Redettes Repeat, Set Stage for More
February 27, 2017
By James Cook
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS – Two down.
How many more to go?
Marquette went back-to-back with Division 1 girls skiing titles Monday at Nub’s Nob in Harbor Springs, and the Redettes’ young roster could add to that total in the near future.
“We won’t be losing anybody, so I really hope we will,” said junior Sadah Scheidt, who won the slalom crown for the second straight season. “We didn’t know if we were going to win this year or last year. (When they announce it), your heart jumps out of your chest.”
Marquette won the championship with a roster devoid of a single senior.
“They’ll be back next year, looking to repeat for sure,” first-year coach Dan Menze said.
The Redettes have two juniors, and the rest of the squad is freshmen and sophomores.
Menze said there was some pressure to keep the Marquette boys championship streak going – which he did – but the stress was just as heavy on the girls side, if not more.
“There was definitely more pressure on the girls team,” Menze said. “We weren’t quite as deep. They really came out and skied awesome. We had some bobbles, but most teams did today. We just had less.”
Menze took over for Marty Paulsen after guiding the Great Lakes Ski Academy.
“The main things were administrative on my behalf,” Menze said. “The coaching aspect, I feel I’ve done well throughout. I’ve had a great mentor (in Wendy Maas) to help me all along the way.”
Scheidt led a Marquette effort that witnessed the Redettes emerge with four first-team all-staters.
But when all was said and done, the girls didn’t copy Marquette’s boys team by showing up for the outdoors awards ceremony in shorts.
“We have a little bit more dignity than that,” Scheidt joked. “We face-palmed. We were like, ‘Oh, no.’ Typical senior boys.”
Scheidt claimed her second slalom title by more than 2.5 seconds over the two combined runs. She had the best time in each run, and her second shaved three hundredths of second off the first.
“I definitely prefer slalom over GS,” said Scheidt, who was 23rd in GS.
Ainsley Kirk earned all-state honors with a fourth-place slalom and third in GS. Jacey Johnson was ninth in slalom and 16th in GS, while Natalie Robinia was 17th in GS.
Marquette claimed the Division 1 girls championship with 73 points to Traverse City Central’s 95. Traverse City West was not far behind in third with 98, moving up a place from last season’s finish.
"A strong third," West head coach Ed Johnson said. "It was close. They won the slalom and went into the GS feeling pretty strong, but Central ended up edging us. It was fun to see the two Traverse City teams battling it out that close. That was exciting."
“We were hoping to finish in the top 3,” Traverse City Central senior Maggie Dutmers said. “We didn’t really know, because the top three teams have been very close in past competitions. We were hoping for a trophy. We were hoping for the first, but very, very happy with second.”
The Trojans finished runner-up for the seventh time in the last nine years.
Dutmers finish fourth in GS and sixth in slalom to earn first-team all-state honors in both disciplines.
Fenton’s Zoe Weinberg, skiing as an individual qualifier, won the giant slalom championship to end her prep career with a championship effort.
Weinberg trailed Bloomfield Hills Marian sophomore Olivia Weymouth after the first GS run by nearly a tenth of a second, but trimmed 1.36 seconds off her second run to pass Weymouth, who ended up second.
“Winning was something I just wanted to do,” Weinberg said. “My second run was one of my best runs of the season. It was intense, waiting to see.”
Weinberg had hoped to do better in the morning’s slalom session, but made up for it in the afternoon.
“I was excited GS came through,” Weinberg said. “It’s a good way to go out.”
Weinberg finishes her high school skiing career with seven first-team all-state finishes.
She earned all-state all four years in giant slalom and three more times in slalom, capturing a championship in each.
Weinberg won the slalom title as a sophomore and was runner-up last year. She had a runner-up GS finish as a sophomore and third last season, adding a sixth-place GS medal as a freshman.
“It’s a good number,” Weinberg said. “It was really exciting to go out that way.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Ainsley Kirk juts past a gate during the Division 1 Finals on Monday at Nub's Nob. (Middle) Fenton's Zoe Weinberg caps an impressive career with another strong set of races. (Photos by James Cook.)
Siblings Bolster Notre Dame Ski 'Family'
February 21, 2018
Compiled by Noah Thomas
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior
Family makes everything better.
As a part of the Notre Dame Prep ski team, we have a total of seven pairs of siblings racing for the team. Due to this family dynamic, the team as a whole is not only close, but we are a family, even to those who are not technically related to anyone on the team.
The aspect of family and unity is huge for us, and it makes us better as a team. The siblings make the team more cohesive, openly honest, and willing to talk to any other team member.
Each pair of siblings has written a short note about their skiing experiences as siblings, and what skiing means to them as a whole:
Noah and Nina Thomas
We have skied recreationally for almost eight years now together, but this is the first year Nina has raced on the team. Noah started racing last year, his junior year, and influenced Nina, who is a sophomore, to join the team. We have skied in both southern and northern Michigan together for a long time, which makes the sport also so special. We had raced NASTAR before we even knew high school racing was a thing. When we came to Notre Dame Prep, we found a sport we could do together in spite of us also loving to ski.
We ski because we love sport, the memories, and especially the team. Being siblings together on the team really brought us even closer than we were before, giving us a common interest to enjoy not only together but with the team as well. We both plan to continue skiing in the future, based on the memories made with each other and with the rest of the siblings and team.
Noah and Hailey Schindler
We both joined the ski team because we love the sport. Right when we could walk our parents put us on skis and we loved it from the very beginning. Noah is a senior and has been a part of the team for all four years, and Hailey is a freshman. We both joined our freshman year and Hailey plans on continuing it all throughout high school.
Participating in a sport with a sibling has been so special; with both of our busy schedules we can count on ski practice to see one another and have a good time.
Sydney and Jack Lintol
Sydney and Jack Lintol are a senior and freshman, respectively, at Notre Dame Prep.
Both sister and brother began skiing when they were about 2 years old and enjoyed the sport in both southern and northern Michigan with family and friends when they were young.
Eventually they started challenging each other in NASTAR courses to add some excitement to ski weekends. When Jack was in fourth grade, he decided to join a USSA club team that trained and raced USSA races. Syd did not want to do it because it seemed like too much of a commitment. By the end of that season her brother was beating her handily and she decided to join the team and learn to race. Sydney earned all-state honors her sophomore and junior years. She hopes to earn it one last time. Both kids love the sport and were very excited to join their high school team as freshmen. The added challenge and camaraderie of team skiing has made ski racing even more fun.
Katelyn and Meghan Kozole
Katelyn (senior) and Meghan (sophomore) love skiing and are thankful for the opportunities it has given them. When they were younger Katelyn and Meghan both did NASTAR, and their parents thought it would be cool if they started to take the sport as a learning opportunity. They both started competitively racing when they were young by accident when their mom signed them up for USSA. After years of training for club it only felt right that Katelyn started to race in high school. Meghan started high school racing following in Katelyn footsteps in hopes to win a state championship.
Katelyn and Meghan achieved all-state honors last season, and have been training and studying hard to earn it once again. Doing ski team allows Katelyn and Meghan to spend quality time together through traveling, practicing and racing.
Alex and Ethan Kocheril
My brother (Ethan) and I (Alex) joined the ski team because we both enjoyed skiing and wanted to try racing. I was the first person to learn how to ski in my family, so my brother and I started off skiing together, as we would often ski without our parents. Every time we went up north, we would usually ski together, or even if one of us was going to our local ski mountain.
However, we skied together less often as we got older and our interests changed. This year, we had the opportunity to be on the team at the same time, and it brought us closer together as siblings.
Sabrina and Julia Fitzgerald
My sister and I joined the ski team because we have always been skiing and thought that racing would be fun. I have been skiing on the team for two years and this is my sister’s first year because she is a freshman. Skiing has always been a big part of our lives; we have gone up north every winter to ski since we were very little. When we both started skiing, we were nervous because we have never done racing before, just recreational skiing. Once we were at practice and starting to race, we realized how fun it was. We hope to be a part of the team throughout high school.
Ian and Claudia Kaiser
My sister (Claudia) and I (Ian) have really only shared one thing in common, and that’s our love for ski. Going out west to Colorado or Utah to ski was always the time we got along the best.
Watching my 10th grade sister ski as a 12th grader is really awesome. I get to watch her progress through different stages of her skill set as a ski racer. My sister and I both began ski racing as ninth graders but we had been skiing since we were little kids, so transitioning from free skiing to racing was different and somewhat challenging. It’s definitely something I hope my sister appreciates and continues to succeed in after I leave, just like I felt my four years on the team.
Each mini article was written by the siblings together, in order to show their love for the sport and the amount of love and value the team has for one another. The amount of positivity each pair has brought forth for the team to enjoy is what makes the Notre Dame Preparatory ski team the team it is today.
As well, the team as a whole would like to thank every single parent who has been a part of this team, and made all we have done possible.
PHOTO: Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s seven pairs of ski team siblings. (Photo submitted by the Notre Dame Prep ski program.)