Swirbul, Schumacher Win U.S. Sprint Championship Titles

Hailey Swirbul (APU) and Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) opened the 2020 L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championship in Houghton, Mich., with victories in the freestyle sprint Thursday.

Gus qualified second and won both his opening quarter-final and semi-final heats to roll into the finals. Gus skied a tactical race throughout, tucking into the middle of the pack in each race before unleashing a powerful acceleration to the finish line. In the finals, he outsprinted Ben Saxton (SMS) who finished second and Bill Harmeyer (University of Vermont) in third.

Hailey, who was the top qualifier, skied toward the front of each of her heats, winning both her quarterfinal and semifinal heats before exploding to a massive lead in the finals, where she was able to glide into the finish for her first U.S. Championship title. Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS) was second, followed by Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury) in third.

“I had a good day,” Hailey said. “I did try to get out front early to avoid trouble and get in a good position. The course was tough to pass on, so I wanted to try to avoid that!”

In Friday’s individual start freestyle, Caitlin finished second in the women’s 10k but took the U.S. title as the top-placed American. Finland’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen took the race victory, with Alayna finishing third.

In the men’s 15k individual start freestyle, Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2) took the U.S. title, Gus was once again on the podium in second, and Ian Torchia (SMS) was third.

Up next, athletes will compete in classic mass start events on Sunday, followed by the classic sprint on Tuesday. Both events will be streamed live thanks to CXC Skiing and U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Viewers are encouraged to purchase a XCOUNTRYLIVE Season Pass for $39.95 to view not only the L.L.Bean U.S. Championships, but also the Slumberland American Birkebeiner, and the U.S. Junior National Championships.

A Season Pass subscription to XCOUNTRYLIVE’s exclusive content provides live and on-demand coverage of all these premier events, but it also helps support the sport with prize money funds for the athletes. 

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint
Women’s freestyle 10k individual start
Men’s freestyle 15k individual start

HOW TO WATCH
Sunday, Jan. 5
10:30 a.m. - L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships classic mass start, Houghton, Mich. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Live Streaming

Tuesday, Jan. 7
10:30 a.m. - L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships classic sprint, Houghton, Mich. - U.S. Ski & Snowboard Live Streaming