North Michigan News

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) alpine ski team has successfully defended its title at the USCSA Regionals held in Marquette, securing the 2024 Regional Championship. The event saw both NMU's men's and women's teams claiming first place across all competition days over the weekend.

In the men's events, NMU achieved a total of 17 points with four podium finishes. Saturday's slalom race was dominated by Aaron Grzelak, Brad Seaborg, and Reed Heathman who took all three top spots. On Sunday, Heathman secured a silver medal while Will Blackmer and Grzelak finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The team results for men showed NMU leading with a finish place sum of 2, followed by St. Olaf College (STO) with 4, and University of Wisconsin Madison (UWMAD) with 6. In individual combined results among men, Aaron Grzelak from NMU topped the list with 9.80 race points.

For the women's team, NMU collected 13 points with five podium finishes. Ella Wichert and Reagan Olli claimed first and second positions on Saturday. On Sunday’s giant slalom event, Tommie Springer won gold while Olli took silver and Ainsley Kirk earned bronze.

In the women's team standings, NMU again led with a finish place sum of 2. St. Olaf College came in second with 4 points while University of Michigan placed third with 6 points. Reagan Olli from NMU led individual results for women with 26.15 race points.

The competition underscored NMU's dominance in collegiate alpine skiing within their region this season.