(2020 Junior Nationals Team | Photo courtesy of MBSEF)
MBSEF has qualified and is sending 14 cross country skiers to the Pacific Northwest team competing in the 2020 U.S. Junior National Championships at the Auburn Ski Club in Soda Springs, California March 9-14.
Leading the way for MBSEF is Annie McColgan, a Bend High Senior, racing in the U18 class who is heading to ski for The University of Vermont next year. McColgan just recently returned from the FIS Nations Cup races in Falun Sweden. McColgan was in the U16 Gold Medal Relay team in the 2018 Junior National Championships.
Joining McColgan on the team are:
- Hunter Greene, U20, MBSEF Post Graduate
- Maya Arneson, U18, Summit HS
- Sarah Kilroy, U18, Redmond Proficiency Academy
- Anton Micek, U18, Bend HS
- Jeffrey Bert, U18, Summit HS
- Jack Conde, U18, Summit HS
- Katelyn Costello, U18, Redmond Proficiency Academy
- Ashley Boone, U16, Summit HS
- Zachary Jayne, U16, Summit HS
- Evan Grover, U16, Summit HS
- Cole Shockey U16, Mt. View HS
- Greta Leitheiser, U16, Summit HS
- Claire McDonald, U16, Summit HS
Joining these 14 skiers on the Junior Nationals coaching staff are MBSEF coaches Kelly Simoneau, Bill Hokanson, Zach Hill and Dan Simoneau.
“This last week before Junior Nationals is simply fun,” said Kelly Simoneau, MBSEF head coach of Winter Term. “The skiers are tapering after months of training, they’re excited, hopeful and ready to take on anything,”
Each skier will compete in an interval start classic race, freestyle sprint race, a mass start freestyle race and a classic relay race over the course of six days.
Skiers qualified for the Junior National Team through a series of races held at Mt. Bachelor; Mt. Spokane, Washington; Winthrop, Washington and on the 2002 Olympic trails in Midway, Utah. The qualification series is eight races with the best five counting toward Junior National Team scoring.
According to Bill Hokanson, head coach of the MBSEF Full Time program, “It’s inspiring to see the work and focus these young skiers have put into achieving their goals at JN’s. When you see them showing up at 6am for the first workout of the day before school, it is inspiring.”
