SKIING: Clarkston emerges as Pine Knob champions, eyes regional crowns
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalsportsFans
CLARKSTON — Sometimes a group of athletes are just used to winning. Clarkston’s senior class is quite used to it on the slopes of Pine Knob and this year had to go down to the wire to prevail.
By virtue of its runner-up finish at the Pine Knob Divisional of the Southeastern Michigan Ski League Thursday, the Wolves wrapped up their fourth straight overall Pine Knob Division championship.
“This group has won Pine Knob overall every year since they were freshmen,” noted veteran Clarkston coach Mike Foyteck. “We knew this year was going to be tough with Bloomfield Hills skiing really fast. But in the end, they found a way.”
Clarkston finished 8-0 in duals to lead the way, although Bloomfield Hills edged Clarkston 51.5 to 56.0 at the divisional meet. The Wolves won the overall division title based on the first tiebreaker, which was head-to-head result in the dual meet held in mid-January.
“We had a bad day in the slalom at the divisional, but other than that we’ve had a really good season,” offered Foyteck. “Thank God we won that dual meet. That was the tie-breaker. We both had 31 (overall) points, so we always go to the head-to-head to figure out who is the overall champ.”
At the divisional, the top three teams in each gender, plus the top four individuals in both the slalom and giant slalom not on the top three teams, qualify for the SEMSL championships on Feb. 18 at Alpine Valley. The annual SEMSL meet features the best from Pine Knob, Alpine Valley, Mt. Holly and Mt. Brighton, although Pine Knob Division members opted out of the SEMSL meet the past two years.
Lake Orion grabbed the third qualifying spot in the boys standings for SEMSL with 108 points. Rochester Adams was fourth at 150.5, while Birmingham Detroit Country Day placed fifth (159.5) in the nine-team field.
Lake Orion also finished third in the overall standings with 27 points, followed by Adams (26) and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, (23).
In the individual standings, JT Stewart of Bloomfield Hills was a double-champion, winning the slalom (41.75) and GS (37.07).
Gregory Aikens of Cranbrook was second in the slalom (42.24), followed by Bloomfield Hills’ Breden Cleary (42.27), Clarkston’s Derek Vanitallie (42.41) and Lake Orion’s Logan Stetsko (42.51) in the slalom.
Over in the GS, Ryan Callahan of Clarkston was runner-up in 37.26. Stetsko was third (37.37), Clarkston’s Reis Wiedemann (37.72) and Cranbrook Kingswood’s Aikens (37.74) followed closely behind in the top five.
Over in the girls competition, Clarkston, Bloomfield Hills and Cranbrook Kingswood all finished 7-1 in duals, setting the stage for a take-all divisional meet. Clarkston prevailed convincingly with 53.5 points to win both the divisional meet and overall title for the first time since 2008.
“Our girls are really starting to ski well,” praised Foyteck. “I knew if we had a good day, then we could win. I think we have a great shot at the regional, too. We have a lot of girls back from last year and we are definitely back on the rise.”
Bloomfield Hills was second with 77 points at the meet, while Lake Orion (109), Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (117) and Cranbrook Kingswood (120) rounded out the top five.
Clarkston edged Bloomfield Hills 31-30 in the final overall standings, with Cranbrook Kingswood (27), Lake Orion (27) and Notre Dame Prep (25) wrapping up the top five.
Clarkston’s Caroline Spytman won the slalom competition with a two-run time of 47.07. Cranbrook Kingswood’s Julia Briggs was second (47.11), while Clarkston’s Karoline Holsbeke (47.50) and Notre Dame Prep’s duo of Caroline Grubbs (47.85) and Haley Hershey (47.90) also finished in the top five.
Clarkston’s Madeline Declarcq won the GS with a 38.81 clocking, just ahead of Spytman (39.30). Grace Klochko of Bloomfield Hills was third (39.55), Lake Orion’s Katie Tyrell fourth (39.56) and NDP’s Grubbs fifth (39.59) was fifth, as less than a second separated the top five in the event.
Boys Skiing
PINE KNOB DIVISIONAL
(Feb. 5-6 at Pine Knob)
TEAM SCORES — 1. Bloomfield Hills, 51.5; 2. Clarkston, 56; 3. Lake Orion, 108; 4. Rochester Adams, 150.5; 5. Birmingham Detroit Country Day, 159.5; 6. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 204; 7. Rochester, 232.5; 8. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 256; 9. Waterford United, 333.5.
DUAL MEET STANDINGS — 1. Clarkston (8-0); 2. Bloomfield Hills (7-1); 3. (tie) Lake Orion (5-3); Rochester Adams (5-3); 5. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (4-4); 6. (tie) Rochester (2-6); Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (2-6); Waterford United (2-6); 9. Birmingham Detroit Country Day (1-7).
FINAL STANDINGS — 1. Clarkston, 31 total points (won on tiebreaker); 2. Bloomfield Hills, 31; 3. Lake Orion, 27; 4. Rochester Adams, 26; 5. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 23; 6. Birmingham Detroit Country Day, 21; 7. Rochester, 20; 8. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 19; 9. Waterford United, 18.
SLALOM — 1. JT Stewart (Bloomfield Hills) 41.75; 2. Gregory Aikens (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood) 42.24; 3. Braden Cleary (Bloomfield Hills) 42.27; 4. Derek Vanitallie (Clarkston) 42.41; 5. Logan Stetsko (Lake Orion) 42.51; 6. Ryan Callahan (Clarkston) 42.68; 7. Griffin Dahl (Bloomfield hills) 42.80; 8. Justin Pavisak (Lake Orion) 43.96; 9. Reed Lorimer (Birmingham Detroit Country Day) 44.41; 10. Jacob McIntosh (Clarkston) 44.90; 11. Will Murphy (Bloomfield Hills) 44.96; 12. Nick Lumseden (Rochester Adams) 45.02; 13. Ben Schuster (Clarkston) 45.31; 14. Wade Lorimer (Birmingham Detroit Country Day) 45.75; 15. David Mackens (Rochester) 45.75.
GIANT SLALOM — 1. JT Stweart (Bloomfield Hills) 37.07; 2. Ryan Callahan (Clarkston) 37.26; 3. Logan Stetsko (Lake Orion) 37.37; 4. Reis Wiedemann (Clarkston) 37.72; 5. Gregory Aikens (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood) 37.74; 6. Derek Vanitallie (Clarkston) 37.80; 7. Will Murphy (Bloomfield Hills) 37.88; 8. Matt Corsi (Rochester Adams) 38.04; 9. Braden Cleary (Bloomfield Hills) 38.04; 10. Justin Pavislak (Lake Orion) 38.10; 11. Jacob McIntosh (Clarkston) 38.52; 12. Justin Klaus (Lake Orion) 38.58; 13. Griffin Dahl (Bloomfield Hills) 38.60; 14. Wade Lorimer (Birmingham Detroit Country Day) 38.89; 15. Nick Corsi (Rochester Adams) 38.95.
Girls Skiing
PINE KNOB DIVISIONAL
(Feb. 5-6 at Pine Knob)
TEAM SCORES — 1. Clarkston, 53.5; 2. Bloomfield Hills, 77; 3. Lake Orion, 109; 4. Pontaic Notre Dame Prep, 117; 5. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 120; 6. Rochester Adams, 255.5; 7. Waterford United, 298.5; 8. Birmingham Detroit Country Day, 319.5; 9. Rochester, 335.
DUAL MEET STANDINGS — 1. (tie) Clarkston (7-1); Bloomfield Hills (7-1); Bloomfield Hills (7-1); 4. Lake Orion (5-3); 5. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (4-4); 6. Rochester Adams (3-5); 7. Rochester (2-6); 8. Waterford United (1-7); 9. Birmingham Detroit Country Day (0-8).
FINAL STANDINGS — 1. Clarkston, 31 total points; 2. Bloomfield Hills, 30; 3. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 27; 4. Lake Orion, 27; 5. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 25; 6. Rochester Adams, 22; 7. Waterford United, 19; 8. Rochester, 18; 9. Birmingham Detroit Country Day, 17.
SLALOM — 1. Caroline Spytman (Clarkston) 47.07; 2. Julia Briggs (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood) 47.11; 3. Karoline Holsbeke (Clarkston) 47.50; 4. Caroline Grubbs (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) 47.85; 5. Haley Hershey (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) 47.90; 6. Grace Klochko (Bloomfield Hills) 47.96; 7. Abby Smith (Rochester Adams) 48.81; 8. Siene Beattle (Bloomfield Hills) 49.61; 10. Sydney Shuert (Bloomfield Hills Canrbrook Kingswood) 49.73; 11. Madeline Declercq (Clarkston) 49.90; 12. Alex Bergquist (Lake Orion) 49.93; 13. Holly Meers (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood) 50.09; 14. Laura Holmes (Bloomfield Hills) 50.09; 15. Katie Tyrrell (Lake Orion) 50.73.
GIANT SLALOM — 1. Madeline Declarcq (Clarkston) 38.81; 2. Caroline Spytman (Clarkston) 39.30; 3. Grace Klochko (Bloomfield Hills) 39.55; 4. Katie Tyrell (Lake Orion) 39.56; 5. Caroline Grubbs (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) 39.59; 6. Haley Hershey (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) 39.70; 7. Brooke Boccia (Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood) 39.89; 8. Laura Holmes (Bloomfield Hills) 39.90; 10. Karoline Holsbeke (Clarkston) 40.12; 11. Sydney Ried (Lake Orion) 40.27; 12. Abby Smith (Rochester Adams) 40.32; 13. Paige Tornow (Bloomfield Hills) 40.40; 14. Alex Bergquist (Clarkston) 40.54; 15. Madison Ried (Lake Orion) 40.59.
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