Wildcats take five of six podium spots
DULUTH, Minn. — The NMU alpine teams had another solid showing on day two of USCSA Spirit Mountain, with both teams winning and the ‘Cats claiming five of six podium spots.
The men landed five of the top six and eight of the top 13 times en route to winning the slalom event, as Noah Bindas (1:22.09) claimed gold and Kyan Hopke (1:22.32) earned silver. Rounding out the team scoring was Reed Heathman (1:23.52), who finished in fourth place, and was followed by Anthony Petkov (1:23.61) and Eli Heathman (1:24.01) in fifth and sixth. Heathman was the first finishing B-squad member of any team.
The men won with a combined time of 4:07.93, ahead of St Olaf at 4:10.76 and UW-Madison at 4:33.77.
The women were scored based off best run of two instead of combined, and the ‘Cats swept the podium and claimed the top seven results, all coming in run two. Tommie Springer (27.23) claimed gold after an unfortunate DNF yesterday, Madalyn Stern (27.53) earned silver, and Kaylee Byrne (27.84) rounded out the podium with bronze. Ashley Schaffer, Onalee Wallis, Maya Bubolz, and Cassidy Whitener rounded out the top seven.
The women won with a combined time of 1:22.60, ahead of St Olaf at 1:26.52 and UW-Madison in third at 1:28.53.
NMU now looks ahead to the USCSA Regional Championships, which are held at Marquette Mountain in Marquette, Michigan. The regional championship will take place on Saturday, February 14, and Sunday, February 15, the final race before the National Championships in Lake Placid, New York.
How It Happened
Men’s Slalom – Live Results
The ‘Cats claimed eight of the 13 top spots, led by a pair of A team members, Bindas (38.25) and Hopke (38.31). R Heathman (38.96), Petkov (39.00), E Heathman (39.19), and Jaeger (39.23) claimed spots five through eight, Abraham (39.53) claimed spot ten, and Dehart (40.66) at 13th. Forsberg rounded out the ‘Cats in the field at 49.90.
The second run times looked similar to the first run times, as it was Bindas (43.84) and Hopke (44.01) who posted the top two results once again. R Heathman (44.56) and Petkov (44.61) posted times four and five, with E Heathman (44.82), Abraham (44.93), and Jaeger (45.01) slotting in the seventh, eighth, and ninth quickest run two results. Dehart recorded the 13th quickest result at 46.38, and Forsberg DNS.
Women’s Giant Slalom – Live Results
The ‘Cats controlled the first run of the giant slalom, holding the top six run-one times and eight of the top ten. Byrne (28.75), Schaffer (28.92), Springer (28.93), Stern (28.98), Wallis (29.07), and Bubolz (29.93) claimed the first six spots, with Whitener (29.98) and Srock (30.20) in spots eight and ten. Greene (30.68), Roethlisberger (30.89), Sake (31.42), and Stern (31.63) all posted solid times, followed by Zotalis (33.77). Witte DNS.
The women ended up scoring the best run of the two instead of a combined score, and the ‘Cats showed up in the second result, as the ‘Cats posted the top seven times of the race: Springer (27.23), Stern (27.53), Byrne (27.84), Schaffer (28.03), Wallis (28.31), Bubolz (28.38), and Whitener (28.52). Srock (29.08), Sake (29.65), Greene (29.67), Roethlisberger (30.05), Stern (30.58), and Zotalis (31.95) all improved from their first run scores.
