Notre Dame’s ski teams earn special award

Dan Costigan Award goes to the Irish after record-setting day.

NDP assistant ski coach Craig McLeod, left, and head coach John Deibel are with DCDS coach Patty Costigan after the Notre Dame teams were presented with the Dan Costigan Award.

Yesterday, as Notre Dame's girls and boys teams were both wrapping up MHSAA regional titles at Pine Knob, they found out they also won the special "Dan Costigan Award," which goes to the top combined girls and boys team in each division. It also was the first time in school history that both teams captured regional titles in the same season.

Longtime Detroit Country Day ski coach Dan Costigan passed away in 2010.

The Dan Costigan award was initiated during the 2014 ski season and is named in memory of longtime Detroit Country Day ski coach Dan Costigan, who died in 2012 at the age of 55 after a brief illness from a skin and blood disorder. He also was named the MHSAA ski "Coach of the Year" in 2006. Costigan's wife, Patty, now heads the DCDS program.

Craig McLeod, who assists Notre Dame's boys and girls head coach John Deibel, said that when Costigan died, his wife created the award in his honor.

"We earned that distinction and were given the award by Patty yesterday," McLeod said. "Dan was a great guy and we should be really proud of being recognized with this award!"

NDP head coach Deibel added that getting the award also meant a lot to him. "There were a lot of tears when the award was presented to us," he said. "This was very moving for me personally."

More on the team wins yesterday

Notre Dame's boys team finished yesterday with a team score of 48, besting second-place Flint Powers by nine points, while the girls had a score of 31 to top second-place Cranbrook Kingswood, which scored a 70. Leading the way for the Irish were Sydney Lintol and Joey Warseke, who each took first place in the giant slalom, and Katelyn Kozole, who took first place in the slalom. Notre Dame also received top-10 finishes from Meghan Kozole, KC Kennedy, Hailey Schindler, Jack Lintol, Nick Schulte and Ryan Hoeppner.

Both teams now advance to the MHSAA state finals, which will be held at Schuss Mountain on February 26. Go Irish!

Notre Dame's girls and boys ski teams both earned state regional championships, the first time in NDP history.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.