9 Alaska-connected athletes named to 2023-24 US Cross Country Ski Team

By Anchorage Daily News

Updated: October 10, 2023 Published: October 10, 2023

Rosie Brennan competes during the women's team sprint classic cross-country skiing competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Nine Alaska-connected athletes have been named to the 2023-24 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, which was announced Tuesday. Headed by Anchorage athletes Rosie Brennan and JC Schoonmaker, all nine skiers compete with the Alaska Pacific University Elite Team.

Brennan, a two-time Olympian, was one of three women selected to the A Team. Schoonmaker, a 2022 Olympian who also skied for UAA, was one of two men named to the A Team.

Brennan is joined on the A Team by Julia Kern of Massachusetts and Jessie Diggins of Minnesota. Vermont’s Ben Ogden was named to the men’s A Team along with Schoonmaker.

“The U.S. team is hungry to begin the 2023-24 season after a very productive preparation period with excellent training opportunities at Mt. Bachelor in Oregon, the Torsby ski tunnel in Sweden and the Snow Farm in New Zealand, among other locations,” Ski Team Program Director Chris Grover said in a prepared statement.

Joni Maki, of Finland, center, competes beside James Clinton Schoonmaker, right, during the men's sprint free quarterfinals cross-country skiing competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

APU skier Novie McCabe is one of three women named to the B Team.

The men’s B Team is loaded with Alaska talent, with four Anchorage skiers who also ski for APU: Luke Jager, Zanden McMullen, Scott Patterson and Gus Schumacher were all named to the team.

Patterson and Schumacher were both 2022 Olympians. Jager, also a member of the 2022 Olympic Team, won a pair of national titles last winter.

[From January: APU’s Swirbul and Anchorage’s Jager add to their national cross-country ski championship totals]

Michael Earnhart and Derek Richardson of APU were also both named to the Development Team.

Greta Anderson, a former APU skier and coach, is the U.S. Team’s development coach.

The team is selected based on criteria established by U.S. Ski and Snowboard.

The 2023-24 World Cup season kicks off Nov. 24-26 in Ruka, Finland. And the World Cup will be held on American soil this season, with Minneapolis hosting the event Feb. 17-19.