Milford ski team celebrates victory over Lakeland

Annabel Williamson, Managing Editor

The Milford Ski Racing team started off strong with multiple wins in the first month of the season, and entered week four ready to dominate. The race took place at Alpine Valley over the course of two days, with slalom on Tuesday, Jan. 28 and GS on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Girls captain Riley Watts said, “I was very nervous but excited because this is our biggest week, as Lakeland is our rival, and we needed to make sure we beat them; they have a very good team, so we knew it would be some hard competition.” Watts went on to finish first overall in GS and first on team for slalom, each time followed closely by Sophomore and co-captain Maddie Melody.

Boys captain Logan Woznak mentioned that starting the race, he was confident in the team’s skill. The boys team did just as well as the girls, with Senior Blake Kerwin taking first place  in GS and second in slalom on  team. Both the boys and the girls gave it their all to show what Milford has to offer.

With the team’s smashing success, the win seemed effortless. Watts stated, “The team works really hard and a lot of teammates go up north on the weekends to train with other teams; that way, we can get as much training in as possible to be prepared for the races during the week.” They not only train hard, but they also work well together; Watts said, “The team has very positive energy going into races and we’re all very supportive of each other.”

With the time spent training, bonds created, and the dedication to each other, there was no doubt Milford would end the race with anything other than a win.

Both of the captains shared the same thoughts of the outcome of the race. Woznak said, “We did very well and Lakeland didn’t really stand a chance.” Watts agreed with Woznak and summed up the victory by saying, “Everyone did what they needed to do and I was very proud of Milford.”

The Milford Ski team continued their momentum to Divisionals, as the girls placed first in slolem and third in GS. That led the Milford girls to get first on team as well as the boys in Divisionals.  They then moved onto regionals,  where the girls got second as well as the boys. The success in regionals qualified both the boys and girls teams for states. At states, Melody got tenth in the state on slalom.  The Milford Ski team had continued success throughout the entire season and finished off strong with making it all the way to states. The ski team set an impressive record for the 2019-2020 season.

The Milford ski team posing with the first place trophy after winning divisionals (All photos courtesy of Stephanie Watts)
Riley Watts running GS
Logan Woznak running GS