Sports
Lakeland Snowboard Cross a One of a Kind
Going into its eighth year, the Lakeland snowboard cross team helps create a first of its kind high school sport in Michigan.
Snowboarding may not be considered a marquee sport for Lakeland athletics to most, but with a successful 2010-2011 season it has put the White Lake high school on the map.
Snowboard cross, a popular winter Olympic event, is a snowboarding race that consists of jumps and turns of various sizes. , along with Milford, Detroit Country Day, Orchard Lake St. Mary's/Ladywood and Romeo, joined forces to create a boardercross division (one of two in the state) so high school students can compete against each other yearly.
According to Lakeland's head coach Greg Koenig, who is in his second year of coaching the team, the league is still growing.
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"This sport has grown a lot, this year we had five teams running on this hill () and a whole other division of five teams," said Koenig. "There is also talk of another area in Michigan opening up a division consisting of four teams, and adding another division up north. We, right now, though are the only place in Michigan doing high school boardercross."
Though the sport is still considered a club sport in the eyes of the athletic department, students who participate can still earn a varsity letter and get a letterman's jacket.
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The division battled it out late this week to determine who would make it to the state finals. The boys finished second overall in the division, and the girls went on to finish first. Both teams qualified for state finals.
Two stand-out snowboarders from Lakeland are senior Alex Thickstun, boys team captain, and junior Jules Corvell, captain of the girls team. Koenig says both are likely in the running for the individual state championship this season. Corvell finished second in individuals last year.
"I started snowboarding when I was ten, my cousin would always take me up to the hill and taught me how to ride," said Corvell. "She also got me into racing, I absolutely love snowboarding."
Corvell says that popular snowboarder Shaun White is her snowboarding idol because she is a fan of his '1260' trick, which is seven-and-a-half rotations in the air.
"Jules (Corvell) is one of my top riders, she placed second last year in individuals in states for girls. She is a very smooth and powerful rider," Koenig said. "When you watch successful boardercross riders they get that smooth, fast and low stance and you can definitely tell she has that."
Thickstun, on the boys side, started BMX riding befor his passion switched to snowboarding.
"I've been snowboarding since I've been little, I started BXM racing and saw this on TV and decided to try it," he said.
Thickstun idolizes snowboarder Danny Kass because he likes the fluidity of his riding style.
"This is Alex's third year on the team, and he has been progressing very well. He is definitely one of the top two guys on the team," Koenig said. "He is a very smooth and powerful boarder. You can tell he has progressed."
Individual qualifiers for those teams who did not qualify for states will be held at Alpine Valley Tuesday, Feb. 8, from 5–8 p.m.
State finals will also be held at Alpine Valley Friday, Feb. 11, from 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
