Brumbaugh Cup 2025 opens with a big win for Hanson Hills/Cross Country Ski Shop
Sun, Dec 29, 2024 - By Ernie Brumbaugh
After a heated 2024 Brumbaugh Cup race in which the Hanson Hills / Cross Country Ski Shop (HHCSS) team finished second to Team NordicSkiRacer (NSR) by a mere 12 points, Team HHCCSS came with all guns to the Forbush Time Trial. After picking up two new recruits, former Michigan Cup champions, Alex and Caitlyn Vanais, they won the women’s division finishing first (Caitlyn), third (Rebecca Davis) and fourth (Mary Schlimmer-Willoughby). HHCCSS then took second in the men’s division with five in the top sixteen, led by Jordan Wakeley, 1st, and Alex Vanais, 2nd. In the end, Team HHCCSS won the day with 50 points.
Meanwhile, the Grand Rapids Nordic Ski Team, led by Ryan Harris, 4th, Eric Parrott, 5th, Denny Paull, 6th, Stephen Smigiel, 8th, and Glenn Goodman, 10th, placed all five men in the top ten to win the men’s division with 33 points. They picked up an additional 31 points in the women’s division to finish in second place overall with 64 points.
| Rank | Team | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HHCCSS | 42 | 8 | 50 |
| 2 | GRNST | 33 | 31 | 64 |
| 3 | VASA | 61 | 18 | 79 |
| 4 | NSR | 87 | 36 | 123 |
| 4 | CCSHQ | 103 | 21 | 123 |
A resurgent, Team Vasa brought the old guns with the reappearance of Milan Baic, John O’Hearn and Erica O’Hearn, all former Michigan Cup Champions. Team Vasa placed three women in the top nine, Erica O’Hearn, 2nd, Courtney Kent, 9th, and the Amazing Gussie Peterson, 9th, to place second in the women’s division. Kevin Tarras skied to 3rd overall, followed by John O’Hearn, 7th, Milan Baic, 9th, Michigan Cup Score Keeper, Ken Dawson, 17th, and Curt Peterson, 25th, taking third in the men’s division to finish third overall in the Brumbaugh Cup at the Forbush Time Trial.
The defending Brumbaugh Cup champion, Team NordicSkiRacer, minus their usually strong women’s contingent finish fourth in the men’s, and overall standings. Yvon Dufor,13th, led the men followed by Allen Sorgenfrei, 14th, Joel Heeres, 19th, John Thompson, 20th, and Michigan Cup web site (NordicSkiRacer.com) manager, Mike Muha, 21st.
Cross Country Ski Headquarters finished third in the women’s category and fifth in the men’s division to finish in a tie for fourth overall with Team NSR. Wendy Anderson led the Headquarters women finishing in 5th place, followed by Deanna Spencer, 6th, and Linda Weeks-Kaleita in 10th. Denny Medina led the men finishing in 15th overall with Theo von Wallmenich, 18th, Patrick Keegan, 22nd, Mike Temkin, 23rd, and Steve Steffke, 24th.
Next up is the Winter Wolf Skiathlon on January 4th. With the upgrades in the quality of every team’s roster, it looks to another exciting and hard fought Brumbaugh Cup race. Stay tuned.