We Are GRP Biathlon
An Olympic development biathlon program based in Craftsbury, Vermont. We train year-round and race all over the country, striving to represent the US in international competition. Along the way, we will share our knowledge of environmental issues with our communities and encourage others to take action and live green.
Our Coaches
Our Team
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School St. Olaf College '15/Northern Michigan University
Major Biology
Hometown St. Paul, Minnesota
Home Ski Club Loppet Nordic Racing
Personal Sponsors Salomon, Farm to Feet socks, InStore Design Display
Jake was introduced to cross-country skiing by his parents in their Minneapolis backyard at age 3, but it was while training with coach Piotr Bednarski's Go!Training (now Loppet Nordic Racing) summer club before 11th grade that he became obsessed with ski racing and the systemic training that came with it. At St. Olaf College Jake competed in cross-country running, Nordic skiing, and track, helping the Oles win the NCAA Championship in cross-country his junior season. After graduating in 2015, Jake joined the Northern Michigan University ski team as a graduate student and finished his NCAA career with a top-5 american finish at US Nationals and as an NCAA All-American. After two years with the US Biathlon development team, Jake's joined the Craftsbury GRP Biathlon team in 2019. Under the guidance of shooting coach Sam Dougherty, Jake won the 10km sprint at Nationals and made his World Cup and World Championships debuts in his first season with the GRP.
When not training or racing, Jake enjoys reading, shooting hoops, mowing the Craftsbury ski trails and helping with other outdoor projects. Jake also helps coach the Craftsbury BKL development and racing teams.
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School Dartmouth College
Major Physics Major, English Minor
Hometown St. Paul, Minnesota
Clubs Loppet Nordic Racing 2008-2014, Dartmouth College Ski Team 2014-2018, Bridger Ski Foundation Elite Team 2018-2019, Crosscut Mountain Sports Center 2019-2021
Personal Sponsors Madshus, Swix, Smith, and Finn Sisu
As the youngest of three Minnesotan brothers, Luke learned about competition, tenacity, and the quest to keep up from a young age. Whether it was scootering around the neighborhood, playing table tennis in the basement, or biking around the city parks of Minneapolis, he had an active childhood. He poignantly remembers the day his dad declared he was old enough to first try skate skiing and he has been on a journey for an abundance of enjoyment, the satisfaction of personal improvement, and the thrill of victory ever since.
Luke took his passion for skiing and everyday rigor to Dartmouth College. While studying physics and English, Luke earned two All-Americans for the Big Green. After graduating, he moved to Bozeman, Montana where he transitioned to full time biathlon training. Luke is excited to be back in the East and on the GRP with the support of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center behind him. He looks forward to canoeing, writing, and getting involved in the Craftsbury community.
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School St. Lawrence University
Major Physics and Mathematics
Hometown Springfield, NH
Home Ski Club Ford Sayre
Personal Sponsors Finn Sisu, Rossignol, Hungry Hearts Gym and Kitchen
Tim started skiing his freshman year of high school, with the Kearsarge Regional School District in New Hampshire. His mother tried her best to get him and his younger brother into it when they were five, but to no avail. As a result, Tim grew up pursuing martial arts from the ages of five to 18. Is it cool? Yes. Was it a brilliant kickstart to his athletic career? Potentially: We're still figuring that out.
Once the Nordic bug bit Tim there was no turning back. He skied two years at Kearsarge under Kevin Lee, and then two years with the Ford Sayre Ski Club in Hanover, NH. Once in college Tim was able to split time between the St. Lawrence Ski Team and trips to Lake Placid, NY to train for Biathlon. After racing at one Junior World Championship and one NCAA Championship, Tim graduated from SLU (class of '21) and began his adult biathlon career. The past two years saw Tim move across the country twice before making his way to the GRP.
In Tim's spare time he can be found napping on the couch, crushing lessons on Duolingo, or thinking deeply about new ways to add peanut butter to various meals.
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School The College of St. Scholastica
Major Philosophy and Natural Science
Hometown Winthrop, WA
Home Ski Club Methow Valley Ski Education Foundation
Personal Sponsors AeroMech Inc., Salomon, Rudy Project, The Feed, EverAthlete, Coros, Lost Nation R&D
Kelsey has had skis strapped to her feet from a young age, whether it be getting towed around by mom and dad while eating handfuls of snow or just playing around in the backyard. She joined the Methow Valley Nordic Team at the age of 5 and found her true love of ski racing in high school, where she also dabbled here and there in biathlon with the Methow Valley Biathlon Team. Kelsey returned solely to nordic racing when she decided to move to Sun Valley and compete with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation for most of her senior year of high school as well as a gap year afterward.
Kelsey attended college at The College of St. Scholastica, where she was a member of the CSS Ski Team and also trained for biathlon on her own. She qualified for the IBU World Junior Championships in 2013 and afterward decided to take a brief hiatus from college to compete in biathlon on the IBU Cup as a member of the USBA National Development Team. Upon her return to CSS the following year, Kelsey rejoined CSS Skiing and was a three-time NCAA qualifier with a top result of 26th in the 15k skate in Jackson, NH. She is the only female CSS skier to earn CCSA All-Region on five occasions. She was also the recipient of the CSS Athletics Career Achievement Award in 2018.
When she isn't working hard training with the rest of the GRP, Kelsey enjoys reading books of varying topics, especially those that dive into philosophy. She is an avid outdoor enthusiast and loves biking, rock climbing, backpacking, and getting into the mountains for long running adventures. While her favorite activity at the Center is Bike Club for kids on Wednesday nights, she also loves her Craftsbury Community Running crew.
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School St. Lawrence University
Major Statistics
Hometown Lake Clear, NY
Home Ski Club New York Ski Educational Foundation (NYSEF)
Personal Sponsors North Woods Engineering, Salomon
Our Support
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Megan Chacosky MS, RD, CSSD has supported US Olympic sport teams for 8 years as a sport dietitian and performance chef; her roles have directly supported US Biathlon, USA Bobsled & Skeleton, USA Luge, USA Figure Skating, and US Ski & Snowboard teams with sport performance nutrition applications and travel chef provisions throughout athlete training and competition phases. She has impacted nutrition planning and execution for Team USA in the 2018 PyeongChang and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Megan currently serves as the lead Sport Dietitian for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, organizing nutrition provisions for the elite club programs of biathlon, rowing, running and XC skiing and supporting the Center’s seasonal dining hall menu development and delivery. Megan continues to engage as a member of the USOPC Nutrition team, collaborating with fellow Olympic dietitians and contributing to internal educational documents, dietetic protocols, and performance nutrition best practices. Megan is passionate about using sport nutrition to encourage not just peak performance, but also sustainable, positive relationships with food and body image within athlete populations.
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Will Ruth joined the GRP in 2022 as strength coach for all four sport programs. He has a BS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology, an MA in Sport Coaching, and an NSCA-CSCS certification. Will lives in the nearby town of Barre, and has coached in the Craftsbury sculling camp program since 2019.
Will rowed and wrestled in high school in Olympia, Washington, and then played lacrosse and began competing in strength sports as a student at Western Washington University. He came back to rowing at Western in 2013 as the men’s team strength coach and assistant coach, where he remained until moving to Vermont in 2019. Will has also coached collegiate track and field, high school football and lacrosse, and youth and adult outdoor mountain athletes, and online strength coaching and coach/athlete-education. His work and strength coaching in rowing has been featured at rowing conferences, in the “NSCA Coach” magazine, and on the Craftsbury 2020 Sculling Webinar series.
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When Samantha Smith, MD, became a competitive rower in college, she also inadvertently chose her future career as a primary care sports medicine specialist.
“Because I had many injuries, I noticed the difference when I saw specialists who understood my sport and took it seriously so I could continue to be successful as an athlete,” says Dr. Smith, who is also board-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics. “That fueled my interest in orthopedics, and I really enjoy taking care of both adults and children.”
Dr. Smith offers nonsurgical treatment for musculoskeletal and other medical issues that occur not just in athletes, but all active people. The field of primary care sports medicine is not new, but it has been growing rapidly over the past decade, Dr. Smith notes. “With advances in ultrasound and other office-based imaging and procedures such as injections, primary care sports and nonoperative musculoskeletal providers work alongside orthopedic surgeons to provide complementary services to patients,” she says.
Pinpointing the source of a patient’s problem is one of Dr. Smith’s favorite aspects of her job. “I might see a patient with ankle pain or pain on the side of the knee, but those might just be the symptoms,” she says. “The underlying problem may be something seemingly unrelated, such as weakness in the hip, so we need to focus our treatment plan on strengthening the hip.”
Dr. Smith is an assistant professor of clinical orthopedics and rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine.
Application and Requirements
Program FAQs
(and please review the GRP Ski Program FAQs for general program questions as well)
How does one get into this program?
The application process is the same as for the skiing program, though the schedule may be slightly different, and we have similar expectations in terms of ski speed and ski training level/experience. We do not expect applicants to have a lot of biathlon experience, since we know this can be hard to find. We will have Outdoor Center-supplied rifles for new biathletes to use, and we will teach you to shoot.
How do I apply?
Interested athletes should apply using the application form available online. Applications are due end of day March 24, 2024. Decisions will be made by April 10, 2024.
What would my season look like?
A GRP Biathlete's racing season might vary a bit from one athlete to another depending on their level of experience and current speed. First-year biathletes will likely still do a number of Nordic races to help fill out their biathlon season, but most athletes could expect their schedule to include the US Trials races, most eastern biathlon NorAm races, and a development racing opportunity in Europe (by qualification) if available. The goal is to put as many biathletes as possible on the National Team.
Do I need to own my own rifle?
Craftsbury has a small number of rifles which will be loaned out to new GRP biathletes as needed. We strongly encourage athletes to consider purchasing their own rifle as they develop in the sport.
How is the program organized?
GRP Biathletes will follow an overall physical training plan similar to the GRP Nordic skiers. The majority of the workouts each week will be combined with shooting at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. As with the rest of the GRP, biathletes will be expected to contribute a required amount of time and effort to the Outdoor Center in exchange for their housing, meals, coaching and travel support.
Can I try biathlon to find out if I like it, and if I have some natural ability?
We can arrange a clinic for you at Craftsbury if you are interested. E-mail grpbiathlon@craftsbury.com if interested. Watch our website for other opportunities. We also recommend attending the USBA Talent ID camps.
What do you have for biathlon training facilities?
We have a 15-point range at Craftsbury, located on trails for skiing, rollerskiing, running and mountain biking. It's on the snowmaking loop. The Jericho biathlon facility is 80 minutes away and offers a full 30-point range on a paved rollerski loop.
Who should apply?
Like GRP Nordic, selection of biathletes for this program is very limited and based on a combination of performance criteria and a written application. Biathlon applicants will be expected to meet one or more of the following performance criteria:
Top 10 US. Biathlon National Ranking for the current year
Top 10 American at NCAA Championship Skate Event
Successful post-college skiers who have demonstrated good Nordic racing results and are interested in making the transition to Biathlon.
Biathletes are expected to be skiers of the same caliber as GRP Nordic skiers.
Who is coaching?
GRP Biathletes will primarily be coached by GRP biathlon Coach Mike Gibson, with assistance from Pepa Miloucheva and the rest of the ski staff, as well as Craftsbury club biathlon coach, Ethan Dreissigacker.
What's the biathlon program's goal?
GRP biathlon shares a similar goal as GRP skiing and rowing: to provide an opportunity for successful post-collegiate Nordic skiers and biathletes to develop and become internationally competitive.
Application
In exchange for coaching, travel support, room & board, GRP biathletes are asked to take on projects that contribute to the work of the Center. If this sounds like work you would enjoy, while taking your skiing to the next level, then you may be a good fit for the GRP. You can read more about the team by taking a look around this website, but pay particular attention to the ski program FAQs as they are applicable to the GRP biathlon program as well.
Athletes applying, or thinking of applying are encouraged to talk to coach Michael Gibson at grpbiathlon@craftsbury.com.
U23 Summer Biathlon
Are you an elite college skier? Check out our Collegiate Summer Training Team, a summer program for U23 athletes currently pursuing a college degree while competing at a high level in Division 1 NCAA skiing. The goal of the program is to provide an elite-level summer training experience in concert with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project.
Our Sponsors
You may have heard of them as the first rowing camp in North America, or perhaps as the most consistent snow in the east, but even without participating in one of the COC's programs, you can share the same great Craftsbury setting, excellent food, and facilities as group or individual guests. Craftsbury has the pleasure of hosting the Green Racing Project Rowing, Skiing, and Biathlon Teams at the Center.
Since 1976, Concept2 has been making innovative rowing products, from their Indoor Rowers to the Dreissigacker Racing Oars. In 2009, Concept2 introduced the SkiErg. Whether you're a rower, a skier, or neither one, Concept2's products will help you get fit, stay fit, win your race, or train for your primary sport.
Our Partners
Podiumwear creates patterns that function at the highest levels of competition, sources fabrics and trims that can overcome the toughest conditions, works with clients to bring their unique design ideas to life, then prints, transfers, cuts and sews each piece to the highest standards. All of their products are made in their St. Paul, Minnesota facility.
In the winter of 2007, Vermont skier Corinne Prevot picked up some fun fabric and started making hats for her Burke Mountain Academy teammates and friends. Soon the demand for the colorful hats grew, as did the variety of prints. As the buzz snowballed beyond the New England ski community, new products joined the line to keep everyone warm and colorful. Skida believes in local production, limited edition products, and a fresh perspective, and in supporting the local community.
Caldwell Sport provides service and selection of cross country racing skis at the highest level available. They are not a full-service retail shop. They don't do boots, poles, clothing, accessories, or even step-down ski models. They focus their attention on what they do best, and they continually strive to improve the company and its services. They're interested in working with racers at all levels who want the best skis they can get.