FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Diggins Role Model

Below is an email from Head Coach Kris Hansen of Stillwater. I think that it is worth sharing this information. Sometimes it is tough for our skiers to find a person to look up to as a hero in the ski world. We as Minnesota coaches and skiers have had and continue to have great example of a top notch athlete with a great sense of community.

Thanks,

Dan Josephson
President MSHSNSCA

Hi Dan:

Something I thought might be worth sharing with our membership.....

Jessie Diggins will be featured on a pre-Olympic segment airing on KARE 11 on Wed, Dec 18th during the 10PM news and again on Saturday morning. I thought coaches may want to know this and alert their aspiring skiers to watch. Jessie is such a great role model and someone we coaches can all point to with pride as a product of our high school skiing organization. Jessie developed through the MSHSL Cross Country ski program, a fact she recognizes and talks about. Having met racers from around the country, Jessie often comments on how lucky she is to have grown up in a state with such an active and competitive cross country ski program, an opportunity that reaches a broad range of high school students, from public and private schools.

Jessie often cut short national and international race events so she could come home and be part of her high school racing team. Even when she had a closet full of US Ski Team uniforms to choose from, Jessie always wore her high school jacket and race suit to practice and meets. She trained, raced and cheered with her teammates and represented her high school with as much heart and pride as she has now, representing the United States.

Kids don't often get to see such a close to home example of someone who, four years removed from high school, is racing in the Olympics and is currently one of the top 25 Cross Country Ski racers in the world. It was just 4 years ago that she was skiing with all of us, anchoring Holiday Relay relay teams and striding around the course at the Mesabi Invite. Jessie's results speak for themselves, but her commitment to her high school team and community, her positive and inclusive attitude, and her generous recognition of the role the MN high school community played in her development, set her apart. I hope all of our avid high school skiers can be motivated by Jessie's success and the example she sets.

Thanks for your consideration,
Kris Hansen (Stillwater)