On the weekend of February 7 – 9, 2025, Lake Placid hosted the best ski jumpers in the world for the third annual FIS (Federation of International Skiing) Lake Placid Ski Jumping World Cup. Northwood ski jumpers had the opportunity to forerun and meet the athletes. For more on our ski jumpers at the World Cup click here.

This year marked the first time women competed in North America on the World Cup stage. In the first competition, Nika Prevc of Slovenia took home the win. She is currently the World Cup overall leader. Eirin Maria Kvandal of Norway followed just behind her in second. Rounding out the podium was our northern neighbor Canada’s Alexandria Loutitt. In the second women’s competition, Nika Prevc won again, followed by two Germans. Agnes Reisch took second, and Selina Freitag took third. For Agnes Reisch, the weekend would mark her first-ever individual World Cup podium.

Agnes Reisch after her first individual World Cup podium. Photo by FIS.

Nika Prevc after her second win. Photo by FIS Ski Jumping.

On the men’s side Norwegian Johann Andre Forfang took the win. The Austrian pair, Jan Hoerl and Daniel Tschofenig,  took second and third. Northwood alum Tate Frantz finished 19^th. On the second day of competition, Daniel Tschofenig won, continuing his stellar season. He is currently the World Cup overall leader. Jan Hoerl finished second again followed by Slovenian Anze Lanisek. Tate Frantz finished 16^th.

Daniel Tschofenig after his day two win in Lake Placid. Photo by FIS Ski Jumping.

Over Winter Break, the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined teams stayed busy. Jack Kroll ‘25 says, “The team spent all but four days in the dorms” over break while training for the World Junior Championship Qualifiers, which took place on January 4^th and 5^th here in Lake Placid, and the results showed.

Jack Kroll ‘25 in flight. Photo by Nancie Battaglia photography.

Henry Loher ‘26 was able to win both days and set a new hill record on the K90-meter jump in Lake Placid. The hill record now stands at 105 meters which is the farthest landed jump. Henry is the clear points leader for the Junior Worlds Championships team. The team will be announced on January 19^th. Henry is “looking forward to getting to compete at his home World Juniors” when the event is here in February.

Eli Larkin ’27 followed close behind in 4^th place. Eli is “super happy to get these results in his first year eligible for World Juniors, and I can’t wait for next year.”

On the Nordic Combined side, only Jack Kroll ’25 competed due to Max Fey ’28 crashing during training and breaking his fibula. Jack was able to secure a personal best time in the 10k going sub 30 minutes. He finished 9^th and 6^th in the 10k and 5k, respectively.

Immediately following Thanksgiving break, Northwood’s Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined teams traveled to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for their first jumps and competitions of the winter season. The team consisted of Max Fey ‘28, Eli Larkin ‘27, Henry Loher ‘26, and Jack Kroll ‘25. When they arrived, they had just 2 days of training before the competition.

Saturday, December 7^th was the first K90 competition. The competition doubled as both the first World Junior Championships Qualifier and the first US Cup of the season. World Junior Ski Championships is a competition where the five best athletes from each country are selected to compete, and the US Cup is the highest level of domestic Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined competition. Loher won the special jumping competition. Fey, Kroll, and Larkin all finished in the top 12. Then came the Nordic race, which was a 10k. In Nordic Combined, the winner of the jumping starts first at time 0.0. Then the clock counts up from there. For every point a jumper is back from the leader, it is a 4-second delay. Then, the chase is on for the leader as the first person across the finish line wins. After the 10k race, Fey crossed the line in 3^rd and Kroll in 9^th.

On Saturday, U16 athletes Larkin, and Fey competed on the K70. Larkin got first and Fey got 2^nd.

Henry Loher ’26, celebrating after his winning second-round jump. Photo provided.

Sunday, December 8^th was the second Junior World Championships Qualifier on the K90. Loher took the win again, giving him a 60-point lead in the World Juniors Qualifier. Henry is hoping he can “continue to have good jumps and strong performances” during the next two qualifiers here in Lake Placid on January 4^th and 5^th. If he makes the team, he will compete from February 12^th to 16^th in Lake Placid at the 2025 Ski Jumping Junior World Championships. Henry is “super excited to get to compete at home,” and he hopes “that some of the Northwood Community come out to watch.” Kroll finished the jumping 5^th on Sunday, closely followed by teammate Larkin in 6^th. Despite some bad jumps, Fey skied his way back to the podium over the 5k race, this time in second. Kroll finished 5th in the second Nordic combined Junior World Qualifier.

Jack Kroll after his 90m second-round jump to put him in the top 5. Photo by Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

Head coach Colin Delaney said, “Despite mild temperatures that kept us off the hill at home, everyone could come out and have jumps similar to or better than their best training jumps in the summer. It was great to have some career-best results. I’m looking forward to this winter, continuing to make progress in training in the gym while gaining consistency on the jump.” Congratulations to all the Northwood Ski Jumpers and Nordic Combiners, and good luck at the next set of qualifiers.

Last week, on Wednesday the 30^th of October, the Los Angeles Dodgers topped the New York Yankees in game 5 of the 2024 World Series, securing the 4^th win they needed to become the 2024 World Champions.

Freddie Freeman points up at fans as he rounds the bases. Photo by Dodger Insider.

The Dodgers were the team to beat this year after 11 consecutive postseason appearances and spending big last offseason. They acquired two Japanese superstars in Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Shohei Ohtani is the favorite for the National League MVP after having a historic season, becoming the first member of the 50-50 club with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. Yoshinobu Yamamoto got off to a rocky start but dominated for most of the season. The big story for the Dodgers in the World Series was Freddie Freeman, who played through a right ankle sprain that should have held him back. Freeman, however, had other plans, hitting a .300 batting average with four home runs and 12 runs batted in. He is the first-ever player to hit home runs in four consecutive World Series games. On top of the four home runs he hit this World Series, he also hit two home runs in the last two games of the 2021 World Series with the Atlanta Braves. Combined, the two series make Freddie Freeman the only player to ever hit home runs in six consecutive World Series games that they played in.

The Los Angeles Dodgers hoisting their trophy after game 5 win. Photo by MLB.com.

The Yankees were lifeless for the first three games of the World Series. Then, facing elimination, they pulled off an 11-4 win in game four, giving many Yankees fans hope. In game five, the Yankees took a 5-0 lead. Gus Garvey ‘25, an avid Yankees fan, says that this is when “the Yankees forgot how to play baseball.” The defense completely fell apart with three defensive errors in one inning. The errors allowed the Dodgers to tie the game and ultimately win 7-6. Gus says that “these aren’t World Series jitters,” and that it’s “an organizational failure that starts at the top.” The Yankees have a lot of work to do this offseason, but management says the future is bright.

Dodgers’ infielder Kiké Hernandez was quoted saying he “just wants his parade.” He is referring to the last time the Dodgers won a World Series, and there was no parade due to COVID in 2020. Hernandez and Dodgers fans will finally get their long-awaited parade this week. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 2024 World Champions.