Hopke earns Second Team All-American honors
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The NMU men’s alpine ski team took to the hill for the giant slalom to open up its account at the USCSA National Championships.
Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid saw lots of fog with on-and-off rain in the morning sessions, making for slick conditions and a fast course. The sun came out for the second run, but that also means so did the wind, as gusts picked up and sustained.
As a team, the ‘Cats claimed fifth place out of 25 schools, posting a combined time of 6:34.53. Clarkson took home the team GS title at 6:16.21, followed by Rockey Mountain College (6:17.60) and Babson College (6:24.34). Marin Vigneras of the Univeristy of Massachusetts was crowned GS national champion. Full results can be found at the USCSA website.
Sophomore Kyan Hopke led the way for the ‘Cats in 14th place, posting his combined time of 2:07.50 en route to a Second Team All-America honor in the giant slalom. Hopke was a First-Team All-American in the giant slalom as a freshman a season ago.
Sophomore Anthony Petkov posted a combined time of 2:10.33 to finish 21st overall in his first outing at a USCSA National Championship, and Reed Heathman earned 33rd at 2:16.70.
The Wildcats had a pair of DNFs in run one from Noah Bindas and Eli Heathman, but none more heartbreaking than Bindas, who was three gates from the finish and making fast time before he was waved off due to a racer’s ski being in the way of the course. He would DNF in his rerun.
The team is back in action with the women’s slalom tomorrow morning at 9:15 a.m. ET. Fans can tune into the live stream at the USCSA YouTube page, as well as use live-timing to follow along with results.
Run 1
The Wildcats opened with Bindas, who was one of the first racers down the track. The freshman was flying down the course and into the final section, but there was an unfortunate spill in the run before him, and the student-athlete’s ski was lodged in the track, and Bindas was waved off of his fast run with just three gates to go and the finish in sight. Bindas was awarded a restart and heartbreakingly took a DNF after his first run would have landed him near the leaders.
Hopke was the next ‘Cat, who had to follow up three consecutive DNFs from the field. He found a rut in the course but was able to hang on after a stumble, crossing the line at 1:05.22, the 15th quickest result at the time.
The course was challenging, as Petkov had two racers DNF before him and one DNF immediately after his run. Petkov navigated the slopes, crossing the line at 1:07.01.
The grizzled veteran, R. Heathaman, posted a solid run down the track in his fourth national championship appearance, finishing with a time of 1:09.43 and 34th fastest at the time.
E. Heathman DNF at the top section of the course, and he would join Bindas, as both of their days were over.
Run 2
Petkov, who was 25th after run one, went off sixth in the afternoon session after the top-30 flip. At the time of finishing, Petkov would slot into fourth overall with his second run time of 1:03.32, which was third-quickest at the time of finishing.
Hopke took to the course about halfway through the split, where he posted a run-two time of 1:02.28 for a total time of 2:078.50, combining for 15th overall at the end of the top-30 runs.
Heathman finished out his day with a run two time of 1:07.27, compiling a total time of 2:16.70.
