For the second straight day, Anchorage's Sadie Bjornsen and the rest of the women on the U.S. Ski Team flourished on the trails in Rybinsk, Russia.
Bjornsen and Rosie Brennan, members of the Alaska Pacific University ski team, were among four Americans who registered top-20 finishes in a 15-kilometer World Cup skiathlon.
Minnesota's Jessie Diggins registered a fifth-place finish for the second day in a row to lead the U.S. team. Vermont's Liz Stephen, who last week recorded the highest women's distance result in U.S. history by placing second in a 10-kilometer freestyle, was seventh; Bjornsen was 13th and Brennan was 20th.
Stephen's recent results sent her skyrocketing up the World Cup overall standings, where she sits sixth overall. Bjornsen is 20th, the only other American in the top 20 overall rankings.
On Saturday, four U.S. women advanced to the quarterfinals in a sprint race.
"Another great day of racing here in Russia," Bjornsen, who was 11th in the sprint, said in an email. "After a solid classic leg, I struggled for a while when I first switched to skate, but was able to pull it together by the end."
The strong results come at a crucial time. From Russia the team will go to Davos, Switzerland, for two weeks of training in advance of next month's world championships in Sweden.