Thirteen athletes, including seven U.S. Paralympians in Nordic skiing, were named to the 2017-2018 U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing National Team today by U.S. Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee.
"The level to which our Nordic skiers have performed already is very inspiring," said Paralympic Nordic Skiing head coach Eileen Carey. "Our veteran athletes have continued to improve as we approach the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, and the addition of new members on our national and development teams is promising for the future."
Three-time Paralympic medalist Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) highlights the team after claiming four world championships titles during the 2016-17 season, including cross-country crowns in sprint, middle and long distances, as well as the sprint biathlon title. She capped off the season by securing her third consecutive overall women’s sitting world cup globe in cross-country at the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup Finals in Sapporo, Japan. Additionally, Masters finished third in the world cup overall rankings in biathlon.
Kendall Gretsch (Chicago, Illinois), Ruslan Reiter (Manchester, Maine) and Daniel Romanchuk (Mount Airy, Maryland) all make the national and development teams for the first time.
Four military veterans are featured on the roster, including Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kansas/Navy), Sean Halsted (Rathdrum, Idaho/ Air Force), Bryan Price (Belton, Missouri/Army) and Andy Soule (Pearland, Texas/Army).
Team USA had a record-breaking 2016-17 season that finished with 33 world cup medals by five athletes, setting a record for the Nordic skiing team. Of the 33 world cup medals acquired, 12 were in biathlon. All A- and B-Team athletes reached the podium this past season, including first-time medals for Jake Adicoff (Sun Valley, Idaho) and guide Sawyer Kesselheim (Bozeman, Montana), as well as Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minnesota) at the PyeongChang Test Event.
2017-18 U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing National Teams
*Denotes U.S. Paralympian in Nordic skiing
# Denotes U.S. Military veterans
A Team
*Jake Adicoff (Sun Valley, Idaho) – visually impaired skier
*#Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kansas/Navy) – sit skier
Sawyer Kesselheim (Bozeman, Montana) – guide
*Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) – sit skier
B Team
*Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minnesota) – sit skier
*#Andy Soule (Pearland, Texas/Army) – sit skier
C Team
Kendall Gretsch (Chicago, Illinois) – sit skier
Development Team
*#Sean Halsted (Rathdrum, Idaho/Air Force) – sit skier
*#Bryan Price (Belton, Missouri/Army) – sit skier
Ruslan Reiter (Manchester, Maine) – standing skier
Daniel Romanchuk (Mount Airy, Maryland) – sit skier
Joy Rondeau (Granby, Colorado) – sit skier
Mia Zutter (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) – visually impaired skier
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