Make some room: Petoskey's boys add to trophy case with fifth straight skiing state title

HARBOR SPRINGS — The Petoskey ski teams don’t bother to check and see if there’s room in the trophy case from one year to the next.

They would rather just go ahead and build another case or stack on top if there’s not. And, at this point, that just might be what's needed.

With the chance to add more hardware Monday at Nub’s Nob during the MHSAA Division 2 skiing state championships, Petoskey’s boys and a collection of individuals didn’t disappoint once again.

“We need to keep on expanding that trophy case, adding space,” Petoskey head coach Ben Crockett said with a laugh.

Behind another dominant performance from the Northmen boys, winning both slalom and giant slalom events to eventually earn a 34-point margin victory, Petoskey claimed a fifth consecutive state title on the hill.

“It’s always special to win a state championship,” Crockett said. “For this group of guys, they put in a lot of work and after a regional that showed it’s always going to be a contest, they were able to really deliver and come through with an outstanding performance.”

Petoskey earned a 68-point finish for the win, then was followed by Orchard Lake St. Mary’s with 102; Notre Dame Prep, 134; Great North Alpine, 140; and Harbor Springs, 155.

It actually came as a Big North Conference sweep on the day, as Cadillac claimed a 72-91 finish over Harbor Springs on the girls side. Mattawan/Paw Paw then took third with 107, followed by Marion, 107; and Norway, 168.

As Crockett eluded to, Petoskey didn’t exactly head in with a ton of momentum on their side. Harbor Springs actually headed in with the regional sweep and it took everything to come together perfectly for the PHS boys Monday.

But, that’s also how the season has been. On Monday, they just saved their best team performance, from top to bottom, for last.

“There were a lot of really amazing individual performances, but they really came together as a team and you could tell they wanted to win as a group,” said Crockett. “They were all pulling for each other and it was clear that everyone was working towards the same goal.”

Petoskey built a commanding morning advantage by 32 points following the giant slalom, then needed to just hold on from there.

Spence doubles up again

While Petoskey’s girls didn’t travel to the state finals as a team, senior Marley Spence of course made the trip to cap one of the best skiing careers in MHSAA history.

After sweeping the state finals last season, Spence again doubled up with state titles in slalom and giant slalom Monday.

She put together a time of 51.17 in the GS, then 1:12.19 in the slalom, holding off some tough competition from Cadillac's Onalee Wallace in both races.

It gave her the Petoskey record for skiing state titles in a career with five, tied with Eric Behan. It was also the outright girls record at the school.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” said Spence. “I knew that going into it today, if I got them both, then I would beat the record. I knew it was four for boys and girls for Petoskey. That was the coolest feeling ever.”

Spence also tied the MHSAA record for state titles in a career in Division 2 or open class, matching the mark of Christy Salonen of Iron River from 1993-96.

Petoskey’s girls also had Sydney Hoffman claim top 10 and first team all-state in both the slalom and giant slalom races.

(Check for more on the career of Spence ahead from the News-Review)

Galbraith’s payoff 

It wasn’t exactly known who the consistent leader of Petoskey’s boys would be entering the season, but Gavin Galbraith quickly picked up the torch.

And on Monday, he stood atop the slalom podium with his first-ever state championship.

“Gavin is one of the hardest working skiers in the state,” Crockett said. “He’s out here all the time training, skiing. He loves it and for him to get his win is huge for him and huge for the Petoskey program.”

The victory in 1:08.53, paired with a third place finish in the giant slalom, capped an overall strong season for Galbraith, one that he can feel proud of.

“I’ve put in a ton of work this season and it sure is showing off with making Team Michigan and then now this state championship win,” Galbraith said. “I tried to go in clean minded today and had my eyes on one goal. So be it what happens, let’s just rock this. So I didn’t want to overthink everything.”

Better yet, Galbraith is a junior that will try to help Petoskey’s boys to a sixth consecutive title next season and perhaps a shot at a double title for himself.

“I’m just going to raise the bar,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens, but the bar is raised. I’ll keep putting in all of this work and write down my goals. Writing them down has been a massive benefit for me this year.”

All-State honors 

Along with the PHS standouts, others from the area earned first team all-state as well.

Avery Kita of the Lake Charlevoix Ski Team claimed first team in both slalom and giant slalom with seventh and 10th place finishes, respectively. Harbor Springs’ Mckenzie Bowman also earned first team in both disciplines with sixth and eighth place finishes.

On the boys side, Taylor Keiswetter placed eighth in giant slalom and 10th in slalom, then Jackson Deegan and Carson Truman of Harbor Springs were fourth and eighth, respectively, in slalom.

Complete area results: 

Boys Giant Slalom: Gavin Galbraith, Petoskey (3, 50.85); Keaton Abraham, Gaylord (4, 50.96); Taylor Keiswetter, Petoskey (8, 51.74); Mick Galbraith, Petoskey (12, 52.21); Caiden Phillips, Harbor Springs (17, 52.82); Nolan Kennedy, Harbor Springs (22, 53.27); Carter Walkerdine, Petoskey (23, 53.29); Henry Jankowski, Petoskey (30, 54.00); Carter Cook, Petoskey (38, 55.07); McLean Davis, Harbor Springs (55, 58.54); Carson Truman, Harbor Springs (60, 1:02.25); Everett Baetens, Harbor Springs (63, 1:13.31).

Girls Slalom: Marley Spence, Petoskey (1, 1:12.19); Clover Hamilton, Gaylord (6, 1:18.88); Avery Kita, Lake Charlevoix (7, 1:19.71); Mckenzie Bowman, Harbor Springs (1:19.79); Sydney Hoffman, Petoskey (9, 1:19.97); Elliott Baetens, Harbor Springs (18, 1:23.07); Drew Bowman, Harbor Springs (19, 1:23.44); Tara Shouldice, Harbor Springs (20, 1:23.71); Quinn Meyers, Harbor Springs (31, 1:26.70); Rayna Robel, Gaylord (54, 1:38.97).

Boys Slalom: Gavin Galbraith, Petoskey (1, 1:08.53); Jackson Deegan, Harbor Springs (4, 1:10.10); Carson Truman, Harbor Springs (8, 1:12.60); Taylor Keiswetter, Petoskey (10, 1:12.93); Nolan Kennedy, Harbor Springs (15, 1:14.66); Mick Galbraith, Petoskey (19, 1:15.85); Carter Walkerdine, Petoskey (23, 1:17.30); Henry Jankowski, Petoskey (26, 1:19.13); Carter Cook, Petoskey (33, 1:22.25); Everett Baetens, Harbor Springs (37, 1:23.15); McLean Davis, Harbor Springs (52, 1:46.22); Caiden Phillips, Harbor Springs (53, 1:54.60).

Girls Giant Slalom: Marley Spence, Petoskey (1, 51.17); Mckenzie Bowman, Harbor Springs (6, 54.04); Sydney Hoffman, Petoskey (7, 54.26); Avery Kita, Lake Charlevoix (10, 54.71); Rayna Robel, Gaylord (11, 54.83); Clover Hamilton, Gaylord (18, 55.42); Drew Bowman, Harbor Springs (19, 55.55); Tara Shouldice, Harbor Springs, (20, 55.64); Quinn Meyers, Harbor Springs (30, 56.73).

Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey boys skiing wins fifth straight state title; Spence, Galbraith win