October 02, 2011 (Fox River Grove, IL) – Against the backdrop of a perfect autumn day that reflected the fall colors, two-time Olympian Anders Johnson saw a glitter of gold in his ski jumping to take a national title at the U.S. National Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships at the Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove, located just outside Chicago.

Johnson, 22, of Park City, UT and a member of USA Ski Jumping’s Top Team registered two of the longest jumps of the day on the K70 meter hill at the famed Norge Ski Club venue, scoring distances of 74.5 and 75.5 meters, to take his third national crown. He had total points of 242.  When asked for a comment after his second jump, he replied, “It feels very good to be fighting for the top spot on the podium again at the National Championships.”

Nick Fairall, Andover, NH and a member of the USASJ top team made it very close taking second with a pair of jumps of 73 meters. Fairall, who is still nursing a sore shoulder, was very pleased with his result. “I am really happy about today given that I’m being cautious about a sore shoulder.  It makes me confident for the season”, he said.

Olympic gold medalist from Vancouver, Nordic combined skier Billy Demong, Saranac Lake, NY, took third overall in ski jumping with improving jumping style that netted him leaps of 71.5 and 69.5 meters combining for 225.7 total points. Following the ski jumping event Demong went on to win the 10k Gundersen cross-country event, to take the national title in Nordic combined.  He commented, “It’s enjoyable having the Nationals for Nordic combined in a new location, with a good crowd. We’re fired up to start the season.”

Fourth in ski jumping went to the U.S. Ski Team’s Nordic combined man Bryan Fletcher, while veteran combined skier Todd Lodwick was fifth. USA Ski jumping’s Peter Frenette, 19, Saranac Lake, NY was 6th with jumps of 73 and 67 meters.

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Hendrickson of the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team took top honors in the women’s national championships winning her first U.S. National Ski Jumping title with jumps of 68.5 and 73 meters. Alissa Johnson took the silver medal, while Jessica Jerome was third place. All three women hail from Park City, UT.

“This definitely is a confidence booster going into the World Cup season in December,” Hendrickson said. “I’ve been second in Nationals four different times now and it’s nice to finally get a win. I’m super happy.”

“I’ve been working on keeping my hips high while in the air, which allows you to build more height over the knoll and gain distance,” she said. “On the second jump (Saturday), I worked on that one specific thing and it helped.”

The Visa Team heads to Lake Placid, N.Y., next to compete as part of the Flaming Leaves Festival and ski jumping event on Oct. 8.

In Nordic combined Demong took national championship honors overall by winning a fast paced cross-country race in 26:16. Johnny Spillane was second overall with a time of 26:17

While early leader Bryan Fletcher, was third in 25:55. The top Canadian was Wes Savill of Calgary who finished 8th, while Sebastian Dandurand of Sutton, QE, followed in 12th.

After the competition, Casey Colby, men’s coach, said, “Good to have Nationals at a new venue, especially here at Norge. Gives  our fans in the midwest a chance to see our top skiers in action, and  gives the club experience in handling a championship-caliber event.” The Norge Ski Club hosted the National Championship for only the second time in the club’s 107-year history.

Competition continues Sunday with the all-new 24 Hours of Flight presented by Lagunitas Brewing, as ski jumpers attempt to set a 24-hour world record for distance.

Peter Graves, Ken Anderson and the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team contributed to this report.