After winning a second straight Nordic skiing state title, Mounds View sophomore Linnea Ousdigian holds another back-to-back crown: All-Minnesota Girls Nordic Skier of the Year. (Jeff Wheeler, The Minnesota Star Tribune)

All-Minnesota Girls Nordic Skier of the Year

Linnea Ousdigian of Mounds View

Ousdigian repeated as state champ and also as the Star Tribune’s award winner.

By Cassidy Hettesheimer

The Minnesota Star Tribune

March 25, 2025 at 6:00am

Life moves fast for Linnea Ousdigian.

In February, just after winning her second of back-to-back state Nordic skiing titles, the Mounds View sophomore was jetting off to Norway to represent the U.S. in the U18 Scandinavian Cup.

Now she’s the All-Minnesota Girls Nordic Skier of the Year, also a back-to-back achievement.

Ousdigian started skiing when her brother, 10 years older than her, picked up the sport his freshman year. Since then, her favorite part has been exploring back trails and parks on her skis.

So snowy Norway was a dream for Ousdigian — no human-made loops like those of Minnesota’s recent warm winters.

“You could just go ski on trails for like hours, and they just keep going,” she said.

Ousdigian has the endurance to just keep going, too. Also a runner, Ousdigian finished fourth in the fall’s Class 3A cross-country state championships. Her walls are decorated with paper bibs from a mix of running and skiing races.

Watch: Meet Linnea Ousdigian

She started collecting bibs from higher-level races when her brother, Mark, joined the Michigan Tech Nordic ski team. His regional meets would often offer races for younger skiers, too, and Ousdigian enrolled. She also joined the Loppet Nordic team at Theodore Wirth Regional Park.

At this year’s state championships, Ousdigian finished with a combined time of 32 minutes, 24.4 seconds in the freestyle and classic races, 15 seconds ahead of second place.

“I definitely felt more pressure [this year],” Ousdigian said. “I kind of expected myself to win again, almost. I would have been fine if I didn’t win, but I expected myself to.”

Ousdigian is an especially strong freestyle racer, using her motor and endurance to build up a cushion she can keep throughout the classic race.

“I’ve definitely matured a lot,” Ousdigian said. “I’ve just put in so much time that the growth just kind of comes with it.”

Life hasn’t slowed down for Ousdigian since her trip to Norway. In March, she traveled to Utah for U.S. junior nationals. There, she placed first in two separate events for her U16 age group: the freestyle sprint race and a 7.5-kilometer freestyle mass start race. She also placed second in the U16 5K classic interval start race.

about the writer

Cassidy Hettesheimer