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Erik Lundteigen

Alpine Skiing

Erik Lundteigen Named USCSA Coach of the Year

MARQUETTE, Mich. - The U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) announced that head coach Erik Lundteigen of the NMU Alpine Ski team has been named 2025 Coach of the Year, as announced on Tuesday.

"It is quite an honor to receive this award," says Lundteigen, who has guided his teams to a plethora of top-five finishes, produced a National Champion in 2023, and numerous All-Americans in the past four years that the program has been skiing at nationals. "My job is to put the student-athletes in a position to be successful, and they are who deserve the majority of the credit for earning this award. I just point the way!"

Per the USCSA, the coach of the year is described as "An individual who, during the past season, has exemplified the qualities of a great coach in every sense of the position. This coach commanded the respect of other coaches and athletes alike, both on and off the hill. Their influence on the sport extended beyond team, division, or boundaries. The recipient of this award has contributed to the strengthening of the sport through increasing participation, respect, and public awareness. The coach, to whom this honor is bestowed, represents the fundamental canons of USCSA collegiate skiing in every sense."

"We receive many nominations each year from coaches, athletes, volunteers, alumni, and industry peers," adds Meegan Moszynski, Managing Director at USCSA. "Erik has been nominated several times, but every year there is a competitive pool of nominees that the Nominations & Awards Committee sorts through. A variety of factors, from the quality and detail of the nomination write-up, to the longevity of the coach's tenure, to the impact of the coach's work, all go into the final award."

At this year's National Championships, 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.  The men finished third as a team in both the giant slalom (GS) and slalom (SL) 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. 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.

Both Aaron Grzelak and Reagan Olli earned bronze medals in their respective slalom events, and the team produced eight All-Americans, highlighted by Olli, Grzelak, and Kyan Hopke all earning first-team honors. At the 2025 Wildcat Awards, the men's alpine team was named Team of the Year for the entire department, and Hopke was named Male Newcomer of the Year.

A big part of the nomination process is the write-up provided for the coach. Ella Wichert provided an excerpt for his nomination, from which this quote below is pulled from.

"[Coach Lundteigen] positivity reflects not only on the athletes, but also on their performances in races. It truly takes a special person to have this effect on so many people and create such a dominant team on and off the hill. It is needless to say that without [coach Lundteigen] paving this path for our team, we would not have the program or level of talent here at NMU."

In 2024, the men finished fourth overall after finishing fifth in the GS and second in the SL, and the women claimed second overall after finishing second in the GS and fourth in the SL with a handful of All-Americans.

In 2023, Lundteigen coached Olli to a national champion in the SL and overall individual winner en route to the women finishing second as a team, and the men finishing third combined.

In 2022, the first year of competing at nationals, Lundteigen guided the men to a fourth-place combined finish (seventh in GS, third in SL) and the women to a sixth-place combined finish (ninth in GS, fifth in SL).

The full USCSA awards and recognition page can be found here.
 

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Players Mentioned

Aaron Grzelak

Aaron Grzelak

Senior
Reagan Olli

Reagan Olli

Senior
Ella Wichert

Ella Wichert

5' 9"
Senior
Kyan Hopke

Kyan Hopke

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Aaron Grzelak

Aaron Grzelak

Senior
Reagan Olli

Reagan Olli

Senior
Ella Wichert

Ella Wichert

5' 9"
Senior
Kyan Hopke

Kyan Hopke

Freshman