Nine athletes and two coaches from Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club traveled to Lake Placid to compete at the 2026 U.S. Senior National Cross Country Ski Championships, Jan. 4-9, 2026, which also served as selection trials for the Junior World Championships and the U18 International trip to Norway and Sweden.
Athletes representing SSWSC at the event were Georgia Bishop, Maia McGinnis-Smith, Sophia McGinnis-Smith, Antigone Loomis, Anna Rhodes, Davis Brosterhous, Bode Rhodes, Sawyer Landers, and Henry Patten. The team was coached by Josh Smullin and Ben Barbier.
Georgia Bishop earned a spot on the U18 International Team, claiming one of six national selections per gender. She will compete in Trondheim, Norway, and Ulricehamn, Sweden, from Jan. 27 to Feb. 9. Bishop’s top performance came in the junior 10-kilometer freestyle mass start, where she finished fifth after moving up from a starting rank of 45th. At 15 years old, Bishop competed against athletes as old as 20. Tristan Thrasher was also named to the U18 International Team, qualifying as one of six athletes nationwide. His top result was a second-place finish in the U18 10-kilometer freestyle mass start.
Alum Grey Barbier, racing for Montana State University, qualified for the 2026 FIS Junior World Championships, scheduled for Feb. 25 through March 9 in Lillehammer, Norway. Barbier earned one of six junior men’s spots nationally and placed second in the junior 10-kilometer classic at the trials.
Additional strong performances came from younger SSWSC athletes. Bode Rhodes won the U16 B race in the mass start event, and Bode Rhodes and Sawyer Landers placed third and fourth, respectively, in the U16 10-kilometer classic. Sophia McGinnis-Smith and Antigone Loomis both advanced to the semifinals of the junior classic sprint before the race was canceled due to high wind gusts.
The SSWSC cross-country team will next compete at the Soldier Hollow Super Junior National Qualifier on Jan. 23–24. The event is the largest junior cross-country ski race in the country and serves as both a Western RMISA collegiate race and a junior national qualifier for all western divisions.
