Every athlete grows up in their sport and dreams of reaching the next level. For some athletes, it remains purely a fantasy, but for the dedicated, talented and passionate athletes, those dreams often become a reality.

For lifelong Breckenridge resident Will Bentley, his dream for his Nordic skiing career began at a very early age. 

Shortly after learning to walk, Bentley was swiftly placed on skis by his parents and was taught how to Nordic ski. It did not take Bentley long to fall in love with the sport, quickly taking up the technique-heavy discipline.

Bentley enjoyed sliding around on the Nordic trails spread out across the county for several years before he had a burning desire to compete.

“I begged my parents to let me join the club, so I started club skiing at seven,” Bentley said. “That was when I really started racing. I loved it and told my parents I was going to be a skier from that moment on.”

Bentley continued to ski and race within the county up until eighth grade, when he transferred over to Ski and Snowboard Club Vail for club skiing and Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy for schooling.

Although the decision meant that he would no longer be attending school with his Summit County friends, Bentley viewed the move as the next logical step in his progression of becoming the best possible skier he could be.

“The biggest draw for me in Vail were the really fast skiers over there,” Bentley said. “There were people for me to chase when I was younger. It reflected more with what I was looking for. I believe that if you want to be fast, you have to run with fast people.”

With a drive over 40 minutes one-way on a clear day, Bentley now realizes that the change in schools and ski clubs was a massive sacrifice made by his parents. 

“They do a lot for me, more than I am willing to admit,” Bentley said. “I convinced them and until I got my license they were driving me there. I was able to carpool with some kids which made it a lot easier.”

It was during Bentley’s sophomore year that his hard work and his family’s sacrifices started to truly pay off. While representing Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, Bentley took first overall at the 2023 Junior Nationals U16 boys individual start/classic race in Fairbanks, Alaska.

With his fitness peaking at exactly the right time, Bentley took second in the 2023 Junior Nationals U16 mass-start race and third in the sprint race. 

Nearly a year later, Bentley followed up on his standout performance by placing within the top 30 at the 2024 U.S. national cross-country ski championships in Midway, Utah. Competing against the best junior, NCAA and Super Tour skiers in the country, Bentley placed 30th in the 251-athlete field and third overall among U18 athletes in the 10-kilometer classic interval start race.

With accolades beginning to pile up, Bentley took the next step in his career by beginning to look at schools throughout his junior year. Bentley talked to several skiing-focused schools across the country, but the atmosphere and success of the University of Colorado men’s Nordic skiing program was too good for him to pass up. 

“A dream of mine was to always ski in college and to ski competitively in college,” Bentley said. “I always wanted to go out of state, but when I finally looked at CU it clicked for me. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was the team and the coaches. I like the atmosphere and they all seem pretty disciplined. They won NCAA’s last year and their facilities are quite nice.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VSSA Decisions 2025 (@vssadecisions_25)

Bentley will not be the only Summit County local that will be using the University of Colorado athletic facilities next fall, as Summit High School cross-country and track teammate Ella Hagen is set to be a part of the university’s distance running teams upon graduating this spring. 

After growing up alongside Hagen and being teammates with her for many years, Bentley will find comfort in having a semblance of home in Boulder.

“I have known Ella a long time and it will be nice to have a familiar face to see around,” Bentley said. “It is a big school, so you need to make those connections and make it feel smaller.”

Since Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy does not have a cross-country and track team, Bentley has been able to compete with Summit High School. While competing for the Tigers, Bentley showed off his deep aerobic engine and this past fall was able to help the Summit boys win the regional cross-country meet as well as place fifth overall at state. 

“The biggest thing for me, is I had ran for Mike (Hagen) since like middle school and I am good friends with all the guys on the team,” Bentley said. “I don’t see running as an individual sport, it’s more about the team and helping them out. I have a lot of fun doing it.”

After spending so many years skiing, Bentley says he will most fondly remember the hard practices spent with teammates in a collected state of suffering. 

“My favorite memory is probably a big (over-distance) ski with the boys or some intervals,” Bentley said. “It is always a lot of fun when we are all feeling really good and it is a big train movement.”

Bentley’s determination to achieve his dreams shows that any kid growing up in Summit County has it in them to accomplish their own athletic desires. Although Bentley has very few regrets in regards to how things panned out, he does have a piece of advice for the boy who had just transferred to a new school in eighth grade.

“I would tell my eighth-grade self to not take life so seriously,” Bentley said. “The key to everything is having fun.”

Bentley will conclude his senior year with the winter Nordic season before competing for Summit during the outdoor track season in the spring.