High School

7 Former Washington High School Athletes Set to Chase 2026 Olympic Dreams at Milano Cortina

Meet the seven Washington athletes competing in speed skating, curling and skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics — and how their prep careers helped shape their paths to Milano Cortina.

Edith Noriega

Novie McCabe (USA) in the women's cross-country skiing 4x15km relay during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Zhangjiakou Cross-Country Centre.
Novie McCabe (USA) in the women's cross-country skiing 4x15km relay during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Zhangjiakou Cross-Country Centre. / Danielle Parhizkaran-Imagn Images

In four days, seven athletes from the state of Washington will compete in events including speed skating, curling and skiing on the world's largest stage at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Long before the four women and three men became the world's best winter sports athletes, they succeeded in other sports like basketball and cross country in high school and other sports for club teams.

Among the local athletes are three Olympians. Here's a rundown the events they will compete at the Olympics and brief recap on their high school and club accomplishments.

Athletes are in alphabetical order by last name.

Women

Katherine Hensien

  • Redmond
  • Event: alpine skiing

Hensien, a 2022 Olympian, raced for Bellevue's Crystal Mountain Alpine Club for seven years. At the age of 15, she moved to Utah where she could ski with the Rowmark Ski Academy.

Eunice Lee

  • Event: speed skating (short track)

Born in San Diego, Lee moved to Bellevue and is a grad of Newport High School. She was a figure skater prior to racing for the Puget Sound Speedskating Club in Tacoma.

Novie McCabe

  • Event: cross country skiing

McCabe, a Winthrop native and Liberty Bell High School grad, was a three-time individual 1B/2B girls' state champion in cross country running from 2016 to 2018. She also helped lead Liberty Bell to three consecutive team titles.

The 2022 Olympian was named to the girls' Central Washington 2B All League first team for cross country as a senior.

Corinne Stoddard

  • Event: speed skating (short track)

Stoddard, a Tacoma native, attended Bonney Lake and Decatur (Federal Way) high schools. The 2022 Olympian completed for the Puget South Speedskating Club.

Men

Cooper McLeod

  • Burlington
  • Event: speed skating (long track)

McLeod graduated from Juanita High School where he played shooting guard on the varsity boys basketball team. He earned all-2A/3A KingCo honorable mention honors his senior year.

Benjamin Richardson

  • Seattle
  • Event: curling

Richardson is a grad of Skyline High School and participated in ultimate frisbee. He has curled with his current teammate Luc Violette at Seattle's Granite Curling Club.

Luc Violette

  • Event: curling

Violette graduated from Lake Stevens High School in 2017. He won his first junior national championship in 2014 as part of a team for Seattle's Granite Curling Club. He also played hockey as a boy.

Published
Edith Noriega
EDITH NORIEGA

Edith Noriega is an award-winning sports journalist who came to the Seattle area after three years in Oregon with the Eugene Register-Guard and its sister newspaper, Salem Statesman Journal, where her focus was high schools and local colleges. Noriega previously covered high schools with the Southern California News Group. She also worked as a Tokyo Olympic Games researcher for NBC Sports, focusing on baseball and softball. She is a proud two-time graduate of Arizona State University’s Cronkite School and Riverside City College. She’s also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. When not writing, she enjoys playing tennis, yoga, concerts and is currently reading “The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw.” She began contributing to High School On SI in 2025.

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