Northern Michigan University 2020 economics alumnus and former Wildcat skier Zak Ketterson is one of eight members of the men's team that will represent the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team at the 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim, Norway from Feb. 27-March 9. Athletes from more than 60 countries will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals across six events: four individual races—20k skiathlon, 10k classic, 50k skate and a skate sprint; and two team events—the the team sprint and 4x7.5k relay.
The Bloomington, Minn. native is making his World Championship debut with the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. He was a three-time NCAA All-American over four seasons as a Wildcat.
"Being from the Midwest is pretty important to me," Ketterson said in a previous interview, explaining his choice to attend Northern. "I just think it's the coolest ski community, and always have, and going to NMU was cool because I got to follow the footsteps of Ian Torchia, Adam Martin, Kyle Bratrud, and go there with Leo Hipp and be teammates with them all – I didn't have to leave."
According to his U.S. Ski and Snowboard online bio, Ketterson is a professional nordic skier on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team B Team roster. He lives and trains in Minneapolis as a member of Team Birkie. Ketterson was a Stifel U.S. Ski Team member in 2019-20 and represented the U.S. at both World Junior and U23 World Championships. Now on the World Cup circuit, he is representing the U.S. at the highest level. He had his first World Cup start at the 2022 Tour de Ski.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced its Nordic World Championship team on Feb. 7. The event in Trondheim will also feature nordic combined, ski jumping and the Para nordic sprint competitions, with an estimated 130,000+ spectators to be in attendance.