‘The Little Engine That Could’: Harvard Skiing Pushes Forward in Historic Season

The Harvard ski team — including both men and women — could only fill about a fifth of the football team’s roster, but the team’s small size hasn’t stopped it from competing at the highest level in the 2025 season, with the 20 athletes racking up multiple top-20 finishes and NCAA Championship qualifiers.

Skiing is made up of two distinct disciplines — Alpine and Nordic — each training separately and competing in their own set of tournaments called carnivals. While both teams compete under the same banner, they follow different training regimens and race formats.

Alpine skiing, which consists of high-speed downhill events like slalom and giant slalom, trains at Waterville Valley and Proctor Academy in New Hampshire — two hours away from Harvard’s campus. Meanwhile, the Nordic team, focused on endurance-based cross-country racing, trains at trails just 20 minutes outside of Boston.

Despite the physical separation, both team’s coaches said this season saw an unprecedented level of unity between the two skiing squads, a shift they said helped drive both programs towards success.

“Between Alpine and Nordic, this is as close as I've seen the two teams together that make up one team in a long time,” said Alpine head coach Scott MacPherson.

‘Phenomenal Year’ for Alpine

Matt Ryan, a leader of the team, skis at a carnival earlier this season. By Courtesy Harvard Athletics

The Alpine team had one of its strongest seasons in program history, spearheaded by freshman Duncan Armstrong and junior Matt Ryan on the men’s side, and freshman Skylar Sheppard and sophomore Emma Speiser on the women’s side.

“We had a phenomenal year,” said MacPherson. “This continues to match the upward trend of our program, going back to probably 2017.”

The Crimson’s biggest breakout skier was Armstrong, who made an immediate impact in his debut season. His first top performance came at the Bates Carnival, where he finished fifth in the giant slalom, proving he could hold his own against some of the top collegiate skiers in the country.

“It went super well, and it kind of just set the tone for the season that I can compete against these older guys,” Armstrong said.

Over the course of the season, Armstrong consistently placed in the top 30 at multiple carnivals, culminating in an eighth-place finish at NCAA Regionals that secured his spot at the NCAA Championships.

MacPherson described Armstrong as “one of the new and exciting skiers in the whole entire league.”

Alongside Armstrong, Ryan was a key force on the men’s Alpine team, finishing 12th in slalom at Middlebury and 23rd at NCAA Regionals.

“He’s one of the, if not the strongest leader I’ve ever had in my program,” MacPherson said. “Matt did a phenomenal job.”

The women’s Alpine team was bolstered by Sheppard, who put together an impressive season before suffering a season-ending collarbone and leg injury in training. Prior to her injury she was a favorite for Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Rookie of the Year, recording seven consecutive top-20 finishes, including seventh in slalom and 10th in giant slalom at Dartmouth.

Sheppard also became the first Harvard skier since Rebecca Nadler ’14 to post the fastest first-run time in a slalom race, a landmark moment for the program.

Armstrong and Sheppard both qualified for the NCAA Championships March 5-8, a significant achievement for the team. Sheppard was not able to compete in the championships due to her injury.

MacPherson said it had been decades since the Alpine team had a man and a woman qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Meanwhile, Speiser made a strong return from a knee injury, working her way back into competing in multiple carnivals and securing top-30 finishes.

“She was able to get a couple of top-30 finishes, which is really remarkable for somebody coming back from a knee injury,” MacPherson said.

Beyond the individual successes, the team’s culture continued to strengthen, something Speiser emphasized as a defining aspect of the program.

“Something that’s special about our team is that we’re all hoping to propel each other and push each other to what we know we’re all capable of doing,” she said.

“I love the team dynamic. We always cheer each other on at the carnivals,” said Armstrong.

As MacPherson and skiers reflected on the Alpine team’s progress over the years, they all pointed to how far the program had come.

“A couple years back, it was more of a club team, and now we’re competing at the highest level in the country,” Armstrong said. "It’s really cool to see the team grow, and I’m looking forward to the future of it.”

“We’re kind of like ‘The Little Engine That Could’— just this little team from Harvard, and we’re fighting away against some of the big dogs,” said MacPherson.

Rebuilding on Nordic

Senior Quincy Donley, a standout on the team, has helped the Nordic team achieve its goals. By Courtesy Harvard Athletics

The Nordic team entered the season with a new head coach, Cate Brams, and a largely new men’s team after last year’s senior-heavy roster graduated. Despite the transition, the team made significant strides, with freshmen Elias Soulé and Bennett Hutchison putting up strong performances for the men’s team, while senior Quincy Donley and sophomore Breagh Bridge stood out for the women’s team.

Brams, in their first year at the helm, said they focused on fostering a positive team environment and ensuring that all athletes were excited about training and competing.

“My primary goals were to get us to a place where everyone on the team really wanted to be there,” Brams said. “Now everyone wants to go skiing even though the regular season’s over.”

The men’s team faced an adjustment period without experienced leadership, but Soulé, who spoke to The Crimson while competing at the Biathlon Junior World Championships in Sweden, said that the transition was eased by strong leadership from the women’s team.

“We didn’t really have much, much older teammate guidance, at least on the men’s team, but I would say that the women’s captains stepped up in a big way to kind of show us the ropes and help us feel welcome,” said Soulé.

For the women’s team, senior Quincy Donley provided consistency throughout the season, recording eight top-20 finishes, including 10th in the 7.5k classic at Dartmouth and 19th in the 15k freestyle at NCAA Regionals. Donley was the Nordic team’s sole qualifier for the NCAA Championships.

“It was exciting to have a season where it felt like just for every single person on the team had a success in their own way,” said sophomore Breagh Bridge, who posted a season-best 23rd-place finish at NCAA Regionals.

Bridge said the women's team set a goal at the beginning of the season to have three athletes finish in the top 30 — the threshold for scoring points — at a single carnival. The team finally achieved it at the NCAA regionals.

“I can’t express enough how much the closeness of our team and the way we all work super well with our coaches has affected our success,” Bridge added.

Looking to build on their momentum, the Nordic team will also send seven athletes to compete at the Nordiq Canada Ski Nationals in Canmore, Alberta, during spring break, extending their competitive calendar.

“At the end of the season this year we're gonna leave with everyone on the team feeling pretty hungry to do some work and come back next year,” Brams said.

“I'm excited to put in the work this summer and then in the fall again, to come back and start rebuilding the Harvard skiing brand,” Soulé said.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.