TC Central Takes Back Top Spot
February 26, 2013
By John Raffel
Special for Second Half
BOYNE FALLS – Traverse City Central coach Jerry Stanek just smiled when he was congratulated after his girls ski team won the MHSAA Division 1 championship Monday at Boyne Mountain.
“I didn't do anything,” he grinned. “I just watched.”
After five straight second-place finishes at Finals, the Trojans hoisted the championship trophy for the first time since 2005.
“I think the girls got the monkey off their backs for a while, and hopefully we can keep it going,” Stanek said.
“The key was belief from the girls that they could do what they did. After you finish second for so many years, and that happened to us in the 1990s, it takes a while. But when you win, it takes the monkey off your back and makes it easier. We try to prepare them the best we can, and hopefully they perform the way they should.”
Senior Monica Hessler of Traverse City West, last winter's team champ, won the girls slalom race while Mallory Slicker of Walled Lake Central prevailed in the giant slalom.
TC Central had scores of 38 in the slalom and 43 in the giant slalom for an 81 total. Walled Lake Central was second at 56 and 36 for 92 while Marquette was third at 69 and 44 for 113, Birmingham Marian fourth at 54 and 62 for 116 and Traverse City West fifth at 67 and 61 for 128.
Rochester Adams finished sixth at 170, Fenton/Linden seventh at 203, Walled Lake Northern eighth at 273 and Brighton ninth at 283.
“I would think that we were probably favored coming in,” Stanek said “We had some problems in the slalom, and it wasn't our best performance of the year. But I think the state championship reflects that when teams get together and have to compete. I was proud of our girls, the way they came back and stayed with it even though after our first run in slalom, we could have been out of the race for the day.”
Hessler competed on last year's team champion for TC West. Her previous best individual finish was a sixth in the slalom.
“I knew I had a shot at it,” Hessler said. “There's probably eight girls who also had the same chance. We've all been back and forth all season.”
Shannon Weaver led the TCC effort with seconds in both the slalom and giant slalom.
In the girls GS, Cassidy Klein of TCC was 11th, Paige Phannenstiel was 14th, Molly Whiting 21st, and Devon Dotterrer 26th.
In the girls slalom, TCC' netted an 11th place from Madison Ostergren, while Molly Whiting was 13th, Dotterrer 15th, Phannenstiel 18th and Cassidy Klein 38th.
Hessler knew what was at stake, but said she still simply wanted to have fun. She also saved her best for last.
“I knew it was my last race, so I wanted to give everything possible,” she said. “I knew it was going to be a close race, which it was.
“We're a young team this year,” Hessler added. “Our other girls are young, and they're great skiers, but they're young and definitely are going to be a team to watch for the next couple years.”
Shannon Weaver of TC Central was second in the slalom at 1:05.77 followed by defending champ Kelsey Griffin of White Lake Lakeland at 1:06.84, Slicker fourth at 1:09.03, Hanna Johnson of Marquette at 1:09.89, Haley Goeckel of Marian at 1:10.57, Hannah Brassell at 1:10.65, Kathryn Streng of Marina at 1:12.59, Lauren Rhoads of Fenton at 1:13.43 and Lauren Henry of Adams at 1:13.56 to round out the top 10.
Hessler will look back at the 2012-13 as having exceeded her expectations. “This is unreal,” she smiled.
Those sentiments were shared by GS champ Slicker, a senior. She was third last year in giant slalom.
Slicker was coming off a torn meniscus in her right knee. It was her first time on skis in a few weeks
“I really didn't think I was going to be able to,” she said. “I had been on crutches.”
Weaver also was runner-up in the giant slalom at 1:03.31, followed by Abigail Ellis of Kenowa Hills/Lowell/Comstock Park at 1:03.88, Whitney Stilwell of Marquette at 1:04.4, Morgan Culp of TC West in 1:04.51, Hanna Johnson of Marquette in 1:04.60, Haley Goeckel and Kathryn Streng of Birmingham Marian in 1:04.65 and 1:04.67, Hessler in 1:04.75 and Taylor Krumm of Walled Lake Central in 1:05.01.
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City Central celebrates its first MHSAA team championship since 2005. (Middle) Marquette's Sam Zeigler races during Monday's Finals. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
West Claims D1 in Battle of TC Powers
February 23, 2015
By James Cook
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS — Traverse City West didn't have a long walk to accept the MHSAA Division 1 girls skiing championship trophy.
The Titans occupied four tables near the podium that had all four trophies — for the boys and girls team champions and runners-up — on it all day.
And it also didn't take long for the Titans to get in contention for the top prize.
West had a 14-point cushion after the morning's slalom runs and ended up also winning the giant slalom — but just barely. The Titans edged Traverse City Central 45-46.5 in the GS, and the final standings had West with 80 points to Central's 95.5, with Bloomfield Hills a distant third at 131.
"We started out strong with slalom," West coach Ed Johnson said. "They were a little nervous. They didn't ski to their ability in slalom, but they did what they had to do.
"We knew we were ahead enough of Central that if we held our own in GS, we'd be fine," Johnson added. "Central tends to be a stronger GS team than we are, so we knew it wasn't going to be easy."
Last year's MHSAA Finals saw downstate teams win girls titles in both Division 1 and 2. This time around, the two Traverse City teams easily outdistanced the rest of the competition in Division 1, and the top three squads in Division 2 were from the northern Lower Peninsula.
Titans senior Morgan Culp got to start and end her career with an MHSAA Finals title. The last time the Titans won a championship was her freshman season.
"This was the perfect ending to my senior year," Culp said. "We won Regionals, were Big North champs and won states. That's the best team I've ever been on."
It was West's fourth girls team title, joining those won in 2006, 2007 and 2012.
Briana Holden and Courtney Shank are the team's only other seniors. Culp was consistent for the Titans, placing fourth in giant slalom and eighth in slalom.
Freshman Stella Sterling was a big help in winning the GS, stepping up to place 15th as West's third counter behind Culp and junior Claire Podges, who rebounded from a slalom fall to take 13th in GS.
"We all knew about the lead," Podges said. "But we tried to keep it on the down low, so we didn't get too cocky. We held strong."
Podges was eighth in slalom after the first run, but fell on her second and still managed to take 33rd.
"I bobbled a little bit in slalom," Podges said. "But thanks to my team, they upped my spirits and I was able to hold strong in GS."
In slalom, Kitt Hornbogen stepped up in a major way, placing fourth overall with a combined time of 1:11.83.
Many racers had slalom times that were significantly slower on the second run, whereas Hornbogen's was only 1.43 seconds slower on the clock.
"I knew we couldn't get too cocky," said Hornbogen, who added that she prefers steeper hills such as Boyne's Challenger course. "My first run wasn't amazing, but it was OK. My second run felt a lot better."
West's Maya Breneman was 16th in slalom.
Central's second-place finish was led by sophomore Maggie Dutmers, who took third in GS and 10th in slalom.
"Maggie Dutmers skied well in both events. It was outstanding," Trojans coach Jerry Stanek said. "We were very inexperienced to start with, and for us to compete the way we did — not just against West, but the other teams that qualified for states — that's huge for the girls. The Traverse City girls are set for the next couple of years."
The Trojans lost their third skier, sophomore Bailey Versluis, to an injury Saturday morning during training at Schuss Mountain. Freshman Katarina Fenton stopped in for Versluis and finished 35th in GS and 33rd in slalom in her first varsity meet.
Brittney Collins was 11th in GS and 19th in slalom.
"West is an outstanding team," Stanek said. "They're an experienced team. They don't have the younger skiers that we do. Hats off to them."
Central, which placed second for the seventh time in eight years, is hoping to move up a spot next year with more experience. Allie Friar was Central's only senior.
"We're basically ready to come back and win it next year, I think," Collins said. "We're all going to come back and work really hard."
"Our girls came through really strong," added Central junior Haley Klein, who was 24th in slalom. "We didn't come into the season with really high expectations, but I think we really raised the bar. I think next year is going to be the year we get it."
PHOTOS: (Top) A competitor races downhill during Monday's MHSAA Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Traverse City West poses with its championship trophy. (Click for more photos from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)