The Lake Orion Ski Teams were busy last week, as the Dragong girls came away with their first OAA D-1 Title, knocking off eight-time defending champion Clarkston on Feb. 9, before heading to their Class-A State Regional.
The Lake Orion boys finished second in the event, behind Clarkston.
Despite some uncharacteristic spills in the state regional slalom on Feb. 12, the Lake Orion Girls Ski Team rallied to win the giant slalom event and take second overall, behind Clarkston, qualifying for the MHSAA Class-A State Final on February 23 at Nub’s Nob, in Harbor Springs.
The youthful girls team, with just one senior starter, will return to the finals for the third consecutive year, and their fourth trip in five years. The Dragons, along with fellow Pine Knob based teams Clarkston and Bloomfield Lahser, will appear in this year’s finals. Clarkston (ranked third in Class-A) and Lake Orion (ranked eighth) have met four times this season, with both teams coming out on top twice.
The seventh- ranked Dragon boys, who also had their own problems in slalom, found themselves in fifth place after the morning session, 20 points out of a third place state final qualifying spot.
The Dragons rallied back to take second in the giant slalom event, but fell four points short of the third place finish necessary for their fifth consecutive state final appearance.
For the Dragon boys, with a line-up consisting of two seniors and four sophomores, senior Teddy Tarr qualified as an individual state final qualifier with a ninth place finish in giant slalom, and sophomore James Hubbard qualified with a tie for third place in slalom.
Tarr and Hubbard were also named to the MHSAA Region II All Regional Team. Fourth ranked Clarkston (first), Rochester Adams (second) and West Bloomfield (third) qualified for the finals.
The Lake Orion girls were led by senior Kirsten Thulin (seventh in GS and fifth in slalom), who will appear in her fourth state final. Junior Jessica Hutchison managed an eighth place finish in slalom and a 12th in giant slalom.
Junior Katie Rivers (ninth in GS), and sophomores Kristen Fleming (10th in GS) and Camille Seybert (13th in Slalom and 15th in GS) all scored for Lake Orion, and all five were also named to the MHSAA Region II All Regional Team.
After defeating Clarkston in the Pine Knob Divisional Championship and the OAA Championship, the Dragons dug themselves too deep of a hole in the slalom to pull out a victory with their strongest event, the giant slalom.
Both the Dragon Boys and Girls will compete in the Southeastern Michigan finals on February 17th at Alpine Valley, before heading to Harbor Springs for the Finals.