Freshman skier qualifies for state

By Ellie Haveman

Megan Paasche (right) and Megan Goetcheus (left)
 at regionals

Megan Paasche, a freshman here at Northview, has skied ever since she could walk, with her dad helping her down the hill by putting her skis inside of his. Now Megan is competing at states, qualifying for both events at regionals, as a freshman.
The unusual weather this year, however, didn’t allow for very much preparation. “I mean, when it is 65 degrees in February, you don’t get too much,” Paasche said. Typically, the team has a race and 2-3 practices weekly, but that wasn’t the case for this season. Four conference meets were canceled due to the lack of snow, thankfully 3 of which were rescheduled. This year the ski team only got five conference meets, the regional meet, and then states. Adding even more pressure, being a freshman competing at the state level, can be intimidating. Paasche said, “A lot of them I’ve never competed directly with. I usually only compete with freshman and maybe sophomores, but the juniors and seniors I have never skied against, I have only seen them be really good.”

Monday morning at Boyne Highlands, she was headed to the slopes at 8:00 AM for the state competition, not walking off the hill until 4:30 PM that same afternoon. Paasche said, “It was a long day. There was a lot of skiing and just a short break for lunch and that was pretty much the only time we were off the hill.”

Paasche’s teammates cheering her on at states,
located at Boyne Highlands

When skiing at states, only four runs count, two times for one event called slalom (taking place in the morning), and two times for the other event called giant slalom (taking place in the afternoon). During each event, the skiers had warm ups for 45 minutes before inspecting the course they would be racing on, which allows each competitor to see it once by carefully “side slipping” down the course. One time counts on that specific course, and then they do it all over again for another race in the same event. The rest of the time during the day was spent taking free runs down other hills and mentally preparing for the next race. 

The ski team here at Northview is known as a very tight knit family, which is something Paasche really enjoys. The team has so many different personalities woven in, making Northview’s team truly special. Although the races can stressful, Paasche’s love for skiing is evident. She describes it as very intense, but she likes the fact that it is a make or break sport. The skier either has a great run, getting a great time because of it, or a terrible run, getting an unfavorable time as a result. Undoubtedly, Paasche went through her season having great runs, getting to compete at state as only a freshman in high school.

Top photo by Jennifer Cardwell, Bottom photo by David Dixon

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