BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
Skiers wrapped the season last week with the state championship and the Southeastern Michigan Ski League Championship.
The Clarkston Girls Varsity Ski team finished in third place at the MHSAA Division 1 Ski State Championship and the boys finished in sixth place.
“It was a great experience,” said Brian Popelier, head coach. “The team is super happy with their performance and getting out there and doing their best – a good mindset from everyone.”
Courtney Bayley and Andrew Roeser finished with All-State honors, placing in the top ten.
“They both skied very well in the disciplines they placed in,” said Popelier. “It’s a very challenging accomplishment. Because it’s Division 1, it’s definitely a division that’s the most difficult.”
Roeser finished in fourth place during the Giant Slalom in a combined time of 49.14.
“It was his last state final race and being fourth in the state is great,” said Popelier.
Bayley finished in seventh place in the Slalom with a combined time of 75.30. She also finished 2020 with an All-State finish.
“Both years she’s been skiing really well,” Popelier said. “Slalom is definitely her discipline. She is very good at that discipline.”

The girls finished in third place with 117 points with 54 points from Slalom and 63 points from Giant Slalom.
For the Slalom, Bayley led in seventh place. Sydney Thomas finished in 11th place in the combined time of 76.50.
“She was just out of the top ten,” said Popelier. “She had a great race all around. She was a strong performer.”
Trisha Verbeke finished in 17th place, 78.46; Lyndsey Nicosia, 19th place, 78.94; Phoebe Savoie, 20th place, 79.55; and Cameron Brosky, 23rd place, 81.42.
Thomas led the pack in the Giant Slalom race, finishing in 13th place in the combined time of 54.31. Savoie finished in 14th place, 54.56; Bayley, 17th place, 54.92; Nicosia, 19th place, 55.26; Brosky, 20th place, 55.42; and Madeline Leithauser, 31st place, 57.88.
Traverse City Central finished in first place with 56 points and Marquette finished in second place with 60 points.
“They were very good teams,” said Popelier. “We did our best. Next year and the year after our goal is to go up and do the same thing to go up and win.”
The boys finished in sixth place with a total of 203 points with 123 points from Slalom and 80 points from Giant Slalom.

For the Giant Slalom, Roeser led in fourth place. Gunnar Karlstrom finished in 21st place in the combined time of 50.94; Luke Farella, 25th place, 51.25; Noah Ostheimer, 30th, 51.55; Austin Bushroe, 33rd place, 51.65; and Andrew Foyteck, 45th place, 53.49
Farella led the boys during the Slalom race, finishing in 20th place in the time of 74.52. Foyteck finished in 29th place in the time of 77.39; Bushroe, 34th place, 79.18; Ostheimer, 40th place, 87.20; and Karlstrom, 44th place, 87.20.
The girls finished in first place in the SEMSL on Thursday with a total of 117.5 points with 54 from the Slalom and 63.5 from the Giant Slalom.
Bayley led in the Slalom, finishing in second place in the time of 43.41; Thomas, eighth place, 45.38; Leithauser, 17th place, 49.63; and Elke Roeser, 27th place, 51.95.
Bayley led in the Giant Slalom finishing in 11th place in the time of 35.79. Thomas finished in 15th place, 36.02; Brosky, 16th place, 36.04; Leithauser, tied for 21st place, 36.95; and Elke Roeser, 34th place, 37.81.
For the boys, Roeser finished in fourth place in the Giant Slalom in the time of 33.63. Farella finished in tenth place, 34.50; and Ostheimer, 22nd place, 35.19.
Ostheimer finished in eighth place in the Slalom race in the time of 44.74, and Farella finished in ninth place, 44.89.