Petoskey Climbs to D2 Championship
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2013
MARQUETTE — There is plenty of opportunity for high school skiers to sharpen their skills in Emmet County with such facilities as Nub’s Nob and Boyne Mountain nearby.
It appears the Petoskey and Harbor Springs girls are taking advantage as they occupied the top two spots for the third straight year in Monday’s MHSAA Division 2 Final.
Petoskey regained the title with 65 points, followed by defending champion Harbor Springs with 91.5 and Bloomfield Hills Andover with 99.
“We put on great programs in the Emmet County area,” Petoskey coach Travis Hill said. “Harbor has been our competition for years, which keeps us focused. They edged us for the title last year, but today it came out in our favor. This was a great way for us to end the year.”
Petoskey was led by junior Mia Cicorretti, who placed second in slalom in one minute, 25.39 seconds and took sixth in giant slalom (1:04.19) at Marquette Mountain.
“I think being able to take runner-up in slalom is really cool,” Cicorretti said. “Being second out of the gate also helped. I was able to get out on the course before it got chewed up. I think our team did real well. We’ve been skiing with the Harbor Springs girls since we’ve been little. It’s kind of cool to know your competition as well as we do.”
Senior Abigail Hackman paced Harbor Springs by taking second in giant slalom (1:03.67) and third in slalom (1:26.17).
“I’m excited about where I finished,” said Hackman, who plans to attend college in New Hampshire or Vermont where she hopes to ski and play soccer. “I thought my first run in slalom (42.03) was real good. Although I like giant slalom better because of the steeper terrain. We have a lot of hills in our area that are similar to this and real good coaches who take us to harder courses, both of which I think really helped us today.”
Hackman’s career appeared to be in jeopardy a year ago after she suffered a knee injury a week before the Finals.
“I thought it was over at that point,” she said. “I’m just glad to still have a chance to ski. I wish our team would have done a little better, although we still had fun. Just being with this team is fantastic.”
Kingsford junior Mandy Haferkorn became the Upper Peninsula’s lone champion Monday, taking slalom in 1:24.2. In giant slalom, she was 11th (1:04.87).
“I really went for it (in slalom),” said Haferkorn, who won eight races this season. “I told myself this was my last chance (this season) to show I could do it. I didn’t have a good Regional in giant slalom and started further back in the pack. During the first run there were a lot of holes in the snow. Plus, it was real soft snow.
“Race after race, it gets more ruts which makes it kind of hard to adjust. You just have to focus on the race ahead of you. Otherwise, this was a real good year. Winning slalom was a great way to top it off.”
Traverse City St. Francis freshman Carlee McCardel, part of the Elks Rapids/St. Francis co-op team, was crowned giant slalom champion in 1:02.24. She cruised through the first run in 30.33, followed by a 31.91.
“Our coach always tells us to have clean turns,” McCardel said. “You don’t really want to hit the flags. If you do, they can slow you down. Although, they don’t most of the time. The first run gave me a pretty strong lead, but I still had to go for it. Yet, you don’t want to push in to the point where you fall. You have to find a happy medium.”
McCardel says she enjoys the co-op arrangement with Elk Rapids.
“This has been a great season for our team,” she added. “This is also a great co-op. The girls and boys have meshed real well. I’ve had great support from my family and teammates. We also have great coaches who helped me a lot.”
Andover’s leader was Jean Klochko-Bull, who was third in giant slalom (1:03.79) and fifth in slalom (1:27.39).
PHOTO: The Petoskey girls ski team poses with its MHSAA championship trophy. (Photo courtesy of Petoskey skiing program.
Gerber Sets Pace as Traverse City Central Girls Take Back Division 1 Title
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2025
HARBOR SPRINGS – Unseasonably warm weather was the only thing that was different from past years at the MHSAA Division 1 Girls Skiing Final, as Traverse City West and Traverse City Central both found themselves atop the standings.
After a series of skilled runs, Central earned the championship Monday at Nub’s Nob thanks in large part to the outstanding skiing of Quinn Gerber.
“The girls were just dialed in,” said Traverse City Central head coach Amy Kudary.
Her crew delivered 31 points in the slalom and 29 in the giant slalom giving the team a combined 60 points, which was 33 better than second-place Traverse City West’s 93 points. Marquette finished third with 97 followed by Clarkston (163), Birmingham (201), Fenton/Linden/Lake Fenton (220.5), Canton (224), Holly/Oxford (240) and Brighton (257).
The championship was the fourth-straight won by either Traverse City Central or West, and Central's first since 2022 after finishing runner-up to the Titans the last two seasons.
Traverse City Central was piloted by Gerber’s giant slalom victory, where she blazed the slopes with a combined time of 54.18. TC West’s Summer Lewandowski took second place with a time of 54.43, while Estelle Dehlin secured third place with a time of 54.47.
Finishing in the top 10 and earning first-team all-state honors were Gerber, Lewandowski, Marquette’s Estelle Dehlin, Fenton/Linden/Lake Fenton’s Maddy Flack, Holly/Oxford’s Finley DeCubber, TC Central’s Avery Taggart, Berkley/Troy Athens’ Tessa Rontal, Clarkston’s Cameron Thomas, Canton’s Rhiana Savoie and TC Central’s Kellan Kudary.
While Gerber also finished in second place in the slalom with a combined time of 73.58 it was Grand Haven’s Neave Rewa who took home the championship with a time of 72.05.
“I came here hoping to do my best and being able to do that is really cool. It's a pretty cool feeling,” said Rewa.
Rewa’s team did not qualify for the Final but Rewa, also a gifted soccer player, was not without her teammates.
“I have two teammates here. It’s cool to have them watch me; it’s really nice,” said Rewa.
TC Central’s Taggart finished in third in slalom notching a time of 74.13.
Taking first-team all-state honors in slalom were Rewa, Gerber, Taggart, Birmingham’s Bianca Srock, Dehlin, Savoie, Marquette’s Lucy Stern, Rontal, TC West’s Olivia Bageris and Dillyn Mohr.
“Our team did really well, it was a good day. I had a pretty good season overall,” Gerber said.
Next season’s championship race could be similarly entertaining – both Gerber and Rewa are juniors with one more year to compete.
Click for full results. Click to watch NFHS Network broadcasts: Slalom | Giant Slalom
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Central’s Quinn Gerber finishes a giant slalom run Monday at Nub’s Nob. (Middle) Canton’s Lucy Savoie races the slalom course. (Below) A skier breaks past a gate also during the slalom. (Click for more from Tori Burley – photos to be added throughout this week.)