Archive of Athlete Spotlights

A big crowd of North Tahoe’s close knit cross-country ski community came to Tahoe XC on a wet Wednesday evening to celebrate JC Schoonmaker’s World Cup success. JC is a fourth generation Tahoe City local who started skiing at Tahoe XC as a boy. He returned to town to tell the story of his recent World Cup racing experiences and pass on tips to the next generation of cross-country racers. He was joined by his girlfriend, fellow World Cup cross-country skier from Sweden, Emma Ribom.

The Kevin Murnane Scholarship is given out in Kevin’s honor each year to up to two North Tahoe High School students who demonstrate selflessness, decency, and good nature within our community. All recipients have participated in at least one of any Nordic ski program at Tahoe XC, Auburn Ski Club, Far West, or the North Tahoe Middle and High School Teams. This year’s recipients are Daniel Joslin and Bergen Koijane.

Tahoe’s cross-country skiing community is small, but mighty. Recently it produced two athletes that headed off to the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing: Hannah Halvorsen and JC Schoonmaker. Hannah grew up in Truckee, while JC is from Tahoe City (as were four generations behind him). They were both trained by a chain of local coaches, and heartily cheered on by the entire nordic community when they reached the big stage.