January 08, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – Junior skiing phenom Jesssica Diggins (CXC) from Afton, MN and Olympian Torin Koos (MOD) from Wenatchee, WA battled an intensely motivated national championships field to take the top spots at the 2011 U.S. Cross-Country Championships in the 1.4km and 1.6km freestyle sprint competitions on Sunday.

Diggins, skiing for the Mid West’s CXC program has shown great promise at the weeklong championships at Black Mountain in Western Maine. This week she was named as a member of the U.S. Junior Worlds team which will compete in Otepea, Estonia from Jan.26-31.

The championships proved to be an eye-opener for the 19 year-old Diggins “I was really, really surprised, I couldn’t not have done it without the great support of my team,” said the new champ after the race.

“I don’t know what to think, I’m like ‘did that just happen’? This year is the first senior nationals I have been higher than 20th. I have been pretty competitive in the junior field, but this is the first year for anything like this. I’m training and racing more and that’s been a big help,” added Diggins who graduated from high school last spring.

Dartmouth skier Sophie Caldwell took second while APU’s Sadie Bjornsen was third, APU’s Holly brooks was 4th and Alaska Nordic’s Lauren Fritz was 5th.

Veteran campaigner, Koos, now skiing out of the Methow Valley Olympic Development program, not currently on the U.S. Ski Team, demonstrated strong form and fitness at these championships, but there was plenty of heat down the home stretch.

Second place went to Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO) skiing for the Sun Valley Ski Educational Foundation while third went to APU’s Lars Flora (Anchorage). Chris Cook from Rhinelander, WI took 4th and Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess from Bend, OR finished in 5th.

Koos said the race was fast and furious. “I just had to put myself in a position to make it happen at the end, and I am pretty satisfied because in previous years this may not have been the finish for me. I have been working on some technique for the really fast double pole skating and it seemed to pay off today. I feel day in and day out I am now in the kind of shape that I can be a top ten world cup skier.”

In three days time Koos heads back to Europe to train with the Swiss ski team in Davos, Switzerland.

The freestyle sprints were the final event capping off the four- day championships which will return to Rumford, Maine in 2012.

Final Women’s Sprint results HERE.
Final Men’s Sprint results HERE.

Results (brief)

Women

1. Jessica Diggins, Afton, MN
2. Sophie Caldwell, Peru,VT
3. Sadie Bjornsen, Winthrop, WA
4. Holly Brooks, Anchorage, AK
5. Lauren Fritz, Chugiak, AK

Men

1. Torin Koos, Wenatchee, WA
2. Simeon Hamilton, Aspen, CO
3. Lars Flora, Anchorage
4. Chris Cook, Rhinelander,WI
5. Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess, Bend, OR