A group of ten men and women — the most of any sport — from Vermont are headed to PyeongChang, South Korea as members of Team USA's cross-country skiing team, this year.
Andy Newell
Home: Shaftsbury, Vermont
Age: 34
Olympic history: 16th in freestyle sprint in 2006, ninth in team sprint in 2010 and 11th in the 10km relay in 2014.
Career highlights: Has competed in seven World Championships and in 2006 had the first U.S cross country World Cup top-three finish in two decades.
His best result last year was fourth in a World Cup classic sprint race.
Backstory: Newell has raced internationally for 15 years and honed his talents at the Stratton Mountain School.
Began skiing at age three and recently married fellow Nordic skier Erika Flowers.
Ida Sargent
Home: Craftsbury, Vermont
Age: 30
Olympic history: Had a top-20 finish in the freestyle sprint in 2014 and 34th in the 10 km classical at Sochi in 2014/
Career highlights: Had three top-five finishes in World Cup competition in 2017, including two third-place results in races held on the 2018 Olympic course in South Korea.
Back-story: Born in Orleans, Sargent was on skis as soon as she could stand and has juggled racing and education as she works toward a degree in biology at Dartmouth College, where she was an All-American.
Jessie Diggins
Home: Stratton, Vermont
Age: 26
Olympic history: Competed in two events in 2014.
Career highlights: Won recent 10 km freestyle mass start 2019 World Championship test event; finished third in the 2018 Tour de Ski, the first podium in that event for a U.S. woman.
Won 2013 team sprint with Kikki Randall at 2013 World Championships and was eighth in the skiathalon and 13th in sprint freestyle in Sochi in 2014.
Comes into South Korea with a third place in the 1o km freestyle pursuit World Cup race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
Backstory: Born and raised in Minnesota, Diggins developed her skills at the Stratton Mountain School and is the most decorated U.S. cross country skier, male or female, in world championship history.
Liz Stephen
Home: East Montpelier, Vermont
Age: 31
Olympic history: Placed 49th in the 10 km freestyle in 2010 and 24th in the 30 km in 2014.
Career highlights: Has three podium World Cup finishes since the Sochi Games, including second place in 2016 in a 5 km relay in 2016 and a 10 km freestyle in 2015. Was the top USA finisher (fifth overall) in the 2015 Tour de Ski.
Back-story: Began as an alpine skier at Burke Mountain Academy before switching to Nordic.
Considered the best climber on the US women’s Nordic team.
Sophie Caldwell
Home: Peru, Vermont
Age: 27
Olympic history: Sixth in freestyle sprint, Eighth in team sprint classic and 32nd in 10 km sprint in 2014 in Sochi
Career highlights: Tied for first in recent 2019 World Championship freestyle sprint test event; sixth in freestyle sprint at 2017 World Championships.
Backstory: The five-time All-American and 2012 Dartmouth graduate is the granddaughter of 1952 Olympian and U.S. Ski Hall of Famer John Caldwell.
Her uncle, Tim, was a four-time Olympian.
Simi Hamilton
Home: Aspen, Colorado
Age: 30
Olympic history: 29th in sprint classic in Vancouver in 2010; 6th in team sprint in Sochi in 2014
Career highlights: Second in World Cup freestyle sprint in 2014, Fifth in WC classic team sprint in 2014, 10th in overall WC standings in 2015-16.
Backstory: Was a three-time All-American at Middlebury College, graduating in 2009. Trains with the Stratton Mountain School elite team and is an accomplished white water paddler, ski mountaineer and outdoor guide.
Scott Patterson
Home: Anchorage, Alaska
Age: 26
Olympic history: First Olympics
Career highlights: Won USA national championships in 2016 (15 km classical), 2017 (50 km freestyle mass start) and 2018 (15 km freestyle).
Backstory: A 2014 UVM graduate with degrees in mathematics and mechanical engineering. Was a two-time NCAA All-American for the Catamounts. Focuses on distance events of 15 km or longer in his first year on the national team.
Caitlin Patterson
Home: Anchorage, Alaska
Age: 28
Olympic history: First Olympics
Career highlights: Won USA national championships in 2016 in 10 km classical and 20 km freestyle mass start and won the 2018 title in 10 km freestyle.
Backstory: Graduated from the University of Vermont in 2012 with a civil engineering degree. Trains with the Green Racing Project and is a member of the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club. Earned NCAA All-American status for all four years at Vermont.
Kaitlynn Miller
Home: Elmore, Vermont
Age: 26
Olympic history: First Olympics
Career highlights: 2016 USA national champion in classical sprint and finished third in the 1.3 km classic race and fourth in the 1.3km freestyle at this year’s championships.
Backstory: A 2014 Bowdoin graduate who grew up with degrees in biology and environmental studies and holds seven of the top eight individual Nordic races for the Polar Bears. Trains with the Green Racing Project and is a member of the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club.
Patrick Caldwell
Home: Lebanon, New Hampshire
Age: 26
Olympic history: First Olympics
Career highlights: Third in 15 km freestyle in 2015 U.S. Championships and fourth in that event in 2017; won three U.S. Super Tour races in 2012.
Backstory: The son of a former World Cup race and a cousin of fellow Olympian, Sophie Caldwell, Patrick is a 2017 Dartmouth graduate with degrees in geography and economics.
Attended the Stratton Mountain School and is a member of that school’s elite training team.
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