From Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, 15 Nordic athletes recently competed in the 2022 Cross Country Junior Nationals in Minneapolis, for the Rocky Mountain Division. Trey Jones was the top finisher for Steamboat with two silver medals. Another top finish was with Grey Barbier who took the bronze in the Mass Start Classic.
Photos courtesy Ross McLaren.
Here is more from SSWSC Nordic Coach Brian Tate.
2022 USSS Cross Country Junior Nationals- Minneapolis Minnesota
Fifteen SSWSC XC athletes have just returned from the 2022 Cross Country Junior Nationals held in Minneapolis Minnesota last week. Each athlete competed in three individual events and one team event. Races were held at Theodore Wirth Park, just west of downtown Minneapolis. Conditions were at times frigid, which kept the snow quality excellent and the speed high. SSWSC athletes were part of the Rocky Mountain Division.
Top SSWSC result finisher was Trey Jones, who earned two silver medals, one in the Classic Sprint and one in the Mass Start Classic. He went toe to toe with New England’s Finn Bailey, with each race having extremely close finishes. Trey competed in the U18 age category.
Griff Rillos, also a U18 athlete, took a 10th place in the Individual Start Freestyle.
In his first Junior Nationals appearance, U16 Grey Barbier garnered a bronze medal in the Mass Start Classic, a 6th place in the Mass Start Classic, and a thirteenth place in the Individual Start Freestyle.
Also competing in his first Junior Nationals, U16 Henry Magill scored a 7th place in the Individual Start Freestyle, a 10th place in the Mass Start Classic, and 15th in the Classic Sprint.
SSWSC Alumni, Sidney Barbier, who skis for Denver University, joined the Rocky Mountain Division. She placed 6th in the U20 Individual Mass Start Freestyle and 12th in the Mass Start Classic.
U16 athlete, Nikita Andre impressed with a 16th place in the Mass Start Classic.
Her teammate Grace Olexa finished 20th.
The remainder of the SSWSC XC team raced well and enjoyed their stay in Minnesota: Heidi Andre, Tinsley Wilkinson, Ruby May, Kiri May, Tristan Thrasher, Campbell McLaren, Charley Lodwick, and Thomas Cooper.