May 24, 2018 (Park City, Utah) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Ski Team cross country nominations for the 2018-19 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.

The team had a historic 2017-18 season with Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) winning the first Olympic gold medal for the U.S. in the team sprint.

Diggins also finished the season ranked second in the overall and third in the distance World Cup standings, with Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) finishing third in the sprint standings.

Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) also had a breakthrough season with four individual podiums, landing herself sixth in the overall World Cup standings. The 16-member team will look to carry that momentum into the 2018-19 World Championship season.

Each athlete accepting their nomination to U.S. Ski Team receives world class program support, along with access to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence, as well as athletic benefits including an elite coaching, sport science, sports medicine and high performance staff, and education opportunities.

An official team announcement will be made in the fall.

U.S. Ski Team
2018-19 Cross Country Nominations
(Hometown; Club; Birthdate)

A Team

Men
Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 5/14/87)

Women
– Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 11/21/89)
– Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 3/22/90)
– Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 8/26/91)
– Ida Sargent (Orleans, Vt.; Craftsbury Green Racing Project; 1/25/88)

B Team

Men
– Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 7/14/91)
– Kevin Bolger (Minocqua, Wisc.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation; 4/11/93)
– Patrick Caldwell (Lyme, N.H.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 2/18/94)
– Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 1/28/92)

D Team

Men
– Ben Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School; 2/13/00)
– Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Winter Stars; 7/25/00)
– Ian Torchia (Rochester, Minn.; Northern Michigan University; 3/8/96)

Women
– Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 2/19/98)
– Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 9/12/97)
– Katharine Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School; 11/17/97)
– Hailey Swirbul (Aspen, Colo.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Center; 7/10/98)