Marquette Boys Finish D1 Strive for 5
February 27, 2017
By James Cook
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS – Bradley Seaborg doesn’t think this is the end of the road for Marquette’s boys skiing championships.
The Redmen graduate four seniors from a team that won Monday’s Division 1 title for the fifth straight year, more than doubling runner-up Traverse City Central.
“I don’t think this is the end at all,” Seaborg said. “We’ve still got Andrew Thomas, who is a very good junior. We’re losing four good guys, but we’re picking up a couple good freshmen next year.”
Seaborg is one of those seniors, but he went out by taking the individual slalom championship.
He and the rest of the team also went out a different way.
In shorts.
The entire Redmen team showed up to the awards ceremony – which was held outdoors at Nub’s Nob in Harbor Springs – in khaki shorts, much to the amusement of the crowd gathered.
Besides, the Redmen had their Upper Peninsula championships canceled because of unseasonably warm weather, so why not celebrate being able to win another crown in mild conditions?
“We were all like, ‘What should we wear for awards?’ and we were thinking khakis,” Seaborg said. “Then it was going to be pretty hot, so why not khaki shorts?”
First-year coach Dan Menze didn’t wear shorts, but wasn’t about to stop his boys from doing what they wanted after winning a school-record fifth straight title.
“You have to be professional throughout the day,” Menze said. “But at the end of the day, if you want to have a little fun and celebrate winning five championships in a row, I feel like they deserve to celebrate.”
The Redmen won four straight from 2000-03, a mark now eclipsed by this group’s streak of five.
“For us to break that and get our fifth is pretty sweet,” said Seaborg, who was involved in three of those titles.
Seaborg is a six-time first-team all-state selection, taking fifth in giant slalom in addition to his slalom championship.
He also won slalom last season and was top five in GS. He was top 10 in both as a freshman before taking off his sophomore season to focus on club skiing.
Menze said he inherited a great program, and added the pressure was on to continue its winning ways.
“I was blessed with an extremely talented team that I walked into coaching,” Menze said. “I’ve coached a lot of these guys coming up.”
Like Seaborg, Menze also isn’t willing to concede that the Redmen’s run could end next season.
“We had a lot of freshmen competing for spots on that A team,” Menze said. “We will have a slight rebuild. You can’t say you’re not going to after you had first and second on one side were seniors and three in the top 10 on the other side. It’ll be an interesting year next year. It’ll be a lot closer than it has been for years.”
Traverse City Central was second, 53 points behind Marquette (35). Rochester (110) was third, followed by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern (164) and Brighton (187).
“We expected to get second, and we got second,” said Central junior Joe Aulicino, who was seventh in slalom and ninth in GS. “It was kind of exactly what we thought would happen. It’s still pretty cool.”
Seaborg and teammates Eric Gencheff and Andrew Thomas gave the Redmen three of the top four slalom spots. Dylan Robinia was 11th, Adam Skendzel 20th and Truman Durand 21st.
Forest Hills Northern/Eastern’s Ben Meyers was the only non-Marquette skier in the top four of the event, taking third.
Meyers also won the giant slalom championship, holding off runner-up Gencheff on the second run.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Dylan Robinia comes around a gate during the Division 1 Finals at Nub's Nob. (Middle) Traverse City Central's Joe Aulicino helps the Trojans to a team runner-up finish. (Photos by James Cook.)
Petoskey Cruises to 6th Straight Title
February 29, 2016
By Scott Keyes
Special for Second Half
BELLAIRE – Regardless of the sport, winning an MHSAA championship is an impressive feat.
But what about winning six titles in a row?
That's the possibility the Petoskey boys ski team faced entering Monday's Division 2 Finals at Schuss Mountain.
With hard work, dedication and a few breaks along the way, Petoskey pulled off the inevitable by winning its sixth straight championship, and third straight under current coach Erik Lundteigen.
Following Petoskey was the Elk Rapids/Traverse City St. Francis cooperative program in second, Cadillac (third), East Grand Rapids (fourth) and Charlevoix (fifth).
"Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought about being a part of six straight championships," Lundteigen said. "To be that good for so long comes with a lot of hard work and definitely a lot of luck along the way. But to take nothing away from our kids, they work so hard every time they hit the slopes. We have a tremendous feeder program, and the kids buy into what we are teaching. It's that dedication that allows us to stay competitive year after year."
Lundteigen tried to downplay the feat of six titles, which is second only to Traverse City’s run of eight consecutive MHSAA championships from 1988-95.
“When you ski well, good things happen," he said. "We had a tremendous season."
The Northmen were led by Garrett Lundteigen and Mitch Makala.
Makala won the giant slalom in 47.24, defeating last year's champion Ben Hicks of Elk Rapids/St. Francis (47.30), and Makala’s teammate Garret Lundteigen was third. (47.43).
In the slalom, it was Garret Lundteigen finishing first in 1:03.01, Makala was second (103.88) and Victor Pierret of Harbor Springs was third (1:05.57).
“We’ve got a great one-two punch with Garret and Mitch,” Erik Lundteigen said. “They go back and forth. They push each other, and I love it.
“It’s like we have a one and a 1-A.”
With the win, Garrett was able replicate the feat of his older brother Gunner, who won both the slalom and giant slalom championships in 2013. But, echoing his father, Garrett also said the titles aren’t what’s at the forefront at the starting line.
“Once you get to the top of the hill, it’s just all about skiing,” Garrett said. “We don’t even think about the record. It’s just thinking about getting to the bottom as fast as you can.”
PHOTO: The Petoskey boys ski team poses with its championship trophy after its sixth straight win in Division 2. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)