BELLAIRE – A lot can change in a year, but that was not the case at Monday’s Division 2 Girls Ski Finals.

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Maren Studt won her second consecutive championships in both the slalom and giant slalom. 

While the competition was tight, Studt’s dominated the field as she won the giant slalom with a time of 48.27, nearly a full second quicker than second-place Sophie Hicks of East Grand Rapids (49.22).

Studt won the slalom in a combined time of 66.92 seconds, just ahead of Detroit Country Day’s Annie Way.

“It feels really good. Definitely a lot of stress coming into the postseason, but I’m really happy with my skiing today. It feels great to end my high school career that way,” Studt said.

Studt credited those around her for the success and motivation to pull out the repeat.

Finishing third in the giant slalom was Houghton’s Laura Lucak (49.54), followed by Annie Way of Detroit Country Day (49.95) and Grace Rowe of Great North Alpine (50.02).

In the slalom, Houghton’s Lucak finished third as well with a time of 68.98 followed by Great North Alpine’s Schaffler (69.57) and Detroit Country Day’s Avery Siudara (70.25).

While Studt’s dominating career crescendo appeared to come easily, the skiing star acknowledged the persistence that has gotten her to the top of the Michigan skiing mountain.

“I know it’s challenging, but you just gotta keep working. Results don’t come immediately, it’s a process, but you have to enjoy the process while it’s happening,” Studt said.

Detroit Country Day who took home the school’s first team Finals championship with a combined total of 91 points, 20 points better than second-place finisher Harbor Springs (111).

Country Day’s dominant slalom performance (38 points) all but sealed the win for the up-and-coming program. The Yellowjackets’ finished with 33 fewer points than second-place finisher Harbor Springs (71) in the slalom, led in large part by Way (67.43) and Siudara.

“Going into the race I was going to be happy with third. Beyond happy, but never really thought that we could have come out in first. Our late coach (Daniel) Costigan was looking over us today,” Country Day coach Geoffrey Becker said.

Finishing third in the team standings was Norway with a combined score of 114, followed by East Grand Rapids (128), Great North Alpine (139), Cadillac (163), Clare (216), Bloomfield Hills Marian (229.5) and Grand Rapids Christian (230.5).

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PHOTOS (Top) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Maren Studt races to the giant slalom championship Monday at Schuss Mountain. (Middle) Detroit Country Day’s Annie Way slides past a gate on the way to finishing second in the slalom. (Photos by Todd VanSickle; link will be added when gallery is published.)