USA Nordic: National title for Malacinski and Shumate

The 2022 USA Nordic National Championships continued today at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, with the Men’s and Women’s Nordic Combined HS100 10km and 5km events. Annika Malacinski placed first overall in the women’s competition, followed by Alexa Brabec in second and Kai McKinnon in third. Jared Shumate then finished first overall in the men’s competition, with Jasper Good in second and Stephen Schumann in third.

Prior to the 5km and 10km races, the stage was set for Men’s and Women’s Nordic Combined last night at the Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex. Malacinski jumped to 87.5 meters (105.8 points), putting her in first place for the 5km race. Brabec followed with a 77.5 meter jump of her own (84.7 points), putting her in second place and +1:24 behind Malacinski. McKinnon then carded a 75.0 meter jump (78.0 points), putting her +1:51 behind Malacinski in third place for the 5km race.

For the men, Good was able to record a 91.5 meter jump (116.6 points), to put him in first place for the 10km race. Shumate was close behind, as he jumped to 90.0 (113.7 points), putting him +0:12 behind Good in second place. Schumann was then able to jump to 81.5 meters (97.0 points), putting him in sixth place to start the 10km race, +1:07 behind Good.

Moving on to the Women’s Nordic Combined 5km race, Malacinski was able to finish first overall with a race time of 16:46.4. Brabec came in second, as she recorded the fastest race time of the day at 16:29.2, +1:06.8 behind Malacinski. McKinnon then rounded out the pack in third place, with a race time of 18:32.8, +3:37.4 behind Malacinski.

“It’s so much fun to be competing in Lake Placid, the new hills and new venues are amazing and it feels good to be on home soil,” said Malacinski. “I’m super proud of Alexa and Kai, it was a tough race and the hill climbs were hard, but it was a fun one.”

“I thought it was a really great race for all of the athletes who competed. It feels good to be here, I’m proud of them and how they finished out National Championships,” said Women’s Nordic Combined Head Coach, Tomas Matura.

The Men’s Nordic Combined 10km race followed shortly after, as Shumate was able to ski up and finish first overall, with a race time of 22:43.2. Good finished second overall, +00.24.7 behind Shumate with a total time of 23:19.9. After starting the race in the sixth position, Schumann passed Niklas Malacinski, Grant Andrews and Evan Nichols to finish third overall with a race time of 22:51.2, +01:15.0 behind Shumate.

“I’ve had a goal for the last couple of years to win National Championships, so this feels pretty sweet,” said Shumate. “It definitely wasn’t the same with Ben not being able to race, but it was a great time competing with my other teammates.”

“I was really happy to see Jasper and Jared have a good fight for first place, there was also a really great fight for third place with Stephen and Grant,” said Men’s Nordic Combined Team Director, Nick Hendrickson. “It’s great to see that the guys are able to push each other in a competition like this. After this event, we know exactly what we need to work on as a team before the World Cup season starts.”

Results: Men’s & Women’s Nordic Combined – HS100

Results: Men’s & Women’s Nordic Combined – 5km and 10km Race

Source: USA Nordic