Marquette Boys Extend Title Streak to 7
February 25, 2019
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
BELLAIRE — The dynasty of the Marquette boys skiing team is alive and well.
The Redmen captured their seventh consecutive MHSAA Division 1 championship Monday at Schuss Mountain, and their 14th overall, when they finished 27 points ahead of runner-up Traverse City West, 65-92, to take a convincing victory. Brighton took third with 111 points.
Marquette had the top two finishers in the giant slalom, with Hayden Kauppila finishing first in 47.25 seconds and Aaron Grzelak taking second in 47.54, and had three finishers among the top 10. The Redmen were able to overcome two skiers going down in the slalom by getting four across the finish line in the top 25.
“It feels pretty good for all the work we put in, and it finally pays off,” said Grzelak. “I think it feels pretty cool. All clean runs and a lot of people finishing. We are pretty excited.”
Kauppila led the way as the sophomore posted the top Marquette time in both disciplines, coming in second in the slalom in 1:00.58.
“It’s an awesome experience,” Kauppila said of winning another championship. “I thought I did a great job, personally. I’ve had a pretty good season.”
Keaton Jones, the lone senior among Marquette’s contributors, also recorded a top-10 finish in the slalom, taking ninth in 1:05.11. Logan Audette was 15th in the giant slalom (50.48) and 17th in the slalom (1:07.55), Truman Durand took 10th in the giant slalom (50.07) and Drake Scheidt was 25th in the slalom (1:09.52).
Head coach Dan Menze, who had been in charge of the last three championships for the Redmen, said his team definitely feels some pressure with the bulls-eye on its back each season. But he said his skiers are able to rise above it and perform at a high level.
“It helps because we’ve been there before,” he said. “Most of the teams racing here have some experience, but we’ve got a lot of experience with kids who have raced at this race before or races just as big. So, the nerves for the boys aren’t really much of a factor. It helps them with being calm and being ready to race. There’s definitely pressure to try and produce. We have a lot of great skiers up there. They’re used to it. It’s easier on them than it is myself. I get a little nervous at times.”
Rockford’s Nick Rupert, who won the Division 1 giant slalom a year ago, captured the slalom this season after recording the only time under one minute with a 59.9 to edge Kauppila by just over a half of a second.
Marquette could become the third boys ski team in MHSAA history to win eight championships in a row — joining Traverse City from 1988-95 and Petoskey from 2011-18 — if it wins another title in 2020. With three juniors (Grzelak, Durand and Scheidt) and two sophomores (Kauppila and Audette) eligible to return, the Redmen don’t appear to be going away any time soon.
“I’m very fortunate to have a great program up in Marquette that kind of feeds the high school and makes my job a lot easier,” said Menze.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Hayden Kauppila races downhill during a slalom run Monday at Schuss Mountain. (Middle) Rockford's Nick Rupert speeds toward the Division 1 slalom championship. (Photos by Jake Atnip. For more from Monday's Finals, see Sports in Motion.)
Dehlin's Title Sweep Leads Marquette Boys' Return to Top Spot in Division 1
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2025
HARBOR SPRINGS – Sam Dehlin’s final high school ski runs can undoubtedly be declared a success.
The reigning Division 1 Finals champion in the slalom once again took home the crown in that event and added another accolade to his resume with a first place in the giant slalom on a warm Monday at Nub’s Nob.
Dehlin also propelled the Marquette boys to the team championship as the Sentinels scored a combined 50.4 points, 13.5 fewer than second-place Traverse City West.
“Overall, I think it was a really good. I think all the people on our team skied to the best of their ability,” said Dehlin.
His first-place finish in the slalom clocked in at a combined time of 70.16 seconds, with Marquette teammates Conner Henry taking second place with a time of 72.99, Brady Audette finishing fourth (75.63) and Ben Kuhl sixth (76.52) solidifying an outstanding showing by the Sentinels as each earned first-team all-state honors.
Marquette’s team championship was its first since completing a run of eight straight in 2020. The Sentinels had finished third the last two seasons.
Not to be outdone, the Traverse City West and Central boys both finished among the top three. West finished in second place with a score of 64 points, and Central was third with a score of 103 points including the meet’s best giant slalom score of 25 points. Finishing fourth through ninth respectively were Clarkston (155), Lake Orion (203), Detroit Catholic Central (210), Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (256.5), Milford (261) and Northville (262).
Also earning first-team all-state in the slalom were Central third-place finisher Jace Rowell (74.27), West’s fifth-place finisher Cam Lewandowski (76.48), West’s Dane Lewandowski (76.56) in seventh, Central’s Trevor Suttle (77.02) in eighth, West’s Grady Ellis (77.28) in ninth and Brighton’s John Popov (78.37) in 10th.
“Overall, (we were) pretty consistent and stayed in the top 10 in both events, so that was good. The snow conditions weren’t ideal, but they worked, and we managed to get second overall,” said TC West’s Dane Lewandowski.
In the giant slalom, Dehlin secured the victory with a combined time of 52.88. Taking second was Broden Janczarek of Lake Orion with a time of 53.55. In third place, Traverse City Central’s Emerson Elkins clocked in at 53.91.
Giant slalom first-team all-state honors also went to Rowell in fourth, Kuhl in fifth, Cam Lewandowski in sixth, Ellis in seventh, Central’s Cooper Gerber in eighth, Dane Lewandowski in ninth, and Suttle in 10th.
As Dehlin’s career came to a close, the decorated slope star said he hopes to continue a passion that started long before high school.
“I've been skiing since I was 5 and then obviously racing high school all four years. (I’ve had) a lot of fun with high school racing. I’m kind of sad to see it come to a close. But I’m going to go to the University of Michigan (and) they have a club team that I’m going to try and join,” said Dehlin.
Click for full results. Click to watch NFHS Network broadcasts: Slalom | Giant Slalom
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Haven’s Maverick Hardebeck carves through a turn during the slalom Monday at Nub’s Nob. (Middle) Brighton’s Erik DeKeyser breaks past a gate during a slalom run. (Below) Lake Orion’s Raffael Anders finishes a giant slalom run. (Click for more from Tori Burley – photos to be added throughout this week.)