Houghton-Hancock Wins Close D2 Race
February 26, 2018
By James Cook
Special for Second Half
BELLAIRE — Pontiac Notre Dame Prep thought it had won the program's first MHSAA skiing championship since 2006.
Instead, Houghton-Hancock roared back to take its second crown in program history and first since 2010.
The Fighting Irish led by four after the morning's slalom event. Even after the afternoon session ended, Notre Dame skiers thought they had won the title.
But when the final results were announced, Houghton-Hancock let out a yell that may have carried all the way to the Upper Peninsula's Keweenaw Peninsula.
"The girls performed awesome," Houghton coach Brian Henderson said. "Everyone stood. Everybody did their job."
Henderson has coached the team for 17 years, leading Houghton-Hancock to the 2010 title and a half dozen runner-up finishes.
Houghton trailed after the morning session, and had the weaker of its two disciplines coming up in the afternoon.
Allyson Fenton and Katherine Jarvis responded by placing fifth and sixth in giant slalom as only Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central had more than one top-10 placer.
The Rangers had GS champ Courtney McAlindon and seventh-place Kayley Reynolds.
Houghton's Miren Unciti and Lydia Salmi placed 24th and 30th to give Houghton-Hancock enough points to make up the ground on Notre Dame.
"Sometimes you have to know when to take your foot off the gas, and that's what we did today," Henderson said. "I'm very proud of this bunch. It's been a long, great day."
Meghan Kozole played a big role in Notre Dame Prep going into the afternoon with that lead. She placed second in slalom from the fourth flight, with her sister Katelyn taking third.
"My first run I thought was really, really bad," Meghan Kozole said. "So I came down and was kind of shocked. I came down the pitch and had my eyes closed."
The Fighting Irish will have to wait to again target the elusive team title.
Houghton-Hancock (84) and Notre Dame Prep (88) were followed by Harbor Springs (107), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (124), Petoskey (144), Forest Hills Central (190), East Grand Rapids (204), Cadillac (210) and Mount Pleasant (251).
"We had a good mentality coming in," Kozole said. "We won the Regional by a pretty decent amount, so we came in pretty confident."
Gaylord sophomore Reagan Olli was the meet’s star. Skiing as an individual qualifier and out of the third flight, she led the GS after the first run but finished second overall as she was overtaken by one of her frequent training partners, McAlindon, who posted the fastest girls run of the day.
Olli posted the day's third-fastest girls slalom run (31.67 seconds) to start her pursuit in that event. Times were much slower the second time around, and her second-best time of 34.85 seconds was enough to hold off Kozole by 0.2 seconds.
"I tried to ski them clean and like I did in training," said Olli, who was sixth in both disciplines last year as a freshman. "As technically sound as possible, and then the speed will come."
The rest of the giant slalom top 10 included Caledonia's Emily Petrosky (third), Grand Rapids Northview's Megan Paasche (eighth), Harbor Springs' Frannie Kelbel (ninth) and Katelyn Kozole for Notre Dame.
Harbor Springs' Maddy Fuhrman took fourth in slalom, followed by Petoskey's Loren Kircher, Kelbel in eighth, Cranbrook Kingswood's Annabel Geissbuhle ninth and Paasche 10th.
Houghton-Hancock had finished second twice since its last title, so breaking through this time was sweet for Henderson and his squad.
"I can't say enough about our seniors and their leadership," Henderson said. "The rest of the gals have just followed their lead.
"It's so nice to see this come together. It's been a great group. They've had the desire all season. They knew what it took."
PHOTOS: (Top) Gaylord’s Reagan Olli surges by a gate during one of her runs Monday. (Middle) Petoskey’s Loren Kircher speeds through a turn. (Photos by James Cook.)
Title IX at 50: Maddy Stern's Story
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 2, 2022
Marquette has one of the most recognized girls skiing traditions in Michigan, with five Division 1 championships and a runner-up finish over the last seven seasons and 13 championships total since the sport added a Finals level in 1975. Stern carried that tradition through the finish line of her career this past winter, adding another memorable highlight in her final high school meet.
Competing as an individual qualifier, Stern became the 12th Marquette skier to win a Finals championship as she raced to first in the giant slalom in a two-run time of 1:06.55. She also finished eighth in slalom with a two-run 1:06.64. Stern graduated this spring and will continue at Northern Michigan University, where she’ll study nursing and compete on the alpine ski team.
"Competing as a female athlete means I can accomplish many things throughout my life, in my sport and through my upcoming career. It allows me to push myself on the ski hill to always be faster than the boys, as Mikaela Shiffrin says. When I finish a race run, and right as my time is announced, I feel proud of the skier I've shaped into as my skills are constantly challenged on each race run with the new courses and new obstacles to overcome.
“We can't forget about the times of struggle and pain when a run doesn't go as planned due to a fall or other circumstances, but learn to overcome these struggles and hardships to learn and fix our mistakes to become a better skier. Using the skills I learned as a skier with determination, grit and passion, I can apply them to my day-to-day life as I begin to navigate college. So to me, competing as a female athlete isn't just about being a ski racer, it's about learning life skills that will help me on and off the ski hill."
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
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