Bend, Ore. – Six athletes from the Bend Endurance Academy (BEA) have been named to the Pacific Northwest Ski Association (PNSA) Junior National Team for the 2015 Nordic Junior National Championships to be held next month in Truckee, CA.
Sam Biskup (Male U16), Damon Iraggi (Male U16), Alex Heisler (Female U16), Maya Seckinger (Female U18), Tom Schoderbek and Teddy Widmer (Male U18) all will be racing with over 400 of the best Nordic skiers ages 14 – 19 from across the US at the Auburn Ski Club March 8th – 14th for the national level event.
The most recent addition from BEA to qualify for Junior Nationals is Damon Iraggi. Iraggi earned a spot as a result of his latest weekend of racing at the Mt. Spokane Junior National Qualifier where he turned in a 3rd place finish in the 5k Classic race behind teammates Sam Biskup and Sam Schoderbek. Of the six BEA athletes heading to Truckee all have previously competed at Junior Nationals besides Iraggi who is looking forward to seeing where he stacks up against racers from all over the US and being a part of a huge race.
Despite a challenging snow year locally and limited access to skiing, the Bend Endurance Academy athletes have continued to prove they have the skill and fitness to race with some of the best in the US. “I Think the biggest challenge of training for me this year was the lack of snow,” Iraggi staetd about his journey to Nationals. “The snow conditions we were training on were a lot different than what we were racing on which made it difficult to get in good ski workouts.”
The six BEA athletes will be joining 27 other ski racers from the Pacific Northwest Ski Association who have all earned spots to compete in this year’s National Championships. “I’m really looking forward to seeing our athletes race in Truckee and looking forward to seeing how our region does,” stated Ben Husaby Nordic coach for Bend Endurance Academy who will also be coaching the PNSA team at this years Junior Nationals.
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