SSWSC Athletes Compete in U.S. Cross Country Nationals Henry Magill and alumni Trey Jones qualify for International Events
The 2024 U.S. Cross Country Nationals were held last week at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah, January 2-7, 2024. Soldier Hollow is the site of many major cross country and biathlon including the 2002 Winter Olympics. The area was light on natural snow, but the center’s extensive snowmaking compatibility produced an excellent skiing surface for the 400+ athletes. The first three races were National Championship races, and the fourth race was part of the Super Tour Race Series. The U.S. Cross Country National Championships is also a qualifying event for junior competitors under the age of 20 to qualify for either the U18 Scandinavian trip to compete in the Nordic Nations Championship January 19-21 or the World Junior Championships. Athletes raced in interval start 10k classic, freestyle sprint, mass start 20k or 10k freestyle, and a classic sprint race. Twelve SSWSC cross country athletes and coach David Norris competed in the races though many athletes were recovering from illness—Grey Barbier, Henry Magill, Jackson Menand, Campbell Mclaren, Tristan Thrasher, Anna Rhodes, Charley Lodwick, Alena Rossi, Norah Graham, Tig Loomis, Kiri May, Grace Olexa, XC Coach, David Norris also competed in the first three races. There were also six SSWSC cross country ski alumni competing -Trey Jones (C.U.), Grace Zanni (Dartmouth), Cooper Jones (Colby College), Simon Zink (BSF Pro Team), Sumner Cotton (Saint Scholastica), and Chase High (Saint Scholastica).

Grey Barbier and Henry Magill had the best races of the week, and Magill qualified for the U18 Scandinavian Trip to Falun, Sweden, January 15-24 to compete in the U18 Nordic Nations Championships. Grey Barbier also qualified for the U18 Trip but will decline to attend the Youth Olympic Games. Last year, Barbier was part of the winning relay team for the USA at the cross country U18 Nordic Nations Cup in Jyvaskyla, Finland.

SSWSC alumni Trey Jones also had a stellar week and was the top junior finisher in the freestyle sprint on January 4 and 10th place overall. These results qualify Jones for the Junior World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, February 5-11, 2024.

Coach David Norris was 3rd place U.S. racer in the first race of the week, on January 2.  Other notable results include Tristan Thrasher finishing 25th in the junior mass start 10k freestyle. Thrasher is 15 years old— an impressive result for his age. Anna Rhodes was the SSWSC top finisher in the female junior mass start 10k freestyle, crossing the line in 43rd, and Charley Lodwick was 14th in the classic sprint junior races.