There might not be any snow in Minnesota, but that didn't keep Nordic skiing freshman phenoms and 2024 high school state champions Logan Drevlow of Hopkins and Linnea Ousdigian of Mounds View from taking their shows on the road and shining.
Drevlow and Ousdigian swept the boys and girls titles in the under-16 mass start classic event on Saturday, the final day of the 2024 U.S. Ski and Snowboard Cross Country Junior Nationals in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The six-day event included many of the best U.S. junior skiers from 10 geographic divisions competing in a variety of cross-country skiing races. The Junior Nationals, one part of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard development program, can help individuals become national team prospects.
Drevlow posted a winning time of 12 minutes, 55.2 seconds — nearly five seconds ahead of the runner-up — over the 5-kilometer course. Ousdigian turned in a dominant performance, winning by over 12 seconds with a time of 14:42.2.
Two days earlier, Drevlow was the medalist in the classic sprint race. Ousdigian finished 10th.
In the opening freestyle event, Drevlow and Ousdigian nearly pulled off another sweep. Drevlow was the boys medalist by five seconds with a time of 13:42.8, while Ousdigian was the runner-up in the girls field at 15:31.3, nearly three seconds off the pace.
Drevlow accomplished a rare feat in winning all three individual events, and he and Ousdigian each finished with three All-American finishes (top 10). Both won pursuit individual state titles a month earlier at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.
Drevlow's older sister, Sydney, finished second in the under-18 sprint race and sixth in the mass start classic race in Lake Placid.
