TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 24/25
Zak and Kevin
TEAM BIRKIE ANNOUNCES NEW TEAMS FOR 2024-25
SONNESYN, KETTERSON, BOLGER, HEADLINE 8-MEMBER, REBRANDED TEAMS
Team Birkie’s U.S. Ski Team athletes Kevin Bolger and Zak Ketterson, welcome six new members to their top-tier, re-branded teams for the 2024-25.
Former Minnesota State High School skiing phenom and four-time American Birkebeiner Champion, Alayna Sonnesyn, returns home to the community where she emerged as a young endurance athlete, and headlines the newly rebranded World Team (formerly Pro Team). 2023 University of Alaska graduates Mariel Pulles and Christopher Kalev, both with World Cup experience, will round out the 2024-25 World Team.
The Continental Team (formerly Elite Team) welcomes former Minnesota state high school champions, Luci Anderson and Henry Snider, who returning to their Golden Valley and St. Paul roots, respectively. Anderson graduates in May from the University of New Hampshire where she was an NCAA All-American. Snider graduates from Michigan Tech where he was an NCAA qualifier. Team Birkie also welcomes Colby college graduate and Methow Valley native, Gretta Scholz, to round out the Continental Team positions for Team Birkie. Scholz was the 2020 U20 Junior National Champion in the freestyle sprint, and qualified for NCAA three times for the Mules of Colby.
World Team: Athletes competing on the World Cup/World Championship level
· Alayna Sonnesyn – Plymouth, MN - SMS T2, UVM, Wayzata HS
· Mariel Pulles – Otepää, EST – UAF, Estonia National Team, Karupesa Ski Team
· Kevin Bolger – Minocqua, WI – USST, Falun-Borlänge SK, SVSEF, U of Utah, Nordicwerks, Lakeland Ski Team
· Zak Ketterson – Bloomington, MN – USST, NMU, LNR, Jefferson HS
· Christopher Kalev – Tallinn, EST – UAF, Estonia National Team, Sport Club CSC
Continental Team: Athletes competing on US Supertour/Continental Cup level
· Luci Anderson – Golden Valley, MN – UNH, LNR, Armstrong HS
· Gretta Scholz – Winthrop, WA – Colby, Methow Valley, Liberty Bell HS
· Henry Snider – St. Paul, MN – MTU, EU, Mounds Park Academy HS
“This is an exciting step forward for Team Birkie, from a competitive perspective,” said Team Birkie Head Coach, Chad Salmela. “The size and quality of this group perfectly blends the vision we have of mentoring developing athletes with a robust, high-quality, world-class training group.”
Beyond the coaching and daily training support, Team Birkie is proud to offer a menu of support services to these athletes. “We are changing the financial and peripheral service support expectations of American ski clubs,” according to Team Director, Yuriy Gusev. “We provide these teams direct financial support on top of a great training support, and go a step further providing high-performance and fundamental well-being support services, through our wonderful group of health, wellness, and performance partners.”
Team Birkie still has spots available for our 2024-25 Regional Team, Marathon Team and College Summer programs [All Programs]. Apply by sending an email to teambirkiepro@gmail.com.
Team Birkie is a community supported ski racing team, in partnership between CXC, The American Birkebeiner, and the Loppet Foundation. Your support is welcome and appreciated [[Donate].
