JC Schoonmaker, a sophomore at UAA, made a good first impression in his World Cup debut Saturday by skiing his way into the quarterfinals of a men’s freestyle sprint race in Dresden, Germany.
It was a good day for Americans, and Alaskans, at the race. Logan Hanneman of Anchorage scored World Cup points for the fourth time this season by leading all three U.S. men in the race into the top 30.
Hanneman was the top American man in qualifying. He finished 21st, Schoonmaker 24th and Kevin Bolger of Utah 28th to gain spots in the quarterfinals. In the heats, Bolger wound up 25th, Hanneman 29th and Schoonmaker 30th.
In the women’s race, both U.S. racers cracked the top 15 — Sophie Caldwell placed fourth and Julia Kern was 15th. Both are from Vermont.
"It was really cool to have all of our starters qualify and our junior, JC, qualify in his first-ever World Cup," Caldwell said in a release from the U.S. Ski Team.
Schoonmaker qualified for the Dresden races and the World Junior Championships at the recent U.S. Cross Country Championships in Michigan. His best finish there was a second-place finish in the junior men’s 10-kilometer classic race.
On Sunday, Schoonmaker will join Bolger for the team sprint.