Nicolet, USM Ski Teams Finish Well at State Championships

In sports, alternates are just that: alternate options. A backup. They’re not supposed to contribute much, let alone be a deciding factor in a competition. Don’t tell that to Sam Suing.

The senior was called into action one day before the Wisconsin State Ski & Snowboard Championships at Mt. LaCrosse after teammate Zach Shires dislocated his shoulder during warm-ups on Saturday. Nicolet Head coach Terry McMahon told Suing it was his time.

“He was just going to be my radio man,” McMahon said. “We had to suit him up at the last minute.”

Suing didn’t have a heroic, Rudy-type performance on the slopes, but his runs helped the Knights boys team finish 16^th out of 35 teams on Saturday.

Mike Noonan led the way for Nicolet, finishing 16^th in the giant slalom, 22^nd in the slalom and 35^th in the super-G.

Couple that with the girls team finishing 10^th overall, and it was a pretty successful day for the Knights.

“These were great results,” McMahon said. “The girls team…we were the last team to qualify in the conference. We were kind of behind the eight ball all the way to the last race.”

Once they got to state, the team continued that momentum from the week before.

Sophomore Megan McMahon finished 17^th in the slalom and 26^th in the giant slalom. Coleen Noonan took 43^rd in the giant slalom and 47^th in the super-G.

The real highlights, however, came when Claire Kopetsky took the hill. She finished 33^rd and 26^th in the slalom and giant slalom, respectively, but flew down the slopes in 31.18 seconds in the super-G, good enough for eighth place. Kettle Moraine’s Danielle Dawson finished first with a time of 30.26.

Said McMahon of Kopetsky, “She was just flying.”

While warmer temperatures mean the end of the season for the Knights, coach McMahon said this is a year that won’t soon be forgotten.

“This was one of those watershed years for us. A lot of the kids who didn’t have a real background in ski racing joined us in their freshman or junior or sophomore (year) really found their feet, so to speak, and become really competent ski racers. And it shows because this is the first time that both the boys and girls teams have qualified for state together in probably 15 years.

“Usually it’s just one team or sometimes just the individuals qualify but this is the first time since…no one can remember when the last one was.”

Meanwhile, neighbor had a good day at Mt. LaCrosse as well.

The Wildcats finished 11^th overall in the girls competition and 8^th in the boys.

Spencer Haas consistently improved his results throughout the day, finishing 28^th in the slalom, 26^th in the giant slalom and 24^th in the super-G.

Teammates Alex Read and Nick Segal also placed in the top 50 for USM in the super-G, while Read also taking 29^th in the giant slalom.

The girls team was led by standout Cassie Bence. The USM junior took fifth in the giant slalom with a time of 31.97, less than a second behind first place (31.08) and third in the super-G in 30.48.