West edges Central for ski crown

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TC West freshman Lili Lockwood enjoys the moment after finishing third in the slalom at Nub's Nob on Monday. Special to the Record-Eagle/Joanie Moore

February 28, 2012

West edges Central for ski crown

BY DENNIS CHASE dchase@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Tue Feb 28, 2012, 07:44 AM EST

HARBOR SPRINGS — The Traverse City West girls put it all together at the right time Monday.

After finishing second to cross-town rival Traverse City Central in the Big North Conference and Division I regional, the Titans captured their third state ski championship in seven years on Monday by edging the Trojans on a cold wind-swept day at Nub's Nob.

West finished with 70 points, Central 73.

"After every race we lost (to Central) this year, we would say, 'That's all right, we're saving it for states,'" Titans freshman Lili Lockwood said. "We're really excited about this."

"This was our goal the whole season," added junior Monica Hessler. "We were hoping we could do it. We all worked together. This is where we wanted to be at the end. It's just amazing. It's more than we could have asked for."

The finale quickly became a two-team race after the morning's slalom. West led Central by eight points, 27-35. Two-time defending champion Birmingham Marian was a distant third, 38 points back.

"We anticipated it would be that (two-team race)," West coach Ed Johnson said. "This (win) is a little bit of a surprise, but we knew if the opportunity was there we could move in. There were a couple mistakes made (by Central) in the morning and we moved in.

"We knew if everybody stood we could do it. This is very, very exciting for us."

It was the fifth consecutive state runner-up finish for the Trojans, who lost to Marian by six points last February.

"Their (West) girls skied really well," Central coach Jerry Stanek said. "No mistakes. They did what they had to do.

"I'm not disappointed in the way our girls skied. I'm disappointed we lost, but the West girls skied the best today. The better team won today."

Despite trailing by eight, Stanek felt the Trojans had a legitimate shot heading into the afternoon's giant slalom — Central's best event. At the regional, Central led West by two points after the slalom — and won by 21.

"We were eight down, which was not insurmountable," Stanek said.

The Titans, though, held off the challenge.

"We knew we were ahead (after the slalom), but not by much," Hessler said. "We knew we couldn't relax in the afternoon. We had to keep up the same intensity to get where we wanted to be."

Johnson told the girls as much before the start of giant slalom.

"We basically told them at the beginning of the second run, 'It's 110 percent. It's time to go. We're really not interested in second at this point.' We said 'Let's see what happens.' We gave them the green light and let them go. Everything came out fine."

Adding to the challenge, Johnson said, was that the girls finished on Scarface, one of the "most difficult hills in northern Michigan."

Lockwood led the Titans, placing third in slalom and giant slalom. Hessler took fourth in slalom and seventh in giant slalom, Mary Mikko eighth in the slalom and 14th in giant slalom, Morgan Culp 12th in slalom and Elle Rivard 19th in giant slalom.

For Central, Cassidy Klein placed fifth in slalom and ninth in giant slalom. Shannon Weaver took sixth in giant slalom, Cecily Olsen seventh in slalom and 15th in giant slalom, Paige Pfannenstiel eighth in giant slalom and 10th in slalom and Devon Dotterrer 13th in slalom. Weaver, Central's top skier, had a mishap in slalom.

"We were all focused, but the day didn't end up like we wanted it to," Weaver said. "Going into GS, we definitely had some hope. We were behind a little more than usual, but we thought we could pull through. We definitely tried our hardest. I'm proud of our team. It just wasn't enough."

For Johnson, it was his first title at West.

"I'm really happy we could make him proud," Lockwood said.