Tor Hanson '23 is in his second season as the head coach of the St. Olaf men's and women's Nordic skiing programs in 2024-25. After spending the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach for the programs, he was promoted to head coach in August 2024.
In his first season leading the programs, the St. Olaf women won their fourth consecutive U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) team national title and the men finished in a tie for third in 2024-25. The women's program won all three team events in Bend, Ore., while the men finished in the top four in each of the events.
At the 2024-25 USCSA National Championships, 11 student-athletes combined for 26 All-America accolades, with eight Ole women accounting for 19 accolades and three Ole men landing seven. Lily Hubanks '25 won a pair of individual national titles in the 7.5K Freestyle and 15K Classic, while Amae Kam-Magruder '27 won the Classic Sprint. St. Olaf also had 12 student-athletes named USCSA Scholar All-Americans.
As an assistant coach in 2023-24, Hanson assisted Kevin Brochman in leading the St. Olaf women to their third consecutive USCSA national championship, while also working with the men’s team that placed fifth. The two teams combined to produce 15 All-America performances at the USCSA National Championships, including individual national titles for Hubanks in the 7.5K Freestyle and Kam-Magruder in the 15K Classic.
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During his time as a student-athlete at St. Olaf, Hanson helped the Ole men to top-six finishes at the USCSA National Championships in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. As a senior, he finished in a tie for 39th in the individual combined standings and matched his career-best finish by placing 38th in the Freestyle Sprint. Hanson earned USCSA Second Team Scholar All-American honors in each of his final two seasons after being named to the USCSA National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team in 2020-21.
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A U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) certified Level 100 coach, Hanson graduated from St. Olaf in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He has also served as a performance coach for Minneapolis Ski Club since June 2020, working with over 30 high school athletes to supplement their winter training with summer roller ski practice five days a week.
