Not down for long: Clarkston tankers using demotion as motivational factor

CLARKSTON — Sometimes a demotion can cause anger. Clarkston’s girls swimming and diving team is simply using it as a motivational tool..

LURKING: After a down year, Clarkston's Monica Gorgas and the Wolves are looking to become Oakland County's most improved team this season. STAFF PHOTO | DAN STICKRADT.

The Wolves were sent down to the OAA Blue Division this season, despite being Oakland County’s largest high school and a program that has been around more than a decade. Now Clarkston is using the situation as a motivation..

“I tried to fight this,” said Clarkston head coach Kenwyn Chock. “I tried to tell (OAA coaches and athletics directors) that it was only last year (when Clarkston was down). That we had some really good girls coming in (this season) and even more next season.”.

So far, Clarkston has proven that they will likely win the OAA-Blue crown by a sizeable margin this season and likely be granted a promotion back to the OAA White Division next August. In comparison, the Wolves’ boys program is in the OAA Red Division..

As for the Wolves’ girls team, Clarkston is 4-1 overall and 4-0 in the OAA Blue Division. That’s a far cry a year ago, when the Wolves ventured through a rebuilding campaign, going 0-8 in dual meets, including 0-6 in the OAA White Division..

“The problem is that we could’ve competed in the OAA White this year,” said Chock. “Some of the teams down in the Blue are small teams. There isn’t a lot of competition. We belong in the White. Last year we were young. This year we are young again with a lot of freshmen and sophomores, but we have a lot more talent. We’ll be even better next year. A school (our size) and with our talent does not belong down in the lowest division.”.

Clarkston showed up with a meet at Pontiac earlier this month and found out upon its arrival that the Phoenix had to cancel their program due to low numbers. Elsewhere in the league, Ferndale, Hazel Park and Southfield Unified are all competing with a dozen athletes or less. Oxford, just a fourth-year program, and Troy Athens, are the only other teams in the Blue Division with decent numbers..

The Wolves defeated Athens and Oxford, tabbed as Clarkston’s top competitors, by sizeable margins and are now heavy favorites to win the league meet in late October at Clarkston..

This year’s team is led by four freshmen — Sami Stelpflug, Katherine Culver, Monica Gorgas and Natalie Vela, whose two older sisters both swim at Oakland University. All four have already posted some county-meet and state finals cuts and Stelpflug is already ranked high in a couple of events state-wide. Her older brother Kenneth was an all-state last winter with the Wolves..

The team’s lone senior, Andrea Misteravich, along with Kady O’Connell, Kendall Kamp, Taylor Tekiele and Rachel Linton, are some of the Wolves’ other top performers..

Regardless of its current situation, Clarkston has dealt with this in the right manner. In fact, Chock says the Wolves will prove that they are one of the area’s most improved teams in all of Oakland County when they venture to the county championships Saturday at Waterford Mott. Competition begins at 11 a.m..

“We knew we’d be fine this season,” said Kenwyn Chock. “I knew what we had coming in this season. I knew how much potential there was with this freshman class and that we returned a bunch of other girls.”.

Clarkston only graduated a pair of state qualifiers from last year’s team. The Wolves only scored three points at the Division 1 state finals last season, which was 37th overall in the team standings. Clarkston was only 24th at the Oakland County meet last season, again scoring three points..

“I think that we have a shot at being top-10 (at the county meet),” boasted Chock. “We have some girls that I think can score points and place high.”

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Category: Clarkston