Breaking News – Team XC Ski HQ Wins the 2013 Michigan Cup and Brumbaugh Cup!
-Story by Mike Muha with exerpts from Mariah Frye
The weather map was not optimistic, showing green and yellow raining all over Michigan. Those of us who drove up from southern Michigan or from the north or west ran into bouts of heavy rain. But as we turned off the highway to the Cross Country Ski Headquarters, the rain magically stopped. Maybe the Michigan Cup Relays would be dry after all. Even if it did rain, there was too much at stake: the Vasa Ski Club and the Cross Country Ski Headquarters were duking it out for first place for the overall Michigan Cup Championship title, and Team NordicSkiRacer was going to make sure it held onto third place.
Even though Vasa brought 10 relays teams to the games, the home court team, Cross Country Ski Headquarters, responded with 20 and overwhelmed all comers. Team NordicSkiRacer accomplished what they came to do.
The race was around a single 7.5km loop what started up the Rolling Hills trail (the hilly section of the course) before hitting other less hilly trails. The first leg was classic; the remaining two legs were freestyle. Teams were divided by gender (Male, Female, and Coed) and by the sum of the ages on the teams (164 and younger vs. 165 and older). It was klister conditions for the classic leg, although zero skis might have worked as well.
The course had excellent snow, ranging from wet fluff to slightly icy to a short section of wet and slightly sloppy. Plenty of snow covered the ground and, if you were smart, you brought you A-skis to the race. (Alas, a few people assumed warm meant ground showing through, not remembering that packed snow freezes from underneath and last longer than unpacked snow. They brought their B-skis…).
Except for an occasional sprinkle, the rain held off until the last 10 minutes of the race. The third leg of the slower teams paid the price by getting cold and wet.
A huge help to the winning team was the Roscommon Area/XC Ski HQ High School Cross Country Ski Team, consisting of 12 high school kids from Roscommon High School. While most of the team was new to XC skiing this year, they practiced twice a week all winter and competed in 5 races, which contributed greatly to the Michigan Cup victory by the greater XC Ski HQ team.
The best part the the Relays is AFTER the relays: the annual end-of-the season Michigan Cup awards, banquet and drinking fest, powered with pulled pork sandwiches and lots of refreshments. Hosts Bob, Lynne and Mariah Frye and Stu Colie put up tarps to protect the picnic tables on the deck of the lodge and everyone stayed dry as it alternately sprinkled, rained, and cleared up during the lunch and awards.
Official results:
| Bib # | Time | Division Rank |
Overall | Team Name | Club Name |
| Coed 164 & below | |||||
| 111 | 1:18.27 | 1 | 8 | Snot Rockets | VASA |
| 102 | 1:21.31 | 2 | 12 | Crust Crusier | NSR |
| 131 | 1:34.31 | 3 | 25 | Rain Dancers | XCSHQ |
| 181 | 1:37.14 | 4 | 28 | Sinkin In the Rain | NSR |
| 159 | 1:43.04 | 5 | 30 | BAK | Striders |
| 132 | 1:47.35 | 6 | 32 | Hydroplaners | VASA |
| 143 | 1:57.47 | 7 | 39 | The Rabbits | Indep |
| 178 | 2:02.14 | 8 | 41 | Crystal Flashes | GRNST |
| 122 | 2:15.54 | 9 | 45 | The Whatevers | XCSHQ |
| Coed 165 & above | |||||
| 117 | 1:11.04 | 1 | 3 | Seager and the 2 Silver Bullets | CCSS |
| 151 | 1:15.21 | 2 | 6 | Slippery When Wet | VASA |
| 173 | 1:16.49 | 3 | 7 | Skiing In The Rain | XCSHQ |
| 172 | 1:20.25 | 4 | 10 | ROKADA-FAFRYA | NSR |
| 149 | 1:28.03 | 5 | 19 | Spring Skiers | VASA |
| 125 | 1:39.43 | 6 | 29 | Part-Timers | VASA |
| 166 | 1:47.38 | 7 | 33 | HQ Swim Team | XCSHQ |
| 169 | 2:02.04 | 8 | 40 | The Captain’s Team | XCSHQ |
| F 164 & below | |||||
| 157 | 1:27.20 | 1 | 18 | Sister Chicks and Mom | VASA |
| 164 | 1:29.14 | 2 | 22 | Roscommon Rascalettes | XCSHQ |
| 129 | 1:34.57 | 3 | 26 | Drowning in Pink | CCSS |
| 167 | 1:55.08 | 4 | 37 | Slush Puppies | XCSHQ |
| 103 | 2:16.17 | 5 | 46 | The Hot Cocoas | XCSHQ |
| F 165 & above | |||||
| 118 | 1:53.35 | 1 | 35 | 3 Peas in a Pod | VASA |
| 136 | 2:15.02 | 2 | 44 | Better Late than Never | XCSHQ |
| 170 | 2:18.59 | 3 | 47 | Start Slow Taper Down | XCSHQ |
| 142 | 2:36.28 | 4 | 48 | Serendipity | XCSHQ |
| M 164 & below | |||||
| 101 | 1:07.47 | 1 | 1 | VASA1 | VASA |
| 179 | 1:10.51 | 2 | 2 | Clueless | XCSHQ |
| 182 | 1:11.59 | 3 | 5 | Reflex | Striders |
| 165 | 1:19.26 | 4 | 9 | Mud Stuffin Paddle Heads | CCSS |
| 139 | 1:21.24 | 5 | 11 | Team DNF | XCSHQ |
| 154 | 1:23.43 | 6 | 14 | Rainbows | XCSHQ |
| 106 | 1:26.10 | 7 | 17 | Team RainX | NSR |
| 175 | 1:28.44 | 8 | 21 | Nordic Cowboys | Striders |
| 171 | 1:32.41 | 9 | 24 | Bomb.com | XCSHQ |
| 104 | 1:51.24 | 10 | 34 | Gag | XCSHQ |
| 180 | 1:54.28 | 11 | 36 | Strange Brew | XCSHQ |
| 147 | 1:55.27 | 12 | 38 | The Goofy Goobers | XCSH |
| 176 | 2:04.01 | 13 | 43 | Team Cannon Brewery | Indep |
| M 165 & above | |||||
| 174 | 1:11.53 | 1 | 4 | Great Bear Bottoms | GRNST |
| 137 | 1:23.23 | 2 | 13 | Wood is Good | VASA |
| 116 | 1:24.48 | 3 | 15 | Christopher Robbins | CCSS |
| 108 | 1:25.04 | 4 | 16 | The Snow Surfers | NSR |
| 100 | 1:28.05 | 5 | 20 | VASA Old Guys | VASA |
| 177 | 1:32.34 | 6 | 23 | ODOTP | GRNST |
| 114 | 1:35.25 | 7 | 27 | Half Fast | XCSHQ |
| 160 | 1:47.35 | 8 | 31 | You Figure It Out | XCSHQ |
| 168 | 2:02.18 | 9 | 42 | Faster Than Dirt | NSR |
| 105 | 2:43.04 | 10 | 49 | The 3 Lefties | XCSHQ |
About Team XC Ski HQ:
The Cross Country Ski Headquarters Team is not only a force to be reckoned with in the Michigan Cup Series, but is also composed of the most fun-loving, friendly and passionate XC skiers you could imagine. If you meet any of those criteria, you are invited to join the team. Beginning in December (except for one race in October), Michigan Cup races take place every weekend throughout the state, offering a variety of classic and freestyle races of various distances. The race atmosphere is fun and friendly, and with racers ranging from casual to competitive, skiers of ALL levels are welcome. We are not only the 2013 Michigan Cup Champions, but we have won the Michigan Cup 6 out of the past 9 years, and the Brumbaugh Cup in 2010, 2011, and 2013. Every team member who participates in even one race contributes to our total points tally, so the more skiers, the better! We are also big on “team bonding”, so expect an invite to team dinners, wax clinics, ski clinics, and off-season training days if you join. For more information, contact Mariah or Stu at the Cross Country Ski Headquarters, or Team Captain Frank Rynalski at FRynalski<at>aol.com.
A selection of team apparel is available for racers and non-racers alike. Team jerseys made by Louis Garneau, along with embroidered fleeces, hats, headbands, and other accessories are available at the XC Ski HQ, or by calling 1.800.832.2663.
The 2013 Michigan Cup Champions – Team XC Ski HQ!