On Monday Feb. 23, the D1 Michigan State Skiing Championship took place. The boys won the state championship in slalom (downhill skiing) and the girls placed third in the state. These achievements showcase how excellent their season went, and even puts Traverse City on a statewide spotlight.
The Titans have dominated the slopes all year. They had very high expectations heading into the state championship.
“We knew we had a chance all season, but we really worked as a team and stayed focused on states. Our goals were just to win, and we met that goal, we won every race,” senior captain Grady Ellis said.
It took a lot of practice and hard work to even get to the state championship. The team had to stay focused all season long.
“We had training most days, I think four times a week for basically the whole winter. It’s obviously a huge achievement winning the state meet, being the best team in the state, So it’s been very cool,” junior Cameron Lewandoski said.
This year’s State meet was heavily dominated by the Lewandowskis. Cameron Lewandowski, Dane Lewandowski, and Brock Lewandowski placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the meet respectively. Summer Lewandowski also finished 6th in slalom for the girls. These performances really helped West get the trophy.
“The team chem and all the boys just being really close to each other [helped us win]. [Some key performances were] my brothers and Grady, who skied really well at states,” junior Brock Lewandoski said.
The girls also had a fantastic season, winning many meets and finishing third in the championship.
“I think it’s a great achievement just to show how our training at practice shows up at the state championship and how we’ve improved all season. I think just being with my team, spending those last moments with them, and just competing all together [was my favorite moment],” senior Avery Plummer said.
Both teams performed really well this year, and that was due to the fact that the teams are so connected. They have definitely built a very good chemistry which led them to do so well this season.
“I think just being there with my team was honestly the best thing that could have happened, and knowing that we can do it together, even though we didn’t really perform how we wanted, it was just an amazing race overall,” junior Summer Lewandowski said.
This is the fourth state championship West has won, and the first since 2023. This championship says a lot about the program moving forward, showcasing the school’s ability to be able to win, with not that many skiers.
“This achievement meant a lot to us and our school because it’s been 3 years since we won. It meant a lot to the non-seniors because it was their first state championship win. It felt good because in the last couple years we have come so close but this year we came out on top. Our team was very small this year. I hope this win makes more people want to join the ski team and potentially be state champions,” Ellis said.
For the future, the skiers hope to reach the championship setting in years to come, but for now, they are relishing in their achievements.
“For us, I think it just shows that our hard work really paid off this year, and all the training and the cold days, and everyone really put in a lot of work just to be the best they could be, and I think that really paid off,” S. Lewandowski said.
