North Michigan News

After a two-week period of training and rest, the Northern Michigan University (NMU) Alpine Ski team is set to compete in the USCSA National Championships. The event will take place at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, New York, from Tuesday through Saturday.

The schedule includes Giant Slalom events on the first two days, followed by regular Slalom runs on Thursday and Friday. The competition concludes with a dual Slalom event on Saturday. Women's races are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, while men's races will occur on Wednesday and Friday.

Reagan Olli, who was named National Champion and First-Team All American in slalom last year, aims to build on her success this season. Ainsley Kirk, Aaron Grzelak, and Brad Seaborg were honored as Second Team All-Americans.

Live updates will be available during race days through various social media platforms including Instagram (@nmu_alpine), NMU's athletics website, Facebook, and X pages.

In their previous outing at the USCSA Regionals held at Marquette Mountain on February 17-18, NMU teams delivered strong performances. Ella Wichert led the women's team with top times in both her runs to secure gold in slalom. Reagan Olli closely followed with competitive times.

For the men's team, Aaron Grzelak achieved gold in slalom with impressive results. Teammates Brad Seaborg and Reed Heathman completed the podium placements with strong performances as well.

On day two of regionals, NMU women claimed the top three spots in Giant Slalom while Reed Heathman earned silver for the men. Will Blackmer and Aaron Grzelak secured fourth and fifth places respectively.

Both teams concluded their regional meet triumphantly with first-place finishes over both days; men collected 17 points along with four podium finishes whereas women gathered 13 points alongside five podium finishes - earning them recognition as 2024 Regional Champions.