Bridger Ski Foundation reflects on fourth place national finish in 2023-24 season

Seniors finish strong in Junior Nationals, participate in international showcases

By Jen Clancey DIGITAL PRODUCER

In March, the Bridger Ski Foundation sent 18 athletes to Lake Placid, New York for the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Junior National Championships. Despite varying conditions of slush, heavy wind and race delays, the Bozeman-based Nordic Program’s training shone.

Placing fourth overall in the junior national championship overall, and securing All-American finishes, the competition brought together teams from all over the Northern Rockies in the Intermountain Division, which placed second nationally against other U.S. divisions.

“We have some really strong young athletes,” said Andrew Morehouse, BSF’s Nordic Program director. “We … had the second best women’s team in the country. Which is awesome.”

On that women’s team was Natalie Nicholas who finished fourth in the U18 Women 7.5K Freestyle. “I’m really proud of our ski organization,” Nicholas told EBS.

On top of securing an All-American title at junior nationals, Nicholas also traveled to Falun, Sweden in January for the Nordic Nation’s Cup, representing Team U.S.A. alongside 12 other stateside athletes.

Nicholas looks back fondly at her last season with BSF, where her career began in sixth grade after a move from Wyoming.

“I feel lucky,” Nicholas said. “[BSF] fostered my love of the sport, not just my success.”

Another athlete who traveled internationally and finished strong at junior nationals was Landon Wyatt. Earlier in the year, Wyatt traveled to South Korea for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics and finished 18th in the 7.5KM classic.

At junior nationals, Wyatt finished fourth in the U18 Men 7.5K Freestyle and 10th and ninth in the U18 Men Classic Sprint and U18 Men 10K, respectively.

Wyatt also finished second place with teammate Callahan Waters on the Intermountain Division U18 relay team.

“It’s definitely a little sad stepping away,” Wyatt said of his career with BSF. He described the program as a close-knit family.

Other impressive finishes came from Callahan Waters and Necia Nicholas in the U18 category, and Tula Higman and Isabella Waters in the U16 age group.

Wyatt noted that coaches and training prepared the team well for dicier conditions in Lake Placid.

Julia Hayes, BSF’s Nordic competition coach added that she was proud of the way BSF athletes pushed through sticky snow and variable weather. “Within our training, myself and Andrew, we work really hard to be like,’Okay, … this is something we have to work through, we can’t go around it, we can’t go under it, these are the cards that we are dealt, and … if we figure a way to cope with it, it’s going to make us better athletes and better people,” Hayes said.

“I think that shows when [the athletes] encounter hard conditions and they can still perform really well.”

Hayes said that the group of graduating seniors will be missed by the program, noting that she has seen them grow from eighth grade, when she first joined BSF’s coaching squad. She thanked the “incredible community” that allows athletes to excel in the sport and have fun, as well as an ongoing relationship with Big Sky Ski Education Foundation’s program.

Morehouse appreciated the leaders within the 10-person senior class. “With such a big senior class, there was a lot of the leadership that came from that group, a lot of the culture was driven by that group,” Morehouse said.

Both Nicholas and Wyatt are excited about the next steps in their skiing career. Natalie Nicholas will compete with the University of New Hampshire next year, but plans to return to Bozeman in the summer for training. Landon Wyatt will ski at the University of Denver.