Performance: Gaylord's Reagan Olli
February 23, 2019
Reagan Olli
Gaylord junior – Skiing
Despite a broken left wrist, and cast covering it, Olli won the giant slalom at the Division 2 Regional at Nub’s Nob in a two-run 54.94, and also qualified for Monday’s MHSAA Finals in the slalom in earning the Michigan Army National Guard Performance of the Week.
Olli suffered the wrist injury while racing in Duluth , Minn., a few weeks earlier and she anticipates wearing a cast into early March. But that won’t stop her from attempting to repeat as the Division 2 champion in the slalom, although the wrist has given her a little more pain in that race because competitors cross-block – or make contact with the gates – which they do not in the GS. She finished seventh in the slalom at last week’s Regional in 127.10 and expects to contend in both races Monday at Boyne Mountain. She finished second in the giant slalom at the 2018 Finals.
Olli also is the goalkeeper for Gaylord’s varsity girls soccer team and anticipates being ready to block plenty of shots once that season gets rolling in the spring. She’s considering the possibility of competing in either sport in college after she finishes up high school next year and also carries a GPA above 4.0 that ranked her among the top five students in her graduating class academically heading into this school year. Of course, she has plenty of time to decide, but is interested in the medical field and considering studying to become a physician’s assistant.
Coach Bill Snow said: “I’ve had the privilege of coaching Reagan for three years. Reagan is a dedicated, committed, talented, humble, accomplished, skier. Not only is she a superb skier on the hill, she is an exceptional young adult off the hill. She is also a major asset to the Gaylord High School ski team because she motivates and inspires her peers. During dryland training, when Reagan was a sophomore with a hand injury from soccer, she looked at me and said, ‘I want to be the state champion, and champions need to work hard.’ She accomplished this goal last year at the 2018 state meet when she won the slalom title and placed second in GS. This year she will go into the 2019 state meet with another battle scar, a broken hand, but that won’t stop her one bit! I look forward to watching her effortlessly fly down the hill to another victory.”
Performance Point: “I had broken (the wrist) the Sunday the week before,” Olli said. “So I had tried to get a little bit used to it during the week once I got casted. I just tried to practice, and mostly my goal going into Regionals was just to try to ski clean. I wasn’t really aiming for a win that day. At that point it was still awkward-feeling because normally you’re used to having a lot of wrist motion for pole touching and getting out of the start gate, but that day I just had to go with what I had.”
Big Monday ahead: “I’m a little bit nervous just because I wish I was at full strength. There’s nothing I can do about it now, so I’m going to go forward and try to put my best skiing out there and work with what I have. I don’t know the amount of time it’s been affecting me right now, but as far as skiing itself now, I think I’m still in contention with all of those girls. It’s just a matter of getting my good skiing out. The starts at Boyne Mountain are a bit flatter, which will be tougher, so I’ll have to make up some time.”
I love it all: “I’ve always been a skier. I started skiing at the little hill in Gaylord when I was probably 2. My mom’s family is big on skiing, so I was always out there. I did a bunch of other sports when I was a kid; skiing has just always been what I wanted to be doing. I worked my way up in different programs, and I got here. … There are so many things I love about it. I love the way it feels going down the hill. It’s so different all the time – there’s not one course ever the same as the other. We’re always on different hills, and you have to adapt and learn to ski different places and in different ways. I love the atmosphere around it as well. You can make so many new friends. It’s a great feeling to be out there skiing … (and) I like the cold.”
Overseas slopes: “I went to Austria this fall with a group from Traverse City, so I know a lot of girls from TC West and TC Central. It was great. The views out there were incredible, and the hills were a lot steeper, so that was a cool experience. And we were on a T-bar the whole time, so we just got lap after lap and we skied for so many hours.”
Setting up senior year: “I’m more of a go-with-the-flow kinda person. I want to try to do some bigger races in the FIS (International Ski Federation) part of the sport. As far as state and Regionals go, I would like to be back on top and in contention for titles. My goal for senior year, I guess, would be to be healthy, because it definitely helps.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
February 14: Jake Stevenson, Traverse City Bay Reps hockey - Read
February 7: Molly Davis, Midland Dow basketball - Read
January 31: Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24: Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Gaylord's Reagan Olli skies during her team's Division 2 Regional last week at Nub's Nob. (Middle) Olli won the giant slalom and also qualified for the Finals in the slalom. (Photos by RD Sports Photo.)
'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.)