USA Nordic Sport Announces 2018/2019 National Teams

Kevin Bickner, Planica 2018 (Photo Credit – Romina Eggert)

PARK CITY, UT – USA Nordic Sport is excited to announce nominations to the National Teams in the disciplines of Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined for the upcoming 2018/2019 season.

Kevin Bickner, 21 (Wauconda, IL), will once again lead the Men’s Ski Jumping National Team. After posting his strongest season to date, with seven top 30 World Cup finishes, including a season’s best 16th place at the Ski Flying World Cup in Planica, Slovenia, Bickner has been named to the “A” team. Joining Bickner will be Michael Glasder, 29 (Cary, IL) on the “B” team, and Casey Larson, 19 (Barrington, IL), will be named to the “C” team.

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Sarah Hendrickson, 23 (Park City, UT), former World Champion and the longest tenured member of the Women’s National Team, has been named along with Nita Englund, 25 (Florence, WI) to the Women’s Ski Jumping “B” team. Hendrickson and Englund were both members of the 2018 US Olympic team. They will be joined by Nina Lussi, 24 (Lake Placid, NY), Tara Geraghty-Moats, 25 (West Fairlee, VT), Logan Sankey, 19 (Steamboat Springs, CO), Samantha Macuga, 17 (Park City, UT), and Annika Belshaw, 15 (Steamboat Springs, CO) who have all been named to the Women’s “C” team. This is the first year on the team for Sankey, Macuga, and Belshaw, all of whom were members of the Women’s Junior National Team last season.

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2018 Junior World Championships medalist and 2018 Olympic athlete Ben Loomis, 19 (Eau Claire, WI), will lead the Nordic Combined National Team this year. Loomis’ results during the 2017/2018 season, including multiple top five finishes on the Continental Cup circuit, have earned him a spot on the “A” team. Veteran Taylor Fletcher, 28 (Steamboat Springs, CO), has been named to the “B” team along with Jasper Good, 22 (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Stephen Schumann, 18 (Park City, UT). Grant Andrews, 20 (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Jared Shumate, 18 (Park City, UT), have both been named to the Men’s Nordic Combined “C” team.

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For the first time ever, USA Nordic is excited to announce that we will be nominating a Women’s Nordic Combined Team. In addition to her nomination to the Women’s Ski Jumping “C” Team, Tara Geraghty-Moats has also been nominated to the 2018 Women’s Nordic Combined National “C” Team.

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USA Nordic Sport Executive Director Bill Demong:

“We are excited about our continued expansion of our teams and with the exciting development of Women’s Nordic Combined including confirmation of the event in the 2021 World Championships! Tara Geraughty-Moats continues to be one of our top talents in the sport and, though she was unable to compete in any Nordic Combined competitions last year due to injury, USA Nordic recognizes the importance of growing our sports and developing athletes who have the ability to push the envelope and we are excited to lead growth and opportunity in this new discipline of Womens Nordic Combined.”

USA Nordic Sport Team Director Clint Jones:

“USA Nordic staff and coaches are excited to get back to training with our national teams.  We have a great group of young, motivated athletes that will no doubt continue to make big strides forward this season.  We are also planning for the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined teams to work together whenever possible.  Both teams have certain strengths that we feel will benefit our program as a whole.”