Having skied since he was young, Kraftson has grown into a nationally ranked nordic skier and a strong leader in the sport. Along with several other activities, such as cross country, he is committed to nordic. He enjoys the feeling of being outdoors and nordic is the perfect way to do that. With support and encouragement from his friends and family, as well as years of rigorous training, he has been awarded for his achievements and has set himself up to accomplish his goals.

Competing in nordic is a difficult in itself, but nationally ranking in it is extremely impressive. Nordic is an endurance based sport built on technique. It takes a great amount of control, strength and training to be successful. The skills that Kraftson has in nordic have given him many opportunities to keep improving.

Christian Brekke, nordic head coach, said that years of training are required for a nordic skier to reach their top form. Persistence and patience are the key to taking a step from being an average skier to a great one.

Over the years, he has worked hard to strengthen his skills and techniques to get to this level. Kraftson was busy over the past summer with several camps and intensives for nordic. After he participated in the Regional Elite Group camps, he was selected among the top skiers at the camp and qualified for the National Elite Group camps.

Looking back at what he has accomplished, Kraftson said “working hard and not worry about results, because the lessons you learn from sports are far better and more important than any medal.”

Torry Kraftson, Adrik’s dad, 3-time Minnesota nordic state champion and national champion, has motivated Adrik throughout his nordic journey. Another important figure to Kraftson, is Jessie Diggins. Since Diggins was a former Stillwater Area High School student, Kraftson has taken inspiration from her success. From his dedication to nordic, his friends have noticed changes in Adrik’s confidence and commitment.

“He has become a professional in the thing that he does. He puts in more,” Alex Gardner, friend and senior, said. “He will do an all out workout in the morning, and then come back at night and do an easy ski, which is really impressive.”

Kraftson has made a big impact on the school and his community. Although he is no longer on the high school’s nordic team, he contributes by trying to elevate the level of skiing. He has continued to keep close ties with his friends on the ski team and has encouraged others to go out and ski.

“Adrik has always been differentiated by his willingness to go beyond his perceived limits at races. This comes from consistent hard work, and the impact of this on the team has been to inspire them to push harder,” Coach Brekke said.

As he looks to the future, Kraftson hopes to be awarded with more Junior National titles and qualify for Junior Worlds in January. Using all the experiences and opportunities he has earned, he is on a great path to achieve those goals.

“He will just add more to Stillwater’s legacy and create even more of a festive attitude around the school. Just one more sport performing at its maximum,” friend Gardner said.

Kraftson’s passion and skill for nordic has grown dramatically. As a result of this, he has planned on continuing to improve and contribute to the high school’s legacy.

“The aspect of me being able to enjoy nordic with others makes it important to me,” Kraftson said.