Established in 1965, Team Duluth, formerly known as the Duluth Alpine Club (DAC), is celebrating 60 years dedicated to introducing alpine skiing as a life-long sport. During the 2025-26 season, Team Duluth will showcase some of the club members who’ve left a lasting impact on Team Duluth.

Sonja Rosenthal, formerly Jennings, joined Team Duluth around age six. She’d taken lessons at Spirit Mountain, but was eager to join Team Duluth with her brother Karsten.

The 2005 and 2006 Minnesota State High School League state champion helped her high school, Duluth East, earn the 2003 and 2006 MSHSL team trophy as well. Rosenthal, who took 5th at the J2 Nationals in Lake Placid, NY, travelled to Colorado annually for the Junior Olympics.

“I have fond memories of Thanksgiving Camp at Winter Park,” recalled Rosenthal. “Morning training, powder days at Mary Jane, capture the flag at dryland, Thanksgiving meals with the team, and eating pizza at Hernando’s with all the dollar bills on the walls.”

When asked if there are any skills she learned from skiing that she applies to life, Rosenthal said “life is full of courses - If you fall, you get back up (or hike up), and finish. Each course is a new challenge and no two are the same. Inspect, learn from others, then try to conquer.”

Rosenthal gives much credit to longtime Team Duluth coach, Scott “Race” Ransom. “Race helped guide me through highs and lows. He taught me that success isn’t just about results, but about discipline, passion, and perseverance,” she recalled. “It may have cost a dozen knuckle pushups, but he taught respect for ourselves and to others, the importance of commitment and time management. He taught us how to love and succeed in all aspects of the sport.”

“Beyond the techniques to excel at skiing, Race showed us how to be part of a team,” said Rosenthal. “From setting and tearing down courses, carrying each other's clothes, slipping the course for teammates, and cheering from start to finish. He taught us there’s a time to have fun, but also a time to focus and put in the work.”

Rosenthal, a Surgical Orthopedic Physician Assistant for a Milwaukee hospital system, attended Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont, where she raced for her first three years.

“Team Duluth will always have a special place in my heart,” said Rosenthal. “You become a big family and treat each other as such. I still keep in touch with several of my past team mates.”