North Michigan News

The NMU Alpine Ski team showcased strong performances at Spirit Mountain, Minnesota, with both the women's and men's teams achieving significant results in the Giant Slalom event on Saturday.

In the women's competition, Tommie Springer secured first place. Reagan Olli followed closely in second, while Maddy Stern completed the podium by finishing third. Springer's total time was 55.38 seconds, with her second run being the fastest among female competitors. Olli recorded a time of 55.83 seconds, marking her first run as the second fastest for that segment. Stern improved from her initial position to finish third with a combined time of 56.19 seconds.

Other notable finishes in the top ten included Ella Wichert (56.50), Emily Creek (57.44), Jacey Johnson (57.70), Erin Hoelzel (57.73), Cassidy Whitener (58.05), Georgette Sake (58.22), and Julia Greene (58.53). Maya Bubolz and Kaylee Byrne did not finish their second runs, while Ainsley Kirk was disqualified during her first run.

On the men's side, Brad Seaborg took gold with a combined time of 53.84 seconds after posting consistently fast times across both runs. Aaron Grzelak achieved second place with a total time of 53.86 seconds, recording the fastest result of any skier in his second run which helped him move up from third position after his first run performance. Andrew Truman finished third overall with a total time of 54.07 seconds after leading initially following his first run.

Additional top ten finishes for NMU included Reed Heathman in fifth place (55.00), Will Blackmer in seventh place (55.22), and Mitchell Forsberg who rounded out the top ten at tenth place (55.68). Connor Abraham placed fifteenth, while Colin Dehart and Nathan Dehart finished nineteenth and twentieth respectively.

The next event is scheduled for Sunday at Spirit Mountain where competitors will participate in Slalom runs.