Chad Salmela, Head Coach
The College of St. Scholastica
1200 Kenwood Ave.
Duluth, MN 55811
(218) 723-6149
Nordic@css.edu
Assistants: Josh Tesch, Scott Kylander-Johnson, Sara Kylander-Johnson
Salmela begins his fourth season as the St. Scholastica ski team's head coach. As a junior competitor, Chad was one of the Midwest’s top junior cross country ski racers, then switched to the sport of biathlon at age 19. After eight years of competing nationally and internationally as a member of the United State Biathlon Team, he moved directly into the assistant coach position for the US Biathlon Team in 1998, while finishing his college degree at Middlebury College in Vermont. After graduation, Chad built and coached a national junior development program for biathlon, managed the 2002 Olympic Games biathlon competitions in Salt Lake City, served as assistant coach and wax technician for the US junior world championship biathlon team, coached cross country running at the Marshall School in Duluth, and announced ski events across the country and on television. Chad was the biathlon color commentator for NBC's coverage of 2006 Torino Olympics and will also be doing the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Josh Tesch, Assistant Coach
Tesch begins his first season as assistant coach. Tesch walked on as a skier at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and is the only skier ever to qualify four consecutive seasons for the NCAA Skiing Championships. His highest finish at the NCAA Championships was 13th during the 2000 season. Tesch assisted current CXC Elite Team coach, Bryan Fish, at UWGB after graduating and has continued to assist Fish from time to time for CXC.
Tesch is the Director of Physical Education courses at Lake Superior College.
Scott Kylander-Johnson, Assistant Coach
Scott begins his third season as assistant coach. Scott is a graduate of St. Scholastica and got into endurance sport while a student here, running cross country for the Saints after a junior career as a motocross racer. Following college, Scott combined his endurance training from running at CSS with his incredible skills on two wheels, and became one of the area's top mountain bikers—something he still is very passionate about today. Scott teaches at the Marshall school where he also coached cross country running and cross country skiing for 8 years. Both Scott and his wife Sara bring a huge amount of experience, enthusiasm, and fun to the Saints ski team.
Sara Kylander-Johnson, Assistant Coach
Sara begins her third season as assistant coach. Kylander-Johnson competed at the national and international level as a cross country skier, representing the United States at the 1992 World Junior Championship. That same year, she achieved All-American status at the NCAA skiing championships for the Northern Michigan University Wildcats. A current member of the Trek/VW Midwest Region pro mountain biking team, you can see Sara ripping it up at the front of most Midwestern mountain bike races, while holding her own in pro races around the country. Sara is a physical therapy instructor at the College and lives in Duluth with husband Scott.
