MYSL: Skicraft Summer Session
April 27, 2026With summer soon to start, the Minnesota Youth Ski League's Skicraft program still has spots open for high school skiers looking to stay in shape while school's out. Scheduled to start June 8th, the program is perfect for skiers who are ready to set goals and commit to structured training and racing.
Junior Nationals: Mixed Team Relays Coverage
March 14, 2026The Junior Nationals competition in Cable, Wisconsin, wrapped up Saturday morning with the traditional mixed team relays. After the winter storm on Friday, the trails were regroomed last night with temps dropping to subzero, providing firm, fast conditions by race time. In the U20 race, New England took the win by three seconds over Far West with Intermountain edging out the Midwest for third. The U18 race came down to a rematch from the classic race as Jack Leveque anchored for the Alaska victory with Logan Drevlow bringing the Midwest team home for second place, team New England third. Linnea Ousdigian, Anders Decker and Evie Malec composed the rest of the Midwest's podium squad. And concluding the day, Alaska took the U16 relay title, with Intermountain second, and New England third. Midwest placed 9th. Results linked in, along with photos by Jackie Schneider of the U20 and U18 events.
Junior Nationals: Classic Coverage
March 13, 2026The third day of racing at Junior Nationals in the Northwoods of Wisconsin took place on Friday with several inches of fresh falling snow setting the stage for challenging racing conditions. Mass-start classic races were the focus for the day, and no one appeared more prepared for it than the Midwest division's Linnea Ousdigian who's strong skiing saw her take the title by almost a full minute in the U18 women's race. Logan Drevlow, another Midwest skier, was equally up to the challenge in the U18 men's race, skiing much of the race solo to finish in second. Moving up to the U20 division, Lila Golomb tallied another top-5 finish in the women's race, placing 4th, while Anders Westamno took 6th in the men's race, both athletes skiing for the Midwest. An especially solid day for Midwesterners, a sizable selection had top-25 finishes including: MU16: Brayden Kelly 14th, Caleb Lyon 17th, Jakin Miller 24th, Michael Payne 25th; FU16: Ciara Westerhaus 16th, Anneliese Lindfors 19th, Aleksandra Guseva 25th; MU18: George Nelson 7th, Anders Decker 8th, Soren Winikoff 9th, James Derenne 10th, Ethan Albrecht 11th, Moses Schollett 20th; FU18: Eleanor Mody 8th, Avery Rich 10th, Evie Malec 13th, Paloma Good 16th; MU20: Eli Andre 10th, Eddie Snider 11th, Eric Anderson 12th, Jack Malec 13th, Bridger Nelson 14th; FU20: Annelise Baird 14th, Nadia Hutchinson 15th, Alex Pundsack 16th, and Greta Widenbrant 24th. Photos from the races are online, with results already posted. Video recaps are up!
Junior Nationals: Classic Sprints Coverage
March 11, 2026A strong day for the Midwest at Junior Nationals in the classic sprint, with four athletes punching through to A-Finals and two more racing the B-Final. Leading the charge was Linnea Ousdigian, who took the gold in the U18 women's race - the top result of any Midwest skier on the day. Over in the U18 men's field, Loppet Nordic Racing put two athletes in the A-Final with Logan Drevlow finishing 3rd and Jack Rudolph 4th. Dropping down to the U16 bracket, Anneliese Lindfors of Endurance United was the lone MW athlete to crack a U16 final, finishing 5th in the women's race. In the B-Finals, George Nelson (Endurance United) won the U18 men's B-Final and Anders Westanmo (Michigan Tech) finished 3rd in the U20 men's B-Final to round out the Midwest's day. Results linked in, video recaps of all the finals are now posted.
Junior Nationals: Freestyle Coverage
March 9, 2026A big week for the Birkie, Junior Nationals got underway on Monday for six days of competitions at their self-titled trailhead in Cabel, WI. The opening day featured an individual-start freestyle race which was highlighted by a humbling performance by Logan Drevlow as he took the title in the U18 men's division by well over 30 seconds, the top result of any Midwest skier on the day. Opposite him was Linnea Ousdigian who was the fastest of the U18 Midwest women, finishing 4th. Dropping down to the U16 field, Brayden Kelly held the top time of the Midwesterners, finishing 6th, while at the other end of the bracket Lila Golomb posted a 4th place finish in the U20 women's race, also the best result of the Midwest group. Additionally, a slew of other Midwest skiers had solid results worth mentioning. Those include: MU16: Joren Dahl 19th; FU16: Ashley Derenne 11th, Onika Colassacco 15th, Annika Stringer 22nd, Katelynn Reckinger 25th; MU18: Conner Reckinger 4th, Anders Decker 9th, James Derenne 13th, Ethan Albrecht 15th, Niels Stringer 20th, Wells Huotari 23rd; FU18: Evie Malec 9th, Eleanor Moody 13th, Sophie Kannapiran 18th, Avery Rich 21st; MU20: Eddie Snider 11th, Bridger Nelson 15th, Anders Westanmo 16th, Drew Huotari 19th, Andrew Berndt 23rd, Jack Malec 24th; FU20: Alex Pundsack 11th, Naida Hutchinson 12th, and Riley Grossklaus 19th. Results are linked, photosets posted, and video highlights have been uploaded.
Junior Nationals Preview
March 6, 2026Junior Nationals return to the Midwest, this year racing at the Birkie Trailhead in Cable, March 9-14th. We pulled together a short preview, including links for team rosters, courses, results, and coverage.
Midwest Junior National Prep Team Sprint
March 5, 2026Much of the Midwest Junior National team met at Theodore Wirth on a warm Thursday afternoon for the traditional final prep for Junior Nationals, a fun team sprint event. Junior Nationals kicks off next week, March 9-14, at the Birkie Trailhead in Cable!
In Retrospect: 2026 NNF U18 Nordic Nations Trip Recap
March 4, 2026When the Minnesota State Meet took place last month, one major name was missing from the meet's line-up: Linnea Ousdigan, the two-time defending title holder. Her absence was due to her involvement in NNF's U18 Nordic Nations Trip trip, and while overseas she posted some stellar results that we feel flew under the radar. With the FIS Junior and U23 World Ski Championships getting underway in Lillehammer, Norway, and many of those athletes competing directly against Ousdigian in some of the earlier competitions, we're taking the time to highlight those results and offer a brief recap of the trip.
MNHSNSCA: Coach of the Year Awards
March 3, 2026The Minnesota High School Nordic Ski Coaches Association has announced awards for coaches, assistant coaches, and volunteer of the year. Britt Guild, Minnehaha Academy, and Brian McCollor, Orono, were named girls and boys coaches of the year.
Kortelopet Coverage
February 20, 2026Birkie fever was in full force on Friday for the first of the two major events, the Kortelopet. First across Lake Hayward in the men's freestyle race was the group of Donovan Van Citters, Bridger Nelson, and Peter Schulz who would finish in that order just seconds apart. Greta Dickman would decide the women's race by a much wider margin, winning by almost a minute ahead of Anna Peikert who finished second, and Milla Erickson who finished third. The winner of the men's classic race was also locked in well before the finish line, with Karl Nelson taking the title by nearly a minute. Callen Whitaker and Konrad Widenbrant rounded out the podium in second and third respectively. Finally, the women's classic race went down to the wire with Annelise Baird and Calla Pike going 1-2, separated by seconds, while Faye Braun finished third less than a minute back. Photos and videos posted and results linked in.