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Michaela Frias felt she had underachieved after finishing sixth in the J1 (16-17 year old) 10-kilometer classic technique race at the USSA Junior Olympics of Nordic skiing in Presque Isle earlier this month.
The individual start race was the second of the four-race, six-day event for the since turned 17-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colo., and Frias’ coaches had told her that she was in second place for a portion of the race. Adding salt to the wound, only the top five finishers in each race were featured in the medal ceremony.
Frias returned to the Nordic Heritage Center the next day for the race of her young career and claimed the most sought-after spot on the podium with a victory in the 5 kilometer freestyle race. Frias was the runner-up in the same race the previous year in Truckee, Calif., while competing in the J2 (14-15 year old) category.
“I was so excited when I got up on the podium, but it didn’t hit me for a while that I had won my first Junior National title,” Frias said Friday back in Colorado. “After my race, I was a nervous wreck.”
Frias said her coach, Josh Smullin, told her she was in third place with one kilometer to go in the race.
“I underestimated the last kilometer, so I really pushed hard on what I thought was the last hill and then found out I had about 500 meters left,” Frias said. “I had to keep skiing hard for what felt like a long time.”
Frias also placed 17th in the 1.2 kilometer classic sprint and her Rocky Mountain region team took third in the team relay (six national regions are represented at the event). It was Frias’ third Junior Olympics, which are held annually, but first as a J1 after competing twice as a J2. Frias’ top finish in her first year at the JO’s was a 19th placing in the 5 kilometer mass start classic race.
Despite her experience and a target on her back as the top qualifier for the event from the Rocky Mountain region, Frias’ lack of familiarity with opponents from the New England and Alaska teams and limited preparation on the narrow and undulating Maine course gave her some uncertainty at the outset of the week.
“I wasn’t confident that I could ski with the rest of the field,” Frias said. “I knew I was skiing well against the Rocky Mountain division from our qualifier races and against the western regions from my results at Soldier Hollow, but I wasn’t sure what Alaska and New England would have. I went out as smooth as I could, telling myself to relax and not to rush, but also aware that this was a fast course and I had to start off going hard.”
The JO’s culminated the Steamboat Springs High School junior’s season, which included eight JO qualifying races in Utah and Colorado. She earned the top qualifying spot on the Rocky Mountain team by winning five of the eight races. Frias also vied for USSA and International Ski Federation (FIS) points in Alaska and Montana.
In January, she raced at the Senior Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska, against the top skiers in the country, and placed 100th overall (19th J1) in the 10-km freestyle race, 81st (11th J1) in the classic sprint, and 112th (22nd J1) in the freestyle sprint.
“JO’s were the main event I was training for next to Senior Nationals, but Senior Nationals is closer to the start of the year and it is difficult to try and peak so early in the season without it affecting the rest of the season,” Frias said. “I was hoping to qualify for Scando Trip this year from Senior Nationals, but I did not make the cut.”
The Scandinavian Cup matches the top under-17-year-old skiers in the world. This year the event was held in Kuopio, Finland. Frias has yet to compete internationally.
Frias said she did not set any specific goals for the JO’s, though she was in the midst of a breakthrough season. Under Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club coaches Smullin and Brian Tate, Frias trains year-round for skiing and has refined her technique to become more efficient. Frias does not race for her school’s team.
“I don’t like setting goals for myself in terms of places, because in some ways I feel like it limits me,” Frias said. “I know that I want to ski as fast as I possibly can and finish the race with the feeling that I gave it my all and I raced the smartest race I could have. I think in the last two years I have trained a lot harder and put a lot more effort into my skiing, and my coaches have helped me enormously.”
Frias partially tore her medial collateral ligament (MCL) last fall, but felt the injury may have been a blessing in disguise. It was the first significant setback of her career.
“I had to do a lot of strength training and indoor bicycling and elliptical running for a while, and could only classic ski for the duration of the Yellowstone ski camp, but I think it really only had positive effects,” Frias said. “I became a better classic skier and really improved my upper body strength.”
Frias aims to ski in college and eventually at the professional level. She has a 4.0 GPA and hopes to one day travel the world as an on-the-ground reporter for conflicts, writing about politics and foreign policy.
“My focus now is just to improve my skiing even further,” Frias said. “I am strong enough that I can ski with some of the top juniors in the nation now, but my technique and strength still has a long way to go. I think that if I can continue to improve my technique, strength, fitness and explosive power, my results will definitely improve further.”
