10 skiers with Alaska connections land on U.S. Cross Country Ski Team

Rosie Brennan, Gus Schumacher and JC Schoonmaker headline a group of 10 athletes with Alaska connections who have been named to the 2024-25 Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team.

APU Elite Team member Brennan, a stalwart of the American World Cup team, is joined by four other skiers, including Jessie Diggins, on the women’s A Team. Brennan’s APU teammate Novie McCabe was named to the B Team.

Anchorage’s Schumacher, who last year made history as the first American man to win a World Cup distance event in more than 40 years, is in his first year on the men’s A Team. Both Schumacher and Schoonmaker train with the APU Elite Team and Schoonmaker was also a collegiate skier at UAA.

Vermont’s Ben Ogden rounds out the men’s A Team.

The men’s B Team is loaded with Anchorage skiers, including Michael Earnhart, Luke Jager and Zanden McMullen. All three also train with the APU Elite Team.

“This team enters the 2024-25 season with great confidence,” Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team program director Chris Grover said in a statement. “The continued success and leadership of our women’s team is now matched with the tenacious energy and breakthrough performances of our young men’s squad. Our World Cup service program continues to provide incredible experience and depth, propelling U.S. athletes towards historic milestones. The U.S. cross-country community is energized and working harder than ever before.”

The men’s Development Team also includes a pair of Anchorage skiers. Murphy Kimball is a freshman at UAA and Derek “Buster” Richardson is also on the APU Team.

A Fairbanks skier, UAF multisport athlete Kendall Kramer, was also named to the women’s Development Team.

Brennan is a two-time Olympian, while Schoonmaker, Jager and McCabe were 2022 Olympians.