Nordic Ski Team Announces 2023-24 Incoming Class

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Coaches Tom & Kristen Monahan Smith and the Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Team's announce the addition of three women, two men, and one new staff member to their rosters for the 2023-24 season.

The incoming class is represented by student-athletes and staff from Minnesota, Washington, Norway, Sweden and France.  

The 2023-24 Nordic Huskies will be represented by 11 men and 10 women, including 9 returning men, 7 returning women, and three returning coaches. 

Coaches Comments:

"Our recruiting class for the Women's Team includes two of the top female recruits from the Central Region, and all three women coming in with top National palmares! 

"We have a really unique offering at Michigan Tech to be a dual sport student-athlete in both Nordic & Cross Country here at Tech, and we are psyched to announce that all three of our incoming recruits on the Women's Team will be both skiing and running for Tech! We have so many student-athletes that have excelled in both running and skiing for us through the history of our athletic programs, and we are fortunate to get to work with such amazing running coaches here at Tech that allows us to continue to offer this dual-sport opportunity for our student-athletes through their collegiate career! This dual-sport opportunity is certainly a unique offering of Michigan Tech, and we know this will continue to add amazing skiers and runners to both of our sports programs!  

"This season we add two international student-athletes to the Men's Team! We have some of the very best American skiers currently on our team in the entire NCAA, and we know these two outstanding international additions to our team will come in ready and capable of pushing our top American skiers and entire returning class of student-athletes to continue to drive us toward our mission of becoming the number one program in the NCAA! The whole team is excited about these two recruits because of the breadth of experience they will bring to the team, competitively and culturally as they come from Norway and Sweden, the two strongest ski nations in the world!

"When asking our new team members why they chose Michigan Tech, they all spoke to the diverse degree offerings we offer with our STEM education, valuing our measure of success as an equal commitment our team places on academic-and-athletic performance, and the best in class skiing facilities and outdoor recreation environments, small town, and big ski community we have here in Houghton and the Keweenaw. But, what our recruits spoke to the highest was that they all want to join a collegiate program with an incredible team environment. Them choosing Michigan Tech speaks to not only the culture we have with our team, but also the outstanding character of these outstanding women and men that we know get to officially welcome to the Michigan Tech Nordic Ski Team!"

Recruiting Class

Greta Hanson

Oakdale, Minnesota

Athletic Highlights

• U.S Junior National Championships Skate 15km, 1st place U20, 2023. 
• U.S Junior National Championships Classic 7.5km, 2nd place U20, 2023. 
• U.S Junior National Championships Skate Sprint, 4th place U20, 2023. 
• U.S Senior National championships Skate 10km, 4th place U20, 2023. 
• U.S Junior National Championships Skate Team Relay, 4th place U18, 2022. 

Academic Achievements

• Dave Quinn Award Winner, 2023.
• Michigan Tech Leading Scholar Award Winner.
• Tri M Music Honor Society Officer, 2022-2023.
• Distinguished Honor Roll, 2019-2023.

Intended Major

• Exercise Science

Personal hobbies & interests

• I enjoy hiking, recreational water sports, pretty much all outdoor activities, and as of recently competitive tug of war!

Axel Aflodal

Hometown: Oestersund, Sweden

Athletic Highlights

• Swedish National Championships, Skate Sprint, 6th place Man Overall, Skoevde 2023. 
• Swedish National Championships, Classic 30km, 22nd place, Skoevde 2023.
• Swedish National Championships, Classic 15km, 12th place, Pittea 2022.
• U23 World Ski Championships, Skate Sprint, 25th place, Lygna 2022.
• Scandinavian Cup, Skate Sprint, 10th place, Falun 2022.
• Swedish Cup, Classic Sprint, 3rd place, Solleftea 2022. 
• Junior World Ski Championships, Classic Sprint, 5th place, Lahti 2019
• World Cup, Skate Sprint, 56th, Falun 2019.

Academic Achievements

• Bachelors of Business Administration from Mid Sweden University

Intended Major

• Masters of Business Administration

Personal hobbies & interests

• I love to play soccer, travel, and hang out with friends!

Bridget Burns

Hometown: Spokane, Washington

Athletic Highlights

• US Junior National Championships, Skate 15km, 14th place, 2023.
• Pacific Northwest Junior National Championships Qualifiers, 6x podium finishes, 2022-23.
• US Junior National Championships, Classic Sprint Qualifier, 12 place, 2022. 
• US Junior National Championships, Skate 5km, 14th place, 2022.

Intended Major

• Environmental Engineering

Academic Achievements

• Michigan Tech Leading Scholar Award Winner
• 4.00 cumulative high school GPA
• National Honor Society member
• President of my high school's environmental club
• AP Scholar with Honor

Personal hobbies & interests

• I love to run, mountain bike, paddle board, and backcountry ski. I've also played the French Horn since 6th grade and have a passion for environmental activism! 

Mikkel Kalta

Hometown: Haslum, Norway

Athletic Highlights

• Norwegian Cup Junior Final, Classic 30km, 20th place, 2022. 
• Norwegian Senior National Championships, Skate Sprint, 62nd, 2023
• Oestersund Scandinavian Cup, Classic Sprint, 71st, 2022
• Norwegian Junior Cup, Two additional top 25 results, 2022. 

Intended Major

• Engineering Management

Academic Achievements

• Honor roll student.

Personal hobbies & interests

• I love cycling and golf, road biking and running orienteering. My favorite place has got to be the Norwegian mountains! One cool fact about me is that I am also a U.S. citizen!

Hailee Zimpel

Elk Rapids, Minnesota

Athletic Highlights:

• U.S. Junior National Championships, Classic 7.5km, 6th place U20, 2023.
• U.S. Junior National Championships, Classic 10km, 9th place U18, 2022.
• Minnesota State Meet, Classic 2nd place, Skate 4th place, 2023. 
• Minnesota Section & Conference Champion, 2021, '22 & '23. 

Intended Major:

• Biological Sciences

Academic Achievements:

• National Honor Society
• Excel
• Athena

Personal hobbies & interests:

• Hiking, swimming, fishing, running, hanging out with friends and family.

Coaching Staff Additions

Felix Cottet-Puinel

Hometown: Morzine, France

Felix Cottet-Puinel returns to the team for the 2023-24 season in a new role as the Graduate Assistant Coach! Felix will fill this position for one season as he completes his master's thesis in exercise science from Michigan Tech. The team is looking forward to being his research participants in his high performance study and applying the science to their sports development and performance!