TC Central Boys Break Rival's Finals Title Streak, Claim 1st Since 2011
By
James Cook
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2024
HARBOR SPRINGS – The first birthday gift of the day for Jace Rowell was hard to beat.
The Traverse City Central junior had all his Trojans teammates and parents sing "Happy Birthday" as he went to the podium to accept his medal for placing third in the slalom at Monday's Division 1 alpine skiing championships at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs.
The medal was the first of several for Rowell and many of his TCC teammates, as the Trojans won the boys program's first Finals championship since 2011.
"It's super big," Rowell said. "We've been working hard at it and been super close the past few years and we finally, finally got it this year. It feels really good."
Rowell's all-state slalom effort helped Traverse City Central win its 20th Finals championship.
"He had a great birthday today," Trojans head coach Amy Kudary said. "What a present for his day. It was icing on the cake."
Kudary became only the fourth woman to lead a boys team to the Division 1 title, and sixth overall in any MHSAA Class/Division.
"It's pretty cool to be a female coach of a boys team and win this," Kudary said. "They give me the same respect they give everybody."
Central's boys were nearly flawless in the morning slalom session, leading three-time reigning champ Traverse City West 18-41. The Titans cut into that deficit in slalom with an 18-point performance of their own, but Central scored 29 to come away with a 47-59 final tally. The remainder of the finals field consisted of Marquette (97), Linden-Lake Fenton (191), Northville (202), Birmingham (210), Milford (235), Clarkston (244) and Detroit Catholic Central (246).
TC West senior Caleb Lewandowski added to his legacy with a GS championship, raising his career total to four individual Finals titles.
"It's pretty cool to do that, but kind of sad the team couldn't do it, too," Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski took a gate too tightly early in his first slalom run, resulting in a bobble that cost him precious time. He made up for it the rest of the run and with a solid second run that put him second overall to Marquette's Sam Dehlin by 1.02 seconds.
He rebounded in GS with the day's two fastest runs to edge out Dehlin by 0.56 of a second.
"It was my last high school race ever," said Lewandowski. "We were hoping to come away with it, but we had fun out there."
West had won the last three boys D1 titles, getting dual titles last year with the girls' first since 2015.
Central's boys were Finals runners-up in seven of the last 10 years.
"We finally ended that drought," Kudary said. "Anything could happen today. It's always been a battle with West all season. All of the team contributed to the effort today. So happy to bring one home this year. The boys have been working on this for awhile."
Sophomore Rocco Elkins helped lead Central's efforts with a fourth-place slalom finish and fifth in GS.
Last year it was really, really close," Elkins said. "It definitely felt good to come from a close loss last year to a pretty good win this year."
Central's slalom group put four in the top 10, with Rowell third, Elkins fourth, Asher Paul fifth and Trevor Suttle seventh.
"The morning was awesome," Kudary said. "The boys just completely dominated in slalom, and we knew we had a good lead going into the afternoon."
Isaac Shapiro (fourth) and Grady Ellis (ninth) joined Lewandowski in the GS top 10 for West, with Didier Ramoie (seventh) and Cooper Gerber (10th) joining Elkins in the GS top 10.
"It feels really good knowing (TC) Central is one of the best teams in Michigan," Elkins said. "The whole Traverse City area just has the best skiers in Michigan."
The remainder of the slalom top 10 consisted of Lake Orion’s Marcel Anders (sixth), Brighton’s John Popov (eighth), Flushing’s Anthony Trovato (ninth) and Kalamazoo United’s Sam Oberlee (10th).
Trovato took third in GS, with Popov sixth and Lake Orion’s Broden Janczarek eighth.
Dehlin earned his fifth and sixth all-state finishes as a junior, winning the slalom with the event’s two fastest runs.
“I thought I skied pretty well,” Dehlin said. “My slalom was good. I think my GS wasn't the best, but was pretty good. I'm happy with it.”
He took second in slalom and third in GS last season, and said slalom is his favorite of the two.
“Slalom is just a lot faster paced, and there's a lot more going on,” Dehlin said. “I just find it more interesting.”
Marquette could return five of its top six skiers next season.
Dehlin said Marquette looks to end Traverse City’s four-year stranglehold on the D1 boys title next year. Marquette had won eight Finals titles in a row before West ended that streak in 2021.
“We're going to try,” Dehlin said. “Next year, we have some promising athletes coming in. I think it's going to be interesting. It's going to be fun.”
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Central's Jace Rowell approaches a gate during Monday's Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Traverse City West's Caleb Lewandowski finishes one of his championship runs. (Below) Marquette's Sam Dehlin races the slalom. (Photos by Tori Burley. Click for more; photos will be added throughout this week.)
Meyers Races to Bring Home Elusive Title
January 26, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Ben Meyers still remembers when he raced competitively for the first time on the ski slopes.
The Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern senior standout was 7 years old at the time and competed in a small local race one afternoon at Cannonsburg Ski Area.
And how did he end up?
“I took second,” Meyers recalled. “That might have started my competitive drive. I participated in it and thought it was a lot of fun. Since then I’ve grown to absolutely love the sport.”
Meyers’ competitive nature and immense dedication has helped him emerge as one of the top skiers in the state.
A three-time MHSAA Finals qualifier, Meyers is attempting to accomplish a feat next month that hasn’t been done in almost 20 years.
A skier from Grand Rapids hasn’t won a Division 1 individual title since 1998, when Forest Hills Central’s Eric VanTongeren won the giant slalom with a two-run total of 54.42 seconds.
Meyers has made steady progress in his run to end the drought. As a sophomore he placed fifth, and last season he finished runner-up to Marquette’s Joe Weber.
“I always set my goals pretty high, and my goal was to get the individual state title last year,” Meyers said. “I’ve been racing against those top guys since I was little, and knowing them and my abilities, my goal was to be a state champion. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
Meyers has one more shot at making his goal a reality.
The Forest Hills Northern-Eastern combined team will compete in Regionals on Feb. 13 at Schuss Mountain. The MHSAA Finals are slated for Feb. 27 at Nubs Nob.
While Meyers is looking forward to another opportunity to bring home a Finals championship, he’s more concerned with the team’s potential bid.
“First, we have to get through Regionals with our boys team, and we didn’t lose anyone from last year,” Meyers said. “So it’s trying to get the team to state, and then the focus would shift toward getting that state championship. Right now it’s about getting the team to state and getting some good finishes.”
A Forest Hills Northern/Eastern squad has never made it to the Finals, according to coach Chris Glasco, and she said Meyers’ team-first approach to this season has been refreshing.
“As much as he wants to be a state champ, I think it would be more important to him for his entire team to make it to state,” she said. “I truly believe that, and he has changed. I think when he first started it was about Ben and his goals, but he has realized that it’s more important to be a part of something bigger than yourself and that’s the teammates around you.
“Ben has the talent to make it to state by himself, but he wants nothing more than to have his whole team there with him.”
Meyers’ team mentality was prevalent as the goalkeeper on the school’s soccer team that advanced to the Regional Finals last fall.
“I think the similarities with soccer and skiing is having a solid team behind you,” Meyers said. “People think skiing is an individual sport, but it’s greatly a team sport. You cannot succeed just by yourself.”
Glasco said Meyers’ drive to improve sets him apart. He intently watches film and other skiers, looking for any edge he can get in order to succeed.
“He wants to be the master of his sport, and at his level, hundredths (of a second) count and it’s hard to cut them,” she said. “He knows he has to become a technical specialist to make that happen. He watched everything, his high school competitors, the Olympics and the World Cup. Just figuring out what works for them and how he can apply it to his own skiing.
“If there is anything he can do to cut a hundredth here, or a hundredth there, he does it. He works on it until he has it perfected.”
Meyers didn’t rest on his laurels from last season and had a productive summer while fine-tuning certain aspects he lacked.
Increased strength was a major factor.
“I worked on strength deficiencies that I had identified so I was able to get stronger,” Meyers said. “At the beginning of the season I felt like I picked up where I left off last year. I don’t think I’ve lost anything, and I think I’ve improved.”
Meyers, who hopes to ski in college and study pre-med, points to his intangibles as motivation.
“I think my determination is my biggest strength,” he said. “Coming up through the ranks I was struggling to do well and never seemed to find the speed. It wasn’t until a few years ago when everything started to click and I was getting strong enough to finish well. That’s been a defining factor through the years.”
The recent lack of snow locally has hindered Meyers’ training; however, the team has made several trips up north where snow is more abundant.
The coaching staff has gotten creative with indoor training techniques and video sessions.
“We are behind a little bit, especially with the up north schools that are getting to be on snow, but I feel we’ve done everything possible to prepare ourselves,” Meyers said. “We’ve adapted well to the changes, and I’m looking forward to next month.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Ben Meyers speeds through the giant slalom on the way to finishing second in that race at last season’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Meyers clears a gate during a run at Marquette Mountain. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)