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.)
Harbor Springs Girls Retake D2 Title
February 23, 2015
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS — For the past three years, Harbor Springs has been trying to get back to the top of the mountain.
On Monday, the Rams reached the pinnacle.
Harbor Springs captured its first girls MHSAA skiing title since 2012, edging Petoskey by just 3.5 points (81.5-85) in a dramatic battle for the Division 2 crown at Nub's Nob. Elk Rapids/Traverse City St. Francis was third with 94 points.
The Rams outscored Petoskey by 14 points in the slalom and used that to carry them to the win, even after they finished third overall in the giant slalom to the Northmen and Elk Rapids/Traverse City St. Francis.
"I'm really excited for the girls," said Harbor Springs coach Jane Ramer. "They've worked so hard all season. We have a lot of seniors, and they needed to get a state championship. They fell short the last few years, so it's a real positive thing."
Harbor fell short of repeating in 2013 as Petoskey took top honors, then watched as Bloomfield Hills Marian won the championship last year and Houghton/Hancock took second.
This year was the Rams' shot at redemption.
"Yes, (it was redemption) because we're meeting the teams we have in the past that we've lost to," said Harbor Springs senior Tia Esposito. "Our team really came together.
"We won it freshman year, and to come back and have this experience again is really incredible. I think we all walked out here feeling good about the day because of how we've been training on these hills for four years."
Maddy Fuhrman led the Rams with a pair of 10th-place finishes. She had a time of 56.7 in giant slalom and 1:08.72 in slalom. Esposito took 13th in GS (56.85) and 12th in slalom (1:09.27). Marin Hoffman (17th, 56.7) and Sadie Cwikiel (19th, 57.81) rounded out Harbor Spring's GS counters, while Demi Trabucchi (13th, 1:09.37) and Alexa Wespiser (14th, 1:09.78) were third and fourth in slalom.
Ramer felt her team had a chance to capture the title, but she wasn't going into the day overconfident.
"It's ski racing so you never know what's going to happen," she said. "We knew we wanted to come in and get ahead in the slalom, so when we went into the afternoon we had a little comfort zone. That's what happened. As you can see, Petoskey beat us in the GS, but we beat them in the slalom. It was a good formula and it worked."
Houghton's Jenna Stein was the individual winner of the giant slalom, recording a time of 53.04. She edged Carlee McCardel of Elk Rapids/St. Francis, the two-time reigning champion in the event, who skied a time of 53.31. McCardel had the top time after the first run of GS, but Stein overtook her in the second run and ended up with the title.
In the girls slalom, Sydney Reynolds of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central was the champion in a time of 1:05.52.
PHOTOS: (Top) Members of Harbor Springs' girls ski team hold up their championship trophy Monday. (Middle) Houghton's Jenna Stein was the individual champion in the giant slalom. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)