DartmouthSports.com Athletes of the Week - Thurston & Hagenbuch

Is there an echo in here? Does the sound of EISA Nordic Rookie of the Year sound familiar? This week's outstanding athletes have both earned this distinction for the men's and women's Nordic ski teams following impressive seasons on the course. Last week the two competed at the NCAA championship with John Hagenbuch earning first team All-America in two races. Freshman Ava Thurston earned second team All-America in the 5k freestyle and the 20k classic.

Their efforts are rewarded by being named The Richards Group Athletes of the week.

Each week, DartmouthSports.com will spotlight two outstanding student-athletes - one male, one female - as Athletes of the Week. Student-athletes may be chosen based upon their efforts both on and off the field of competition.

John Steel Hagenbuch, So., Ketchum, Idaho, Nordic Skiing

Hagenbuch, the EISA Men's Nordic Rookie of the Year provided stellar performances at the NCAA Skiing Championships, accomplishing what no men's Nordic skier had done at Dartmouth in over 50 years — earn a spot on the All-America First Team in more than one event. The native of Ketchum, Idaho, began his first trip to the championship by being one of just two skiers in the 10K freestyle to break 23 minutes, crossing the tape in second place. Two days later, he duplicated the feat in the 20K classic, running with the leaders the entire race before finishing in second place, just 4.7 seconds off the pace. Those two results contributed 74 points, more than one-fifth of the Big Green's final tally of 335.5.

Ava Thurston, Fr., Waterbury, Vt., Nordic Skiing

The EISA Women's Nordic Rookie of the Year, Ava Thurston, did not shrink from the competition in Lake Placid at the NCAA Skiing Championships. The freshman earned All-America Second Team honors in both the 5K freestyle and the 20K classic by completing the course in 10th and seventh place, respectively. She joins an elite group of Big Green skiers to finish in the top 10 in both styles at the NCAA Championships, which includes three-time national champion Katherine Ogden '21, and Olympians Susan Dunklee '08, Rosie Brennan '11, Sophie Caldwell '12 and Annie Hart '14. For the season, Thurston finished in the top 10 in all 10 of her races and reached the podium seven times.

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DartmouthSports.com Athletes of the Week - Thurston & Hagenbuch

Players Mentioned

John Steel Hagenbuch

Ava Thurston

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