From SLU to Team USA: Lucy Hochschartner ’20 Competes in the IBU Cup

Lucy Hochschartner ’20 does not remember learning how to ski. “I’ve skied for a really long time, but I didn’t really start racing until high school,” she said. Being from Lake Placid, Hochschartner grew up around winter sports. She was part of both her high school and a club team before joining the Saints Nordic team. 

This year, her skiing career has led Hochschartner to Europe.

After freshman year at St. Lawrence, Hochschartner participated in a U.S. Biathlon training camp but did not compete in the sport much in college. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she changed that. “I decided, after SLU, when everything was up in the air that I would move to Montana and try to focus on skiing biathlon.”

Now, Hochschartner is racing on Team Crosscut, an elite ski team based in Bozeman, Montana. There are skiers at numerous levels. 

Right now, Hochschartner is skiing in the IBU cup in Europe. “It’s kind of like how baseball has the major and the minor league,” she said. “The IBU cup is the minor league.”

There are five other women competing on the U.S. team with Hochschartner. She qualified for the Open European Championship, the IBU Cup’s championship event, based on her performance in past races and time trials. “This year we weren’t allowed to have national time trials in the U.S., so we all had little regional time trials,” Hochschartner said. 

She was named to the team in December of 2020 and left for Europe this January. “It’s a huge privilege,” she said, of being able to compete and travel during this time. “We are very cognizant of that.”

The team is COVID-19 tested every three to four days, and wears masks when not training. 

Even while traveling, Hochschartner keeps the memories from her time as a Saint skier close. “Really long Dana sits-like three hour dinner-by far the best part of SLU and the ski team,” she said. “We have our own little table that’s like the best place, there would be a skier there from like 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.”

She has stayed in touch with the team as well. “They are my second family,” Hochschartner said. “They are so wonderful and are my favorite part of SLU by far.”

After this winter’s ski season, Hochschartner thinks it’s likely she will have a spot at Team Crosscut next year and wants to keep competing in biathlon. “After that I will kind of reassess if I’m still getting better,” she said. “If I feel like there’s a lot more I can learn and I’m still having fun I’ll probably do biathlon for another year or two.”

Beyond skiing, Hochschartner is looking forward to using her St. Lawrence degree in environmental studies and government. This fall she worked on a campaign in Montana and is interested in a career in climate policy. While she may not remember how she started, Hochschartner will not forget her time at St. Lawrence in her future endeavors, in the snow and out of it.