365 days ago, junior Ben Finkelstein was in the midst of rehabbing a spiral fracture in his tibia. Today, a little over a year since his injury, Ben is preparing to take on the individual skiing state competition with senior Mark Scannell by his side.

“It’s been my dream to compete at state since I started club skiing when I was seven,” co-captain Ben Finkelstein said. “Being able to go as a junior is pretty cool. We didn’t manage to make it as a team, but Mark Scannell and I were able to make it individually.”

Along with Ben and Mark, the FHC girls ski team is preparing for their state championship run. Returning multiple seniors, and with the Reynolds’ sisters leading the way, the girls team has started their quest for a state title.

“We won both conference and regionals,” co-captain Sydney Reynolds said. “Our expectations are high, and the ultimate goal is to win a state championship. I won one (individually) my sophomore year, so winning a second championship would be quite the experience.”

Senior Mark Scannell had high praise for the individuals on the girls team.

“If they did not qualify as a team, they would’ve had a lot of individuals go,” he said. “Going off of the races IA?ve seen, IA?d say they have the three best girl skiers in the state of Michigan.”

Monday February 27th, the competitors will hit the slopes at Boyne Highlands in hopes of achieving greatness. Mark, one of the many competitors that are making a return trip to the state finals, feels that his chances of success are better than in his previous season.

“Realistically speaking, I predict to get around thirtieth,” Mark said. “The competition’s very steep. I think I’ll do a bit better than last year, but I’m not going out there expecting to win it all. IA?m a lot less intimidated going in this year. Last season, I had no idea of what to expect, so this season I just want to take it all in.”

The girls team is looking to bring home their first team state title in quite some time. With the experience, skill, and leadership necessary, many of the girls believe that this year could be the year.

“This is our year,” Sydney said. “With have a lot of great skiers who have a lot of experience. Many of the girls on the team have been looking forward to states since they were little. Winning a championship would be a great accomplishment that we could all share.”

As the competition comes closer, the anticipation for Ben seems to be building.

“It’s crazy because I wasn’t even skiing at this time last year,” he said. “I’m gonna go out there, give it my all, and hopefully come away with some hardware.”