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Race Team Reports 2007
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Special
Two-Race Weekend (4th and 5th) Edition:
This is a
special two race weekend edition of the T-Bird Race Team Newsletter
because I created the first half of it before I left for Jackson
Hole at about 3 AM, and then couldn’t find it (on either of the
computers at either house) until after the final race weekend (where
I finally found it on my thumb drive after wondering if I had saved
it at all, since it was quite late). So, the Race Team didn’t get
the usual pre-notice of the final weekend events. Fortunately,
everything still went well.
Fourth
Race Weekend: February 24-25:
The fourth race
weekend at Boyne was another success, with 32 T-Bird Racers going
through the courses on Saturday and Sunday. The T-Birds that made
the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) are
as follows:
Slalom (Saturday):
1st Janie Guiliani (E2W), Brian Dusina (VBM), Jim
Michon (CM), Ron Glowzinski (SVDM)
2nd Trevor Clough (E1M), Bob Rossi (CM),
Judy Sullivan (DW)
3rd Theresa Klaban (E1W), Robert Dusina (AM), Bob
Rentschler (VBM), Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM),
Art Ellwanger (CM)
Giant Slalom
(Sunday):
1st Scott Tater (E),
Trevor Clough (E1M),
Brian Dusina (VBM), Ron
Glowzinski (SVDM)
2nd Mike Jablonski (SVBM), Chuck Trewin (BM),
Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM),
Art Ellwanger (CM)
3rd Robert Dusina (AM), Bob Rentschler (VBM), Jim
Michon (CM), Arlene Bellas (DW)
Our
“racers of the week” are Brian Dusina and
Ron Glowzinski,
each with two 1st place finishes. However, not far behind
with two podium finishes are: new T-Bird racer Trevor Clough
with a 1st and a 2nd, Jim Michon with a 1st
and a 3rd,
Patrick Smithbauer and
Art Ellwanger, each with a 2nd and a 3rd,
and Robert Dusina and Bob Rentschler with two 3rd.
The T-Bird’s had 50% of our racers (16 of 32) make the podium at
least once, another very successful showing.
Fifth
Race Weekend: March 9-11:
The fifth race
weekend at Boyne was another success, with 30 T-Bird Racers going
through the courses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We continue to
be, by far, the largest race team in the MACC program. The T-Bird's
that made the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd)
are as follows:
Slalom (Friday):
1st Brian Dusina (VBM), Jim Michon (CM)
2nd Robert
Dusina (AM)
3rd Mike Haffey (SVAM), Dale Pacynski (VBM),
Gail Kovaleski (CW),
Doug Fellman (SVCM)
Giant Slalom
(Saturday):
1st Tom Klaban (VE2M), Brian Dusina (VBM)
2nd Scott Tater (E),
Trevor Clough (E1M),
Robert Dusina (AM)
3rd Mike Haffey (SVAM), Jim King (VBM), Steve
Vollmer (SVCM), Art
Ellwanger (CM), Gail
Kovaleski (CW)
Dual Slalom
Cantor Cup (Sunday):
1st Eric Klaban (E), Robert Dusina (AM), Brian
Dusina (VBM), Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM),
Art Ellwanger (CM)2nd
Tim Loula (BM), Jim Michon (CM)
3rd Mike Jablonski (SVBM),
Gail Kovaleski (CW),
Doug Fellman (SVCM), Bob Rossi (CM)
Our
“racer of the week” is Brian Dusina,
with three 1st place finishes. However, not far behind
with three podium finishes are: Robert Dusina with a 1st
and two 2nd, and Gail Kovaleski with three 3rd.
With two podium finishes were:
Jim Michon
with a 1st and 2nd, Art Ellwanger with
a 1st and a 3rd, and Mike Haffey
and Doug Fellman,
each with two 3rd.
The T-Birds had 60% of our racers (18 of 30) make the podium at
least once, another great showing.
Final
2007 Season Results:
The 2007 season
was a great success, with 42 T-Bird Racers going through the courses
at least one time. The T-Birds are the still the largest racing
club in the MACC program (out of 12 clubs), with almost as many
racers as the second and third largest clubs combined. This
participation is the true measure of success for the program, but
the club is also quite successful in the winning part of the
equation.
After a full
season of racing, the T-Bird Race Team finished 5th (out
of 12 teams) in the overall combined standings. In the giant slalom
standings, we were in 5th, while we were 4th
in the slalom standings.
The individuals
that made the season long World Cup podium (1st, 2nd,
or 3rd) are as follows:
1st
Scott Tater (E),
Jim Michon (CM)
2nd Trevor Clough (E1M), Wesley Schmida (AW),
Brian Dusina (VBM), Bob Rossi
(CM), Ron Glowzinski (SVDM)3rd Robert Dusina (AM),
Bob Rentschler (VBM),
Gail Kovaleski (CW), Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM), Art Ellwanger (CM)
Of the 42
T-Bird racers, 29 made the podium at least once during the regular
season (not including the Cantor Cup), 24 made it at least twice, 20
made it at least three times, 15 made it at least four times, 10
made it at least five times, 9 made it at least six times, and four
made it 7 times (Scott Tater, Bob Rentschler, Patrick Smithbauer,
and Jim Michon).
Racers of
the Year:
The female
“T-Bird Racers of the Year” are Wesley Schmida and
Gail Kovaleski. Wesley finished second in AW, with five
podium finishes in the first five races, until her injury in race #6
took her out for the rest of the season. Hopefully, she will be
back faster than ever next season. Gail finished third in CW, with
six podium finishes this season and won the Cantor Cup handicap
improvement award with a fantastic performance, 22.74 points below
her normal handicap. This is a continuation of the improvement she
began at the Michel Pratte race clinic that she attended in
December. Next season should be even better for her.
Congratulations Wesley and Gail!!!
The male
“T-Bird Racers of the Year” are Scott Tater and
Jim Michon.
Scott dominated the fastest class on the hill (E) to again take 1st
for the season and made 7 podium appearances. He also continued to
improve his handicaps, which are approaching single digits. Jim
Michon totally dominated his class (CM), taking 1st for
the season (and leading the T-Bird sweep of the class), reaching the
podium seven times and just missing a win in the Cantor Cup by 0.1
second. Congratulations Scott and Jim!!!
Sick Bay:
The Marks (5th)
race weekend was a bad weekend for T-Bird racers. Matt Dubois
took an awful fall in Saturday’s GS race, sliding down most of the
hill on his back into the snow gun tower. He drove home after the
race with a very sore and bruised left elbow, a left ankle that was
not moveable in any amount and in any direction without searing
pain, and a left knee that was sore and made movement of my lower
leg very difficult to impossible. He woke up Sunday morning with
the addition of a very sore back, shoulder and neck muscles. By
Monday the only real soreness left was in his knee area, although he
was and is still walking with a noticeable limp. If his healing
progressed, he planned to ski one more time this season.
Arlene
Bellas fell in Sunday’s
race. She went for x-rays when she returned home on Sunday night,
but found nothing broken, only tissue damage. Of course, nothing is
going to keep her down and she bowled on Wednesday.
Steve
Vollmer also fell on
Sunday, hurting his back. Fortunately, the x-rays showed no broken
bones, though he says that it feels like a cracked rib. Knowing
Steve, this won’t keep him down for long either.
Injured racer,
Wesley Schmida, said that the MRI confirmed that she tore her
ACL and meniscus and that surgery is probably in her future, though
she is in therapy and is getting a second opinion. However, this
did not keep her from driving north and attending the Awards
Banquet, where she received her 2nd place award for the
season. It was a 2nd place only because she missed the
last half of the season. Hopefully, she will be back next season at
100% and winning races.
In addition,
Mr. Gimp, Ted Jablonski, slipped and fell on Saturday of the
fourth race weekend walking down the icy hill from the Othmar Chalet
and fell on his arm and shoulder. This caused him to miss Sunday’s
race, though he was back limping for the last race weekend and still
raced.
Racers that
were injured last season, Tyler Lybolt (broken leg), and
Dick Synowiec (torn ACL) are both on the road to recovery,
skiing, but not racing, this season, and will hopefully rejoin the
Race Team in 2008. In addition, long termer Dennis Parrott
(bad knee joint) is getting better and will also hopefully rejoin us
on the slopes next season.
The
Social Side:
The T-Bird Race
Team is also multi-dimensional, having a strong social side with a
party for the racers and friends every race weekend. There was the
pizza party, the submarine sandwich party, and the lasagna party
during the first three Boyne race weekends and the great dining at
Searchmont. The Marks weekend brought another lasagna dinner on
Friday, the great turnout for Saturday’s MACC banquet, and the usual
great annual T-Bird on-the-hill three-day barbeque at the Othmar
Chalet at Superbowl. No other club has this kind of race season
festivities. Thanks also go out to Gail Kovaleski, Arlene Bellas,
Judy Sullivan, Mary Ann Jablonski, Jim Michon and many others for
making these activities the success that they were. It was a
season-long good time for all!!!
Mike’s
Musings:
The T-Bird Race
Team continues to be the best all-around team in the MACC race
program. A few other teams may have finished higher in the team
standings, but the T-Birds were not far behind. We have the most
racers, the most winners, the largest group of improving racers, the
best social activities, the best Mark’s weekend barbeque, and best
of all, the friendliest group of people on the hill. This is hard
to beat (but we will try to do so next season).
The battle of
the brothers went to me this season, as I won seven of the races to
four for Ted. I finished fourth in class with four podium finishes
to his sixth place, with two podium finishes. Of course, finishing
fourth for the second season in a row (with the invisible award that
goes with it) is a bit frustrating. However, it builds character
and provides an incentive to continue working to get faster. Of
course, the dreaded “fourth syndrome” did not only afflict me,
fellow T-Bird racers Eric Klaban, Jill Jablonski, Mike Haffey, Will
Heckman, Tim Loula, Doug Fellman, and Judy Sullivan also finished
fourth for the season. Oh well, we all have to get faster!
Future racer,
nephew Zach Jablonski, ran as a forerunner for most of the Course #4
races. Interestingly, he regularly posted times better than his dad
(Ted) or mine. This is an indication that another racer on Team
Jablonski will be a force to be faced in the not-too-distant future.
See you next
season on the racecourse and between now and then at the many other
T-Bird activities.
Your
Thunderbird Race Team Director:
Mike Jablonski
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Third Race Weekend (Searchmont):
February 9-11:
Photos of the Racers are in the
Searchmont Folder
The third race
weekend at Searchmont was another success, with 26 T-Bird Racers
going through the courses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We
continue to be, by far, the largest race team in the MACC program
with almost ¼ of the racers at Searchmont. The T-Bird's that made
the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) are
as follows:
Super Giant
Slalom (Friday):
1st Doug Fellman (SVCM), Jim Michon (CM), Ron
Glowzinski (SVDM)
2nd Scott Tater (E), Wesley Schmida (AW), Mike
Jablonski (SVBM), Bob Rentschler (VBM),
Gail Kovaleski (CW),
Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM)
3rd Mike Haffey (SVAM), Tim Loula (BM)
Slalom (Saturday):
1st Will Heckman (AM), Ron Glowzinski (SVDM)
2nd Scott
Tater (E), Bob Rentschler (VBM),
Gail Kovaleski (CW),
Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM), Jim Michon (CM)
3rd Ted Jablonski (SVBM), Doug Fellman (SVCM
Giant Slalom
(Sunday):
1st Scott Tater (E), Will Heckman (AM), Mike
Jablonski (SVBM), Bob Rentschler (VBM), Doug Fellman (SVCM), Ron
Glowzinski (SVDM)
2nd Mike Haffey (SVAM),
Gail Kovaleski (CW)
3rd Tim Loula (BM), Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM),
Art Ellwanger (CM)
Our
“racer of the week” is
Ron Glowzinski (SVDM),
with three 1st place finishes. However, not far behind
with three podium finishes are:
Doug Fellman
(SVCM) with two 1st and a 3rd, Scott Tater
(E) and Bob Rentschler (VBM) each with a 1st and
two 2nd, Gail Kovaleski (CW) with three 2nd,
and Patrick Smithbauer
(SVCM) with two 2nd and a 3rd. Also of note
are those with two podium finishes: Will Heckman with two 1st,
Jim Michon
(CM) and Mike Jablonski (SVBM), each with a 1st
and a 2nd, Mike Haffey (SVAM) with a 2nd and a
3rd, and Tim Loula BM) with two 3rd. The
T-Bird’s had 54% of our racers (14 of 26) make the podium at least
once, another very successful showing.
Sick Bay:
The successes
on the slopes were tempered with an injury to Wesley Schmida
on the second run of Saturday’s slalom. Wesley blew out of the
course and injured her leg, necessitating a trip to the ski patrol
room in a toboggan. This was followed up with a trip to the
hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan for x-rays. The good news
was that there were no broken bones. The bad news is that she could
not put any weight on her knee or leg, which will require further
follow-up with other doctors in the Detroit area to determine what
is causing the problem. It was not a comfortable trip home in
Arlene’s van. Hopefully, her leg will be fine and she can rejoin
the team soon on the slopes and racecourse. But until that time,
all we can do is wish her a speedy recovery. Get well Wesley!!!
The Past
Weekend at Searchmont:
The T-Birds
invaded Searchmont, with 20 racers and friends taking over four
villas/condos at the foot of the slopes. Most of the group arrived
on Wednesday, in order to have the full day on Thursday for race
training, which, based upon our results, was productive. Each of
the condos arranged for their own meals, with a joint Friday
dinner. This meal was Gail Kovaleski’s fantastic home made
lasagna (a huge tray for each condo), followed with homemade
desserts from Judy Sullivan, Arlene Bellas, Margaret Loula,
Yvonne Glowzinski, and Mary Ann Jablonski. Needless to say, no
one went hungry. In fact, between this and the other LARGE meals,
most of us probably gained weight, in spite of the energy expended
on the racecourse. Evenings were spent socializing between the four
condos and trips to the lodge to join the other MACC racers who took
over almost the entire resort.
It was
determined that Searchmont is actually a “mystery spot”, as strange
things happen. Both Will and Jim found that the cases of beer that
they bought only contained 24 bottles or cans of beer, and that
those disappeared quickly and had to be replenished. Most of us (at
least those who didn’t kill too many brain cells) will remember
Patrick’s tequila shots and Will’s drinking beers from a six-pack
without taking them apart. These are talents that you just can’t
find on the racecourse.
Another
pleasant memory is from the Saturday awards, where a LOT of T-Bird
racers made a trip to a real podium to receive their awards. All in
all, it was a weekend of great racing on great courses with great
friends in a great venue. Anyone who hasn’t participated should
think seriously about it next year. Jim already has, as he reserved
our condos for next season’s racing.
The Next
Race Weekend (February 24-25):
The racing
returns to Boyne Mountain for the next MACC race weekend, which also
means that our Saturday night party returns to the Vollmer condo in
Boyne Falls. This will be a sub sandwich party that you don’t want
to miss. The cost will be $7, payable to Mike Jablonski or Steve
Vollmer. As usual, the party will follow the awards at the Boyne
Civic Center, which start at about 4:30 PM. Everyone should try to
attend, both to receive their awards and to cheer on all of the
T-Bird winners (and there are lots of us).
Awards
Banquet Tickets Are Now Available:
The season
ending awards banquet will take place on Saturday, March 10th
at the Boyne Mountain Civic Center. This year there is a discount
if you purchase your tickets early. Ticket prices are: Adult, age
13 and older are $30 through March 8th ($33 on March
9-10). Youth, ages 8 through 12 are $13 through March 8th
($14 on March 9-10). Child, ages 4 through 7 are $9 through March 8th
($10 on March 9-10). Baby, through age 3, are free. With this in
mind, get your tickets early. If you send your check (payable to
MACC) in now, it will not be cashed until after the banquet. For
tickets, see Terri Warren or Ginnie Uhley-Rose
in person at the next race weekend, or mail your check to Mike
Jablonski at 04888 Concorde N.,
Boyne City, MI 49712.
This is always a fun time and a very good meal that you don’t want
to miss.
Mike’s
Musings:
The Searchmont
race weekend came off very well. The snow was excellent (with fresh
powder every night) and the courses were very fast and fun for
everyone. Jim Michon
was only one of MANY racers with a perma-smile at the bottom of the
courses. Both Arlene Bellas and Judy Sullivan had fun
AND got faster with each run. Arlene said that she needed about ten
more runs to get on the podium.
There were a
number of achievements this weekend that I did not mention earlier:
- Scott
Tater continued his
string of four straight podiums (for a total of five for the
season). He was also the fastest racer on the hill on Sunday,
while being the second fastest on both Friday and Saturday.
- Will
Heckman got on track,
winning his first two races of the season.
- Bob
Rentschler ran his
streak of podium finishes to five.
- Patrick
Smithbauer and
Gail Kovaleski have both made the podium in every race that
they have raced this season, which is quite an achievement.
- Jim
Michon won his first
race of the season in Friday’s Super-G.
- Art
Ellwanger won his
first award ever in Sunday’s GS.
- Ron
Glowzinski ran his
string of first place finishes to four.
- Wesley
Schmida broke her
string of five straight podium finishes with her disastrous fall
in Saturday’s slalom (while leading by almost three seconds
after the first run).
- Gary
Sonnenberg came
within 0.1 second of winning his first award in his new class (SVCM),
after upgrading himself at the start of the season. Hopefully,
that is the start of a new trend.
- I
won my first race (Sunday’s GS) in SVBM since being bumped up
two years ago. Fast IS fun!
The battle of
the brothers went to me this weekend, as I won both speed events and
Ted took the slalom. It was fairly successful, as I made the podium
(1st and 2nd) in both speed events as Ted did
(3rd) in slalom. At this point, I’m up 4 to 3 for the
season.
See you at
Boyne.
Your
Thunderbird Race Team Director:
Mike Jablonski
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Second
Race Weekend: January 27 & 28:
The second race
weekend was a success, with 28 T-Bird Racers going through the
courses on Saturday and Sunday. We continue to be, by far, the
largest race team in the MACC program. The T-Bird's that made the
podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) are as
follows:
Slalom
(Saturday):
1st Eric Klaban (E1M), Tom Klaban (VE2M), Jill
Jablonski (AW), Brian Dusina (VBM),
2nd
Mike Haffey (SVAM), Robert
Dusina (AM), Tim Loula (BM)
3rd Janie Guiliani (E2W), Wesley Schmida (AW), Bob
Rentschler (VBM),
Giant Slalom
(Sunday):
1st Scott Tater (E), Eric Klaban (E1M), Tom
Klaban (VE2M), Jill Jablonski (AW), Brian Dusina (VBM), Steve
Vollmer (SVCM), Ron Glowzinski (SVDM)
2nd Wesley Schmida (AW), Bob Rentschler (VBM)
3rd Teresa Klaban (E1W),
Gail Kovaleski (CW)
Our “racers of
the week” are Eric Klaban (E1M), Tom Klaban (VE2M), Jill Jablonski
(AW), and Brian Dusina (VBM), each with two 1st place finishes.
Right behind them, with two podium finishes are Wesley Schmida (AW)
and Bob Rentschler (VBM), each with a 2nd and 3rd.
Also of note, the racing Klaban family had 5 podium finishes for the
weekend, which is quite an achievement. The Dusina family also had
three podium finishes, which is not bad either. The T-Bird’s had
54% of our racers (15 of 28) make the podium at least once, a quite
successful showing.
Upgraded
T-Bird Racers:
Eric Klaban,
with the help of those new Volkl Race Tigers, became a Race Tiger
himself, dropping his handicap below 15 to join the top dogs on the
hill in the new “Elite” class. He joins our other Elite racer,
Scott Tater, in this class where they both try to dethrone former US
Ski Team member Cary Adgate as the “King of the Hill”. For most of
us, a sub-15 handicap is not even something that we can dream of.
In addition, my
composing the last newsletter at 2 AM took its toll, as I neglected
to mention that Matt Dubois upgraded to VE2M, which is also
quite an accomplishment. Matt is doing a fine job (the best of any
of us that went) of putting the new skills that he acquired at
December’s Michel Pratte race clinic to very good use.
Congratulations
to both Eric and Matt!!!
Sick Bay:
My late night
amnesia also contributed to my forgetting to mention that Dick
Synowiec, who hurt his Achilles tendon last season (though he
continued to race) and finished it off working on his boat,
requiring an operation and many months of therapy, was back on skis
for the first race weekend. He still is in pain and probably will
not be racing this season, but he was around to cheer on the other
racers. Get well Dick!!!
Glenn Arendsen
has not been racing (or skiing for that matter) this season. It
appears that the doctors he has been visiting have diagnosed his
condition to be either a viral arthritis, which affects and causes
swelling of and pain in some joints, or PMR (polymyalgia rheumatica)
which affect connective tissue of the joints. He is taking some
medications and has seen some improvement, so we will hopefully see
Glenn back and skis and (hopefully) back on the race course. Get
well Glenn.
The Past
Weekend’s Parties:
Things return
to normal this past weekend, as the party was held at the Vollmer
condo in Boyne Falls. The meal was Gail Kovaleski’s
fantastic home made lasagna, followed with home made brownies, cake,
and cookies from Judy Sullivan, Arlene Bellas, and Yvonne
Glowzinski. Those of you that missed that meal, missed a real
treat. This was followed by a trek to the Toledo Ski Club clubhouse
in Walloon Lake for the MACC-Toledo Ski Club party. Here the
T-Bird Racers mingled with many other MACC racers and enjoyed the
free beer and pop and many snacks, which most of us were too stuffed
to eat. It was a fun evening.
Searchmont Race Weekend:
The MACC race
program moves north for the upcoming February 9-11 race weekend at
the Searchmont Resort, 28 miles north of Sault St. Marie, Ontario.
If you’ve never been there, it is a great experience, with the extra
vertical and the longer and different race courses. This is also
the time for speed, with Friday’s Super-G race. Twenty T-Birds are
renting four condos at the foot of the hill for this weekend, with
many more staying in Sault St. Marie. For those that can make it,
Thursday is training day, where you can get a whole season’s worth
of race course training in one day. It is a great time that
everyone should consider. For more information, take a look at the
e-mails that were sent to you from Jim and the MACC or look at the
MACC website (www.maccracing.org).
If there are any questions, please contact Jim or me.
Mike’s
Musings:
The second race
weekend came off very well. We had the entire hill of Superbowl
open with lots of snow. Since the south side of the hill did not
have as long for the snow to set, it tended to develop ruts sooner.
But, it was still good racing conditions, though it was boring not
having to climb a ladder to reach the start shack.
Steve “I never
win anything” Vollmer learned that sharpening your edges could do
wonderful things, as he smoked his class in winning the GS on
Sunday. In fact, it worked so well, he may have to sharpen them
again this season…or next.
The battle of
the brothers was a toss-up this weekend with Ted taking the slalom
on Saturday and me taking the GS on Sunday. But, since neither of
us made the podium, it was not that successful. In fact, with the
Klaban and Dusina families doing so well, I’m sure that Jill felt
that Ted and I were letting her down.
However, the
slalom could have been a lot worse that just losing the race. Since
I was about a second out of first after the first run (and about a
half second behind Ted), I decided to be a bit more aggressive on
the second run. As I came to a flush (that was the undoing of a
number of racers) that had a bit of a trench dug in it, I found a
way to stop my skis at a gate without stopping my body. I launched
through the air (with my skis left at the gate) and landed hard on
the shoulder that I dislocated about this time last season. Wesley
was the gatekeeper just above this point and retrieved my skis and
fortunately, when I got on my feet, my arm and shoulder, though in
pain, both seemed to work, which was good. I guess that discretion,
rather than aggression, is the most effective action when the course
is chewed up like it was. Oh well!
To make matters
worse, just when you think that you have great style points coming,
both the Russian and French judges give you a low score. Some days
you just can’t win for losing.
See you at
Searchmont.
Your
Thunderbird Race Team Director:
Mike Jablonski
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First
Race Weekend: January 13 & 14:
The first race
weekend, in spite of the one-week weather delay, was a success, with
26 T-Bird Racers going through the courses on Saturday and Sunday.
We are still, by far, the largest race team in the MACC program. The
T-Birds that made the podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd)
are as follows:
Slalom
(Saturday):
1st Eric Klaban
(E1M), Wesley Schmida (AW), Robert Dusina (AM)
2nd
Scott Tater (EM),
Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM),
Jim Michon (CM)
3rd Mike
Jablonski (SVBM), Chuck Trewin (BM), Bob Rossi (CM)
Giant Slalom
(Sunday):
1st Eric Klaban
(E1M), Wesley Schmida (AW),
Patrick Smithbauer (SVCM),
Bob Rossi (CM)
2nd Ted Jablonski
(SVBM), Tim Loula (BM), Jim Michon (CM)
3rd
Janie Guiliani (E2W), Mike Haffey (SVAM),
Chuck Trewin (BM)
Our “racers of
the week” are Eric Klaban (E1M) and new T-Bird racer Wesley Schmida
(AW), each with two 1st place finishes. Right behind them, with two
podium finishes are Patrick Smithbauer (1st & 2nd),
Bob Rossi (1st & 3rd), Jim Michon (two 2nd
), and Chuck Trewin (two 3rd). The T-Bird’s had
50% of our racers (13 of 26) make the podium at least once, a quite
successful showing.
Welcome
New T-Bird Racers:
The T-Bird Race
Team would like to welcome two new racers, Wesley Schmida
(AW) and Mark Coopersmith (CM). Wesley has already made her
presence known in AW, with two first place finishes. Mark, who
lives in Boyne City, will not be able to race for the rest of the
season because of conflicts with his son’s racing. Hopefully, he
will find a break in his son’s schedule to race with us again this
season.
Returning this
past weekend was Art Ellwanger, who missed most of last
season with broken ribs. Long time racer, Mike Ulczynski,
who was transferred to Pittsburg by Ford five years ago, is now back
in Michigan and skiing with the same form that he had when he left.
Paul Geyer, who broke his leg in the first race of last
season, is back on skis, but is not quite ready to tackle a race
course. Hopefully, the skiing therapy will bring his leg back into
shape and he can begin racing again.
Next
Weekend’s Parties:
Things return
to normal next weekend, as the party will begin at the Vollmer condo
in Boyne Falls. The meal will be Gail Kovaleski’s fantastic
lasagna, which is a real treat. The cost is $7 per person,
payable on Saturday to either Mike Jablonski or Steve Vollmer.
As usual, bring your own drinks. Dinner will begin as soon as
possible after the Saturday awards.
Saturday’s festivities will continue with the
MACC-Toledo Ski Club party at the Toledo clubhouse outside of
Walloon Lake. The party will run from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM and will
include FREE beer and munchies. There will also be
representatives from Boyne Mountain and Blizzard skis to discuss
their offerings, with a PRIZE RAFFLE to follow. Join your
fellow T-Birds and MACC racers at the party. To get there from the
Vollmer condo, take US-131 north to the M-75 north intersection at
Walloon Lake Village, turning left (west), continue about two miles
to South Shore Drive where you turn right, continue about 200 feet,
and turn left into the clubhouse drive.
Mike’s
Musings:
The fact that
the first race weekend came off as well as it did, was amazing.
Sure, we had to squeeze all of the courses on the north side of the
hill, climb a ladder to get to the start shack, had no place else to
ski but a narrow band of Superbowl around the courses, and had to
take a shuttle to get to the rest of the ski area, but the snow held
up well (though a bit icy) and we got two runs on each course. All
in all, it was a fun weekend and it was good to be skiing and racing
again.
The battle of
the brothers was a toss-up this weekend with me taking the GS and
Ted taking the slalom. So it should be an interesting season. Of
course, another interesting point is that young (12 year old)
forerunner Zach Jablonski, on Sunday’s steep, icy slalom course,
beat both of us, as well as everyone else on the course except the
winner of SVAM and the pacesetters. Not a bad performance and an
indicator of what is to come in three years when he becomes eligible
to race for real.
See you next
weekend.
Your
Thunderbird Race Team Director:
Mike
Jablonski
734-283-5510
(Home)
231-582-7339
(Cottage)
mtjablonski@wowway.com |
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