Coach Phil Nimmo is looking to both the boys and girls? ski teams to finish near the top of their division.
‘Our boys have been finishing near the top of the Division the past few seasons and I expect that to continue since we are returning so many skiers,? Nimmo said. ‘The team has the talent to do well at the state level, and they will be exciting to watch all season.?
‘Our girls? team has a lot of new racers, however, they are all great skiers and I expect them to do very well in the Mt. Holly Division and SEMSL (Southeastern Michigan Ski League),? he added. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing the progress in our new racers.?
As for season tournaments, Nimmo said the SEMSL Championships should be ‘very exciting.?
‘The league has grown this season and will be a great opportunity to represent our team and Mt. Holly Division against some of the best talent in the state,? he said.
Returning to the slopes this year for the boys are Lars Joergens-Kokate, Zac Felix, Greg Schultz, Aaron Johnston, Spencer Christen, Alex Van Boemel, Dillon Sink, Tyler Kwapis, Kyle Van Boemel, and Keith Cotaling.
‘We are lucky to have our entire varsity boys team returning from last season. Being able to keep all of our guys from last year will be huge for the season, since many of them were new to varsity last season,? Nimmo said. ‘Our boys are back-to-back SEMSL champions, and can hopefully turn the SEMSL success into success at the state level. Lars has qualified individually for State Finals the past two seasons.?
Returning for the girls is Emma Ford and Montana Taube-White.
‘Emma and Montana will play an important role in leading our new girls,? Nimmo said. ‘They are both returning for their second season on the team and will be strong leaders as well as skiers.?
New to the boys team this year are Luke Harrington, Cason Kozner, Justin Fife, Lukas Distel, and Daniel DeFrain. Joining the girls are Sophi Que, Katie Olkowski, Olivia Upham, Rachel James and Elise Ormiston.
‘Our team has grown a lot this year and luckily all our new racers have skiing experience,? he added. ‘They are all strong skiers and most are new to racing. It is exciting to have such a large group of new racers that will have the opportunity to step up and represent our team.?
As for strengths of the team, Nimmo said in the past, they’ve always been stronger in the Giant Slalom and he expects that will continue this season.
‘It’s been the event we can always count on solid finishes all the way around,? he said. ‘And although we have a lot of new racers, we are also fortunate to have many returning skiers. We have a lot of great leaders to help push this team all season.?
As for the league overall, Nimmo said the Mt. Holly Division has a lot of depth.
‘Many of the varsity boys? teams are returning from last season, which gives all five teams a realistic shot at winning the Division,? he said.
Many of the girls teams however graduated a lot of team members last year, which ‘leaves the division pretty open.?
‘It will be interesting to see how the Division plays out with so much new talent,? he added.
Goals are different for each team.
‘Our boys? team has had success in SEMSL the past couple seasons, but has struggled at Regionals. Our boys are going to work hard to qualify for State Finals, and see success at the state level,? Nimmo said. ‘With an open Division race, our girls are going to strive to win the Mt. Holly Division and qualify for the SEMSL Championship.?
The boys and girls will kick off their season at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 8 at Mt. Holly Ski Resort in Grand Blanc.