Meet the Coaches

Coach Wicklund is a history teacher at MHS and a 2016 graduate of Moorhead High. He was a part of the inaugural Spud Nordic team during his senior year. Wicklund began coaching at Horizon during the 2021-22 season and took over head coaching responsibilities for the 2023-24 season. 

Coach Schlichting joined the Moorhead Nordic team as an assistant coach in the 2023-24 season.  As a father of skiers on the team and a former high school skier. He hopes he can share his passion for the sport and create many more lifelong skiers.  Kurt spends his days working as an Operations Manager for U.S. Bank.

Coach Grant joined the Moorhead Spuds Nordic team as an Assistant Coach for the 2024–2025 season. Before becoming a Spud, Connor was a highly decorated skier for the Little Falls Flyers. He became part of the program to share his love for the sport and to help athletes become stronger. Currently, Connor is a student at North Dakota State University.

Olivia joined the team as an assistant coach for the 2025-2026 season. She used to ski for Moorhead while in high school. Olivia then went to NDSU and played soccer. In May of 2025, Olivia graduated from NDSU with an elementary education degree and hope to teach one day! She hopes to bring energy and excitement to the team and sport!

Dan Dooher has been coaching the middle school Nordic ski team since its inception in 2017. Seeing young skiers get involved, improve, and build friendship throughout the season are his greatest joys as a coach. Dan enjoys teaching the fundamentals of skiing through a wide range of activities and experiences. He's worked for the Moorhead Schools since 2010 as a middle school teacher, and more recently as the school librarian at Horizon West. 

Austin Zollner is in his fifth year coaching Nordic skiing for the Spuds. A former All-Conference skier at North St. Paul High School, he went on to run cross country and track at Gustavus—mostly for the free granola bars. Outside of skiing, Austin is entering his ninth year teaching 6th-grade math at Horizon West, where he tries to convince 12-year-olds that fractions matter. In April, he and his wife welcomed their third daughter, officially ending any hope of ever sleeping in again. He enjoys helping students grow both in the classroom and on the trails—whether they want to or not.