Marquette, MI – February 10th, 2026 – This week, Mark and I had a great conversation with Cherise Wilkins, an incredibly talented speed skater who has competed all over the world. If you’re not familiar with speed skating, this is a show you’ll definitely want to check out.
Wilkins is a Level 3 U.S. Speedskating coach with more than 10 years of coaching experience. She currently serves as head coach and president of the Syracuse Speedskating Club and was named the USOPC Volunteer Coach of the Year in 2020. During the show, we talked about how speed skates are built, the differences between short track and long track speed skating, and what races actually look like.
Wilkins is also a multiple-time National and North American champion, with her most recent competition being the 2026 Masters Sprint Games in Innsbruck, Austria. In addition to skating, she’s an avid marathon runner, so we also picked her brain about how she got into running and how it fits into her training. If you’re a runner yourself, you can get involved with Wilkins’ running program through Queen City Running, she shares how to find it during the show. Mark and I learned a ton about the sport and hope you’ll give it a listen.
Next week, we’ll be joined by the new Northern Michigan head football coach, Matt Janus. Coach Janus began his coaching career in 2010 as a graduate assistant and worked his way up the ranks. In 2020, he earned his first head coaching position at Wisconsin–La Crosse, where he coached for six seasons before making the move to NMU this year. During his time at Wisconsin–La Crosse, he compiled a 45–14 record and led the program to five consecutive NCAA Division III playoff appearances. If you have a question for Coach Janus, stop by Slabz and let us ask it for you.
The Big Local Sports Show will be live from Slabz Bar and Grill next Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. If you can’t make it in person, you can listen on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1 and 99.9, catch the replay at 6:00 p.m. on 97.5 GTO, or watch the show streamed live on the mediaBrew Communications Facebook page.
