Brighton – The official name is the Catholic High School League Ski Championships, but it might be more accurate to call it a Reunion of Dear Friends Who Just Happen to Enjoy Skiing.
Agreed it’s a bit wordy, but the casual observer wouldn’t know by the relaxed atmosphere yesterday on the slopes of Mt. Brighton that amidst the camaraderie some serious business was going on, namely, to determine the 2011 champions of boys and girls skiing.
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Novi Detroit Catholic Central’s Damon Rottermond and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice’s Graham Berry best exemplified the spirit of friendship among skiers. In addition to frequent contacts through competition locally, they see each other practically every winter weekend as part of a large contingent of prepsters who head for the hills up north to race and/or train with top skiers from the midwest under the auspices of the United States Ski Association.
So it was what friends do when Rottermond bested Berry by nearly a half-a -second in the first slalom run that they’d exchange a congratulatory fist bump when Berry won the second slalom run by 3-hundredths.
The rivalry continued in the giant slalom. Berry beat Rottermond by 12-hundredths of a second in the first run, and Rottermond responded in the second race, winning 17.59 to 17.62.
And, then, there’s Katie Thibideau. It was just another day for the senior from Bloomfield Hills Marian, who is the defending slalom and giant slalom winner in last year’s state Division 1 finals to lead Marian to the team championship.
"I ski everyday of the week except Friday," she said. "That’s when I travel north to Nubs Nob (near Harbor Springs) for more racing or training."
Skiing is a sport "with a lot of down time," she said, "so that helps you make a lot of friends."
Well, when it takes you a fraction over 1 minute, 6 seconds to run two slaloms and two giant slaloms, and win them both handily, there is much opportunity to create a wide circle of friends.
Katie and three of her teammates scored two perfect 10s on 1-2-3-4 finishes in both races to give Marian its third straight CHSL Ski championship with 20 points over runner-up Pontiac Notre Dame’s 65.
Sisters Kristin and Kelly Lunghamer and Tara Streng combined with Katie to win the slalom, while Kristin Lunghamer, Kat Streng and Haley Goeckel teamed up with Katie for the winning quartet in the giant slalom.
Rottermond had the last laugh on Berry, however, when he led CC to the team championship. The Shamrocks trailed surprisingly-strong Pontiac Notre Dame by nine points after the morning slalom runs, but came back after lunch to nearly double the points over the Fighting Irish in the giant slalom for a 53.5 to 62 victory.
The win avenged a three-point loss to Brother Rice in last year’s ski finals. Rice finished third with 81 points.
Rottermond, Ian Pierce, Jim Herzog and Erik Kurcz finished 1-5-7-17 in the slalom, while Alex Tokarz joined Rottermond, Herzog and Pierce for a 2-4-6-13 finish in the giant slalom.
Shamrocks coach Tom Gable’s hunch was correct that his team was faster and technically superior in the giant slalom for the winning edge.
"All season long that’s been our strength," he said. "The kids knew that it was going to be close. They really worked hard."
Kim Stencel was proud of her Notre Dame Prep squad for second place finishes in both the boys and girls competition.
"Yes, we need more work on the giant slalom," she said. "That’s something we’ve been focusing on all year."
U-D Jesuit with 141.5 points and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep with 149 rounded out the boys standings.
Farmington Hills Mercy had 109 points and Livonia Ladywood scored 150 for third and fourth places in the girls section.
The Top 10 medal winners were:
GIRLS SLALOM (2 runs combined)
1. Katie Thibideau, Bloomfield Hills Marian (17.52-16.22) 33.74
2. Kristin Lunghamer, Marian 34.53
3. Kelly Lunghamer, Marian 35.04
4. Tara Streng, Marian 35.47
5. Rachel Dawson, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 36.42
6. Kat Streng, Marian 36.60
7. Kara Petrowski, Notre Dame Prep 37.29
8. Sara Yockey, Farmington Hills Mercy 37.47
9. Reine Mager, Notre Dame Prep 37.72
10. Katrina Stencel, Notre Dame Prep 38.51
GIRLS GIANT SLALOM (2 runs combined)
1. Katie Thibideau (17.84-14.64) 32.48
2. Kristin Lunghamer 33.58
3. Kat Streng, Marian 33.63
4. Haley Goeckel, Marian 33.68
5. Kelly Lunghamer 33.95
6. Reine Mager, Notre Dame Prep 34.54
7. Tara Streng 34.98
8. Rachel Dawson, Notre Dame Prep 35.14
9. Katrina Stencel 35.40
10. Olivia Stoick, Mercy 35.69
BOYS SLALOM (2 runs combined)
1. Damon Rottermond, Novi Detroit Catholic Central (16.73 15.83) 32.56
2. Graham Berry, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 32.98
3. Alex Rink, Notre Dame Prep 33.24
4. Mike Sewell, Notre Dame Prep 33.67
5. Ian Pierce, Catholic Central 34.22
6. Nick Bonello, Notre Dame Prep 34.59
7. Jim Herzog, Catholic Central 34.64
8. Andrew Lauer, Notre Dame Prep 34.89
9. Bob Boniface, Notre Dame Prep 35.32
10. Truman Silvasi, U-D Jesuit 35.34
BOYS GIANT SLALOM (2 runs combined)
1. Graham Berry (14.49-17.62) 32.11
2. Damon Rottermond 32.19
3. Mike Sewell 32.97
4. Jim Herzog 33.05
5. Brandon Fagnani, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 33.19
6t. Ian Pierce 33.23
6t. Nick Lipinski, U-D Jesuit 33.23
8. Matt Recker, St. Mary’s 33.27
9. Alex Rink 33.43
10. Matt Wellman, Brother Rice 33.90
