The fourth and final weekend of UMich skiing comes to a close with a bang! Our last regular season weekend with the entire team was full of tailgates, cheese, and lots and lots of parents. Far too many cowboy hats and flannel shirts were put on display with a country theme on Saturday night and the classic “bib night” on Friday before the big race set the tone for the season finale.
Yet again, the team did incredibly well for both the men and women this weekend. Taking on Michigan State, Ohio State, GVSU and Central Michigan we definitely had our hands full for the final race. The weekend kicked off with a slalom race early Saturday morning, on the girls side UMICH kicked some butt, Julia Chahine (our grad student superstar) snatched a second place finish with seniors Tori Pratt, Annabel Geissbuhler, and Hannah Schramski following close behind in third, fourth and fifth place. For the boys sophomore Dylan Roussel crushed the game snagging a first place finish. Seniors Drew Thomas, Calum Schulz followed close behind in second and third place with 8 Michigan athletes in the top 10 (woo hoo!!).
After the race on Saturday both racers, parents and siblings gathered together in the parking lot for a tailgate. Athletes stood around catching up with their families and introducing them to new friends on the team. Huge thank you to all the parents that brought food and drinks, we definitely were eating good this weekend!! The highlight of both races for many people was the number of dogs waiting at the bottom of the hill after the race. Parents weekend resulted in many tears for the seniors after their last race and lots of hugs, videos and pictures.
After the food coma wore off we took on the GS race on Sunday. Drew Thomas came in smoking hot grabbing first place, Alex Netzley, Leo Lavigne and Will Hallas followed in places third through fifth. Bonus points for Max Block, Dylan Roussel, Kevin Sorstokke and Ryan Spencer who shredded so hard they all DNF’ed!! Dylan gave us all a good laugh by running straight into a GS gate during his second run, his ski ejecting upon impact as well. For the ladies, Julia Chahine took second again with Hannah Schramski, Ashley Binette, Kristen Gresla, and Mattie Hartle taking places fourth through seventh.
After Liz tragically missed her first run in the GS on Sunday (due to helping clean up, we love you Liz), they gave her a second shot at the end of the race to complete another run. Just as she got to the top of the hill they pulled both courses which left the excited teammates at the bottom disappointed (boooooo).
The Randalls graciously hosted the whole team and their families to their house at Crystal on Friday night for delicious food and an opportunity to spend one last weekend together. Sweatpants were traded for sweaters and (gasp) jeans (!!) by a select few athletes who showed up in classy style. We even got a special musical treat from Liz’s dad who sang us a few treasured songs and played along on his guitar while the whole team sang along.
After the tailgate on Saturday some people headed back to the condo to get some much needed rest and sleep off the food coma while others took on some dancing and music at the Vista. That night a few people went out to dinner with their families while the rest of us munched on the huge pile of leftover food from the tailgate. Later on about a thousand pizza rolls were devoured in under 15 minutes and some cheese was tossed around (ask Aaron for photo evidence).
Saturday night the seniors on the team shared their favorite memory and best piece of advice that results in lots of hugs and definitely some tears too. We are excited to see all the wonderful journeys they take on in the next few years and can’t wait for them to come back and visit! As a whole the team cannot thank the captains for their hard work and dedication to the team this year, you guys hold us together and make each season run smoothly. Lastly, each and every graduating senior has made such an impact and lasting memory on the team, we’re all lucky to know you and can’t express how much we’ll miss you.
The biggest lessons from the last weekend are that ski team people will be your friends for life, curling still is confusing, cheese does in fact stick to glass and Max Ford has the cutest dogs on the team. Sending out a huge thank you to all the families and friends who donated their time or food to the team this winter. You kept us full, fueled and ready to rumble. With heavy hearts the regular season comes to a close but we’re looking forward to sending a few athletes off to race at regionals in two weeks. We love you all and can’t wait for the next season! GO BLUE!!
