Top male returners: Jake Brown, Evan Kendall, Nels Thompson
Top female returners: Nora Gilbertson, Shelby Ahrendt
2014 CCSA Championships: Men – 5th, Women – 6th
2014 NCAA Central Region: Men – 6th, Women – 5th

 

St. Olaf heads into the 2015 season on the tail of a very successful 2014. Paige Schember, who graduated last spring and is now skiing for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, notched the best result in the school’s history at the 2014 NCAA Championship, finishing 7th in the skate race and 15th in the classic.

Head Coach Tom Jorgenson will miss her leadership, but believes Schember’s absence will “open up doors for younger skiers on the team.” Jorgenson will be “looking for a lot of younger skiers to step up into new roles this year,” and says he’s “excited to see how they’ll respond, and how things will play out.”

“We’re sort of taking things race by race,” says Jorgenson of his women’s team, “but I think that approach worked pretty well for us last year.” The Ole women will be led this season by Nora Gilbertson and Shelby Ahrendt.

The St. Olaf men are led by Jake Brown, Evan Kendall, and Nels Thompson. “I’m really excited by the high quality of workouts that we’ve had this fall,” says Jorgenson. “I’m happy with the progress that everyone has made, so I’m hoping we can surprise a few people with our performances as a team this winter.”