Performance of the Week: Traverse City Central's Elle Craven

January 21, 2022

Traverse City Central skiingElle Craven ♦ Traverse City Central
Skiing ♦ Senior

Craven has posted top-10 individual places in all six of her MHSAA Finals races over her first three seasons skiing for the Trojans, and helped them to last year’s Division 1 team championship – which ended Marquette’s five-year run at the top. She’s set to complete a fantastic finish to her high school career this winter and got off to a fast start Jan. 10, leading Central to the Harbor Petoskey Ski Invitational championship with a win in the slalom (1:22.18) and runner-up in the giant slalom (1:06.37).

Central’s team title last February was its first since 2013, and Craven posted personal Finals bests of second in the slalom (1:10.81) and third in the giant slalom (52.91), finishing second in the former by just 21 hundredths of a second over the two runs. She also plays tennis and will continue her academic pursuits at University of Arkansas, where she intends to study business.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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2021-22 Honorees

Jan. 14: Nevaeh Williams, Mount Clemens basketball - Report
Dec. 2:
Lucas Dunn, Chelsea football - Report
Nov. 25:
Riley Nugent, Plainwell swimming - Report
Nov. 18:
Harper Murray, Ann Arbor Skyline volleyball - Report
Nov. 11:
Abby VanderKooi, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian cross country - Report
Nov. 4:
Arianne Olson, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Oct. 28:
Jack Guggemos, Okemos soccer - Report
Oct. 21:
Sachiv Kumar, Northville tennis - Report
Oct. 14:
Kate Brody, Grand Blanc golf - Report
Oct. 7:
Lilly Nelson, Negaunee tennis - Report
Sept. 30:
Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Sept. 23:
Riley Hough, Hartland cross country - Report
Sept. 16:
Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report

PHOTOS courtesy of the Traverse City Central athletic department.

Sophomore-Paced Cadillac Arrives, Earns 1st Finals Title Since 1990

By James Cook
Special for MHSAA.com

February 28, 2022

BELLAIRE — Thirty-two years. 

Cadillac's girls skiing team made 1990 a distant memory Monday, capturing the school's first MHSAA Finals team championship in any sport since the Vikings girls skiers won in 1990. 

They prevailed by a slim four-point margin, unleashing a storm of screams and hugs when East Grand Rapids was named runner-up at the Division 2 Finals at Schuss Mountain in Bellaire. 

"It's amazing," said Vikings sophomore Onalee Wallis, who placed fourth in slalom and 11th in giant slalom. "It's so exciting to be able to do that. And we had such a young team." 

Cadillac's top six skiers included only one senior, Emily Mason. Wallis and fellow sophomore Avery Meyer helped lead the team, with Meyer placing fifth in slalom and 10th in giant slalom to earn first-team all-state in both disciplines. Junior Georgette Sake took 15th in slalom to earn second-team all-state. Cadillac's other two skiers in the Finals were sophomore Mairyn Kinnie and junior Kinsey Cornwell. 

"We've got a young team," Meyer said. "A lot ahead of us." 

Cadillac won with 104 points, going into the afternoon GS session with a 14-point lead on Houghton. East Grand Rapids (110) and Harbor Springs (112) jumped past the Gremlins (121) in the slalom. Petoskey finished fifth with 128 and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep sixth at 129, with just 25 points separating first from sixth. 

"We knew we had to all put down four solid runs," Meyer said. "We knew we had to ski well, but we thought that we could do it." 

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (233) placed seventh, Bloomfield Hills Marian (239) eighth and Grand Rapids Christian (260) ninth. 

Petoskey skiing"It was on the radar, and we didn't know when it would happen or if it would happen," Cadillac head coach James Netzley said. "But we didn't make any big mistakes, and that's really what made that small separation between us and the other teams. We had almost no errors at all today." 

Being such a young team, the Vikings knew they were talented but weren’t taking their championship potential for granted.

"We were hoping to," Wallis said. "We really tried our best and wanted to win this. We didn't really expect to, though." 

Meyer said they hope to keep this going in future years, with almost all the team returning next season. 

"Our team chemistry is great," Meyer said. "We just all get along so well. And it's so fun." 

Petoskey sophomore Marley Spence won the giant slalom championship, finishing second in slalom behind Notre Dame's Sydney Schulte and posting the top second-run time at 32.68 seconds. 

"Slalom was a little disappointing," Spence said. "I really wanted to come up with a first, but second is good, too." 

Lake Charlevoix's Avery Kita placed 16th in GS and 19th in slalom. Petoskey's Cassidy Whitener added to a strong showing by that team, placing eighth in GS and sixth in slalom to earn first-team all-state in both. 

Cadillac's boys team won state crowns in 1980 and 1978. The girls team also won in 1977, 1978 and 1983, with eight runner-up finishes from 1975-89. 

"I thought Cadillac, all of them really skied really well," Spence said. "So proud of them. I thought Notre Dame Prep would come out on top, but two of them fell today. That's what cost them." 

Petoskey was set back last week when Allison Goelz was injured in the Regional. 

"We had one of our girls get hurt last week, so that kind of made us fall down a bit, but I feel like everyone skied how they needed to," Spence said. "We all came out and had a good positive attitude, and I feel like we all skied our best and that's all we could have really done."

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PHOTOS (Top) Cadillac celebrates its Division 2 championship Monday at Schuss Mountain. (Middle) Petoskey’s Marley Spence passes a gate during a slalom run. (Click for more from Sports in Motion.)