The SSWSC Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined team traveled to Lake Placid, NY, for the US National Championships with 16 athletes and two coaches, Karl Denney and Decker Dean. This was a great opportunity for our young athletes to test their skills against the best ski jumpers and Nordic Combined athletes in the country, and our team came away with some impressive results!
The Ski Jumping National Championships featured two days of competition, one on the normal hill (HS100) and one on the large hill (HS128). On the HS100, McKenzie Maines led the way with a 5th-place finish in the Women’s Open class, finishing just behind four National Team athletes. SSWSC alumni Arthur Tirone and Sawyer Graves tied for 6th in the Men’s Open class, earning “best of the rest” honors behind five National Team members. Ethan Maines and Everett Baldwin were the next best SSWSC athletes in 10th and 14th place, respectively.
On the HS128, McKenzie repeated her strong performance with another 5th-place finish, while Ella Wilson and Charlotte Fleming finished 8th and 10th. On the men’s side, 15-year-old Everett Baldwin stepped up as our top club athlete with an impressive 12th-place finish on the large hill!
In Nordic Combined, Ella Wilson and Charlotte Fleming showed remarkable consistency, finishing 5th and 6th in both competitions. Ethan Maines was our top club finisher on the men’s side, placing 6th on the HS100 and 7th on the HS128. Everett Baldwin also had a great showing, with strong jumps putting him near the front of the starting order for both cross-country races. He held on for 9th place on the HS100 and 14th on the HS128.
Another exciting highlight was the opportunity to participate in a test event for a new Nordic Combined competition format that will be used in the Velocity Ski League this winter. In this format, coaches draft athletes into teams of four, consisting of two women and two men. The goal is to create a more compact, fast-paced, and spectator-friendly version of Nordic Combined. It was exciting for our athletes to be part of testing a new approach to the sport!
Following US Nationals, the team stayed in Lake Placid for another week of training. With the pressure of competition behind us, the athletes were able to relax, experiment with their technique, and focus on making improvements. We ended up seeing some of the best jumps of the entire summer during this final week!
Overall, it was a fantastic trip filled with great competition, valuable experience, and plenty of progress. Our athletes represented SSWSC well, and it was exciting to see our younger competitors step up against some of the nation’s best. This was a great way to close out the summer season, and we’re looking forward to carrying that momentum into winter!
Story submitted by Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Head Coach Karl Denny.
