Summit High School sophomore Jay McDonald was not satisfied with how his cross-country season ended. 

Although the talented distance runner finished fourth overall at the Class 4A Region 1 meet, McDonald felt like his performance at state was not truly reflective of his training during the summer and fall. 

Following a 17th-place finish at the state meet as a freshman, McDonald finished 27th overall this fall and ran over 30 seconds slower. 

While the performance disappointed McDonald, who battled to recover from an injury he sustained at the end of spring track season, he quickly got over that feeling and began training for the winter ski mountaineering season.

Since there has been enough snow on the ground, McDonald has been training with the Team Summit ski mountaineering team alongside his twin brother, John.

Meeting in the early morning hours of winter, the McDonalds have logged a significant amount of skimo training while also spending most afternoons cycling or running. The consistent training resulted in the McDonald brothers posting impressive results as the season gets underway. 

Jay specifically opened the season with two seventh-place finishes at a U.S. National Cup race — El Lobo Loco — at Wolf Creek Ski Area near Pagosa Springs. Jay took seventh in the vertical race on Dec. 7 while John took 11th. A day later, both athletes competed in the individual race, where Jay took seventh again and John jumped up one place from the day prior to take 10th.

“The running gives you all the fitness, and it helps with the pacing a lot,” Jay said. “When you are going uphill, I think running helps with that, especially when you have to have a quicker cadence and have to be able to go quicker than the other guys.”

The performances ultimately gave Jay the momentum he needed prior to the U.S. National Championships — Wasatch Powderkeg — at Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah from Jan. 8-12. In his first race of the five-day competition, McDonald took sixth overall alongside Collin Kryger in the U18 men’s relay race. Following in 12th place were John McDonald and Max Trachtenberg. 

More familiar with the venue and the setting, Jay bounced back on the second day of competition to take third overall in the sprint race on Thursday, Jan. 9.

Two days later on Saturday, Jan. 11, the McDonalds lined up for the individual race, and both athletes finished within the top 15. Jay took ninth overall in the race, and John took 14th overall. 

With just the vertical race left, Jay and John took to the start line for the final time on Sunday, Jan. 12,  prepared to end nationals on a strong note. 

Though neither athlete had expectations of placing high enough to be considered for the U.S. team that will attend the 2025 World Championships, Jay found himself near the front of the pack about midway through the race.

Recognizing he had a chance to place within the top two in order to be one of the favorites to represent Team USA in March, McDonald dug deep, pushing aggressively throughout the rest of the 2-mile climb up to the terminal of the Powderhorn II lift at Solitude. 

Jay crossed the finish line a minute and 39 seconds behind Benjamin Bigwood to take second overall. John earned his best finish of the national competition, taking 10th overall in the U18 men’s vertical race.

After feeling dissatisfied at how the fall cross-country season ended, McDonald could not have been more ecstatic about seeing his hard work and dedication pay off during the winter ski mountaineering season.

“It meant a lot especially coming off a cross-country season where I didn’t get what I wanted,” Jay said. “To be able to do that in skimo and get fitter, stronger — felt great. It was special.”

Most likely sealing a spot on the World Championship team, Jay will now continue to prepare for the competition in Morgins, Switzerland, by training with Team Summit and attending a race in Santa Fe next weekend. 

If Jay is indeed named to the World Championship team by USA Skimo, it would be his first opportunity to represent Team USA.

“I am pretty excited to see Switzerland and give it another go to see how fit I am then,” McDonald said.

Fellow Summit County resident Finn Brown took third in the U18 boys vertical race while Breckenridge’s Ashley Adkins took third in the U18 girls vertical race. Additionally, Brown finished fourth in the individual race.

Summit County’s Sam Burke and Grace Staberg win races

In addition to Jay McDonald’s performance in the U18 races, Dillon’s Sam Burke and Breckenridge’s Grace Staberg also finished highly at the national championships in Utah. 

Burke and Staberg each won their respective individual races on Saturday, Jan. 11. Burke completed the men’s U23 race in 1:45:36.1 while Staberg won the women’s U23 race in 2:09.32.1. Burke then doubled back in the vertical race to take second overall to Bayden Menton. Staberg on the other hand, won the women’s U23 vertical and sprint races.

Like McDonald, Burke and Staberg will await to see if they are officially named to the U.S. World Championship team by USA Skimo. 

The International Ski Mountaineering Federation’s 2025 World Championships are slated for March 3-8.