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  • Cole McCardel and Stephen Siddal hold the D-2 regional trophy. Special to the Record-Eagle/Mike Dunn

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February 17, 2012

Manistee/SF skiers repeat

Cadillac, Glen Lake also advance to D-2 state finals

BY MIKE DUNN Special to the Record-Eagle

CADILLAC — The message veteran Manistee/St. Francis ski coach Richard Totch had for his athletes Thursday was simple: Stay focused and have fun.

Totch then watched his boys and girls teams perform loose and relaxed and repeat as Division 2 regional champions at Caberfae Peaks Ski & Resort.

"I told the kids if they came in, stayed focused and had fun, everything would work out in the end," he said.

It proved to be a clean sweep for Totch's troops for the second straight year. The Cadillac and Glen Lake boys and girls teams also advanced to the state finals set for Feb. 27 at Boyne Highlands. Cadillac claimed second and Glen Lake third in the boys' regional, with Glen Lake second and the Vikings third in the girls' competition.

Totch said the mission now that his teams have both hoisted the regional trophy and qualified for the state finals is a simple one: Win.

"We'll work really hard in training next week and I'll be encouraging the kids to get a lot of rest," he said. "The boys were second at state last year and the girls were fourth. I'd like to see both of them do better this time. I know they'll give 100 percent. Hopefully things shake out the right way."

This was the fourth year in a row as regional champions for the Manistee girls and the second year in a row for the Manistee/St. Francis boys. Individually, St. Francis senior Stephen Siddall powered his way to the slalom title and finished as runner-up to senior teammate Cole McCardel in the giant slalom. Another St. Francis teammate, Tyler Hansen, came in tied for second in the GS and fourth in the slalom.

In the girls' meet, Manistee senior Nathalie Kenny repeated as GS champion and Christina Rennie of Glen Lake repeated as slalom champ. Kenny and Rennie also finished as runner-up to each other, with Andrea Paine of Manistee capturing third in each race.

Siddall, who finished second in the GS and third in the slalom at the state meet last year, said he enjoyed the Caberfae course but found the weather conditions challenging, especially in the morning when the unseasonably mild temperatures generated a misty fog on the mountain.

"It was definitely different," the senior said. "During the second run of the GS, it was like having vertigo. There was a part of it where you could hardly see where you were going."

Siddall said he was pleased to earn another individual regional title but was more pleased the team repeated its championship.

"Four of our top five guys are seniors so we knew we needed to put it all together," he said. "We had confidence we could make it happen. We all wanted to come in and stand up and have a consistent finish."

McCardel said the "sketchy" weather made him a bit hesitant at first because he had been injured on the slopes as a freshman as a result of bad weather.

"It was on my mind but I didn't let it stop me," he said. "I came out of the shoots as fast as I could. I'm just thankful I was able to do well and especially that the team was able to do well. This is my senior year and it's the best season of my life. I feel blessed."

Manistee/St. Francis had its top five finishers among the top 16 in both the GS and slalom. Casey Kelley, Jeff Sellers and Chris Buswinka join Siddall, McCardel and Hansen on the boys' roster.

Thomas Waning of Glen Lake was third in the slalom and sixth in the GS. Jacob Mitchell of Cadillac was fifth in both races.

David Cunningham of Benzie Central finished eighth in the GS and earned a berth at state as an individual qualifier.

There were few surprises in the girls' competition. Kenny won the regional title in the GS for the third year in a row and is also the defending Division 2 state champion in the event. Rennie also won the regional title in the slalom last year and she is the defending state champ in that event as well.

"My goal was to come in, have fun and go fast," Kenny said with a laugh. "And I wanted the team to make state again."

Kenny "meshed with the course" at Caberfae pretty well even though she hadn't skied there much in the past.

"It's an awesome GS course," she said. "It's almost like a Super G."

She said she didn't feel pressure coming into Thursday's meet as the defending state and regional champion.

"My focus is on this year, not last year," she said. "It's great to win at region again and now I want us all to do well at state."

Rennie acknowledged the presence of Kenny on the opposing team is a motivator for her and vice-versa.

"Nathalie and I are always really competitive with each other," she said. "Last year I won the slalom and she won the GS at region and at state. We get along really well but we like to push each other because we know it makes us both better."

Rennie said she was pleased Glen Lake advanced to the state finals as a team.

"That's what you really want to see," she said. "You want the whole team to do well and we did. It's a great feeling that we all get to compete at state."

In addition to Kenny and Paine, the Manistee/SF roster includes Krissi Dressler, Syriah Dobus, Lauren Hansen, Julia Scherlin and Annie DeVoe.

Kaitlin Gaudard earned fifth for Glen Lake in the slalom and Katie Pershinske was fifth in the GS. The Glen Lake roster also includes Flanny Johnson, Amanda Lodge, Madison Fink and Emma Velis.

Marissa Vanalst of Cadillac claimed fifth in the GS and 10th in the slalom.

Bailey Nugent of Benzie Central is an individual qualifier in both races. She finished fourth in the slalom and seventh in the GS.

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