Neither Sun Nor Slush Slows Marquette
February 26, 2018
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
BOYNE FALLS – Nothing else has stopped the Marquette boys ski team from dominating the state the past five years
So Mother Nature did its best Monday at the MHSAA Division 1 Finals.
However, not even unseasonable conditions slowed down the Redmen.
For the sixth straight year, Marquette finished the season as a champion in boys skiing following another dominant performance on a warm day at Boyne Mountain that wreaked havoc on a field not used to such mild and slushy conditions for a Finals meet.
Marquette finished with 56 points to once again best Traverse City Central, which was the runner-up for the fifth straight year with 80.5 points.
Rochester Adams/Stoney Creek’s combined team was third with 124.5 points, White Lake Lakeland was fourth with 153 and Brighton took fifth with 158.5 points.
Marquette coach Dan Menze said conditions were firm for the morning runs, but he had to tell his team to use caution when the warmth and sun softened the courses up considerably in the afternoon.
“Definitely in the afternoon, I had to let them know to be soft on their edges,” Menze said. “No hard pressures because as soon as you do in the soft stuff it’s going to eat you up. But they’ve had the opportunity the last couple of weeks in training to see different snow types, so they were a little used to it.”
Marquette started the day by dominating the morning slalom run, taking the top three places in that event.
Aaron Grzelak won with time of 57.96, Andrew Thomas was second at 58.97 and Hayden Kauppila came in third at 1:00.57.
James Wenzloff of Lakeland was fourth with a time of 1:00.64, and Max Wiedemann of Clarkston was fifth at 1:01.56.
Marquette wasn’t quite as dominant in the giant slalom when the afternoon arrived, but it was still good enough to score plenty of points.
Thomas was second at 1:05.17, Grzelak was fourth at 1:06.89 and Kauppila finished fifth with a time of 1:07.22.
Of the bunch, the only senior is Thomas, and he leaves with MHSAA team titles for every year of his high school career.
“It was surreal when we won the first one,” Thomas said. “Before you know it, I’m already a senior. I just got really lucky to be on teams that had awesome skiers every year.”
Nick Rupert of Rockford won the individual championship in the giant slalom with a time of 1:04.67, while Wenzloff took third with a time of 1:06.42.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Aaron Grzelak races toward a first-place finish in slalom Monday. (Middle) Rockford's Nick Rupert cuts through a turn during the giant slalom. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Siblings Bolster Notre Dame Ski 'Family'
February 21, 2018
Compiled by Noah Thomas
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior
Family makes everything better.
As a part of the Notre Dame Prep ski team, we have a total of seven pairs of siblings racing for the team. Due to this family dynamic, the team as a whole is not only close, but we are a family, even to those who are not technically related to anyone on the team.
The aspect of family and unity is huge for us, and it makes us better as a team. The siblings make the team more cohesive, openly honest, and willing to talk to any other team member.
Each pair of siblings has written a short note about their skiing experiences as siblings, and what skiing means to them as a whole:
Noah and Nina Thomas
We have skied recreationally for almost eight years now together, but this is the first year Nina has raced on the team. Noah started racing last year, his junior year, and influenced Nina, who is a sophomore, to join the team. We have skied in both southern and northern Michigan together for a long time, which makes the sport also so special. We had raced NASTAR before we even knew high school racing was a thing. When we came to Notre Dame Prep, we found a sport we could do together in spite of us also loving to ski.
We ski because we love sport, the memories, and especially the team. Being siblings together on the team really brought us even closer than we were before, giving us a common interest to enjoy not only together but with the team as well. We both plan to continue skiing in the future, based on the memories made with each other and with the rest of the siblings and team.
Noah and Hailey Schindler
We both joined the ski team because we love the sport. Right when we could walk our parents put us on skis and we loved it from the very beginning. Noah is a senior and has been a part of the team for all four years, and Hailey is a freshman. We both joined our freshman year and Hailey plans on continuing it all throughout high school.
Participating in a sport with a sibling has been so special; with both of our busy schedules we can count on ski practice to see one another and have a good time.
Sydney and Jack Lintol
Sydney and Jack Lintol are a senior and freshman, respectively, at Notre Dame Prep.
Both sister and brother began skiing when they were about 2 years old and enjoyed the sport in both southern and northern Michigan with family and friends when they were young.
Eventually they started challenging each other in NASTAR courses to add some excitement to ski weekends. When Jack was in fourth grade, he decided to join a USSA club team that trained and raced USSA races. Syd did not want to do it because it seemed like too much of a commitment. By the end of that season her brother was beating her handily and she decided to join the team and learn to race. Sydney earned all-state honors her sophomore and junior years. She hopes to earn it one last time. Both kids love the sport and were very excited to join their high school team as freshmen. The added challenge and camaraderie of team skiing has made ski racing even more fun.
Katelyn and Meghan Kozole
Katelyn (senior) and Meghan (sophomore) love skiing and are thankful for the opportunities it has given them. When they were younger Katelyn and Meghan both did NASTAR, and their parents thought it would be cool if they started to take the sport as a learning opportunity. They both started competitively racing when they were young by accident when their mom signed them up for USSA. After years of training for club it only felt right that Katelyn started to race in high school. Meghan started high school racing following in Katelyn footsteps in hopes to win a state championship.
Katelyn and Meghan achieved all-state honors last season, and have been training and studying hard to earn it once again. Doing ski team allows Katelyn and Meghan to spend quality time together through traveling, practicing and racing.
Alex and Ethan Kocheril
My brother (Ethan) and I (Alex) joined the ski team because we both enjoyed skiing and wanted to try racing. I was the first person to learn how to ski in my family, so my brother and I started off skiing together, as we would often ski without our parents. Every time we went up north, we would usually ski together, or even if one of us was going to our local ski mountain.
However, we skied together less often as we got older and our interests changed. This year, we had the opportunity to be on the team at the same time, and it brought us closer together as siblings.
Sabrina and Julia Fitzgerald
My sister and I joined the ski team because we have always been skiing and thought that racing would be fun. I have been skiing on the team for two years and this is my sister’s first year because she is a freshman. Skiing has always been a big part of our lives; we have gone up north every winter to ski since we were very little. When we both started skiing, we were nervous because we have never done racing before, just recreational skiing. Once we were at practice and starting to race, we realized how fun it was. We hope to be a part of the team throughout high school.
Ian and Claudia Kaiser
My sister (Claudia) and I (Ian) have really only shared one thing in common, and that’s our love for ski. Going out west to Colorado or Utah to ski was always the time we got along the best.
Watching my 10th grade sister ski as a 12th grader is really awesome. I get to watch her progress through different stages of her skill set as a ski racer. My sister and I both began ski racing as ninth graders but we had been skiing since we were little kids, so transitioning from free skiing to racing was different and somewhat challenging. It’s definitely something I hope my sister appreciates and continues to succeed in after I leave, just like I felt my four years on the team.
Each mini article was written by the siblings together, in order to show their love for the sport and the amount of love and value the team has for one another. The amount of positivity each pair has brought forth for the team to enjoy is what makes the Notre Dame Preparatory ski team the team it is today.
As well, the team as a whole would like to thank every single parent who has been a part of this team, and made all we have done possible.
PHOTO: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s seven pairs of ski team siblings. (Photo submitted by the Notre Dame Prep ski program.)