Brandon-Oxford’s ski teams will not be competing in the state meet today, but one of their skiers will test her mettle against the state’s best.
Karen Offer ensured herself a spot in the finals, to be held at Nub’s Nob near Petoskey, by finishing 12th in the slalom at the Class A regional ski meet Feb. 12 at Mt. Holly. Offer finished with a time of 1:00.45.
The top three teams overall, as well as the top 15 finishers in the slalom and giant slalom, earn All-Region honors and qualify for the state finals.
Another Brandon-Oxford skier, Tim Smith, just narrowly missed qualifying for the state meet. Smith finished 16th in the slalom with a time of 54.23. The 15th place finisher, Clarkston’s Eric Weiland, finished at 54.03.
The Brandon girls team also finished ninth out of nine teams at the Southeast Michigan Ski League (SEMSL) meet Feb. 17, finishing with 246 points. Clarkston finished first with 83 points, while Lake Orion took second with 98.
Offer led the Brandon-Oxford team in the slalom, finishing 29th with a time of 48.46, while Lauren Bayless placed 34th at 50.20.
Offer also led the team in the giant slalom, finishing 15th overall (54.54), while Bayless placed 25th (55.47) and Grace Auchterlonie 37th (56.34).
At the regionals, the girls squad finished ninth out of 13 teams with 290 points.
Besides Offer, other Brandon-Oxford competitors in the slalom were Auchterlonie (26th, 1:03.46), Bayless (30th, 1:05.53), Casey Nesterowich (51st, 1:14.90), Emily DeWitt (68th, 1:27.38) and Heather Tiffany (71st, 1:39.29).
In the giant slalom, Offer again led the pack, finishing 17th overall at 52.23. Auchterlonie was close behind, placing 21st (52.75).
Others representing Brandon-Oxford were: Bayless (62nd, 1:02.90), Nesterowich (71st, 1:11.26), and DeWitt (72nd, 1:17.03).
The Brandon-Oxford boys team’s season also came to an end at the regional meet, as they finished 15th out of 15 teams with 515 points.
Besides Smith, other competitors in the slalom for Brandon-Oxford were: Shawn Dean (62nd, 1:05.44), Brandon Fletcher (66th, 1:07.32) and Ryan Hotchkiss (76th, 1:26.64).
Dean was the team’s leading skier in the giant slalom (63rd, 54.41), followed by Fletcher (66th, 55.11), Hotchkiss (82nd, 1:12.04), and Smith (84th, 1:19.33).