USA Nordic Names Junior National Team

PARK CITY, Utah (October 29, 2019) 16 athletes have officially been named to the USA Nordic Junior National Team. This team consists of elite ski jumpers and nordic combined skiers under the age of 20, from eight different states, all the way from Alaska to New Hampshire. 

Most of these named athletes will continue training with their home clubs while focusing on finishing high school. This group will continue their development on home soil competing in US Cup events, Junior National Championships, and the Park City Continental Cups.

Abroad, they will begin to sharpen their teeth at European Continental Cups, Junior World Championships, and the Youth Olympic Games. This year’s Junior World Championships will take place February 28th – March 8th in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. The Youth Olympic Games take place once every four years and highlight the next generation of talent from around the world. The 2020 YOG will be hosted in Lausanne, Switzerland from January 10th – 22nd.

In addition, the 2020 YOG will be the first to feature women’s nordic combined. The list of women’s nordic combined events continues to grow with a stacked 2020 Continental Cup schedule, World Junior Championships, a World Cup campaign in 2021, and World Championships in 2021 as well. 

Holding nominations in the spring and naming in the fall is a new method implemented by USA Nordic. This method allows athletes not nominated in the spring to work their way onto the Junior National Team through training and competition over the summer and fall months. 

The Junior National Team reflects the investment in development that has been made by USA Nordic. In doing so, USA Nordic has created a team that represents our entire country, from Alaska to New Hampshire, comprised of dedicated athletes who approach sport and life with courage, confidence, and character.

2020 Junior National Team

Men’s Ski Jumping

Greyson Scharffs (Park City Ski & Snowboard – Park City, Utah – 18 years old)

Canden Wilkinson (SSWSC – Steamboat Springs, Colo. – 17 years old)

Erik Belshaw (SSWSC – Steamboat Springs, Colo. – 15 years old)

Hunter Gibson (Norge Ski Club – Fox River Grove, Ill. – 18 years old)

Landon Lee (Flying Eagles Ski Club – Eau Claire, Wis. – 16 years old)

Women’s Ski Jumping

Jillian Highfill (Park City Ski & Snowboard – Park City, Utah – 15 years old)

Rachael Haerter (Park City Ski & Snowboard – Park City, Utah – 14 years old)

Cara Larson (Norge Ski Club – Barrington, Ill. – 19 years old)

Men’s Nordic Combined

Beckett Ledger (NYSEF – Lake Placid, N.Y. – 19 years old)

Evan Nichols (Ford Sayre Ski Club – Lyme, NH – 16 years old)

Niklas Malacinski (SSWSC – Steamboat Springs, Colo. – 16 years old)

Bennet Gamber (SSWSC – Steamboat Springs, Colo. – 18 years old)

Aidan Ripp (Cloquet Ski Club – Cloquet, Minn. – 19 years old)

Gunnar Gilbertson (SSWSC – Steamboat Springs, Colo. – 16 years old)

Carter Brubaker (Team AK – Anchorage, AK – 15 years old)

Women’s Nordic Combined

Alexa Brabec (SSWSC – Steamboat Springs, Colo. – 15 years old)