THE
COACHES
At Wausau Nordic, we pride ourselves on having a team of experienced and dedicated coaches who are passionate about cross country skiing. Meet our coaching team below!
All of our Coaches undergo background checks by an outside agency and are SafeSport Certified.
High School Head Coach
Ernie Luedke
Ernie is the head coach of the high school racing team. He grew up in Wausau and is a lifelong Nordic skier. For reference of how long that is, let's just say that he can remember the days when there was no chalet at 9-mile.
After high school, Ernie spent three years in the U.S. Army, then after discharge, attended University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he skied on their Nordic ski team. After using up his eligibility, he was assistant coach under, now US Ski Team coach, Bryan Fish for a year.
As of fall 2023, Ernie has completed 19 American Birkebeiners and started in the Elite wave for 5. He has been coaching with Wausau Nordic United for the entirety of its existence. In his professional career, Ernie has taught biology at D.C. Everest High School since the fall of 2000. Ernie enjoys doing anything outside, but biking, trout fishing, and deer hunting are favorites when there isn't snow on the ground.
Middle School Head Coach
Josh Sturm
Josh is an endurance sport enthusiast, snow nut, and former Wausau high school skier. He enjoys the ways skiing grows us in character and community, and can most often be found trying to keep up with a pack of fun and rather speedy middle schoolers.
Adventure Team Head Coach
Scott Anderson
​Scott returns to Wausau Nordic after 10 years of nordic ski coaching including 2 years as the Wausau East/West high school coach, 7 years Wausau Nordic Middle School race team coach, Snow Striders facilitator for two years along with his spouse, Angel. Scott’s children both grew up in the Wausau Nordic Ski program and graduated to area high school ski programs at East/West. Scott co-founded the Wausau United Ride high school mountain bike team. Scott is excited to return to promote Nordic skiing to Wausau area youth skiers.
High School Assistant Coach
Olivia Dreger
Olivia is the assistant coach of the high school racing team. She was born and raised in Wausau and raced on the Wausau Nordic Night Gliders team as well as went onto the High School Racing Team with coach Ernie as her own coach.
Growing up, Olivia learned to ski when she learned to walk and skiing has been apart of her life ever since. Olivia is a Wisconsin Individual State Champion in Nordic skiing and has completed five American Birkebeiners. She loves being a part of the ski community in Wausau.
Graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth and now the University of Wisconsin Superior, Olivia is a school counselor at Wausau East High School. Outside of work and skiing, she loves to hike, fish, be in the mountains, and spend time with family and friends.
Staff
Jon Oestreich
Born and raised in Wausau, WI, Jon has been on skis since he could walk. He learned to Nordic ski in the backyard, at the American Legion golf course now Tribute, and at the family Christmas tree farm. A multi-sport high school student athlete (soccer, basketball, track) Jon skied his first Nordic ski race when in his mid-30s at Cable, WI, with his wife Beth. The two started in the last row of the last wave of the Korteloppet and never looked back.
Jon is now a Level 200 Nordic Ski coach with the US Ski & Snowboard Association. As an undergraduate student at Saint Olaf College he was a foreign exchange student in Norway at Numedal Idretts Folkehøgskole. The Scandinavian seminar program focused on political science, Norwegian history, and language. He also earned ski instructor certification in all ski disciplines through the Norwegian Ski Federation. This eventually led to a Professional Ski Instructors of America (Rocky Mountain Division) Level 3 - Nordic Downhill certification where Jon worked two ski seasons as a full-time Nordic, telemark, alpine and snowshoe ski instructor at the Beaver Creek Nordic Center in Colorado. When Jon lived in Duluth he was the head downhill ski coach at Duluth Central High School.
Nowadays Jon and family enjoy the active outdoor lifestyle the greater Wausau area provides in all 4 seasons. Jon believes Marathon, Lincoln, Portage, and Wood county provide opportunities to ski, bike, run, hike, and walk that many take for granted. Lifestyle strengthens their family because they can all ski together with an increasing group of friends around the Midwest. As an educator, motivator, and ski ambassador Jon enjoys sharing his passion with others that Nordic skiing is a lifetime sport that complements all sports. This leads year-round physical and mental well-being.
Assistant
Mike Cavenaugh
Mike is an experienced cross country ski racer and skied his first American Birkebeiner in 1991 on a dare. The Wisconsin Rapids native was part of Lincoln High’s cross-country ski team and hasn’t looked back since... Mike joined Beth and Jon Oestreich as Inga and the warriors Skervald and Torstein in the 2022 Birke.
Assistant
Jeanne Alexejun
Jeanne is an experienced cross country ski racer and advocate for ski development in the local community. As a coach at Wausau Nordic, she is dedicated to helping skiers of all ages and abilities reach their full potential and enjoy winter outdoors.