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Alpine Skiing 2/5/2026 9:15:00 AM Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

PREVIEW: Alpine Ski Looks to Keep Rolling at Spirit Mountain

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Both the NMU men's and women's alpine ski teams have yet to lose this year, and both teams have only missed one podium spot out of a possible 24 in eight races.

The 'Cats now look ahead to this weekend, when the team makes its third consecutive and final trip to 'the land of 10,000 lakes' to compete at USCSA Spirit Mountain in Duluth, Minnesota.

After making the near five-hour trip, the 'Cats will compete at Spirit Mountain on Saturday, Febraury 7, and Sunday, February 8. Racing is set for approximately 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. Fans will be able to follow along with live timing, here.

At the time of writing, the Duluth area will have a high of 17 degrees on Saturday, the coldest temperatures in the area for the better part of a week.

Last Time Out

In a condensed one-day event after having to cancel races on Saturday, the teams raced the giant slalom in the morning and the slalom in the evening. The teams fought through frigid temperatures, as the temperature dipped into double-digit negative temperatures, with feels-like temperatures near and around -20.

The women finished first with a combined time of 3:12.61 in the giant slalom, and found a tie atop the podium with Kaylee Byrne and Tommie Springer each posting a combined result of 1:04.13. Onalee Wallis earned bronze and rounded out the team scoring at 1:04.35. The Wildcats claimed nine of the top 10 finishes, respectively.

The men finished first with a combined time of 3:03.02 in their respective giant slalom, led by a gold medal from Anthony Petkov at 1:00.82. Eli Heathman, who was competing on the 'B' team, earned silver with his time of 1:00.96 and was just 0.01 seconds ahead of Reed Heathman in third. Noah Bindas (1:01.23) rounded out the team scoring, and the 'Cats claimed eight of the top nine spots.

The slalom was stopped after the first run due to daylight, as the hill closed at 4 p.m. local time and is not equipped with lights. The scoring would be based off of one result instead of a combined two.

The women owned the top six finishes, led by Ashley Schaffer (39.24) as the only skier on the women's side to race a sub-40 run. Springer earned her second medal of the day with a silver (40.15), and Byrne would earn another podium finish with bronze (40.24).

The men claimed the top six finishes, and eight of the top ten, led by Kyan Hopke with gold (33.84), silver for R. Heathman (34.48), and bronze for Cashton Jaeger (35.05).

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Players Mentioned

Kaylee Byrne: 5' 3"; Senior

Reed Heathman: 5' 10"; Senior

Kyan Hopke: Sophomore

Anthony Petkov: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Tommie Springer: 5' 5"; Junior

Onalee Wallis: Sophomore

Noah Bindas: Freshman

Eli Heathman: Freshman

Cashton Jaeger: Freshman

Ashley Schaffer: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kaylee Byrne
: 5' 3"; Senior

Reed Heathman
: 5' 10"; Senior

Kyan Hopke
: Sophomore

Anthony Petkov
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Tommie Springer
: 5' 5"; Junior

Onalee Wallis
: Sophomore

Noah Bindas
: Freshman

Eli Heathman
: Freshman

Cashton Jaeger
: Freshman

Ashley Schaffer
: Freshman