By Wendi Reardon Price
Clarkston News Sports Writer
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — The Wolves wrapped the regular season last week at Pine Knob Ski and Snowboard in the top three in their division.
The Clarkston Girls Varsity Ski team finished first place overall in the Pine Knob League Division while the boys varsity team finished third overall in the division after competing in the divisional races, Feb. 6.
The girls finished in first place in the Slalom and Giant Slalom races as the team won the divisional races.
“I am very proud that the team came together,” said Clarkston Ski Head Coach Brian Popelier. “It’s a young team so to go out and ski as well as they did at the young age is very impressive. They are very good skiers from the top of our line up all the way to the bottom.”
Cameron Thomas finished in second place in the Slalom with combined time of 42.75 from the two races.
“Cameron had a fantastic race in Slalom, being second in our division is incredibly difficult,” Popelier said. “As a junior to come out and have that result of second place overall is very good.”
Jenna Brown finished in fourth place, 45.11; Lucy Roeser, seventh, 46.40; Julia Verbeke, eighth, 46.55; Chloe Cook, 24th, 53.27; Hailey Derkacz, 42nd, 58.94; and Ella Reed, 55th, 63.68.
“Cameron, Jenna, Lucy and Julia, those four girls did what they were supposed to do and what they are capable of doing and they did it very well,” Popelier said.
During the Giant Slalom, Thomas finished in fourth place in the combined time of 36.69; Roeser, sixth, 37.85; Brown, tied for seventh, 37.97; and Verbeke, 15th, 38.12.
Lucy Savoie and Chloe Cook tied for 31st place, 41.69; and Hailey Derkacz finished in 43rd place, 43.48.
The girls finished 11-0 for the season against teams in the Pine Knob division. The win in divisional races put them first place overall in the league.
The boys varsity team finished 8-3 and tied for second in the divisional race, putting them third overall in the league.
The boys finished in third place in the Slalom. Finn Ashley finished in ninth place with the combined time of 45.46; Jeremy Nord, tenth, 45.48; Ryan McKay, 17th, 48.35; Max Ashley, 20th, 48.98; Aiden Pagel, 22nd, 49.74; and Wyatt Janczarek, 42nd, 54.79.
“Jeremy in tenth place as a junior, really great run and good race,” Popelier said. “The most impressive was our freshman Finn had a fantastic run. He got ninth overall in his first year of ski racing which is pretty cool.”
The boys finished in fourth place in the Giant Slalom. Ryan Bushroe led the pack, tying for seventh place with the combined time of 36.71; Nord, 14th, 38.33; F. Ashley, 25th, 39.29; Janczarek, 30th, 39.58; McKay, 35th, 40.28; Michael Brancheau, 39th, 41.10; and M. Ashley, 59th, 43.25.
“The boys had a few mistakes – one in Slalom, one in Giant Slalom and the good thing about the boys is the entire team has a pretty high potential to ski race,” said Popelier. “Even though we lost an important racer in Slalom and an important racer in Giant Slalom, the team was there to pick him up. They were able to come out third. I was really happy with the outcome and when they fix those mistakes, in which they did as quickly as they could in a ski race, but if we don’t have those mistakes we are going to have a very good regional race as well.”
Both teams qualified for the Southeastern Michigan Ski League (SEMSL) championship. They also received the Don Costigan trophy, which goes to the best teams, both boys and girls combined.
“Clarkston won for the first time in quite a few years,” Popelier said. “For both teams to do as well as they did is an incredible accomplishment. I am very proud of winning that trophy.”
The boys team finished in first place in the JV Giant Slalom Divisional Championship, Feb. 7.
“I am very proud of the boys on the JV team,” Popelier said. “We have a bright future for our team when our JV team is performing at the high level that they are. They are just getting ready to join the varsity team and support the team. It’s a good sign for the health of the program.”
They had four finish in the top ten with Evan Duty finishing in first place in the combined time of 38.66 after two races.
“It was fantastic,” Popelier said. “He is skiing very well.”
Nathan Saker finished in third place, 39.31; Cole Hedstrom, eighth, 41.10; and Spencer Brandon, tenth, 41.64.
Zachary Marko finished in 12th place in the combined time of 42.07; Elliot Weich, 13th place, 42.15; and Braeden Weich, 15th, 43.01.
Diana Marshall finished in 17th place in the combined time of 51.61 in the girls JV Giant Slalom Divisional race.
The varsity teams compete in the MHSAA Division 1 Regional 2 at Pine Knob Ski and Snowboard Resort, today, Wednesday, Feb. 14.
“If the girls continue to ski the way they are skiing, they will be tough to beat,” said Popelier, adding winning the regional championship would be the sixth consecutive for the girls.
“The boys are in a really good position if they clean up some of their mistakes,” Popelier continued. “They have a really good chance at the regional race. Conditions look fantastic. It’s at our home hill at Pine Knob so everyone is excited to ski that race. The coaches are looking forward to helping them achieve their goals. We are looking forward to the tournament season. Both teams look in really good position to continue their current success they are having.”
The Wolves compete in the SEMSL at Alpine Valley in Slalom and Giant Slalom, Feb. 20.

  Clarkston Athletics, Ski