2011 All-Area Ski Team: Clarkston, Lake Orion head up talented cast of ski racers

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

High School skiing offers the shortest season of all of the sports sanctioned by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. The sport’s competition run lasts less than two months, going from January to late February.

CARVING A NICHE: Lake Orion's Katie Bruin was one of four Dragons whoworked their way onto the All-Area first Team for 2011. File Photo.

Clarkston’s boys, which finished an all-time best second at the Division 1 state finals, headline this year’s All-Area postseason squad, selected by NOS staff in conjunction with area coaches. There are several skiers with local ties that shined at the divisional, regional and Southeastern Michigan Ski League levels and even a handful that reached the state meet.

Below are the profiles of the first-team members, which featured six girls and eight boys. Clarkston’s Mike Foyteck was selected as coach of the year.

GIRLS-FIRST TEAM

OLIVA DUNN, Clarkston: The Wolves finally dipped into a major rebuilding year after mostly dominating the slopes in Southeastern Michigan going back to the late 1980s. Dunn, a junior, was still one of the holdovers and posted a solid season for Clarkston even though she did not make the state meet. Dunn was fifth in the giant slalom and 17^th in the slalom at Pine Knob and placed 15^th in the GS at the Mt. Holly regional. She was consistently a top-15 performer in dual meets at Pine Knob throughout the season.

KENDAL ROSALIK, Rochester Adams: This junior took over the spot as the Highlanders’ No. 1 racer and had a solid season. She was 10^th in the slalom and 18^th in the GS at the Pine Knob Divisional and continued to have solid finishers from there. She was 14^th in the slalom and 25^th in the GS at the Mt. Holly regional to earn all-region honors. She also placed 26^th in the slalom and 34^th in the GS at the SEMSL league meet. In dual meets, Rosalik had multiple top-20 finishes in the 10-team Pine Knob Division.

MARIE DOHM, Lake Orion: A junior who will take over the reigns next season as the Dragons’ top skier, Dohm finished up the season with a 12^th-place finish in the GS at the Division 1 state finals. She was also the GS champ and placed second at the SEMSL meet in the slalom and was the GS champion and a third-place finisher in the slalom at the divisional to kick off the championship season.

“Marie has a nice sense for ski racing,” said coach Derek Delzer. “She understands how to race, which made her one of the best in our league. She had a lot of great finishes for us.”

ALLISON MITCHELL, Lake Orion: The Dragons had an off day at the regional, failing to make the state meet as a team. This senior still made the cut as an individual in both races, placing 18^th in the GS and 34^th in the slalom at the Division 1 state finals. A consistent top-10 finisher at dual meets, Mitchell, a four-year varsity performer, was sixth in the GS and seventh in the slalom at the Pine Knob Divisional meet, placed second in the GS at the Mt. Holly regional, and won the GS and placed second in the slalom at the SEMSL meet.

“She was our team captain and just an all-around great leader, on the slopes and off,” said Delzer. “She’s not only a fast ski racer, but she is consistent. She always seemed to show up (to compete) and made it to the state meet in both races.”

KATIE BRUIN, Lake Orion: One of three seniors in the Dragons’ top four racers, Bruin had a fine season in 2011. She was third in the GS and 23^rd in the slalom at the divisional and placed eighth in the GS and 17^th in the slalom at the SEMSL meet. At the regional, she hiked in the slalom and placed 12^th in the GS, just missing the state meet by a couple of positions.

“Katie skies on the edge — she’s very aggressive,” said Delzer. “She really hit the turns hard and when she was on, she was a great skier. She has great skills and is very fast. She just had one bad day at the regional (in the slalom), but most of the team had a bad day in the slalom.”

CAITLIN TICE, Lake Orion: This senior helped solidify the Dragons as one of the top teams in the SEMSL, where they finished second as a team in the four-division league championships at Pine Knob. Tice was 20^th in both races at the Pine Knob Divisional meet and placed 20^th in the GS at the Mt. Holly regional. She also helped the Dragons go 8-0-1 in dual meets at Pine Knob.

“Caitlin was just another steady skier for us,” said Delzer. “The reason why we had a good season is because we had depth and Caitlin was one of those girls that didn’t win races, but she was always up there.”

BOYS-FIRST TEAM

ERIC AIRD, Rochester Adams: This senior capped off a fine career by finishing 33^rd in the GS at the Division 1 state meet. One of the top racers at Pine Knob, Aird placed third in two dual meets with several other top-15 finishes. He was seventh in the GS and 11^th in the slalom at the Pine Knob Divisional, raced fourth in the GS and 15^th in the slalom at the Mt. Holy regional, and placed seventh in the GS and 18^th in the slalom at the SEMSL league meet. Aird also earned All-Region honors.

STEVE WARD, Rochester Adams: Part of the Highlanders’ senior 1-2 tandem, Ward had several notable finishes this season, including 35^th in the GS at the D-1 state final to end his prep career. Ward placed 12^th in the slalom and 21^st in the GS at the divisional and was ninth in the GS at the regional. In the nine dual meets at Pine Knob, he had a best of 11^th in both races out of over 60 racers.

RYAN CALLAHAN, Clarkston: One of the state’s better freshmen, Callahan moved right into the Wolves’ starting lineup and posted 12 top-three finishes at dual meets at Pine Knob and wound up fifth in both races at the divisional meet. He continued to shine by placing sixth in both races at the Mt. Holly regional, was fifth in the slalom and 18^th in the GS at the SEMSL, posted a sixth-place finish in the GS and a seventh-place finish in the slalom at the Traverse City Invitational and capped the year by placing ninth in the slalom and 14^th in the GS at the Division 1 state meet. An All-Region pick who also made the All-State Second Team, Callahan is also an accomplished skier outside of high school at USSA and FIS events, qualifying for various national races. He is also a two-time Junior Olympian athlete.

BRENT VAN ITALLIE, Clarkston: A team loaded with non-seniors, this junior tri-captain was part of a group that dominated at times this season. He had seven top-three finishes in nine dual meets for the Wolves and followed that up by placing ninth in the slalom and 17^th in the GS at the Pine Knob Divisional.  Van Itallie also won the slalom at the Mt. Holly regional and placed 17^th in the GS, placed 21^st in the GS at the SEMSL, was ninth in the GS at the Traverse City Invitational and posted a pair of top-10 finishes at the Division 1 state finals, placing eighth in the slalom and 10^th in the GS. The All-Region performer also earned All-State Second Team status.

GRANT HUBER, Clarkston: Another talented junior who helped the Wolves to its state runner-up finish, Huber had multiple top-20 finishes throughout the season. He had 11 top-three finishes in the slalom and GS at dual meets and won both races at the Pine Knob Divisional. Huber was also the regional champ in the GS and an eighth-place finisher in the slalom, was third in the GS and eighth in the slalom at the SEMSL meet, placed 17^th in the GS and 20^th in the slalom at the Traverse City Invitational, was sixth in the GS and an off 34^th in the slalom at the state meet. The tri-captain was named All-Region and to the All-State First Team.

LANCE HOLSBEKE, Clarkston: A sophomore in his second varsity campaign, Holsbeke earned All-Region and All-State Honorable Mention honors after a fine season. He had five top-three finishes in dual meets and backed that up by placing seventh in the slalom and ninth at the GS at the Pine Knob Divisional meet. He was also seventh in the slalom and 11^th in the GS at the Mt. Holly regional, leading the Wolves to the team title, was the slalom champion and a 10^th-place finisher at the SEMSL championships, placed 20^th in the GS at the Traverse City Invitational and was 23^rd in the slalom and 25^th in the GS at the state finals.

ALEX MCINTOSH, Clarkston: The Wolves’ fifth racer voted to the first team, McIntosh had 10 top-three finishes at dual meets and was consistently a top performer in large meets as well. The sophomore was third in the slalom and 15^th in the GS at the Pine Knob Divisional, in which the Wolves won convincingly. He claimed ninth in the slalom and 14^th in the GS at the Traverse City Invitational, was fifth in the slalom at the regional, placed seventh in the slalom and 23^rd in the GS at the SEMSL meet and wrapped up the season by placing 11^th in the slalom and 14^th in the GS at the D-1 state finals. The second-year varsity athlete and tri-captain was also All-Region and an All-State Second Team honoree who qualified for the Junior Olympics in Vail, Colo.

COACH OF THE YEAR

MIKE FOYTEK, Clarkston: After a one-year hiatus from the head coaching position, Foyteck returned to help the Wolves post a memorable season. With no seniors in its top six racers, Clarkston’s boys finished a fine 9-0 in dual meets at Pine Knob and followed that up with a win at the Pine Knob Divisional meet. Outside of Pine Knob, Clarkston also placed third at both the prestigious Traverse City Invitational and four-division SEMSL meet, won the regional at Mt. Holly and really shined at the Division 1 state finals, finishing second. That state meet finish is the best in school history for both the boys and girls programs after dozens of top-10 finishes. Clarkston should be a serious contender to become the first boys public school team ffrom southeastern Michigan to win a state title next season.

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2011 ALL-AREA SKI TEAM

BOYS-FIRST TEAM

Grant Huber                                        Clarkston

Lance Holsbeke                                 Clarkston

Brent Van Itallie                                Clarkston

Ryan Callahan                                     Clarkston

Alex McIntosh                                    Clarkston

Eric Aird                                                Rochester Adams

Steve Ward                                           Rochester Adams

Dalton Stetsko                                     Lake Orion

BOYS-HONORABLE MENTIONS

Clarkston: Nathan Rodgers, fr.;  Evan Trout, soph.; Lake Orion: Ricky Macinowski, sr.; Justin Klaus, jr.; Michael Roberts, jr.; Alex  Roberts, jr.; Oxford: Alex  Shultz, jr.; Dalton Sink, jr; Rochester: Sean Martin, jr.; Rochester Adams/ Stoney Creek Unified: Jamie Stanton, jr. ; Tyler Weiss, sr.; Alex McLaren, soph.

GIRLS-FIRST TEAM

Marie Dohm                                           Lake Orion

Allison Mitchell                                   Lake Orion

Katie Bruin                                             Lake Orion

Caitlin Tice                                             Lake Orion

Kendal Rosalik                                      Rochester Adams

Olivia Dunn                                            Clarkston

GIRLS-HONORABLE MENTIONS

Clarkston: Karoline Holsbeke, fr.; Lake Orion: Haley Sullins, sr.; Oxford: Rachel Harrington, sr.

Rochester: Taylor Clift, jr.; Laura Pomlmayer, soph.; Rochester Adams/Rochester Stoney Creek Unified: Natalie Lumsden, soph.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Mike Foyteck                                        Clarkston

Tags: All-Area Skiing, boys skiing, featured, girls skiing, skiing

Category: All Area Teams, Clarkston, High School, Lake Orion, Oxford, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Stoney Creek, Troy, Troy Athens