The SSWSC Cross Country Team delivered a dominant performance Feb. 21-22 at the final Rocky Mountain Nordic Junior National Qualifier in Aspen, earning multiple podium finishes, season-long titles, and 16 Junior National Team selections.
During the freestyle sprint races on Saturday, Feb. 21, Steamboat athletes opened the weekend with strong results across age groups. In the U18/20 women’s division, Antigone Loomis took first place; Georgia Bishop, racing up an age group, finished second; and Sophia McGinnis-Smith finished third. Maren Sachs placed third in the U16 women’s race. 
The U16 boys swept the podium, with Conor Devin in first, Sawyer Landers in second, and Bode Rhodes in third.
In the U14 girls division, Annika Wiedel finished third. Forest Bishop led the U12 boys in first, and Axel Loomis in third, while Simi Smullin captured the U10 boys title.
Steamboat continued its momentum in Sunday’s classic mass start races on Feb. 22. Loomis completed a weekend sweep in the U18/20 women’s race, winning her second race of the weekend. Maia McGinnis-Smith placed second.
In the U16 girls division, Bishop claimed first, followed by Lylah Keller in second. The U16 boys again swept the podium, with Rhodes in first, Devin in second, and Landers in third.
Forest Bishop added another victory in the U12 boys race, and Smullin finished second in the U10 boys division.
Beyond the podium finishes, Henry Patten and Eva Minotto delivered performances that secured their selection to the Junior National Team.
For the season-long Rocky Mountain Nordic Division awards, Loomis topped season-long standings in the U18/20 women’s division. She was joined on the overall podium by Maia McGinnis-Smith in second and Sophia McGinnis-Smith in third.
In the U16 boys division, Rhodes, Landers, and Devin swept the Rocky Mountain Nordic Division podium in every race this season and finished first, second, and third, respectively, in the overall standings.
Bishop earned Junior National pre-qualifier status based on her results at Senior Nationals in January. Keller finished as the No. 1 overall qualifier in the Rocky Mountain Nordic Division season standings, with Spector ranked No. 3. Keller and Spector are both first-year U16 athletes.
Based on the season-long results, 16 Steamboat athletes qualified to represent the Rocky Mountain Nordic Division at the 2026 Cross Country Junior National Championships at the America Birkebeiner Trailhead in Cable, WI, March 9-14, 2026, showing the depth and strength of the SSWSC program. A total of 51 athletes will represent the Rocky Mountain region.
SSWSC 2026 Cross Country Junior National Championship Qualifiers:
U20 Women
Anna Rhodes
U18 Women
Antigone Loomis
Maia McGinnis-Smith
Sophia McGinnis-Smith
Eva Minotto
U18 Men
Henry Patten
U16 Women
Georgia Bishop
Lylah Keller
Livia Spector
Maren Sachs
U16 Men
Bode Rhodes
Sawyer Landers
Conor Devin
Langdon Devin
L.P. Brinkman
Jackson McLaren
Photo Captions (photos courtesy Jessica Devin, Lisa Landers, Anya McGinnis-Smith, and Paul Sachs)
- Women’s U16 Classic Race
- Men’s U16 Sprint Skate Podium – Conor Devin, Sawyer Landers and Bode Rhodes
- Women’s RMN Overall Podium – Antigone Loomis and Georgia Bishop
- Women’s U16 Sprint Podium – Maren Sachs
- U16 Men’s Classic Race
- Tig Loomis and Georgia Bishop Women’s Sprint Race
- Women’s Sprint Race
- Senior Skier Anna Rhodes
- Senior Skier Ava Minotto
