Olympic wins, basketball heroics: Lake City’s Heise family has it all in short order

The Heise kids from Lake City were always ultra-competitive growing up. Taylor and brothers Nate and Ryan hated to lose when competing against each other in backyard games.

The siblings have engaged in an impressive game of “top that” the past few days.

On Monday, Feb. 16, Taylor scored a goal to help lead the Team USA women’s hockey team to a 5-0 victory over Sweden in the semifinals at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Hours later, Nate drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 77 seconds left in No. 6 Iowa State’s 70-67 victory over No. 2 Houston.

Two days earlier, Ryan, a 6-10 sophomore at Winona State, scored a career-high 30 points against Sioux Falls.

“Ryan started it,” dad Tony said by phone from Italy. “That got the other two amped up a little bit, too. They all like competing against each other. It’s fun.”

Monday was especially memorable for the Heise family. Taylor’s goal helped Team USA secure a spot in the Olympic gold medal game.

Figuring she would toss and turn, Amy asked youngest son Ryan to text her updates throughout the game.

“I followed along on and off when I wasn’t sleeping,” she said. “I knew they won.”

Did she know that Nate hit the biggest shot of the game, a corner three with 1:17 remaining that gave the Cyclones the lead for good?

“His brother kind of gave me the lowdown,” Amy said. “But you know boys. They never give you a great amount of details. By the time I woke up, I had plenty of other people who wanted to tell me that.”

Amy and Tony had a break in their schedule Tuesday afternoon to watch the game in its entirety.

This entire experience has been a parent’s dream. Tony and Amy both played college basketball at Wisconsin-River Falls. They attend as many of their kids’ games as possible.

The parents left Minnesota on Friday, Feb. 6, and arrived in Switzerland the next day. All three of the Heise kids played that day, beginning with Taylor’s preliminary round game against Finland. All three games were available via streaming.

“We watched Taylor while we were in Switzerland at the airport waiting for luggage that didn’t arrive,” Amy said. “Then we watched Nate on the train and then we watched Ryan when we got here.”

That kept them busy from 4 p.m. until midnight.

In between watching games in person and on their iPad, the parents have toured Italy. They have visited Rome, Milan and Lake Como, and took the Bernina Express through the Swiss Alps.

The family also has met new fans. Amy was wearing her daughter’s jersey when a man approached her and asked if she was related to Taylor. Told yes, the man pulled an Iowa State banner out of his backpack and asked Amy if they could take a picture together.

“He said, ‘I love your kids,’” Amy said. “He loves USA Hockey and the Cyclones.”

Though sleep-deprived and not exactly sure what day it is, Tony and Amy’s big adventure isn’t over yet.

They will attend the gold medal game on Thursday, fly home Friday and drive to Winona on Saturday to watch Ryan play in his team’s regular-season finale. They hope to be back home to watch Nate’s game at BYU on TV late Saturday night.

Then comes March Madness. The Heises will travel to Cyclones games in the NCAA Tournament.