National Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Teams Announce World Junior Championship Athletes. Lindsey Van To Coach Women’s Team in International Competitions.

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Park City, Utah—The National Teams for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined have determined which athletes will compete in the World Junior Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan early next month. 

Men’s Ski Jumping USA

  • Will Rhoads, 19, of Park City, Utah recently placed fourth at the FIS Cup in Switzerland and third place at the US National Championships in Lake Placid.

  • Kevin Bickner, 18, of Wauconda, Illinois recently took sixth place at the FIS Cup in Stbske Pleso, Slovakia. In December, Bickner placed second at the annual New Year’s ski jumping event in Lake Placid and took first place at the US Cup competition in Steamboat Springs.

  • AJ Brown, 19, recently placed third at both the New Year’s ski jumping event in Lake Placid and US Cup competition in Steamboat Springs.

  • Nick Mattoon, 19, recently won the Open Class in Lake Placid’s annual New Year’s ski jumping event. He is the reigning US Cup champion.

Women’s Ski Jumping USA

  • After taking a brief hiatus from ski jumping to pursue other interests, Emilee Anderson, 19, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin has exploded back on the competition stage by dominating the women’s HS-100 event at the Rocky Mountain Division Winter Start competition in early December. She recently placed third at the annual New Year’s ski jumping event in Lake Placid.

  • Logan Sankey, 16, of Steamboat Springs, CO recently took second place at the Junior National Championships and sixth place at the National Championships in Lake Placid. She also placed third at the 2014 Junior National Championships in Alaska. Logan is a graduate of the inaugural Fly Girls development camp.

Nordic Combined

Ben Berend, 19, of Steamboat Springs, Colorado is returning to competition after an ankle injury. He has competed in numerous Continental Cup and World Cup events and boasts a top ten finish at the 2014 World Junior Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

  • Jasper Good, 18, also a member of Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, recently placed second at the Rocky Mountain Division Winter Start competition.

  • Ben Loomis, 16, a member of the Flying Eagles Ski Club in Eau Claire, WI, dominated the five events at the 2014 U.S. Junior Nationals in Alaska where he claimed a third National Junior title.

  • Nicholas Madden, 18 of Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club qualified, but has elected not to compete in the Championships in order to seek medical treatment for Compartment Syndrome

  • Somer Schrock, 18 of Mt. Itasca Ski & Outing Club in Coleraine, MN won two titles at the 2014 Junior National Ski Jumping Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.

  • Koby Vargas, 16, of Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club placed fifth at the 2014 Junior National Ski Jumping Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.

Women’s Ski Jumping USA is also pleased to announce that veteran ski jumping legend Lindsey Van will be coaching the National Team in upcoming European competitions. “I’m very excited to be heading over to Europe to coach,” said Van. “Since I am currently unable to jump due to a knee injury, it is nice to stay involved in the sport. I will be coaching the Continental Cup in Falun, Sweden, then traveling to central Europe for a training camp, and to the World Junior Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Although I have been coaching on and off for the past 10 years, this will be my first opportunity to coach internationally. I think the team will be competitive, and I am looking forward to coaching the women.”

The World Junior Championships will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan from February 2-9, 2015.