Adams skiing: Fodale bids farewell to incredible high school career, boys continue historic state finals streak

ROCHESTER HILLS/PONTIAC — The Detroit-area teams tend to be overshadowed by the northern schools in Michigan High School Athletic Association skiing, aside from Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s continued reign over Division 2 girls skiing, but just because they’re not hoisting the team state title each year doesn’t mean they’re not doing something special.

For yet another season, Rochester Adams qualified both the boys and the girls ski teams for the MHSAA Division 2 State Championship Feb. 26 at Nub’s Nob near Harbor Springs with strong performances at regionals.

Head coach Jaime Jackson and his teams have made the state finals a habit, but this year’s trip would be a little different for both sides.

 

Girls
For the fourth-straight season, Adams was a state qualifier on the girls side, but this year’s trip was bittersweet for senior Katie Fodale, a mainstay for Adams ski and golf the past four seasons.

A two-time individual state champion in skiing and a two-time team state champion in golf, Fodale will go down as one of the most accomplished athletes the Highlanders have had in their storied athletic history.

Whether she’s competing or giving tips to her younger teammates, Fodale’s impact has been immeasurable for Adams throughout her high school career.

“She’s accomplished so much,” Jackson said. “Being a two-time state champion is rare. Not only that: she’s such a great kid that gets along well with all the other kids. Not just our team, but the other teams. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, and she’s a 4.0 student. She’s just been a joy to have on the team.”

Fodale ended her final race with a third-place finish in giant slalom at the state finals, helping Adams finish eighth overall.

Although it wasn’t the exact finish she’d hoped for, Fodale will now shift her attention to college golf as she’s committed to play at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, but she said Adams will always have a special place in her heart.

“I still don’t believe that I’m actually done,” Fodale said. “It’s obviously really sad, but I’ve had a great career and a great time with high school ski racing. I’m super grateful for all the memories and experiences I get to take away.”

Talk about racing as a team — juniors Abby Weaver and Mira Dalal finished neck-and-neck with each other in both slalom and giant slalom. Weaver and Dalal finished 26th and 27th in slalom while claiming 33rd and 34th in giant slalom, respectively.

Adams will look for Weaver and Dalal to lead the pack next season as the veteran returners.

“They (Weaver and Dalal) both have skied amazingly and have made huge progress since freshman year,” Fodale said. “They both work super hard, they train every weekend, and they do every extra practice, but they both have fun with it, of course. Both of them had some good top-10s at (Southeastern Michigan Ski League) and regionals, and those are hard events and they really stepped up, especially when we needed them.”

Adams will also look for junior Naomi Posa, sophomore Bella King, sophomore Eliza Pizzuti, and freshman Izzy Karmo to grow as racers next season.

 

Boys
It’s been all about consistency for the boys side.

For the 10th-straight season, the Highlanders boys ski team qualified for the state finals, which is the longest of any school in the state.

Similar to that kind of focus, Adams stayed the course all season as one of the top teams in their division.

“They were doing really well throughout the year,” Jackson said. “There were some of the races where we were the best team out there. We’re usually battling (Pontiac) Notre Dame Prep, who always has a good boys team, or Lake Orion, who had a good boys team this year. There were some good racers, and we were right there with them with our boys, and I think the kids were pretty fired up about that.”

Carrying a senior-heavy team, Adams earned sixth at the state finals with seniors Cullen Doyle (36th) and Brody Tyack (42nd) pacing in slalom, while seniors Isaac King (6th) and Tyler Kaczocha (7th) came back with impressive performances in giant slalom.

King, a four-year starter for the Highlanders, has been as steady as they come throughout his high school career, while racers like Doyle came into their own this season.

“I was pretty inconsistent last year, so I kind of found that this year,” Doyle said. “I didn’t have a race where I struggled too much, so I guess just finding my consistency is really where I improved.”

With the majority of the team set to graduate, Adams will lean on Tyler’s younger brother, sophomore Austin Kaczocha, to carry the veteran leadership next season with an inexperienced squad.

If there’s any team trustworthy enough to take on the challenge of a young roster, the bet should always be placed on a team with the longest consecutive state finals appearances in the state.

“I think he’ll (Austin Kaczocha) be probably the best kid on our team next year,” Jackson said. “We’re going to be young. I got probably three freshmen coming in and a couple park kids that might join us as well. We’re definitely going to be a different team than we’ve been the past couple years.”