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February 16, 2006Two teams hope to weather regionalsBoyne, Crystal Mountain set to host meets todayTRAVERSE CITY - With a blizzard bearing down on northern Michigan, area high school ski teams are hoping they can storm into the state finals before the snow really starts flying."With all the snow that's coming, it should be interesting," said Petoskey head coach Brewster McVicker, whose team is one of 11 teams competing in today's Class B-C-D regional at Boyne Mountain. "I'm sure all of the U.P. teams are already here, so we're expecting to ski. "It's the getting-home part that could be tough." Heavy snow and high winds are predicted to hit northern Michigan sometime this afternoon. By then, regionals champions may already have been crowned. Joining Petoskey at Boyne Mountain are Boyne City, Charlevoix (with co-op partner East Jordan), Harbor Springs and Inland Lakes, along with Upper Peninsula teams Houghton (Hancock, Painesdale-Jeffers), Iron Mountain, Iron River-West iron County, Ironwood, Kingsford and Norway. In another B-C-D regional at Crystal Mountain in Thompsonville are locals Traverse City St. Francis (TC Christian), Bellaire (Central Lake, Mancelona), Benzie Central (Frankfort), Elk Rapids, Grayling, Manistee (Manistee Catholic), Glen Lake (Leland, Suttons Bay, Lake Leelanau St. Mary's) and Onekama (Bear Lake, Brethren). Clare, Farwell, Harrison and Roscommon will also be there. In Class A, Traverse City West, TC Central, Cadillac and Gaylord will join 11 other schools at Cannonsburg Ski Area northeast of Grand Rapids. West coach Jerry Stanek said the teams may face a different kind of weather problem than those skiing in northern Michigan - rain. "We may get wet," Stanek said. The Titans just hope they won't be left high and dry in the standings. West will be among the favorites in both the girls and boys races, but Stanek said flatter hills like those at Cannonsburg also levels the playing field. "The time separation won't be as big, especially in the GS (giant slalom) because it's flat - flatter than any hill we've skied on this year," he said. "Mistakes will be magnified." The top three teams advance to the state finals on Feb. 27 at Boyne Highlands. In the boys regional, Marquette, TC West and Clarkston are ranked 1-2-3 in the coaches poll. TC Central is fifth, Cadillac sixth. "Marquette is definitely the favorite, but I think our boys will be right there," Stanek said. "If we ski the way we can, we'll qualify. It's as simple as that." The same three teams are favored on the girls side. Marquette is rated No. 1, Clarkston No. 2 and West No. 3. Cadillac is sixth, Central seventh. The Titans will get a boost from junior Janelle Schofield, who recently returned to the hill after missing 10 days with a concussion following a nasty crash in a Mid-Am race. West was already skiing well without Schofield. "We're getting better and better, and we're skiing as a team instead of a bunch of talented individuals," Stanek said. "That's really important at this time of year." The St. Francis/Christian girls are heavy favorites in the B-C-D regional at Crystal Mountain. The Gladiators are ranked No. 1 in the state and have won three consecutive regional titles. The only other ranked team at Crystal is Glen Lake, which is 10th. Still, St. Francis coach John Peppler is taking nothing for granted. He thinks Bellaire and Harrison could make some noise. "Our girls are strong, but we can't afford to make mistakes, either," Peppler said. "We have to stand up and make good runs." On the boys side, Benzie Central, Manistee and St. Francis are among the favorites. The Huskies are ranked fourth, the Chippewas ninth and the Gladiators 10th. Bellaire is also a contender. The most hotly-contested regional today could be at Boyne Mountain, where four top-10 teams will be fighting for three spots on both sides. In the boys meet, defending state champion Harbor Springs, Petoskey and Boyne City are ranked 1-2-3, with Charlevoix eighth. "We're favored and I think we'll do well as long as we finish," said Harbor Springs coach Rebecca Behm. "We learned the hard way (earlier in the season) that if two guys fall, the competition can take over pretty quickly." Girls favorites are Petoskey (ranked second), Harbor Springs (third), Boyne City (fifth) and Charlevoix (seventh). Behm and McVicker are both wary of the U.P. teams, as well. "They have great hills to train on, so they always have a shot," McVicker said.
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