Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club skiers and alumni competed in the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Nationals in Soldier Hollow, Utah, last week.

The home of the 2002 Winter Olympics hosted a series of competitions in the four Nordic formats: freestyle sprint, freestyle mass start, classic individual start and classic sprint. All four races were crammed into six days, and the sprints featured multiple rounds, so athletes were kept busy.

The purpose of the event was to determine national champions in each discipline, but younger competitors used it to qualify for the World Juniors and the U18 Scandinavian Cup Trip.

SSWSC U18 athlete Trey Jones was eyeing the Scandinavian Trip as his 2022 goal and qualified with great results in Soldier Hollow.

“​​The highlight of the week for Trey was the classic sprint where he qualified 27th, and finished 24th, against athletes up to 10 years his senior that have had World Cup and Olympic starts,” said coach Brian Tate in a news release.

Among all junior competitors, Jones was second in the classic sprint. He also earned 36th overall in the freestyle sprint and second among all U18 athletes.

In the freestyle mass start junior race, Jones was eighth overall and second among U18 skiers. He finished 84th overall in the classic individual start and ninth in the U18 category.

Additionally, Thomas Cooper earned 11th in the junior freestyle mass start, or 28th overall. Grey Barbier was first in the classic individual start in the U16 division. He was 75th overall. He was also second among U16 skiers in the classic sprint.

Griff Rillos was 12th in the classic individual start at the U18 level, good for 87th overall. In the freestyle mass start, Henry Magill finished second at the U16 level, or 36th overall.