Clarkston, Fenton race to regional titles
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP — Finishing second in the state a year ago, Clarkston has waited eagerly for this year’s boys skiing state tournament.
For obvious reasons.
The Wolves, one of the state’s premier teams again this winter, put on quite a show at Thursday’s Division 1 Pine Knob regional, collecting just 45.5 points in winning their second straight regional crown.
Clarkston took the top three slots in the morning’s slalom run and had five in the top 20 to score 16 points in that portion of the meet. The Wolves had a huge lead over the rest of the 13-school field and finished second in the giant slalom with 29.5 points but still won by 24 points overall.
Lake Orion was second with 69.5 points and Grand Blanc was third with 124.5 points to join Clarkston as the qualifying teams.
The top three schools, plus the top four finishers in both the slalom and giant slalom not on qualifying teams, advance to the state finals Feb. Nub’s Knob near Harbor Springs.
Clarkston coach Mike Foyteck wasn’t too overconfident, considering the rainy conditions the day before made the surface a little more unpredictable.
“We weren’t too confident. There were some tough snow conditions, but all-in-all in was a good day,” he said.
In the girls meet, Fenton won the regional title with 51 points, the Tigers’ first since winning a Class B-C-D regional in 1998 at Cannosburg near Grand Rapids. Clarkston was a distant second with 122 points and Grand Blanc grabbed the final qualifying spot with 159 points.
“It’s been a long time for us,” said Fenton coach Woody Brackney. “That season we won the divisional, regional and (SEMSL) meets. We hope we can accomplish the same thing this season. We skied really well in our league (Mt. Holly Division) and we had a really good day here today. (Wining a regional) has been a goal of ours since November. But you have to take one meet at a time.”
Clarkston sophomore Ryan Callahan won the slalom with a two-run total of 41:88 and came back to win the GS (34.754) for the sweep.
“It was a very good day for our team,” smiled Callahan. “We were pretty sure we were going to win. We have a solid team.
“We’re hoping to win the state championship this season,” continued Callahan. “We’ve got a good shot at it.”
Grant Huber (42.77) and Derek Vanitallie (42.84) took the next two slots in the slalom for Clarkston. Lake Orion’s Dalton Stesko (42.91) and Rochester Adams’ Jamie Stanton (43.23) also placed in the top five.
Rochester’s Scott Martin claimed sixth (43.60), Lake Orion’s Justin Klaus seventh (43.63), Fenton’s Julian Weinberg eighth (43.8), Grand Blanc’s Phil Klick ninth (44.02) and Clarkston’s Lance Holsbeke 10th (44.09)
In the GS, Callahan finished ahead of Lake Orion’s Dalton Stetsko (34.96) and Ricky Mackowski (35.28). Clarkston’s Vanitallie was fourth (35.57) and Holly-Oxford Unified’s Lars Joergens-Koka placed fifth (35.64).
Clarkston’s Huber was sixth (35.65), with Lake Orion’s Justin Klaus (35.65) and Justin Pavliscak (35.75), U-D Jesuit’s Nick Lipinski (35.84) and Fenton’s Seth Thompson (35.95) rounded out the top 10. Fenton’s Julian Weinberg (36.09) made the cut as an individual, placing 12th.
Fenton’s girls landed five in the top 10 in winning the slalom. Laura Rhoads posted a 49.15 to win the slalom, with McKenna Valley finishing fourth (49.15), Marina Nimmo eighth (50.68), Flannery Wise ninth (51.73) and Tori Hallwood 10th (51.76) for the victorious Tigers.
Lake Orion’s Marie Dohm was second (47.30), Grand Blanc’s Lauren Ulrich third (48.03), Adams’ Kendal Rosalik fifth (49.77), North Farmington’s Victoria Irwin sixth (49.85) and Holly-Oxford Unified’s Rachel Harrington seventh (50.20), with Dohm, Rosalik, Irwin and Harington all qualifying as individuals.
In the girls GS, Lake Orion’s Dohm was champ with a 36.07 showing. Lauren Henry of Adams claimed second (36.65), followed by Fenton’s Valley (36.67), North Farmington’s Irwin (#6.89) and Holly’s Harrington (37.17) in the top five.
Fenton’s Rhoads (37.39), Birmingham United’s Lily Doolin (37.65), Clarkston’s Karoline Holsbeke (37,82), Fenton’s Kelley McKay (37.82) and Grand Blanc’s Amanda Ulrich (37.92) rounding out the top 10.
Dohm made the cut for the state finals for the fourth time, although she will be competing in both events this season. She also competed at state in the GS a year ago.
“I am so happy that I came out with a win and a second place. I couldn’t be happier and I wanted to go to (the state meet) so bad in both events,” said Dohm. “I’ve gone all four years and I hope to do well at (the state meet).”
Team-wise, Rochester Adams was fourth in the girls standings (164), followed by Holly-Oxford Unified (196.5), Lake Orion (224), Rochester (241), Birmingham United (265), North Farmington-Harrison Unified (273.5), Waterford United (290), Flushing (318.5) and Farmington (336.5).
Adams was left on the outside looking in with a fourth place finish in the boys team standings (168.5). Fenton was fifth (180.5), with Holy-Oxford (194), Detroit U-D Jesuit (208.5), Waterford United (256), Rochester (278)(, Birmingham United (356.5), Flushing (381), North Farmington-Harrison (439) and Farmington (456) rounding out the team scores.
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Category: Clarkston, Featured Articles, High School, High School (M-Z), Holly, Lake Orion, Ortonville Brandon, Oxford, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek
