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.)
'Unknown' Brighton Serves Notice
February 24, 2014
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special to Second Half
BELLAIRE - Brighton may not have the pedigree of some other schools when it comes to Michigan girls high school downhill skiing.
That perception changed in a hurry on Monday at the MHSAA Division 1 Final at Schuss Mountain.
The Bulldogs finished first in slalom and giant slalom, slipping past Traverse City Central and Traverse City West in a tightly contested top three for their first MHSAA skiing title.
"It's just crazy. It's overwhelming," said Brighton coach Jeff Street. "We worked really hard. We've got a young team - one freshman, three sophomores, a senior and a junior. That's a young team, and we skied really well today. It's a really great group of girls."
Brighton ended the meet with 92 points, with Central scoring 101 and West 103. Marquette's score of 202 put it a distant fourth.
Morgan Myers led Brighton in the giant slalom with a fifth-place finish (50.54), and Veronica Ripper led the Bulldogs in slalom, placing fifth in 1:06.54.
Brighton's win was a bit of a surprise to the teams that were challenging the Bulldogs for the top spot, intra-city rivals that have battled back and forth for supremacy in the Big North Conference and in Regional competition.
"As far as we're concerned, they came out of nowhere because we don't know who they are," said West coach Ed Johnson. "We didn't know they were there, that they were that deep."
"We didn't know about Brighton," said Central coach Jerry Stanek, whose team was the defending champion. "We knew some of their girls from USSA racing, but their top four girls were very good, very consistent."
Lilia Staszel gave Brighton two top-10 finishers in slalom with an eighth-place finish in 1:06.8. Myers was 14th (1:08.27) and Jenna Sica was 16th (1:08.82). In giant slalom, Ripper was 13th (51.95), Sica took 15th (51.97) and Straszel was 16th (52.44).
"They didn't make any mistakes today," said Johnson. "We made some mistakes, Central had some mistakes. In a state final, when you've got three teams that are that close or that good, the team that doesn't make mistakes is going to come out on top."
Street was confident his team could hang with the two Traverse City schools, which regularly are in the hunt for the MHSAA title, with one or the other claiming first or second - or both - in each of the last 10 seasons.
"I thought we had a really good chance," he said. "Our motto is focus, balance and integrity. We stayed focused the whole time. As long as the girls know they can win, we're going to be OK. They've got to focus the whole time and not lose it. Don't suddenly turn into Lindsey Vonn and think they're better than they are. Keep the focus."
Brighton held a three-point lead over Central after the slalom (43-46) with West right behind with 52 points. West made up some of its difference by finishing two points behind the Bulldogs in giant slalom (49-51) with Central scoring 55.
Marquette's Gabrielle Gencheff was the top individual skier of the day, winning the titles in both slalom and giant slalom. Gencheff posted a time of 47.52 in giant slalom and a 1:00.51 in slalom.
Lili Lockwood led Central with a second-place finish in giant slalom (47.92) and a third-place finish in slalom (1:05.55). Morgan Culp was West's top skier on the day, taking second in the slalom (1:04.51) and third in the giant slalom (49.87).
Central's other counters in slalom were Devon Dotterrer (12th, 1:07.75), Molly Whiting (13th, 1:07.84) and Jenny Baker (18th, 1:09.51). In giant slalom, Maggie Dutmers was 12th (51.94), Whiting took 20th (52.84) and Dotterrer (21st, 52.92).
For West, Claire Podges was 10th in slalom (1:07.28) and 14th in giant slalom (51.96) and Ginevra Gabrielli finished 11th in giant slalom (51.85) and 15th in slalom (1:08.59). Kitt Hornbogen was 23rd in giant slalom (53.76), while Maya Breneman was 25th in slalom (1:11.77).
PHOTO: (Top) Brighton celebrates its MHSAA skiing championship Monday at Schuss Mountain. (Middle) Traverse City Central's Maggie Dutmers works down the hill during one of her runs. (Photos courtesy of Schuss Mountain.)