Ripp 7th at US Nordic Combined Nationals

Lake Placid, NY ~ This past weekend, Lake Placid, NY played host to the USA Nordic National Championships, known as "Jumpapalooza."  Paul Smith's College student-athlete Aidan Ripp started his season off with a strong performance in the combined event, consisting of a solo jump off of the normal hill, followed by a 10k rollerski the following day.

Ripp soared to a combined score of 71.9 meters (70 meter jump plus other points awarded), putting him in 11th place after the jumping portion of the competition.  The following day, competitors started the 10k in rank order from the previous evening's results.  Although Ripp started in the middle of the pack, he quickly moved up on his fellow competitors with an electric rollerskiing pace.  He got to work on the 6-lap race at Mount Vanhovenberg, catching competitors throughout the race and moving from 11th place to 6th place before nearly catching 5th place on the final lap.  Ripp's skiing was the 3rd fastest time on the day at 23:19 for the 10k - a torrid pace that showed tremendous fitness for the early part of the season.  

When asked about his skiier's performance, head Nordic coach Matt Dougherty beamed.  "It was great to see Aidan perform so well this weekend, he has put in so much work to be ready for these opportunities.  While his jump was not what we know he is capable of, we feel confident in his overall performance and that he is in a good position heading into our last training set before winter competitions begin."  Dougherty continued, segueing into the prospects of a PSC athlete competing in the World University Games.  "It looks good for Aidan and the World University Games - if the jumping comes around then he should be high up in the standigs table come January."

Ripp is looking to secure a spot on the USA team for the upcoming World University Games to be hosted in Lake Placid starting January 12th, 2023.