BELLAIRE — The Harbor Springs boys ski team pulled double duty Monday.
Besty Corey was on her way to work when she attempted to help a motorist stuck in the snow at the entrance of Schuss Mountain.
“I had stopped to try to help, but was unable to,” said Corey. “I called my boss to see if he’d be able to help, but we couldn’t get the car to budge.”
Moments later, the Harbor Springs boys ski team was to the rescue.
“We had a little rescue,” Harbor Springs head coach Ellen Beatty said. “Our kids jumped out of the bus and pushed her out of the ditch.”
On the hill, the Ram boys finished second in the giant slalom and third in the slalom during the fourth Northern Shores Conference meet at Schuss Mountain Monday.
“We are looking strong,” Beatty said halfway through the meet. “The kids are all skiing strong. Everyone finished their runs.”
The Great North Alpine ski team won the NSC meet after taking several top spots in the boys and girls slalom and giant slalom races. GNA won both the boys and girls team events.
The conference meet featured Harbor Springs, GNA, Lake Charlevoix Ski Team and Grayling.
In the girls giant slalom, Margot Schaffler, of GNA, took first with a combined two-race time of 55.06 seconds. She had the fastest times in both races.
Teammate Grace Rowe took second place in the giant slalom and Quinn Myers, of Harbor Springs, was third.
In the girls slalom race, GNA swept the top three spots. Rowe finished in first place with a combined time of 1:07.82 — just .03 seconds ahead of Margot Schaffler. Emma Kerr rounded out the top three.
In the boys giant slalom, GNA’s Benjamin Dyste finished in first place with a combined time of 52.86 seconds. Harbor Springs’ Caiden Phillips was second and Henry Larson, of Harbor Springs, took third with the fastest run of 26.39 seconds in the first round.
“The course was fun,” said Dyste, an Elk Rapids sophomore. “There was one turn where it dipped down, but I handled it well. I skied fast and I took first.”
Racers were treated to a fresh 3-5 inches of snow with steady snow showers throughout the meet.
“I think it was perfect,” said Dyste. “The snow was grippy. It was a perfect race surface. Really fun to race on.”
Regionals are slated for Feb. 9 at Crystal Mountain, while the D2 state finals are Feb. 23 at Schuss Mountain.
“This is my home hill — I train here everyday,” Dyste said of Schuss Mountain. “I just need to send it to win.”
GNA took the top four spots in the boys slalom. Corbin Bogard was first with a combined time of 1:03.80, followed by Dyste, while Larsen Dyste finished third. Tommy Schaffler was fourth.
Monday’s competition was the fourth NSC meet this season. GNA has finished first in all of the conference meets this season so far. The conference winners will be decided on Feb. 17 at Boyne Highlands during the NSC championship meet.
Beatty was hoping Monday’s meet will help her skiers build more confidence and prepare for the post season.
“We have a really young team, both girls and boys, but they are in a good head space,” the Harbor Springs coach said. “I think if we can hold it together for four runs we have a really good chance of going to states.”