THAT'S A WRAP
With the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in the books, athletes brought home 23 medals for Team USA. Of the 58 U.S. medalists, 50 percent are current or former student-athletes.
In addition to the hardware, student-athletes took home countless memories. Hear what our Team USA’s student-athletes had to say during their time in PyeongChang.
After defeating Canada to win gold…
"I can't put it into words. This whole year is for everyone that came before us. This is for Julie Chu and for all our families at home, the schools that we went to, everyone supporting us. It is a feeling I have never experienced." – Kacey Bellamy, ice hockey, New Hampshire
After a sixth-place finish in the men’s team sprint free…
"We'll come back for a gold - eight years, 12 years from now." – Simi Hamilton, cross-country skiing, Middlebury
After the women’s 4x6k biathlon relay…
“We had unbelievable skis today. It was like riding Apollo’s chariot into the sun,” Joanne Reid, biathlon, Colorado
After finishing her training runs in PyeongChang…
"Anything is possible. I was sitting at a desk four years ago, and I'm an Olympian now." – Lauren Gibbs, bobsled, Brown
After wrapping up competition in his second Olympic Winter Games…
“Any time you get the chance to represent your country, it’s a special moment. We’ll be disappointed, for sure, but I felt we battled hard, we played as a group and we left everything there.” – Brian Gionta, ice hockey, Boston College
After coaching his team to an Olympic gold medal…
"It is everything for our country. I can't tell you how happy I am for our players. We love them, it is unreal. I am just so thankful for the outcome. It was a thrilling final, it was unreal. I am just so happy for our players." – Robb Stauber, ice hockey head coach, Minnesota
After wrapping up competition in his first Olympic Winter Games…
“It’s not the ending we wanted, but when I look back, I’ve got a whole locker room full of brothers that I didn’t have two weeks ago.” – Troy Terry, ice hockey, Denver
After winning Team USA’s first cross-country gold medal…
"Hearing it out loud, it still doesn't feel real. It's what I've been working on for 20 years and with this team for the last five years, and wow, it's just so fun to put it together tonight, finally." – Kikkan Randall, cross-country skiing, Alaska Pacific
After finishing sixth in the men’s 4x7.5k biathlon relay…
“This race is a little different. You not only have your own hopes and dreams riding on it, but you’ve got your three other teammates. It adds a little bit of pressure and it’s the Olympics, and the more pressure there is, the more I have to remind myself that the only thing you can do is go out and do your best.” – Lowell Bailey, biathlon, Vermont
After winning bronze in the women’s team pursuit…
"Feeling blessed to be here. Couldn't have done it without the team and happy to do it with these fine ladies. It has taken an army to get me here, it's taken an army to get these three other ladies here. We couldn't have done it without each other. It's great to be a part of Team USA." – Brittany Bowe, speedskating, Florida Atlantic
After her halfpipe qualification run…
"I love watching my teammates go, they definitely inspire me. Everyone has a different aspect to their strengths, and their skiing, and it's so fun to watch and see how the judges reward it. We're here to cheer each other on." – Brita Sigourney, free skiing, UC – Davis
Check out Team USA’s student-athlete final results here.
Team USA’s collegiate athletes closed out the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in men’s bobsled and women’s cross-country skiing.
Bobsled
One of the few countries to qualify three sleds, collegiate bobsledders placed ninth, 19th and 20th on the final day of competition at the Olympic Sliding Centre. In total, 10 different universities had student-athletes competing across Team USA’s three sleds.
Codie Bascue’s sled of Evan Weinstock (Brown), Steve Langton (Northeastern) and Sam McGuffie (Rice) finished the race in ninth, maintaining their position from the previous day’s heats. The sled posted a cumulative time of 3:17.28, a little over a second behind the gold-medal pace of Germany.
Boise State’s Nick Cunningham and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor (Virginia – Wise), Chris Kinney (Georgetown) and Sam Michener (Idaho) placed 19th with a time of 3:18.54, while the third sled of Air Force’s Justin Olsen, UCLA’s Carlo Valdes, Utah Valley’s Chris Fogt and Nathan Weber finished 20th in a time of 3:17.29.
Cross-country skiing
In the final event of the Games, three of the four U.S. competitors were collegiate student-athletes. Sadie Bjornsen (Alaska Pacific), Rosie Frankowski (Alaska Pacific) and Caitlin Patterson (Vermont) took to the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre to compete in the 30k mass start.
Bjornsen had the best finish of all U.S. collegiate athletes, placing 17th with a time of 1:28:50.2. meanwhile Frankowski placed 21st in a time of 1:31:11.4, while Patterson crossed the finish in 26th with a time of 1:32:43.6.
Team USA’s Jessie Diggins completed the course as the top U.S. finisher in seventh with a time of 1:25:54.8.
All four American competitors placed in the top 30 in the event.
Read more on TeamUSA.org.
At the conclusion of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, many Team USA athletes are preparing to return stateside to celebrate their Olympic success. Some athletes will return to training for 2022, while others will take time to evaluate what’s next. But for eight U.S. athletes, it’s back to campus, to classes and to life as a student-athlete.
Erik Bjornsen (Alaska Pacific), Will Borgen (St. Cloud State), Ryan Donato (Harvard), Kali Flanagan (Boston College), Jordan Greenway (Boston University), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota), Maddie Rooney (Minnesota – Duluth) and Troy Terry (Denver) are the eight current student-athletes who competed for the red, white and blue in South Korea. Get to know them before they head back to campus as 2018 Olympians.
Erik Bjornsen, Alaska Pacific
When he returns to APU in the coming weeks, Bjornsen will continue taking classes in the field of business administration. A two-time Olympian, Bjornsen competed in four events for the U.S. in PyeongChang. The Washington native placed sixth in the team sprint freestyle, 25th in the sprint classic, 41st in the 15k freestyle and 42nd in the 15k skiathlon.
Will Borgen, St. Cloud State
A sport management major at St. Cloud State, Borgen has tallied 38 points in his three seasons at SCSU. As a freshman, he played an integral role in leading SCSU to a conference championship. With the Winter Olympic Games in the books, Borgen will return to SCSU to finish the 2017-18 hockey season with the Huskies. A first-time Olympian, Borgen was one of four current student-athletes on the U.S. men’s hockey team. The defenseman provided depth to the team throughout the tournament, where the U.S. ultimately finished with two wins, two losses and a shootout loss.
Ryan Donato, Harvard
In his third year at Harvard, Donato is majoring in sociology. Prior to joining the U.S. in South Korea, he tallied 31 points (21 goals and 10 assists) for the Crimson in 23 games. A breakout star of the men’s hockey tournament, Donato led Team USA with five goals and one assist. The forward tallied two goals in both games against Slovakia and opened scoring for the U.S. in the team’s quarterfinal loss to the Czech Republic.
Kali Flanagan, Boston College
One of five Boston College Eagles on Team USA, Flanagan took a redshirt year to train with the U.S. women’s national team in the lead-up to PyeongChang. The defensive star will return to Chestnut Hill to complete her applied psychology and human development degree as a senior in the fall. The Massachusetts native played in all 39 BC games as a junior while amassing 19 points. She’ll return to the program next year to finish off her senior season. In PyeongChang, Flanagan and her teammates won gold after beating Canada, 3-2, in a dramatic shootout.
Jordan Greenway, Boston University
The youngest of four Terriers on the U.S. men’s hockey team, Greenway will return to campus as a junior to continue earning his degree in psychology. Prior to leaving for South Korea, Greenway registered 25 points (nine goals and 16 assists) in 28 games. In PyeongChang, Greenway served as a sparkplug for the men’s hockey team. He provided a physical presence on the front line for Team USA, while logging significant playing time throughout the tournament.
Kelly Pannek, Minnesota
A student-athlete at Minnesota, Pannek was named first team All-American after tallying a team-high 62 points during her junior season. A supply chain management major, Pannek took the year off to train with the U.S. women’s national team and will return to Minnesota next fall for her senior season. This winter in PyoengChang, Pannek tallied two assists in five games in PyeongChang en route to the team’s gold-medal finish.
Maddie Rooney, Minnesota – Duluth
The brick wall behind Team USA’s golden girls, Rooney will return to UMD in the fall after taking a redshirt year to train with Team USA. At the collegiate level, the pre-business major has posted 1,013 saves in net, the second-most in UMD history. Rooney has tallied six games with 40 or more saves in 2016-17. Between the pipes, Rooney tallied three wins and made numerous saves during the gold-medal game, including a stop on Canada’s Meghan Agosta in the shootout to clinch the team’s victory.
Troy Terry, Denver
A DU standout, Terry has shown his offensive prowess at both the international and collegiate levels. And now that the Games are over, the finance major will return to campus to finish out his junior season on the ice. At DU, Terry played an integral role in helping the Pioneers to the 2017 NCAA championship. Prior to leaving for the Games, Terry recorded 32 points for the Pios in 28 games. This winter, the first-time Olympian racked up five assists for the red, white and blue in PyeongChang.
