GRP Ski: 2026 Lake Placid Nationals Recap
Bushey in the lead of his heat.
GRP skiers raced at the U.S. National Championships at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, New York January 4th-9th. Around 450 athletes from collegiate and club teams came to race for national titles. Athletes were not only racing for national championships; they were also racing to qualify to represent the U.S. in upcoming international competition, including the World Cup Finals in Lake Placid at the end of this season. The week of racing consisted of 4 races over 5 days covering sprint and distance races in both skate and classic:
January 4 - Classic Individual Start 10k National Championship
January 6 - Freestyle Sprint National Championship
January 8 - Freestyle Mass Start 20k National Championship (10k for Juniors)
January 9 - Classic Sprint - SuperTour
The racing kicked off with the men’s classic 10k. GRPer Brian Bushey had a fantastic race and finished in 9th out of 279 racers. Keenan Durham finished 59th and Jack Christner 87th. Michaela Keller-Miller finished 48th out of a women’s field of 152. John Schwinghamer kicked off his Nationals 2 days later in the skate sprint, qualifying 9th. Keelan placed 13th, Jack 29th, Brain 44th, and Joe 49th. John and Keelan had exciting racing but didn’t make it out of heats ending 16th and 17th. Michaela qualified 30th but was fast enough during her quarterfinal to move up to 25th in the final standings. The 20k mass start was next, and Brian laid down a fierce race to finish 7th, with Jack in 44th. Michaela also skied well during the 20k, finishing 26th out of a field of 125.
The last event of the week was the classic sprint. This race packed even more excitement into the popular sprint format with changing snow conditions, tight racing, and the fact that the classic sprint is an Olympic event this year. US Ski and Snowboard has prioritized qualification speed over performance in the heats in their selection criteria for World Cup sprint starts and potentially Olympic spots. As conditions worsened, a further storyline emerged as some competitors chose to double pole due to the tough conditions.
Even with warming weather and deteriorating snow conditions throughout the second half of the week, the GRP stayed composed and raced well through the final day of competition. John had a fantastic qualification, finishing first with a blazing fast time of 2:52.91. Jack finished just under 5 seconds back in 18th. Jack and John once again battled it out and finished 15th and 16th after their heats. Michaela rounded out a solid week qualifying 10th, and wrapped up her Nationals 16th at the end of the day.
The GRP skiers are now back in Craftsbury training hard in a high-volume block until their next racing stretch begins in Minneapolis, February 14th – though you may see some of them at the Marathon or UVM carnival in the coming weekends.
Michaela Keller-Miller en route to her 25th in the skate sprint.
