Wildcats Skiers Finish Well at State Tournament

Members of the University School of Milwaukee ski team participated in the Wisconsin State High School Ski and Snowboard Championships held in La Crosse on Sunday and Monday. USM’s Cassie Bence placed second overall in the girls’ tournament and Spencer Haas placed sixth overall for USM in the boys’ tournament. As a result of their efforts in the state tournament, the two USM skiers will participate in the United States Ski Association national competition in March.

Arrowhead won both the boys and the girls team tournament. In the girls tournament, Arrowhead’s racers amassed a total of 203 points, the lowest team total for the results of the Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G ski races held at the tournament. In the boys’ tournament, Arrowhead had a combined total of 219 points in the three events.  University School did not participate as a team in the tournament.

Although the USM team did qualify as a team for the state tournament this year, four members of the team did compete at the tournament. Bence, Brooke Hopkins, and Merrill Read participated as individuals in the girls’ tournament. Haas was USM’s sole individual competitor in the boys’ tournament.

Individual skiers received a total number of points for the tournament, the combination for their order of finishing in the Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G races.  Bence had a total of 13 points in the three races to place second in the tournament. Abby Leinfelder of LaCrosse’s Central-Logan team took first place overall with the lowest total of six points. Sydney Rogers of Kettle Moraine and Kelsi Krakauer of Oconomowoc tied for third place overall with 14 points apiece.  USM’s Read placed 44th overall with 180 points. Hopkins was right behind her in 45th place with 181 total points.

Bence was able to take second place overall for her fine performances in each race. In the Slalom race, Bence placed 4th with a time of 42.33 seconds. Erica Engstrand of Brookfield East won the event with a time of 40.95. Rogers was second at 41.35 and Leinfelder was third at 41.63. Read placed 47th in the race at 51.78, and Hopkins took 124th place with a time of 76.51.

In the Giant Slalom race, Bence finished fifth. Her time for the race was 33.15 seconds. Krakauer won the race with a time of 32.47. Leinfelder was second at 32.58. Rogers was third with a time of 32.80. USM’s Hopkins finished in 27th place at 34.99, and Read took 93rd place at 40.90.

USM’s Bence took fourth place in the Super G event. She had a time for the race of 34.31 seconds. Leinfelder won the race with a time of 33.78. Morgan Cummings of Arrowhead was second at 33.81, and Wausau West’s Olivia Swift was third at 34.28. Hopkins finished in 30th place with a time of 36.05. Read took 40th place at 36.51.

In the boys’ competition, USM’s Haas had a total of 33 points for the Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G races. Anthony Wong of Waukesha Catholic Memorial took first place overall with a total of seven points. Zak Kjos of Central-Logan was second with eight points, and Willy Bloomer of Marquette finished third with nine points.

Haas finished sixth in the Slalom race with a time of 40.40 seconds. Kjos won the Slalom with a time of 37.80 while Wong was second with a time of 38.57.

Haas took 18th place in the Giant Slalom event with a time of 28.71 seconds.  Wong won the race at 27.25 and Kjos was second at 27.43.

In the Super G race, USM’s Haas finished ninth. He had a time of 33.27 seconds.  Ian Beal of Kettle Moraine won the race with a time of 32.04. Bloomer was second at 32.12.

“Cassie and Spencer are two of the top high school ski racers in the State of Wisconsin," said USM’s head coach Jane Segerdahl. "Both have been invited the Eastern High School Ski Championships next month!”

Bence and Haas will compete nationally in the USSA 2012 Eastern High School Championships, which will take place at Attitash Bear Peak Mountain, in Bartlett, New Hampshire on March 9 through 11.