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February 17, 2006
Elk Rapids' Stephanie Steuer takes a tumble during the afternoon giant slalom at Crystal Mountain. Steuer finished second in the slalom and qualified for the B-C-D state meet on Feb. 27. St. Francis, Benzie storm to titles
Lydia Wiley of TC St. Francis won the giant slalom at Thursday's Class B-C-D regional at Crystal Mountain. The Glads placed five skiers among the top 10 in the event to easily win the regional title. But the poor weather conditions Thursday only delayed the inevitable. The Traverse City St. Francis/TC Christian girls and Benzie Central boys turned in impressive performances and cruised to decisive victories in the Class B-C-D ski regional at Crystal Mountain. St. Francis posted a 69-point win over Glen Lake in the girls race. The Gladiators had 57 points, followed by the Lakers with 126 and Clare with 135. All three teams qualified for the state meet on Feb. 27 at Nub's Nob. The regional title was the fourth in a row for St. Francis. The Glads have won five crowns in six years. "They skied a little tentative in the morning slalom - partly by design - but they really opened it up in the GS in the afternoon," said St. Francis coach John Peppler. The Gladiators dominated the giant slalom, placing five skiers among the top 10. Lydia Wiley and Kelsey White finished 1-2, followed by Lillian Wiley, Laura Wiley and Amanda Barnes at 8-9-10. "Lydia had a couple of fabulous runs (in GS) in very adverse conditions," Peppler said. "We had very, very high winds and lots of snow. I'll bet 8 or 9 inches fell during the day." In slalom, all six St. Francis skiers finished among the top 15 - White (sixth), Lillian Wiley (ninth), Laura Wiley (10th), Morgan McCardel (12th), Lydia Wiley (14th) and Barnes (15th). Pacing second-place Glen Lake were Ali Drake, fourth in GS; Sarah Wiesen, eighth in slalom and 12th in GS; and Joelle Janz, 15th in GS. Manistee's Katie Bramble, Grayling's Cassie Pizzi and Bellaire's Rachel Eklund qualified for state in both events. Bramble was third in slalom and fifth in GS, Pizzi took sixth in GS and seventh in slalom and Eklund was fifth in slalom and seventh in GS. Grayling's Katie Baynham won the slalom title, with Elk Rapids' Stephanie Steuer second. Benzie Central cruised to victory in the boys regional with 62.5 points - 33.5 ahead of second-place Manistee. Bellaire claimed the third qualifying spot with 134 points. It was Benzie's first regional crown in Chris Cole's 16 years as head coach. Senior Wiley Heller and junior Eric Baumeler led the Huskies, placing 4-5 in both races. Rory Johnson tied for 10th and Gabe Braveheart was 12th in GS, while Braveheart took sixth and Johnson 16th in slalom. "We have a very strong team, and Wiley is our only senior, so we have a very young team," Cole said. "To score 31 points in both races (31 in slalom, 31.5 in GS) is awesome, especially in those conditions." Manistee's Conor Pelton won both races. Teammate Michael Bobian was seventh in GS, with Scott Czarnecki taking 14th. Czarnecki was 11th and Bobian 13th in slalom. Tom Nichols paced Bellaire, taking second in slalom and third in GS. Frank King added a 13th in GS, while Clark Fillmore finished 14th in slalom. Other local skiers who placed among the top 10 - and qualified for the state meet as individuals - were Elk Rapids' Brendon McKeon, second in GS; Glen Lake's Kris Marin, third in slalom and sixth in GS; St. Francis' Jack Dingman, eighth in both races; and the Gladiators' Keaden Hornyak, 10th in GS.
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