Racing Outlook
January 19, 2026The cold weather is creeping in but cancellations have been kept to a minimum so far aside from the Junior Noque on Friday. After two years off, the Marine O'Brien Ski Race is on again with chilly conditions calling for a start time delay, and the same for the Noquemanon Ski Marathon. Meanwhile, the Rademacher Rush is giving it an extra day to try for higher temps, and the Lumberjack Jaunt is being pushed back a week to also allow for warmer weather. Additionally, the Founders Classic is being moved two weeks to Feb 14th. In Wisconsin the Billion JNQ/CCSA competition is flipping race days with later starts and a condensed schedule to accommodate for the weather, and the Birkie Tour slips to Sunday, hoping for warmer temps. Event updates will continue to be posted as soon as they come in.
Coleraine JNQ Freestyle Individual Start Results
January 18, 2026Another cold day in Coleraine marked day 2 of JNQ racing in northern MN. Andrew Berndt, Sartell, won the 7.5K U20/U18/U16 Men's race, skating 18 seconds faster than any other skier to finish first. Second went to Peter Schulz, EU, and third to Bridger Nelson, MSC. Joren Dahl, Alexandria Nordic Ski Club, was the best of the U16 boy's in 16th. In the U20/U18/U16 Women's race, Avery Rich, LNR, stood alone, finishing 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Carolina Arvold, Duluth XC/North XC, would ski to second, while Selah Binsfeld, MSC, took third. Rounding out the results, Cadel Pohl, Duluth XC, had the highest finish for the U16 girls in 10th.
Coleraine JNQ Classic Sprints Results
January 17, 2026The second JNQ of the season and first of the new year, a cold classic sprint kicked off the weekend's competitions in Coleraine, MN. First in the U20/U18 Men's final went to Peter Hackney, LNR, who held a sizeable lead over George Nelson, EU, in second and Wells Huotari, LNR, in third. Eleanor Mody, MSC, won the U20/U18 Women's final in a similar fashion, leaving Lila Golomb, also MSC, to second and Paloma Good, LNR, to third. Top finishers in the U16 sprints were Caleb Lyon, MCS, in the Boy's bracket and Anneliese Lindfors, EU, in the Girl's.
Mesabi East Invite Results
January 10, 2026An epic day of racing on the top tier trails at Giants Ridge for the 2026 Mesabi East Invite. In the Boys Varsity division, Andrew Berndt (Sartell/Cathedral) claimed first in the classic race followed by Owen Robertson (Brainerd) and Connor Loop (Orono), while Peter Schulz (St. Paul Central) took the freestyle title ahead of Noah Waln (St. Paul Highland Park) and Eli Schlichting (Moorhead). For the Girls Varsity division, Lila Golomb (Wayzata) won the classic race followed by Anneliese Lindfors (St. Paul Central) and Estee Versteeg (Fergus Falls), while Selah Binsfeld (Elk River/Zimmerman) topped the freestyle podium followed by Ciara Thatcher (Minneapolis Washburn) and Megan Snider (Mounds Park Academy). Duluth East swept the team titles, finishing with 465 points for the boys and 439 points for the girls.
US Nationals: Classic Sprints Results
January 9, 2026Wrapping up before the weekend, the fourth and final day of racing at the 2026 US Cross-Country Ski Championships in Lake Placid, NY was held on Friday. Not a national title competition but instead part of the SuperTour, classic sprints were the subject of the day. Samantha Smith shown out again in the women's sprint, winning out by over three seconds ahead of Hailey Swirbul in second and Ava Thurston in third. The three would make up the all-American podium for the women's field which had a strong Midwestern presence featuring five athletes in the top-20: Emma Albrecht in 5th, Erin Bianco in 9th, Alayna Sonnesyn in 13th, Renae Anderson in 14th, and Michaela Keller-Miller in 16th. Zanden McMullen got his second win in as many days in the men's sprint, similarly taking the top spot by a sizeable margin with almost four seconds to spare. Will Koch was the next fastest skier in second, followed by Max Kluck in third, while the Midwest was again well represented with four finishing in and around the top-20: Benon Brattebo in 11th, John Schwinghamer in 16th, Andrew Defor in 20th, and Caden Albrecht in 23rd. Strong winds and concern for the safety of athletes ultimately led to the cancelation of the junior heats.
US Nationals: Freestyle Distance Results
January 8, 2026The third day of racing at the 2026 US Cross-Country Ski Championships in Lake Placid, NY brought with it a final set of national titles to pursue and a return to distance racing for all athletes. Seniors had 20K to ski, with the women's field out first in the mass-start freestyle event. An early fracturing of the field eventually boiled down to a head to head race with Novie McCabe earning the win and the first of the two national titles after outsprinting Tilde Baangman of Sweden. Kendall Kramer crossed the line shortly after the pair as the second American and third finisher, with Ava Thurston, a little further back, finishing fourth to take third on the all-American podium. A group of three collectively posted the top times for the Midwest women in the race: Alayna Sonnesyn in 10th, Emma Albrecht in 12th, and Erin Bianco in 14th. Finishing in a similar fashion, a four-way sprint decided the men's race, with Zanden McMullen across the line first to take the title and win. Mons Melbye of Norway would secure second, followed by the second American, John Steel Hagenbuch, in third as Jakob Elias Moch of Germany took fourth. Just under 10 seconds back from the group, Zachary Jayne completed the all-American podium, finishing fifth. Another three athletes stoodout for the Midwest in the men's race, all posting top-20 times: Benjamin Dohlby in 16th, Colin Freed in 17th, and Reid Goble in 18th. Continuing to leading the Midwest juniors, Linnea Ousdigian left it late in the junior women's race, sprinting to the line with Ally Wheeler and narrowly finishing second as the top U18 athlete. First in the junior men's race went to Tabor Greenberg by a decisive margin, with another Midwesterner, Eddie Snider tallying a top time in 9th. One more race remains, a round of classic sprints taking place tomorrow, which are not technically for a national title but are instead part of the SuperTour.
US Nationals: Freestyle Sprints Results
January 6, 2026Day 2 of the 2026 US Cross-Country Ski Championships took place on Tuesday in Lake Placid, NY which featured national titles up for the taking in freestyle sprints. Strong results by the Midwest women saw six make the heats, with the best showing by far going to Alayna Sonnesyn who took second to Samantha Smith by mere hundredths of a second in the women's final. The pair would also take the top two spots on the all-American podium, with the final spot going to the third place finisher, Ava Thurston. Winning by a slightly wider margin, Mons Melbye of Norway came out on top in the men's final, besting Sasha Masson of Canada by about a half a second. Hot on his heels, Zachary Jayne would finish third as the top American, with fourth and fifth fleshing out the rest of the all-American podium via Ari Endestad and Michael Earnhart. Hailing from Mora, MN, St. Scholastica alumni John Schwinghamer posted the best finish of the Midwest men in 17th. Junior champs on the day in their respective bracket were Britta Johnson and James Underwood, while Linnea Ousdigian once again had a standout performance among the Midwest juniors, making the senior heats where she finished 23rd as the third fastest junior. Another break in the action pushes the next Championships competition to Thursday which will be mass-start freestyle races.
US Nationals: Classic Distance Results
January 4, 2026An extra important year with spots on the Olympic team at stake, the 2026 US Cross-Country Ski Championships kicked off in Lake Placid, NY on Sunday with an extra cold classic race to start things off. Covering 10K in an interval-start format, the women's field was on course first which proved to be an especially decisive contest with the recently unretired Hailey Swirbul taking the title by over 30 seconds. Second would go to Sweden's Erica Laven, who herself held an almost 10 second lead over her fellow countrywoman Tilde Baangman in third. Finishing fourth and fifth, Novie McCabe and Samantha Smith rounded out the all-American podium, while Renae Anderson, Alayna Sonnesyn, and Emma Albrecht were the top Midwest women, finishing 9th, 10th, and 12th respectively. The men's race proved to be an extremely tight contest with a second or less deciding four of the top five finishes. Hunter Wonders finished first, earning the title of top American, followed closely by Luke Jager who was second overall and among the Americans, with third going to Olivier Leveille of Canada. Zachary Jayne, formerly of the University of St. Scholastica, finished fourth as the third American overall, and Reid Goble led the Midwest men with a top-20 finish in 18th. Top times by juniors went to Ally Wheeler in 20th and Jack Leveque in 14th, and another top Midwest result came from Linnea Ousdigian who was the third fastest U18 skier in 46th. Following a rest day on Monday, Tuesday will feature freestyle sprints for the second competition of the 2026 US Cross-Country Ski Championships.
Mpls Ski Club: PRO Project Boosts Midwest Nordic for Post-Collegiate Skiers
January 1, 2026Minneapolis Ski Club Nordic has launched the MPLS Pro Project, a new professional level program designed to help post collegiate Nordic skiers continue competing at a high level while balancing careers and life beyond sport. The program offers flexible, individualized training and race support, creating a sustainable pathway for athletes to stay engaged in elite Nordic skiing without having to choose between sport and livelihood.
MNHSNSCA: Round 2 High School Rankings
December 26, 2025The Minnesota High School Nordic Ski Coaches Association (MNHSNSCA) has released their second round rankings for the Minnesota High School Nordic ski season. mounds View's Linnea Ousdigian and Hopkins' Logan Drevlow remain the top ranked individuals, with Stillwater boys team moving up to first as the Minnetonka girls remain the favorite.
Cable JNQ/CCSA Classic Coverage
December 21, 2025Sunday featured exciting classic mass start races for the Gitchi Gami Games at the Birkie Trailhead. Crisp single digits tempered the overall speed, but LNR' Linnea Ousdigian held off all challengers to continue her unbeaten streak this season. Greta Hanson, MTU, collected second with Hanna Koch, Univ of Vermont, posting third. The men's race was a closely fought battle with Benon Brattebo, Univ of Vermont, completing the weekend sweep, Team Birkie's Roger Anderson inching out UWGB Fisk Johansson and Alexander Bertonneau, CSS, in a photo finish for second! U16 victories were earned by Annika Stringer and Brayden Kelly. Full results linked in, plus photosets of the 10K races.
Cable JNQ/CCSA Classic Sprints Results
December 20, 2025Top end racing action picked up again this weekend with the Gitchi Gami Games classic sprint races Saturday at the American Birkebeiner trailhead. Loppet Nordic Racing's Linnea Ousdigian continued her domination, taking the womens final three seconds clear of Julia Junkkala and Greta Hansen, both MTU skiers. Home for the holidays: Benon Brattebo, University of Vermont, took the mens final with Miles Miner, Williams College, second and Ivar Dragerengen, UGWB, third. Junior finals were won by Zoe Sumner, Bates College, and Jack Randolph, LNR. U16 victories earned by Ashley Derenne, Bay Nordic, and Brayden Kelly, Lakeland Nordic. Full results linked in.
Holiday Relays Results
December 17, 2025The 2025 edition of the Ahvo Taipale Holiday Relays took place Wednesday at Battle Creek West. The Stillwater Boys A squad came away with the victory, a full minute ahead of St. Paul Central A squad, with Stillwater's B squad third. In the girls race, St. Paul Central A crew flipped the script, winning by 50 seconds over Stillwater A team, with Mounds View A squad third. Full results and splits now posted.
Duluth JNQ Freestyle Individual Start Results
December 14, 2025Another bright, crisp day of racing in Duluth Sunday, with the format switching from mass start to interval. Tryg Solberg posted the top men's time by 5 seconds over Fisk Johansson, U20,UW-Green Bay, in second and Alexander Bertonneau, U23, College of St. Scholastica, rounded out the top three. Connor Reckinger, Bay Nordic, finished fourth and the top U18 skier. Midwest star Linnea Ousdigian, U18, Loppet Nordic Racing, completed her weekend sweep, winning by over 30 seconds. Chelsey Youngberg was second with Della Bettendorf, U20, College of St. Scholastica, taking third. Lillian Franzen, UW-Green Bay, was the top U23, finishing 6th. Full results linked in.
Duluth JNQ Freestyle Mass Start Results
December 13, 2025Under bright sunny skies and crisp temps, Duluth's Spirit Mountain Nordic Center hosted the opening Midwest JNQ race on Saturday. Originally scheduled as freestyle sprints, they were changed to mass start freestyle races. Reid Thompson from Canada, MU18, representing Big Thunder Nordic, took first place by just a second over Alexander Bertonneau, MU23, College of St. Scholastica with Oliver Miatke, MU23, Saint Michael's College, rounded out the top three. Fisk Johansson, UW-Green Bay, was the top MU20 in 4th, and Connor Reckinger, Bay Nordic, the top US MU18 in 5th. In the women's race, Linnea Ousdigian, FU18, representing Loppet Nordic Racing, took first place in dominating fashion -- a well over minute margin of victory. Della Bettendorf, FU20, College of St. Scholastica, edged out Annelise Baird, FU20, Duluth XC/North XC, as they completed the podium. Jazlyn Gunderson, College of St. Scholastica, was the top U23 and 8th overall. Full results linked in.
Mesabi East Invite Details Posted
December 8, 2025The huge Mesabi East Invite meet is scheduled for January 10th! Registration is now open with a deadline of Jan 5th. Full details on the event in the press release.
ABR Opener Results
December 7, 2025Wisconsin scores the first set of high school results for the season -- ABR opener Saturday, Dec 6th. Neils Stringer, IND, and Kris Blegen, Peak Nordic, posted the top times.
MNHSNSCA: Round 1 High School Rankings
November 10, 2025The Minnesota High School Nordic Ski Coaches Association (MNHSNSCA) has published their first round rankings for the Minnesota High School Nordic ski season. Returning champs Linnea Ousdigian and Logan Drevlow are again the top ranked individuals, with Washburn boys and Minnetonka girls the early team favorites.
2024-25 Season Highlights
May 1, 2025Catch highlights plus full results and photos from the 2024-2025 high school racing season.