Annika Martell was hired as the new Saint Michael's Nordic skiing head coach on June 5, 2025.
No stranger to the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) circuit, Martell served as assistant coach at league counterpart Williams College for the past four seasons. She played an integral role in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, strength & conditioning, practice plans, race day coaching, wax and ski preparation, technique review, and social media management. Martell helped coach 2025 graduate Keelan Durham to three NCAA Championship appearances and a pair of EISA All-East accolades.
Martell carries a wealth of additional experience into her new position. In 2022 and 2023, she served as a Trail to Gold fellow with the U.S. Ski Team, providing in-race coaching, staff and athlete support, waxing and ski testing, and video review during the European World Cup. In summer 2022, Martell was an assistant coach with the professional Stratton Mountain School T2 Team (Vt.). Through the U.S. Biathlon Women's Coaching Initiative, Martell traveled to the 2024 IBU Cup and World Cup, where she provided coaching and waxing support.
Martell was head coach of the Berkshire Trails Nordic Ski Club's (Mass.) summer training group in 2022 and an assistant coach with the U.S. Ski Team staff at the 2023 International Junior Camp. Directly out of college, Martell coached in 2020 and 2021 with the Ford K. Sayre Memorial Ski Council (N.H.), assisting the Junior Nordic Team (U16-U20) and heading the U14/U16 squad. She was a coaching intern with the U.S. Biathlon Association in 2020 and aided Team New England as a wax tech at Cross Country Junior National Championships in 2023 and 2025.
An Eagan, Minn., native, Martell was a four-year Nordic skier at EISA member Colby College, serving as a team captain as a junior and senior, when she was also Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president. As a senior, she earned Colby's Pamela Hoyt-Sanborn '87 Award, which honors a female student-athlete for inspirational leadership. Martell completed bachelor's degrees in economics and environmental science in 2020 and is pursuing a master's degree in sport business from Drexel University, with anticipated completion of summer 2025.
