75K freestyle skate race. Rocky Mountain division’s top result came from the U16 team of Tig Loomis (SSWSC), Tristan Thrasher (SSWSC), Georgia Bishop (SSWSC), and Landon Laverdie (SSCV), with the team finishing 5th overall and Thrasher with the fastest split time of the U16 race. Henry Magill’s team came across in 6th place, with Magill clocking the fastest split time of the U18 race.

FULL RESULTS

Other SSWSC Results:
March 11 - Individual Start Freestyle
Henry Patten U16M- 59th
Charlie Wiedel U16M- 68th
Eva Minotto U16F- 39th
Davis Brosterhous U16F- 48th
Anna Rhodes U18F- 36th
Grace Olexa U18F- 69th
Jackson Menand U20M- 51st
Classic Sprint:
Henry Patten U16M- 69th
Eva Minotto U16F- 66th
Davis Brosterhous U16F- 44th
Anna Rhodes U18F- 85th
Jackson Menand U20M- 131st

March 13 - Classic Mass Start:
Henry Patten U16M- 55th
Eva Minotto U16F- 48th
Davis Brosterhous U16F- 41st
Anna Rhodes U18F- 52nd
Grace Olexa U18F- 73rd
Jackson Menand U20M- 47th

Thanks to Tasha Thrasher and Sady Carelli for the photos!