U.S. Championships Open in Anchorage
Nearly 400 athletes are on hand this week in Anchorage's Kincaid Park for the 2018 L.L.Bean U.S Cross Country Championships. The six-day event opens Wednesday, January 3, continuing through Monday, January 8. All events will stream live on U.S. Ski & Snowboard's Facebook channel.
Top athletes at the U.S. Championships will be vying for additional Olympic quota spots. While the primary team qualifying will come from World Cup results, additional spots will come from the event. Olympic nominations will be announced the week of January 22.
The U.S. Championships will also be used to select the U.S. team that will compete in the FIS World Junior Championships and U23 World Championships to be held in Goms, Switzerland January 28 - February 3. A team will also be selected for the U18 Nordic Nations Championship in Vuokatti, Finland at the same time.
Among the anticipated leaders will be SuperTour leaders Ben Lustgarten (Burlington, Vt./Craftsbury Nordic) and Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Common, Vt./Craftsbury, Vt.). Lustgarten won his first U.S. title a year ago in the 30k classic. Patterson took a pair of medals a year ago at Soldier Hollow, Utah and two U.S. titles in 2016.
Some of the top athletes from the World Cup tour will be in Anchorage seeking spots on the Olympic Team. Among them are Noah Hoffman (Aspen, Colo./Ski & Snowboard Club Vail), Scott Patterson (APU Nordic/Anchorage) and Chelsea Holmes (Anchorage/APU Nordic).
The action opens with the women's 10k freestyle Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Alaska time, with the men going out with a 15k freestyle at 12:30 p.m.
Live Streaming Schedule
2018 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships
Schedule subject to change
Wednesday, January 3
2:00 p.m. EST - Women's 10k freestyle
4:30 p.m. EST - Men's 15k freestyle
Friday, January 5
2:00-3:30 p.m. EST - Men's and women's freestyle sprints - qualifiers
4:45-8:00 p.m. EST - Men's and women's freestyle sprints - heats
Sunday, January 7
2:00-7:00 p.m. EST
Men's 30k classic mass start
Women's 20k classic mass start
Junior men's 10k classic mass start
Junior women's 5k classic mass start
Monday, January 8
2:00-3:30 p.m. EST - Men's and women's classic sprints - qualifiers
4:45-8:00 p.m. EST - Men's and women's classic sprints - heats
Scott Patterson
In his first Olympic Winter Games, Scott Patterson posted three top-20 finishes in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Scott is also a 2014 graduate from the University of Vermont with degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics.