Orienteering USA

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.

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.

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.