USA Nordic Names National Squads

USA Nordic has announced its upcoming 2020/21 season nominations for the ski jumping and nordic combined national teams

A total of 15 ski jumpers were named to the US American men's and women's national teams for the upcoming 2020/21 season.

At age 23, Kevin Bickner, whose best result last winter was the 22nd place in Engelberg (SUI), is the most experienced jumper on the young men's team. Besides Kevin Bickner, Casey Larson, Andrew Urlaub, Decker Dean, and Patrick Gasienica were also named to the national team.

Canden Wilkinson, Erik Belshaw, Greyson Scharffs, Hunter Gibson, Landon Lee, and Shane Kocher are on the US junior's team.

Sarah Hendrickson, former overall World Cup winner and 2013 World Champion, and Nita Englund, who both did not take part in any international competitions last winter, are on the women's national team together with Nina Lussi, Logan Sankey, Anna Hoffmann, Annika Belshaw, Paige Jones, Samantha Macuga, Cara Larson, and Jillian Highfill, the junior's team consists of Rachael Haerter, Elise Loescher, Macey Olden, and Adeline Swanson.

USA Nordic has also announced nominations for the nordic combined national teams. A total of 22 athletes have been nominated to national and junior national teams based on their ability to meet specific criteria over the last season.

Tara Geraghty-Moats added to her trophy case this past winter, winning the Overall Continental Cup for the second year in a row. Though at times plagued by injury and sickness, her 2019/20 campaign included seven Continental Cup podiums, five of those being victories. Next season Geraghty-Moats will lead a young team of women’s Nordic Combined athletes towards an exciting calendar which includes a World Cup debut in December and the inaugural World Championship event in Oberstdorf, Germany in February.

The national team behind Geraghty-Moats is very young and includes a trio of women from Colorado who continue to improve at a rapid pace. Annika Malacinski, Tess Arnone and Alexa Brabec all skied into the top 30 at the Junior World Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. They also scored Continental Cup points a combined 15 times last season. Replacing the Colorado trio on the junior national team are Charlotte Ripp and Aspen Bennet-Manke. These two young skiers will continue to develop with the hope of gaining international experience and competing alongside Geraghty-Moats.

For nearly a decade, one of the Fletcher brothers has led the men’s Nordic Combined team. This past season was no different as Taylor Fletcher found success at the end of the season notching a fifth place in a February Continental Cup. He took that confidence to the World Cup, finishing the year with two top 30 finishes.

Jared Shumate and Ben Loomis split time between the Continental Cup and World Cup last season. Shumate finished the year ranked 21st in the Continental Cup standings. Loomis finished the year ranked 24th in the year end standings – although he only competed in six of the 17 events. After showing promise on the Continental Cup, these two hope to find success on the World Cup next season.

A newcomer to the men’s Nordic Combined national team is Niklas Malacinski . Malacinski, just 16 years old, was one of USA Nordic’s most successful athletes over the past season. He started the season in brilliant fashion by skiing to 29th place in the first Continental Cup of the year. He went on to represent the United States at the Youth Olympic Games, where he finished fifth and then headed to the Junior World Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany where he led USA Nordic with his 27th place finish.

The 2019/20 season ended a few weeks premature this past March. Since then, the athletes have been following quarantine and stay-at-home protocols. All athletes have been briefed on responsible ways to continue training, and all continue to do so. Athletes will soon begin working on goal setting with head coaches, looking hopefully towards the 2020/21 season.

Men’s Nordic Combined

National Team