Marquette Girls Hold Off TC Central, Hold On for 1st Finals Title Since 2020
By
Brian Freiberger
Special for MHSAA.com
February 23, 2026
BOYNE FALLS – Marquette freshman Sydney Kuhl made her presence known as she captured a Finals title in the slalom with a two-run combined time of 68.76 seconds Monday to lead the Sentinels to the Division 1 team championship at Boyne Mountain.
“I definitely did not expect to win the state championship. I tried to calm myself. I just wanted to be happy with how I skied,” Kuhl said. “I'm really happy for all of us. We all earned it.”
Marquette won its first girls ski championship since 2020, ripping the title from the grasp of Traverse City Central and Traverse City West, which combined to win every championship from 2021-2025.
Kuhl won the slalom by nearly a second ahead of Traverse City Central senior Quinn Gerber (69.66) and Grand Haven’s Neave Rewa (70.10) in second and third, respectively. Rewa was the 2025 slalom champion.
The Sentinels also saw solid slalom contributions from Sophie Coxon in fifth place, Estelle Dehlin in seventh, Lyla Isaacson in 17th and Madalyn Croney in 18th to give Marquette the lead after the morning section.
Kuhl led the Sentinels in the giant slalom as well with a fourth-place finish, while Dehlin finished fifth and Coxon finished seventh as Marquette held on for the championship after Traverse City Central came roaring back.
Marquette finished with 56 points, and Central had 62.
Marquette’s lone senior, Jillian Starr, will always remember this journey with her teammates.
“We knew we had a good chance because of the steepness of the hill. That’s what we are used to. We were all at dinner last night talking about how excited we were. I’m so proud of these girls,” Starr said.
Taggart took home first for Traverse City Central in GS with a time of 71.65, narrowly edging her teammate Gerber (72.00). Rewa finished third again in GS.
“I was expecting it to be super close, and we did the best that we could. I think we all performed well.” Taggart said. “I honestly didn't think I would win. I was super nervous, and I didn't do as well as I wanted in the morning (slalom). When I went out for GS. I was going to take a chance for my team.”
Gerber wrapped up her career as a two-time Finals champion and one of the all-time best to race for Traverse City Central.
“We knew it was gonna be cold, which leads to harder snow. ... (Taggart) and I have been battling with each other all year. This was our last race together. We always pushed each other,” Gerber said.
Traverse City West finished third, followed by Brighton in fourth, then Clarkston, Lake Fenton, Northville, Farmington Hills Mercy and Berkley/Athens/Troy rounding out the field, respectively.
(Click for more photos by Adam Sheehan Photography.)
Rangers Bring Rare Ski Title Downstate
March 13, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Since 1975, three schools south of “up north” had combined for five MHSAA girls skiing titles – and this was not the season for a fourth school to join that group.
Warm weather limited Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – the fifth-place finisher in Division 2 in 2016 – to only half of its normal slate of practices this winter, and the Rangers didn’t race as a varsity team until the end of January.
But a month later, they stood together at Boyne Highlands with their first MHSAA Finals championship trophy, capping an undefeated season that had also included the program’s first Regional title two weeks before.
In what actually turned into a battle between downstate teams, Forest Hills Central – the Applebee’s Team of the Month for February – edged Pontiac Notre Dame Prep by 3.5 points in the Final.
“We had the team last year, but injuries took us out of it,” said longtime Rangers coach Alan Moore, who finished up his 26th season. “We had basically the same team as last year, a lot of firepower. We knew we had strong skiers, but ski racing is such a fickle sport because a whole bunch of things have to line up for (success) to happen.”
As Moore noted, a popular mantra for teams south of the traditional ski belt is that just making the MHSAA Finals signifies a successful season.
And that’s certainly true. In addition to this season and last, during this decade Forest Hills Central also made the Finals in 2014.
But there were expectations for more this winter. Senior Sydney Reynolds was back after winning the individual MHSAA slalom championship in 2015. She won the giant slalom at this year’s Finals and finished second in slalom. Her sophomore sister Kayley Reynolds returned to competition after tearing a knee ligament and missing all but the first few meets of 2015-16; she took fourth in the slalom and 10th in the giant slalom at these Finals. Senior Courtney McAlindon was third in the giant slalom to also play a major part in the final score.
While the Rangers’ time together during the week was limited by conditions they couldn’t control, those three skiers filled their weekends with up north racing as part of MHSAA-sanctioned Central United States Ski Association events, and teammate Katie Knister also traveled to the snow to put in extra training and stay sharp.
Forest Hills Central was in third place after the two slalom runs at Boyne Highlands. The Rangers didn’t finish first in the giant slalom, but their second place in those runs was enough to push the team into first in the final overall standings.
In addition to the Reynolds sisters, McAlindon and Knister, junior Anna Tomsheck and sophomore Grace Kline also skied the slalom and Tomsheck and sophomore Myah Leavenworth skied the giant slalom.
“Courtney’s first run in slalom was 30 points and her second run was top 10; after the first run we were in fifth place, down 25 points, but after the second run we were up to third place,” Moore said. “We went in at halftime down 20 points, and that was doable.
“We won by three points. We’re talking inches after eight runs of skiers, to win by (a combined) half a second.”
PHOTO: Forest Hills Central’s Katie Knister cuts past a gate during the Division 2 Finals at Boyne Highlands. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Past Teams of the Month, 2016-17
January: Powers North Central boys basketbal - Report
December: Dundee boys basketball - Report
November: Rockford girls swimming & diving - Report
October: Rochester girls golf - Report
September: Breckenridge football - Report