Category: US Team

US Ski-O Team seeking applications for 2026!

The IOF Ski-O schedule for the winter of 2026 is out now!

The Ski-O World Championships will take place in Japan March 1-7, 2026; the Junior World Championships, Youth Championships, and a round of World Cup races will take place in Sweden February 5-8, 2026, and World Masters and a round of World Cup races will take place in Bulgaria January 21-25, 2026.  

Anyone can race in World Masters Ski-Orienteering Championships. Applications to race for the US in any of the other ski-o races should be sent to US Ski-O ESC Chair Adrian Owens (aowens@nullsterlingcollege.edu) by September 30, 2025.  

Applications for juniors and seniors must include: race results (ski-O, foot-O, X-C skiing), Training done for the past year (preferably in a standard like Strava or Attackpoint), training plans for the coming year, a brief statement of interest about joining the team, and biographical info (birth date, citizenship status, gender, Orienteering USA membership number as membership is a requirement to be on the US Ski-O Team).  Questions about the races or the US Ski-O Team more broadly can be addressed to Adrian or US Ski-O Team Coach Carl Fey (carlffey@nullgmail.com).  

Applications should be sent to ESC chair Adrian Owens by email before Sept 30, 2025.

Map from the 2009 World Ski Orienteering Championships

2025 European Youth Orienteering Championships Recap

The 2025 European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) took place 17-20 July, 2025 in Brno, Czechia. EYOC is a competition for men and women in the -16 and -18 age groups, and a chance for young orienteers from many countries to get together and face serious competition in a friendly environment. This is the first year that the US sent an official team, with four women and five men (announcement) making up the ranks.

As this is the European Youth Orienteering Championships, the official results only include those representing European countries. Official or not, there were certainly some US results worth writing home about! Especially in the Long, with Alex Eriksson 30th (of 109) in M16 and Erik Fey 38th (of 114) in M18.

Results and maps

2025 WOC Recap

The 2025 World Orienteering Championships (WOC) took place in Kuopio, Finland, July 8-12 2025. The US sent a team of four men and four women to compete in a program consisting of a Middle Qualification, Middle Final, Long Final, and Relay. Meet the team on the blog!

Anthony Riley and Ali Crocker both qualified for the Middle Final, and finished 43rd and 47th, respectively. Ali then had the best US finish in the Long Final, at 41st, while Joe Barrett had the best finish for the men in 46th. The men’s and women’s relay teams wrapped up the week with 28th and 23rd place finishes.

Results, Maps and Photos

Team USA photos by Evalin Brautigam.

WTOC Team Selected

The team to represent the US at the 2025 World Trail Orienteering Championships has been selected. The WTOC take place this year in Slovakia and Hungary, August 26-31.

This year’s team:

  • Bob Cooley (BAOC)
  • Sharon Crawford (RMOC)
  • Richard H. Ebright (DVOA)
  • Jay Hann (BAOC)
  • Mike Poulsen (CROC)

Gavin Wyatt-Mair (BAOC) will also be attending as a team official.

JWOC 2025 Recap

June 26-July 3, 2025

Last updated July 4

Team USA was represented by 12 athletes at this year’s Junior Orienteering World Championships, held in Trentino, Italy. Here are photos, maps, and results from this year’s event!

Sprint Relay

The Mixed Sprint Relay is a race between teams of four athletes–two women and two men—in a fast, head-to-head competition with a total winning time of under one hour. In the heat of the afternoon, Team USA athletes pulled off impressive performances, utilizing their speed and wit to race around the streets of Levico Terme. Although blazing temperatures made the race more challenging, the competitors raced hard and smart, enough to earn a promotion in their starting rank for next year’s JWOC, a win against their neighbors (and friendly rivals) to the North – Canada, and gelato for the team. 

Only the top team from each country counts for the official results, and in the case of the US that was USA 2: Paige Suhocki, Ben Cooper, Alex Eriksson, and Danny Buchholz, coming in 32nd.

Official Results
Map/Live tracking: Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Leg 4

Sprint

With starts throughout the morning, Team USA battled less heat, but more hills and a more technical city sprint on their second day of competition. Still, the juniors kept their brains sharp, navigating well through the cobblestone streets and tunnels of Cembra, and delivered strong performances (and photo finishes) throughout. 

Ben Conley (92nd) and Greta Leonard (125th) posted the top results for Team USA this day.

Official Results
Maps and routes on Livelox

Long

Team USA stared down daunting course statistics (8.0km with 410m climb for F20/10.0km with 500m climb for M20) to carry out super solid races in the woods of Fornace. After finding their way around fields of pits deeper than two Coach Dylans, taking strategic route choices across several impressively long legs, and using their strength to take on hill after hill, the team had a renewed excitement for forest racing … and for their rest day. 

Mori Finlayson-Johnecheck (104th) and Paige Suhocki (111th) clocked in with the fastest time for US athletes today.

Official results
Maps and routes on Livelox

Middle

Team USA took on a new forest for the middle distance race. While the course statistics looked less terrifying, these woods were significantly less forgiving, with blackberry bushes that tore into our athletes and bumpy hillsides that rolled Ian’s ankle (He wisely chose to DNF, but is recovering well!)

The athletes who made it out alive performed solidly, tackling hills, marshes, and an uphill finish chute to all land themselves well under an hour in the woods.

Official results
Maps and routes on Livelox

Forest Relay

With three full teams, and one mixed team with a South African friend/lead leg, Team USA took on the relay, on a similar map to their middle. Now knowing what to avoid (green vertical slash and marshes), our athletes bested even more slopes, the distraction of running with others in the woods, and any navigational challenges thrown their way. 

The team ended the competition cheering on their coaches in the coaches race, reflecting on their accomplishments, and preparing to enjoy themselves a well-deserved banquet!

Official results
Tracks and maps for Men LEG 1 – LEG 2 – LEG 3
Tracks and maps for Women LEG 1 – LEG 2 – LEG 3

Support Team USA this summer!

This summer Orienteering USA is providing support to 30 National Team and Youth Development Program athletes participating in events in Europe. Some, like Ali Crocker (CROC), are veterans competing for the last time at the World Orienteering Championships. Others, like youngsters Kendal O’Callaghan (RMOC) and Alex Eriksson (ICO), are part of OUSA’s first officially supported team to the European Youth Orienteering Championships. All of our athletes are training hard now and preparing for their summer competitions and training camps, and we’ll keep you updated on all the action.

Here’s a schedule of events featuring Team USA orienteers this summer:

In addition to cheering these athletes on from home, you can also lend a hand financially. Help these athletes reach their summer fundraising goal of $6,000 ($200 per athlete)!

Make a donation by using via OUSA’s donation page (select “4 National Team”) and then share the image above on social media to get others to pitch in!

April OUSA Member Spotlight: Keegan Harkavy

The OUSA April Spotlight is on National Team member (Elite Squa) Keegan Harkavy, from Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is a transcript of an interview with Keegan in April, 2025. It has been edited for clarity and length.

Cristina Luis: Welcome Keegan! I would like to hear how you got your start orienteering.

Keegan Harkavy: I had always known what orienteering was because I grew up next to Barb [Bryant] and growing up next to Barb, it’s kind of a foregone conclusion that you’ll know what orienteering is. I think somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I remember Barb always trying to get me and my two sisters to do it.

But it really started in sixth grade when she came into my school to teach us orienteering. And I can’t really remember what we did. I think we did some maze-Os, maybe some grids, but I remember really enjoying it. I was quite good at it and as a hyper-competitive sixth grader that was something that was exciting. I remember just having a good time and, Barb being Barb, she got really excited about this and pushed to get a team from Cambridge Street Upper School to go to Junior Nationals. 

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2025 EYOC Team Selected

The European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) Selection Committee of Brenda Blacklock, Evalin Brautigam, Boris Granovskiy, and Dylan Poe are pleased to announce the 2025 EYOC team representing the US in Czechia this summer:

F-18

  • Paige Suhocki
  • Adalia Schafrath-Craig
  • Kendal O’Callaghan

F-16

  • Ally Coates

M-18

  • Erik Fey
  • Ben Cooper

M-16

  • Mark Fey
  • Misha Biryukov
  • Alex Eriksson

EYOC is an annual competition for orienteers aged 15-18, with competitions for the -18 and -16 age classes. This is the first time that the US will field an officially supported team to EYOC, supported by coaches Caroline Sandbo and Carl Fey. Congrats to all who were selected!

March OUSA Member Spotlight: Ali Crocker

Ali Crocker running at 2022 Masters Nationals.

This is a transcript of an interview with Ali in March, 2025. It has been edited for clarity and length.

Cristina Luis: Ali, I would like to hear about your athletic background, from the beginning, and how that melds into orienteering. 

Alison Crocker: From the very beginning? Okay.

As early as you want to go. It doesn’t have to be the very beginning.

Okay. I think at my earliest ages I was dragged along to running races with my parents. Totally loved doing all the kids’ races. So I was active from the beginning, and then probably the first serious sport I did was cross-country skiing, up through young juniors. I went to a ski academy for one year–where Alex Jospe currently coaches. I just went there for the winter trying to take skiing really seriously. But then I went to a boarding school where there was more snow than at my house so I could ski but still do academics. And it was there that I discovered two new sports. First, I discovered rowing, which I took seriously for quite a while during all of high school.

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US Youth Ski-Orienteering Team Wraps up an exciting week at EYSOC!

US Youth Ski-Orienteering Team: Coach Carl Fey, Euell Browne, Erik Fey, Liam Browne, and Mark
Fey.

The US Youth Ski Orienteering Team delivered record-breaking performances at the 2025 European Youth Ski Orienteering Championships, which serves as the de facto World Youth SkiO Championships.

Erik Fey led the team with historic results, placing 5th in the long, 6th in the sprint, 6th in the middle, and anchoring the US to 6th in the relay—marking the best-ever individual finish by a male non-European in a major international skiO event. [Ali Crocker has the best ever American result, with a 4th place in a 2011 World Cup race.] He narrowly missed 4th in the long by just four seconds, pushing to the limit in the final stretch. “I really wanted a top-three finish, but I’m proud of my performance and our growing US SkiO youth team,” Erik reflected.

Erik Fey on his way to 5th place in the European Youth Ski-Orienteering Championships long distance race.

Liam Browne (22nd), Euell Browne (24th), and Mark Fey (25th) also delivered strong results in the long distance race, with Euell edging Mark by five seconds.. The Browne brothers, competing in their first international skiO event, impressed many, showcasing the rising strength of Grizzly Orienteering Club in Montana and the US SkiO program.

Map for the long distance race.

Liam called the experience “amazing,” crediting Erik and Finnish champion Niklas Hirvilahti for inspiring his improvement. When reflecting back on the week of races Euell Brown said, “It was a great privilege to race for my country at European Youth Champs. My navigation got better with each race, and by the long event I felt much better making decisions on the go. I am very thankful
for encouragement of my team: Mark, Erik, Liam and Coach Carl!”

With Erik and Liam moving up to the junior category next year, the US Youth SkiO Team seeks new talent. Interested athletes and media inquiries can contact Coach Carl Fey at carlffey@nullgmail.com.