Maia McGinnis-Smith, Georgia Bishop, and Langdon Devin Post Podium Finishes at Utah JNQ

The 2002 Olympic Nordic Venue, Soldier Hollow, hosted the Super Junior National Qualifier and RMISA Collegiate Races January 17-28. Age group fields were deep, as 700 Cross Country athletes from over 50 teams and clubs competed in Friday’s Freestyle Sprint and Saturday’s Individual Start Classic Race.
To advance from the qualifying Sprint Time Trial an athlete needs to have a top 30 finishing time. Then, qualifiers are seeded into five-quarter final heats of six individuals. The top two finishers from each heat advance, plus the two fastest third-place finishers. Six athletes make up a Sprint final. From a 102-person U16 Female field, SSWSC cross country athletes made a strong showing, as three were positioned in the final. Ultimately, Maia McGinnis-Smith finished 2nd by a boot length over teammate Georgia Bishop 3rd and close behind in 4th was Sophia McGinnis-Smith.
In the female U18 Sprint, Grace Olexa took top honors for the SSWSC in 16th, Eva Minotto in 19th, and Tig Loomis in 26th. Noteworthy finishes in the U16 boys race- Sawyer Landers in 16th, Conor Devin 27th, Henry Patten 30th. Campbell McLaren finished 27th in the U18/20 male Sprint. Langdon Devin found the podium in the U14 male Sprint, finishing third. Forrest Bishop sprinted to a fourth-place finish in the U12 male race. Beatrice Bishop had a strong race, finishing sixth in the U 14 female race, with teammate Sophia Tirone coming in eighth.
Saturday’s race was a different format and technique. Racers started at 15-second intervals using the Classic technique. SSWSC’s youngest athlete, Jurgen Jones, finished 5th in the U8/10 male division. Beatrice Bishop race to a third-place podium in the U14 female race. Her teammate, Livia Spector, finished 16th in the U14 female race. Langdon Devin again showed race spee,d finishing 2nd in the U14 male race. Forrest Bishop skied to a solid 5th place in the U12 male race. SSWSC U16 females were competitive with Maia McGinnis-Smith finishing third, Georgia Bishop in fifth, and Sophia McGinnis-Smith in seventh. The U18/20 females had strong finishes, with Tig Loomis in 6th, Eva Minotto 15th, and Anna Rhodes 19th. Sawyer Landers led the U16 males with 4th place, followed by Bode Rhodes finishing 8th, Henry Patten 12th, and Conor Devin 13th.
All SSWSC athletes had the unique experience to ski the same courses with previous and future World Cup competitors.
Photos:
1. U16 Female Freestyle Sprint Podium- Maia McGinnis-Smith 2nd + Georgia Bishop 3rd
2. Langdon Devin 2nd place podium
3. U16 Female Freestyle Sprint Final- 3 SSWSC athletes- Maia McGinnis-Smith, Georgia Bishop, Sophia McGinnis-Smith
4. Maia McGinnis-Smith sprinting with coach Smullin providing encouragement.