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2025 NMU Alpine Ski Team at USCSA Nationals

Alpine Skiing

Recapping Alpine Ski at USCSA Nationals

Men third, Women 11th at 2025 National Championship

MARQUETTE, Mich. - The NMU Alpine ski season came to an end last week with teams competing at the 2025 USCSA National Championships, with solid team and individual finishes from the 'Cats.  

The championships ran from Tuesday, March 11 to Thursday, March 12. Originally slated to go through Friday and Saturday, the tournament schedule had to be adjusted due to inclement weather with heavy snow and brutal visibility conditions projected for later in the week. The week saw the men's giant slalom on Tuesday, the women's giant slalom on Wednesday, and both of the men's and women's slalom on Thursday before the remainder of the tournament was canceled. 

"I am extremely proud of this team," says head coach Erik Lundteigen. "We have established ourselves as one of the 'big dogs' in the room at nationals. We had some really good skiing from our athletes over the week, and I really liked the way our teams got after it on race day."

On the week, the men finished third and the women finished 11th of 27 teams, while boasting a combined three First Team All-Americans, five Second Team All-Americans, and a pair of bronze medals. 

All things USCSA can be found on their website here.
 
The Men's Team
The men finished third as a team in both of the giant slalom and slalom en route to finishing third overall as a team. NMU posted a combined time of 6:31.83 in the GS with two skiers in the top-11 before following that up with a combined time of 4:19.50 with two skiers in the top-six is the SL.

Kyan Hopke was the top racer for the Wildcats and the fifth-best racer of 143 individuals, earning his team 24.81 race points with a fifth place finish  in the giant slalom before finishing 6th in the slalom, earning First Team All-America and Second Team All-America honors in the GS and SL, respectively. Directly behind Hopke was Aaron Grzelak, who finished seventh among the field with 38.10 race points. Grzelak finished 11th in the GS before claiming a bronze medal in the SL with his time of 1:24.37, just 0.61 seconds behind first place. 

Reed Heathman slotted 22nd among the field with a strong week of his own, finishing 38th in the GS and 28th in the SL. Andrew Truman finished 54th overall, and Anthony Petkov rounded out the 'Cats in 89th. 

A full list of men's team combined results can be found here, and a full list of men's individual combined results can be found here. 
 
The Women's Team
The women had a tough day one that included multiple spills to finish 22nd in the GS before rebounding for second place overall in the SL to finish 11th as a team. The 'Cats had only two skiers finish the race in the GS and had time added, giving them a combined total of 8:13.15 before posting the second-fastest combined time in the SL at 4:49.02.

Ainsley Kirk paced the Wildcats in combined scoring by a large margin, finishing seventh of 142 individuals with her 76.72 race points. Kirk earned Second Team All-America awards in both events, finishing 11th in the GS and ninth in the SL.

Reagan Olli had a fantastic day two, claiming a bronze medal and First Team All-America award in the SL with her time of 1:33.51, just 0.06 seconds out of second place and 0.62 seconds out of first place, and posted the second-fastest run results in both of her runs. Olli had heartbreak in the GS, finishing 14th after run one and in a good position for the afternoon before a DNF in her second run. Olli placed 87th overall.

Tommie Springer and Ella Wichert finished back-to-back in 89th and 90th with their race points of 1023.42 and 1040.69, respectively. Springer finished sixth in the GS for a Second Team All-America honor, just 0.51 seconds out of a first team honor, before a DNF in the SL. Wichert DNF in her first run of the GS before ending her week with a 20th place finish in the SL. Maddy Stern rounded out the Wildcats, finishing 98th overall. 

A full list of women's team combined results can be found here, and a full list of women's individual combined results can be found here. 
 
Medal Breakdown
All-America Breakdown
Giant Slalom
  • Hopke - First Team, 5th place
  • Springer - Second Team, 6th place
  • Grzelak - Second Team, 11th place
  • Kirk - Second Team, 11th place
Slalom
  • Olli - First Team, 3rd place
  • Grzelak - First Team, 3rd place
  • Hopke - Second Team, 6th place
  • Kirk - Second Team, 9th place



 
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Players Mentioned

Aaron Grzelak

Aaron Grzelak

Senior
Reed Heathman

Reed Heathman

5' 10"
Junior
Ainsley Kirk

Ainsley Kirk

5' 5"
Senior
Reagan Olli

Reagan Olli

Senior
Tommie Springer

Tommie Springer

5' 5"
Sophomore
Maddy Stern

Maddy Stern

5' 4"
Junior
Andrew Truman

Andrew Truman

Senior
Ella Wichert

Ella Wichert

5' 9"
Senior
Kyan Hopke

Kyan Hopke

Freshman
Anthony Petkov

Anthony Petkov

6' 0"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Aaron Grzelak

Aaron Grzelak

Senior
Reed Heathman

Reed Heathman

5' 10"
Junior
Ainsley Kirk

Ainsley Kirk

5' 5"
Senior
Reagan Olli

Reagan Olli

Senior
Tommie Springer

Tommie Springer

5' 5"
Sophomore
Maddy Stern

Maddy Stern

5' 4"
Junior
Andrew Truman

Andrew Truman

Senior
Ella Wichert

Ella Wichert

5' 9"
Senior
Kyan Hopke

Kyan Hopke

Freshman
Anthony Petkov

Anthony Petkov

6' 0"
Freshman