Ski wins first regional since 2016, Weymouth earns Coach of the Year
CLARKSTON, MI (February 13, 2024): A great start in the slalom (SL) event positioned the Marian varsity ski team for a high finish, but the first run of giant slalom (GS) left the Mustangs scrambling in the final GS run to earn the program's 16th MHSAA Regional Championship and Marian's first since 2016.
"The morning SL didn't give us much of a hint that it wasn't going our way," said veteran head coach Mary Weymouth. "We went from first place after two runs of SL to out of a qualifying position after the first GS run. With some soul searching, we prepared for the second GS run inspection and brought a completely different nature to that run. Our performance was good enough to ski ourselves back into first place."
As the Mustangs finished ten points better than runner-up Rochester Adams, the regional coaches awarded Coach Weymouth the Regional Coach of the Year Award for the second time in the last five years.
"Coach Kerry (Streng) and Joe (Metz) have made all of this great skiing possible, and we simply could succeed without them," Weymouth remarked. "The captain's parents need a lot of love too. I don't think anyone can imagine how much Courtney (Lowman) and Pam (Valka) do for all of us the past two years and how much communication they lock down to make it all happen between the staff and the families. And we added the Rawlins family in late as a captains' family and they have been given a steep learning curve in all things captains families."
Weymouth later deferred even more credit for the coach of the year award.
"I personally view this as something that everyone won together," he said. "It doesn't happen without everyone on board and driving for the same goals. It might list my name, but it should be given to the entire coaching staff as it only works because of everything Kerry and Joe do to make all of us successful."
COMPLETE RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY
Individual Results (all comments from Coach Weymouth)
Emma Borgula: 3rd SL (49.28) - 4th GS (40.04) – "While we know Emma has had a 4th before at Regionals, her 3rd is a new high. Plus, these finishes came in the deepest field in a long time at Regionals, making these finishes better than they even look. Two great finishes to lead us home to a title."
Agatha Valka: 6th SL (51.88) - 8th GS (40.81) – "Agatha's return from an ACL surgery less than a year ago is a tough row to hoe. Coming back off a major injury and finding the form to double up with two top-ten finishes is exceptional. Her return to form has been timely. Knocking down a host of top-ten podiums at CHSL, Divisional and Regional champs so far."
Paige Rawlins: 13th SL (53.61) - DNF GS – "In a normal year, Paige would have scored a top-ten with her SL Skiing. She has been on point for all the championships. Her finishes currently are at the best of her career. Paige's second run in GS after a run one DNF was right there with her SL finishes, too."
Susie Klein: 21st SL (55.34) - 27th GS (43.23) – "Susie brought her steady hand on leading the team from bullet (first racer) once more. In today's crowd that is no easy task. Susie scored for us in both SL and GS as is typical for her. It can't be over-stated what this consistency means to our team for its first racer."
Stella Lowman: 25th SL (56.70) - 19th GS (42.59) – "Stella was today's reason why depth on a team matters so much. Stella scored in GS for us and in SL she just missed scoring, but that tight finish to our fourth scorer pushed other teams scores deeper down the finish order – That stacks points on the other teams and we have been great at doing that all year, it was Stella's turn to do it SL this morning."
Mirabelle Dawson: 31st SL (57.70) – "Mirabelle had a bit of an issue on the pitch that cost her some valuable time in run one. Her second run was quicker and could have moved her up some. Even with one bobble, she still did damage to a lot of teams by beating their scoring racers."
Ava Hierlihy: 39th GS (45.00) – "Ava had a great result as a freshman just starting to race. This is the type of experience that will build into a lot of great opportunities as Ava continues her racing career. Ava is a hard worker who brings a lot of focus for her age to the hill each day and she earned this great opportunity and result."
Following a rescheduled Don Thomas Cup race for the JV skiers on Friday, the varsity Mustangs will return to their home hill of Alpine Valley to compete in the Southeastern Michigan Ski League (SEMSL) overall championship, next Tuesday February 20.
The season will conclude at Nub's Knob resort on February 26 when the Mustangs will compete in the MHSAA Division 2 Finals.
