Petoskey Continues Decade of Dominance
February 23, 2015
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS – Petoskey boys skiing coach Erik Lundteigen doesn't know if he would call his team's string of titles a dynasty.
But after five straight MHSAA Division 2 boys championships, there's no other word for the Northmen's domination over the rest of the last half-decade.
Petoskey's fifth consecutive crown came Monday at Nub's Nob, where the Northmen came out on top of both the giant slalom and slalom to win by eight points over Birmingham Brother Rice (78-86). Cadillac placed third with 91 points.
"I tell you it's a nice run, for sure. You can see them get better all year," said Lundteigen. "Some good talent and some good training. That's what it's all about. The right training environment. The kids know there's accountability, too. It's not just the coach telling them what to do. They've got to buy into it themselves."
Even without Lundteigen's son Garret, Petoskey's top skier, who was out with a broken hand, the Northmen found a way to win once again.
Mitch Makela earned top-five finishes in slalom and giant slalom, taking second in GS (52.52) and fourth in slalom (1:05), and was one of three all-staters for Petoskey in slalom. Teammates Patrick Sheperd (7th, 1:05.68) and Ethan Siegwart (10th, 1:08.05) also reached the medal stand in that discipline.
Sheperd added a 13th-place finish in GS (54.96). Silas Lee (24th, 56.45) and David Paquette (25th, 56.69) were the other counters in GS, while Josh Pemberton (23rd, 1:11.99) rounded out the counters in slalom.
"A lot of people stepped up. It all worked out in our favor. To do this we needed everybody to play a key role. Everybody stepped up and did what they needed to do," Makela said.
He also admitted the Northmen feel some pressure to match what previous Petoskey teams had accomplished, but he didn't seem to mind facing those high expectations.
"It's a good pressure," Makela added. "The win is what the people are looking for.
"I think we're going to come back with a pretty good team next year, so we'll see (if we can keep it going)."
Cadillac's Keenan Cooper, the individual champion in both races last year, repeated as winner of the slalom in a time of 1:04.01. Ben Hicks from Elk Rapids/Traverse City St. Francis took top honors in GS (52.3).
Robbie Cort, Thomas Hamill and Daniel Lunghamer led the way to Brother Rice's runner-up finish. Cort was a double medalist after taking sixth in slalom (1:05.37) and sixth in GS (53.8). Lunghamer earned an eighth-place finish in slalom (1:07.58) and was 27th in GS (56.73). Hamill turned in a 12th-place time of 1:09.33 in slalom and a 15th-place time in GS (55.22). Max Radecky placed 17th for the Warriors in slalom (1:10.22), and
Michael Richard was 22nd in GS (56.32).
PHOTO: (Top) Members of Petoskey's boys ski team pose with their trophy after winning their fifth straight MHSAA championship. (Middle) A competitor passes a gate during a race Monday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Northmen Rule Again in D2 Final
February 24, 2014
By Andy Sneddon
Special to Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS – A first for Cadillac, and more of the same for Petoskey.
Keenan Cooper became the first male skier in Cadillac history to sweep the MHSAA individual ski titles Monday when he accomplished the feat at the Division 2 Final at Nub’s Nob.
Petoskey, led by double-medalist Gunnar Lundteigen, ran away with the team championship, its fourth consecutive and 15th in the storied history of the program.
“The team’s been really solid in the past, obviously, and being a part of it really feels good,” said first-year Petoskey coach Erik Lundteigen.
“Watching this senior class, they haven’t lost a conference, a Regional or a state Finals in four years, which is unbelievable.”
Almost as unbelievable was the performance of Cooper, who edged Andrew Schumacher of Grand Rapids Christian to win the slalom, and beat out Robbie Cort of Birmingham Brother Rice to capture the giant slalom.
“I woke up feeling good today, and it was just an on day for me,” said Cooper, a senior whose previous best Finals finish was a fourth in slalom last season. “I took that first run today and it just felt smooth. From that point on I could let it all out today.
“I knew I had a chance at it, but I knew I had to ski really well because there’s a lot of good skiers here. Just had to ski my own race and not really think about what other people were doing. Just go out there and do what I could do.”
Familiarity with the steep and tricky terrain at Nub’s helped, said Cooper, who estimated he had competed on the hill at least five times in his career.
“Scarface is just a brutal hill no matter what course is set on it because you’re doing every type of turn you can throw in there, fall-aways, bank turns, and it just becomes a tough course,” he said. “You kind of take all the tools you’ve learned over the years and you apply it to one course.
“I’m decently familiar with it. Makes a huge difference.”
Gunnar Lundteigen was in Cooper’s ski boots a year ago, when he swept the individual titles at Marquette Mountain.
He failed to repeat, but brought home medals in the slalom (third place) and GS (fourth) as Petoskey dominated the team competition. The Northmen finished with 41.5 points, a whopping 62 better than runner-up Cadillac.
The Northmen ripped through the morning slalom competition, placing four skiers – Gunnar Lundteigen, Trevor Kingsbury, Garret Lundteigen and Patrick Sheperd – among the top 10.
By the time the afternoon giant slalom started, all Petoskey had to do was get four skiers to the finish line.
“Everybody skied up to their potential,” coach Lundteigen said. “They’re all good skiers, they’ve trained hard all year, they’ve worked hard all year. We had one of our best days today.
“There’s a lot of depth. If one guy makes a mistake or goes down, the rest of the guys pick him up.”
While Gunnar Lundteigen recorded Petoskey’s lone top-10 finish in the GS, the Northmen had four other skiers finish from 11th-16th.
Joining Cooper and Gunnar Lundteigen as double medalists were Schumacher, Nate Houk of Cadillac and Ben Hicks of Bellaire.
PHOTOS: (Top) Petoskey skiers celebrate with another MHSAA championship trophy. (Middle) Ironwood's Ethan Johnson works downhill during one of his runs Monday.