Harbor Springs Girls Retake D2 Title
February 23, 2015
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS — For the past three years, Harbor Springs has been trying to get back to the top of the mountain.
On Monday, the Rams reached the pinnacle.
Harbor Springs captured its first girls MHSAA skiing title since 2012, edging Petoskey by just 3.5 points (81.5-85) in a dramatic battle for the Division 2 crown at Nub's Nob. Elk Rapids/Traverse City St. Francis was third with 94 points.
The Rams outscored Petoskey by 14 points in the slalom and used that to carry them to the win, even after they finished third overall in the giant slalom to the Northmen and Elk Rapids/Traverse City St. Francis.
"I'm really excited for the girls," said Harbor Springs coach Jane Ramer. "They've worked so hard all season. We have a lot of seniors, and they needed to get a state championship. They fell short the last few years, so it's a real positive thing."
Harbor fell short of repeating in 2013 as Petoskey took top honors, then watched as Bloomfield Hills Marian won the championship last year and Houghton/Hancock took second.
This year was the Rams' shot at redemption.
"Yes, (it was redemption) because we're meeting the teams we have in the past that we've lost to," said Harbor Springs senior Tia Esposito. "Our team really came together.
"We won it freshman year, and to come back and have this experience again is really incredible. I think we all walked out here feeling good about the day because of how we've been training on these hills for four years."
Maddy Fuhrman led the Rams with a pair of 10th-place finishes. She had a time of 56.7 in giant slalom and 1:08.72 in slalom. Esposito took 13th in GS (56.85) and 12th in slalom (1:09.27). Marin Hoffman (17th, 56.7) and Sadie Cwikiel (19th, 57.81) rounded out Harbor Spring's GS counters, while Demi Trabucchi (13th, 1:09.37) and Alexa Wespiser (14th, 1:09.78) were third and fourth in slalom.
Ramer felt her team had a chance to capture the title, but she wasn't going into the day overconfident.
"It's ski racing so you never know what's going to happen," she said. "We knew we wanted to come in and get ahead in the slalom, so when we went into the afternoon we had a little comfort zone. That's what happened. As you can see, Petoskey beat us in the GS, but we beat them in the slalom. It was a good formula and it worked."
Houghton's Jenna Stein was the individual winner of the giant slalom, recording a time of 53.04. She edged Carlee McCardel of Elk Rapids/St. Francis, the two-time reigning champion in the event, who skied a time of 53.31. McCardel had the top time after the first run of GS, but Stein overtook her in the second run and ended up with the title.
In the girls slalom, Sydney Reynolds of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central was the champion in a time of 1:05.52.
PHOTOS: (Top) Members of Harbor Springs' girls ski team hold up their championship trophy Monday. (Middle) Houghton's Jenna Stein was the individual champion in the giant slalom. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Stars Lead Redettes to 5th-Straight Finals Win
February 25, 2020
By James Cook
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS — Marquette is chasing itself.
The Redettes' girls skiing team won its fifth straight Division 1 championship Monday at Boyne Highlands.
That leaves only one team ahead of the current Marquette squad — the 1999-2004 Redettes.
"I know a lot of teams don't really want us to win every year, and they don't like that we always take it," Marquette senior Jacey Johnson said, "but I'm just so happy that we are so good, and it's just really nice to see because we all work so hard."
Johnson claimed the slalom by over a second, finishing off a high school career that included earning all-state honors eight times.
Johnson finished in Michigan's top 10 in seven of eight Ski Finals races she's competed in. The eighth, which included a hike, still resulted in a 20th-place finish and second-team all-state honors two years ago.
Marquette's Ainsley Kirk extended her streak of winning an individual Finals title to three years, taking her first giant slalom championship after being crowned slalom champ the previous two seasons.
Kirk's first run was the best girls GS time of the day at 30:53. Forest Hills Northern-Eastern's Holly Grzelak, a cousin of Kirk's teammates Aaron and Anna Grzelak, finished second by 16 hundredths of a second, tied with Rochester Adams' Kaylee Richardson.
Marquette, which lost in its Regional to Traverse City Central, topped the Trojans this time around.
"It just shows how great Marquette is," said TC Central senior Elizabeth Saunders, who finished second behind Johnson in the slalom. "They're strong and deep, like we are, and next year they have to come out even harder. I won't be around next year, but those girls are going to be in good hands."
Central also topped Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern-Eastern in that Regional, but the Forest Hills squad also snuck ahead of the Trojans this time.
Marquette won with 67 points, 10 ahead of Forest Hills. TC Central was another five back, with Clarkston fourth at 114.
Marquette has lost to Central in Regionals each of the last two years, then came back to win the Finals championships.
"That seems to be the way the last few years," said TC Central sophomore Elle Craven, who placed seventh in slalom and sixth in giant slalom. "We want to break that pattern, though."
The rest of the slalom top 10 consisted of Forest Hills Northern-Eastern's Jenna Grzelak, Clarkston's Courtney Bayley, Northern-Eastern's Jaycee O'Neill, Anna Grzelak of Marquette, Craven, South Lyon's Kelsie O'Connor, Rochester Adams' Richardson and Milford's Maddie Melody.
In giant slalom, Jenna Grzelak took fourth, Johnson fifth, Craven sixth, Brighton's Maddie Carrico seventh, Traverse City West's Ava Warren eighth, O'Connor ninth and Anna Grzelak 10th.
"I'm just excited that the kids showed some grit today and stuck with it, because it wasn't an easy day," Marquette assistant coach Keenan Cooper said. "Look how long it was. It was hot out for skiing, which can take a lot out of you because that sun's beating down on you."
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette’s Jacey Johnson skis to Monday’s slalom title. (Middle) The Redettes celebrate their fifth-straight Finals championship. (Click for more from Sports in Motion.)