Hometown: Baxter, MN

College/ Club: Saint Michael’s College/Brainerd High School Nordic Ski Team

Follow on:

Why Team Birkie? The Midwest has such a strong skiing community. I wanted to be a part of a team that not just was focused on high level racing, but that also gave back to and developed skiing within the region.

How did you get into skiing and coaching?

My middle school cross country running coach (also the co-head varsity nordic ski coach), shoutout to Coach Chris Hanson, finally was successful, after a year of trying, in convincing me to join the team in 7th grade. I was initially hesitant because I thought skiing around in the winter in MN wearing spandex seemed like a bad idea. However, after hearing about him talk about how awesome it was, as well as hearing my friends say the same, I finally broke down and joined the ski team and have been hooked ever since.

What are your most fond memories of skiing?

Helping qualify the Brainerd girls’ Nordic ski team to State my senior year of high school for the first time in over 20 years.

Favorite place to visit in Minnesota?

Duluth, MN

What keeps you motivated to coach?