Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Athlete McCabe Honored with 2023 Gold Rush Award

Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athlete Novie McCabe has been honored with the 2023 Gold Rush Award. The U.S. NOW Gold Rush Award is given annually to a Nordic Olympic woman who has represented the U.S. in cross country skiing and has demonstrated outstanding qualities of grit and grace throughout the year.

“I am very honored to be a part of such a great group of women who have recieved this award in the past, as I have looked up to so many of them for so long,” said Novie McCabe. 

McCabe was selected for this award from previous winners, including current Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes Rosie Brennan, Jessie Diggins, Julia Kern and retired athletes, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen and Sophie Caldwell Hamilton,

Release courtesy of U.S. NOW

Selecting the Gold Rush Award Recipient

The past recipients of the award are tasked with choosing this year’s recipient.  They include: Rosie Brennan, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Sophie Caldwell Hamilton, Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern and have chosen Novie McCabe, along with writing the following.

Novie has quickly been climbing the ranks in the cross country ski circuit after many years of hard work, dedication, and humble attitude. We are proud to recognize not only some of her career best results this season, but her grit and grace in bouncing back from many challenges, time and time again over the years and for always being a team player. This season Novie achieved her career best World Cup results near the end of the season with a 14th place, shortly after becoming a double NCAA champion this year.

Novie started her first World Cup last season and proceeded to qualify for her first Olympic team last year, despite having shoulder surgery in the start of the training year. One year later she raced into the Top 15 in a World Cup despite another year of challenges along the way. This winter brought on repetitive illness throughout most of the season that prevented Novie from not only racing, but interacting with the team for a lot of the World Cup season. It was challenging enough to make the smart but tough decision to sit out races, but Novie also put the team first above all else and aired on the side of caution in any moment she felt “on edge”, following our team health protocol in order to protect the team’s health. Novie handled the frustrating situation with grace, always putting the team before herself and keeping a positive attitude despite the challenges. Novie continued to work smart and hard throughout the season, keeping belief that she can be a top collegiate and World Cup skier, finishing strong both on the collegiate and World Cup circuit! Novie’s resilience and humble attitude inspires us to never give up or make excuses, and she brings such a positive and caring atmosphere to the team.