Pine Knob is the Wolves territory. On Feb. 17, Clarkston emphasized this by taking both the boys and girls regional ski titles.
Despite losing their best skier, state-champ Mo Weiland to a season ending knee surgery, the Clarkston’s girls team sojourned on to take their ninth straight regional championship. The boys have won the event four times in a row.
‘I knew our girls could pick it up, but I was hoping that mentally we wouldn’t start having some problems,? said Clarkston Coach Bruce Rosengren. ‘We had a pep talk, got keyed up, geared up and ready to roll and they just did an outstanding job. We would have loved to have Mo… but we have depth.?
Clarkston’s girls won with a team score of 60 points. Lahser (92 points) and Lake Orion (99) girls teams will follow the Wolves to the state finals on Feb. 28 at Boyne Mountain.
‘Mo’s ability has certainly drawn everybody else along with her all year, and they are all skiing great,? said Rosengren.
In the giant slalom, the Wolves flexed their overall team talent placing four in the top ten: Jen Stanton (sixth), Erica Halsey (seventh), Alyssa Vermeulen (eighth) and Megan Peters (ninth). Clarkston won with a balanced attack as well in the slalom with three skiers in the top ten: Trisha Peters (fourth), Halsey (sixth) and Stanton (seventh).
The same consistent dominance which propelled both teams to 9-0 records this year was showcased by Clarkston’s boys.
‘On the boys side I saw 24 solid runs. Every single run was a solid run,? said Rosengren.
The Wolves registered 32 total points, far outdistancing Rochester Adams (106) and Lake Orion (157).
In the giant slalom Clarkston took first, second and third? captured by Alex Rosengren, Kevin Vahlbusch and Eric Weiland respectively. Bryan Cicnelli helped the cause, finishing in seventh.
Alex Rosengren also finished second in the slalom, followed by Vahlbusch in third, Weiland in sixth and Jeff Haladik in eighth.
The OAA league meet originally scheduled for Feb. 21 has been moved to Feb. 23 due to inclement weather.
Clarkston’s bid for another SEMSL title finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News, but the Wolves were confident about the meet and look forward to the state finals.
‘We’ll do great (at SEMSL). It’ll be the same competition (as regionals) maybe a little easier. At states there’s some real good competition, but all in all it will be a good time,? said Alex Rosengren.