Athletes flock to Fidrych, Warriors
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 1) — Nearly 900 Special Olympic athletes filled the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa's Governors Hall for the opening ceremonies to the Winter Games.
They flocked to former Detroit Tiger pitcher Mark Fidrych — and his Wertz Warrior teammates — before the night's activities started, seeking autographs and pictures.
One even brought four Fidrych baseball cards from the 1970s for the former Rookie of the Year to sign.
"You're a real fan," Fidrych said.
Fidrych, who's involved in several charity events in Massachusetts, has been a member of the Wertz Warriors the last 14 years. The snowmobile group, the presenting sponsors of the Games, presented a check for $285,000 to officials at the ceremony.
In 26 years, the Warriors have raised $6.8 million for Special Olympics.
Central, West win BNC ski meets
CADILLAC (Feb. 2) — Traverse City West's Tori Lockwood swept the girls slalom and giant slalom and TC Central's Matt Madion won the boys slalom and was third in GS to lead their teams to victory in the Big North Conference ski meet at Caberfae.
The Titans' girls squad placed four skiers among the top five in both races to claim a 33-point victory over the second-place Trojans, 24-57. Petoskey was third (101), Cadillac fourth (153) and Gaylord fifth (175).
Trojans turn to Passinault
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 3) — Tom Passinault was ready for a change.
The 42-year-old Passinault, who led Grand Rapids Catholic Central to the Division 4 state championship game in 2005, signed a letter-of-intent to become the head football coach and a counselor at Traverse City Central.
Passinault, who was 99-39-1 in 13 seasons with the Cougars, was selected from a pool of nearly 50 candidates, according to Ian Hearn, Central's athletic director.
Passinault said his top priorities will be to meet his players and put a staff together. He said he will not start his duties full-time until June, but will be here "as often as I can" to oversee the program.
Blazers win five titles
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 4) — Five Kalkaska wrestlers won individual titles in the Lake Michigan Conference wrestling meet.
That wasn't quite good enough to beat Grayling, which edged the Blazers 150-144 in the league meet at St. Francis. But, combined with a strong dual-meet record, it gave Kalkaska the LMC season championship.
Grayling and St. Francis tied for third, with Charlevoix fourth, Elk Rapids fifth and Boyne City sixth.
Claiming titles for Kalkaska were Luke Gillespie (112 pounds), Abram Lantzer (11), Damien Donathan (125), Dean Amos (130) and Matt Pare (285).
The Vikings also had five champs — Steve Grove (135), Cody Collen (140), Cody Malone (145), Eric Madill (171) and Matt Haight (189).
Kuhl wins cold White Pine
BELLAIRE (Feb. 4) — Skiing on a course that he said was "better than advertised," Steve Kuhl may have been better than advertised, too.
Kuhl, who finished third in last year's shortened White Pine Stampede marathon, outsprinted nine-time champion Milan Baic and friend Hugh Pritchard to win the 20-kilometer portion of the 31st annual cross country ski race in Antrim County.
The 50K marathon was canceled over a week ago due to a lack of snow, but there was plenty of the white stuff for the 20K and 10K races. Temperatures dipped to single digits, which slowed the course but set up the first sprint finish in years.
Weather doesn't stop ladies' day out
THOMPSONVILLE (Feb. 5) — Cyd Coppert's home team was playing on Super Bowl Sunday, but even that couldn't keep her away from the Women's Winter Tour.
The feisty, all-girl event is in its ninth year raising money and awareness to fight domestic abuse. It is best known for the stops along the course that offer chocolates and other goodies.
About 700 women participated in the tour, which capped off a weekend of activities that included a luminary snowshoe hike and cross-country ski clinics. Event tents offered tour enthusiasts hot soup, bread and music, and a warming fire roared nearby.
Event organizer Kaye Krapohl said about 1,000 women registered for the tour but the blustery winter weather may have kept some of them away. Temperatures hovered around zero, and snow fell steadily for much of the day.
GLIAC schools win four area recruits
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 6) — Petoskey's Chad Ellis had four scholarship offers to mull over, including one to Hillsdale College where his father played.
But a trip to the Upper Peninsula late last month helped sway the 6-foot-2, 190-pound linebacker.
Michigan Tech, it will be.
Ellis will sign a letter-of-intent to attend the Houghton school. He will be one of at least four Big North Conference players to sign with schools in the Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Traverse City West offensive tackle Rich Rosenberg is headed to Ferris State, Titans defensive tackle Corey Keyton to Northwood and Gaylord offensive lineman Gus Blanzy to Northern Michigan.
Show has boaters thinking summer
CADILLAC (Feb. 9) — Inland lakes are frozen and it could be a long time before people stow away their winter coats.
Andrew MacDonald, owner of Blue Water Promotions, figures it's a perfect time for a boat show.
"It's kind of a little mini-escape, you know, think about boating and warm weather and being on the water," MacDonald said.
MacDonald, who also plans a boat show for Traverse City in March, said boat shows can boost sales. He said one dealer sold six boats at the Cadillac show last year.
Boat sales are down in Michigan and the number of boat registrations in the state has declined steadily since 2001, however.
Sales in Michigan of new powerboats, motors, trailers and accessories totaled $518,662,978 in 2005, a one percent decrease from 2004, according to Kelly Kaylor, assistant communications director with the National Marine Manufacturers Association in Chicago.
Rayders stay perfect in LMC
CHARLEVOIX (Feb. 9) — With four league volleyball matches left, Charlevoix remains perfect.
The Rayders moved to 10-0 in Lake Michigan Conference play, topping Elk Rapids 25-4, 25-9, 25-12.
Bethany Pearson led Charlevoix with 7 blocks, while Sasha Spenceley added 7 digs. Aubrey Way and Zita Anderson had 4 assists each.
Murphy Gillespie paced the offense with 4 kills, and Desi Faust added 3. Ashley Bradley contributed 5 digs and 4 aces.
TC's Wilson to be honored at MSU
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 9) — Here's a trivia question for Michigan State sports fans.
Who's the only Spartan athlete to play in a Rose Bowl and a Final Four?
Hint: He's an attorney in Traverse City.
"It was just the luck of the draw," Pat Wilson said of the rarity.
Wilson was a quarterback-defensive back on the victorious 1956 Rose Bowl team and a starting guard on the 1957 basketball squad that lost to eventual champion North Carolina in triple overtime in the Final Four semifinals.
That 1957 squad will be honored during the Michigan State-Iowa game.
For Wilson, it will be a chance to reconnect with his teammates from 50 years ago — some of whom reunite every summer to play golf.
Vasa shakes 'serious' image
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 11) — Numbers of racers have declined in recent years from around a thousand in the late 1990s and Vasa organizers believe they need to attract casual skiers if the race is going to return to its former size.
"My job is to grow this race and I think we've got as many racers, serious racers, as we're going to get," said Bryce Dreeszen, who is race director this year for the first time.
Dreeszen expected about 700 racers and he hoped as many or more people would show up to watch. He wants to get the number of participants up to 1,000 in future years and said he hopes people view the Vasa as an "event" rather than merely a ski race.
Charlevoix wins volleyball title
SUTTONS BAY (Feb. 11) — Leland and Suttons Bay have won every championship at the Suttons Bay Invitational volleyball tournament — until now.
Charlevoix took out both en route to the title. The Rayders knocked off the host Norse (21-15, 22-20) in the finals and Leland (24-22, 21-17) in the semifinals.
Charlevoix had three players named to the all-tournament team: Emily Heffling, Aubrey Way and Sasha Spencley.
Suttons Bay reached the final by beating Pellston (21-15, 23-21) in the semifinals and Kalkaska (21-14, 21-14) in the quarterfinals.
Suttons Bay's all-tournament player was Kelsey Wick. She finished with 66 kills, 31 digs, eight blocks and served 45 for 47 with two aces for the Norse (42-9-2).
Card show brings out hobbyists
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 12) — Dylan Gauld has some pretty good incentive to do well in school this semester.
"I'm bribing him," said his mother, Mary K. Williams, of Traverse City, who hauled 11-year-old Dylan and three friends to the Grand Traverse County Civic Center for the annual winter sports card and memorabilia show. "If he gets all A's on his next report card he can get something special."
In its fourth year, the show is organized several times each winter by Traverse City's Derick Graczyk. The rows of tables and display cases celebrate the time honored tradition of sports card and memorabilia collecting and trading.
Graczyk pointed to his display case of hot sellers: the memorabilia cards, or those with either an autograph or some kind of game-used equipment built in.
He said almost anything gets used, from slivers of bleachers to helmets, jerseys — even chunks of the bat, ball or face-mask depending on the sport.
"I'm waiting to see a jock-strap card," Graczyk said. "It always surprises me what they'll come up with next."
Trojans win showdown, league title
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 12) — The Traverse City West boys (7-1) and Central girls (8-0) bowling teams finished their seasons by winning the Gerard Schwartz Memorial Trophies in the Great Northwest High School Bowling Conference.
But they did it in two remarkably different ways.
On the girls side, Central set the tone early in the match with a season-high baker series of 401 (200, 201), taking a 10-point lead early in the match. The first regular game was standard West versus Central material with each and every point contested until the10th frame. West pulled out an 848-839 win and took 2 1/2 individual points to close the deficit to 12 1/2 - 6 1/2. Just when it looked like West might make a run, Central's Chelsea Thompson and Nikki Schlimme stepped up. Thompson rolled a 240 and Schlimme a 210 in the pivotal final game closing the door on West and giving the Trojans the conference title.
The Trojan boys' team (6-2) handed the Titans (7-1) their first loss in almost two years, 22-8. Matt Rosinski rolled a 403 series (208,195) and Steve Tate a 371 (220,151) for Central. Ryan Cook had a 357 series (174,183) and Nick Thomas a 215 game for West.
Smith, Flynn win Gran Travers 16K
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 13) — Jesse Smith of Traverse City and Emily Flynn of Okemos were winners in the Gran Travers Classic 16-kilometer cross country ski race.
The event capped a weekend of Nordic skiing at the 31st annual North American Vasa.
Smith was first across the line in 51 minutes, 16 seconds. He was followed by Holly's Andy Weddle in 53:02 and Spring Lake's Christian Byar in 53:12.
Flynn captured the women's race in 1:07:49. Grand Rapids' Amy Todd was second (1:17:43) and Ann Arbor's Joann Cavaletto third (1:22:49).
Winners in the 5K classic were Traverse City's Elliot Putman (28:11) and Hannah Ciesla (33:03).
Forest Area clinches division
FIFE LAKE (Feb. 13) — Forest Area wrapped up the Ski Valley Conference South Division volleyball title with a 25-17, 25-9, 25-15 sweep of Johannesburg-Lewiston.
Megan Monks paced the Warriors (16-16-3, 7-1 league) with four kills, 25-for-25 serving and seven aces.
Also contributing were Chelsea Snyder (11 kills, six digs), Brandy Banks (25 assists), Jessie Green (seven kills, six digs), Dani Orr (three kills, three blocks) and Molly Lockwood (floor game).
Shake-up leaves TC teams alone in D-1
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 14) — Now you ski them, now you don't.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association shook things up a bit this year, so the Traverse City West and TC Central alpine ski teams will see some new faces in the regional meet at Crystal Mountain.
"They went to divisions (format) instead of classes, and they split the state down the middle by enrollment," said West coach Jerry Stanek.
With the split, West and Central are the only northwest Michigan teams in Division 1. Marquette, another common regional opponent through the years, is also in D-1. The other 11 schools in the regional are from the Grand Rapids, East Lansing and Saginaw areas.
"The northern teams are in the minority," Stanek said.
Which means "we have to represent well," said Central coach Ben Ferris.
Another honor for Townsend
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 14) — The soccer season has been done for months, but that doesn't keep the honors from coming in for Traverse City West's Casey Townsend.
Already with the title of Michigan's Mr. Soccer, Townsend was selected as the Gatorade 2006-07 Michigan Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Winning the honor makes Townsend eligible for the Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award, to be announced in May.
Townsend was also a Parade All-American as a sophomore. He has already verbally committed to play at the University of Maryland, which finished 15-4-1 last season and ranked No. 7 in Division 1.
Townsend scored 25 goals in 27 games for the Titans this year, leading West to the Division 1 state title.
He's also on the U-18 National Team.
Stags win fourth straight district title
FRANKFORT (Feb. 15) — Kingsley was king.
The Stags won a fourth consecutive Division 4 district wrestling title, beating Traverse City St. Francis 54-14 in the opener and then ousting Forest Area 70-12 in the finals at Frankfort. Forest Area reached the championship round with a 42-34 win over the host Panthers.
"It's going to get a lot tougher at the regional," Kingsley coach Jim Bandlow said. "In fact, it will probably come down to the last match (in the final)."
That's because Bandlow is hoping for a rematch with Pine River. The two teams would be in opposite brackets in the regional at Whittemore-Prescott. Pine River beat the Stags by four points in a dual about a month ago.
"I think we can get out (of the regional)," said Warren Niewiadomski, who had two pins for the Stags. "It was a one-match swing (with Pine River) the last time."
Cadillac right at 'home'
CADILLAC (Feb. 16) — The "home hill advantage" definitely favored Cadillac in the Division 2 regional ski meet at Caberfae Ski Resort.
The Vikings won the boys regional title by a single point, 101-102, over runner-up Benzie Central.
Both teams advance to the Class B state meet at Boyne Highlands, however. Also moving on is third-place finisher Manistee.
Traverse City St. Francis dominated the competition in the girls meet, winning the regional trophy with a team score of 39. Mount Pleasant (82) was second and Manistee (109) came in third.
Trojans defend district title
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 16) — Same teams, nearly the same scores, and yet another district title for Traverse City Central.
The Trojans nailed down their sixth straight district championship and 13th in school history with a pair of convincing wins.
"To continue a tradition of winning districts is phenomenal," said first-year Central coach Rick Rinal.
The Trojans knocked off TC West in their opener 57-21 and Alpena 46-30.
Will Arnold's third-period pin of Alpena's Aaron Sullenger at 189 pounds put the Trojans on the cusp of the title and Kyle McLachlan's 56-second fall at 215 sealed it for Central.
8 wrestlers win district titles
ALPENA (Feb. 18) — At least eight northwest Michigan wrestlers claimed individual district titles.
Three came in the Division 1 district at Alpena, where Traverse City Central's Jacob Secor went 4-0 with two pins at 119 pounds, TC West's Trevor Gillison went 3-0 with two pins and a major decision at 125 and the Titans' Seth Chargo was 3-0 with two pins at 145.
Five other wrestlers advanced to the Division 1 regional at Holly. Central's Will Arnold finished second at 189 (3-1, two pins), while teammates Keegan Schrider (2-2, one pin at 152) and Brad Solak (2-2, two pins at 171) placed fourth. West had two wrestlers who went 4-1 and finished — Dustin Drake at 119 and Brad Gillison at 140.
TC West wins championship
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 19) — It's official.
Traverse City West clinched the Big North Conference crown for the school's first-ever hockey title, knocking off Gaylord 6-2.
Mitch Snider had a goal and two assists and Todd Knaus and Dylan Sullivan each had a goal and an assist.
P.J. Deines, Mike Markin and Pat Stimson added goals for West, which led 5-0 after two periods. Assists came from Sean Burke (two), Nate Greenman (two), Nat Shuff, Blane Spiker Gaylord's goals came from Marco Garneau and Jeff Birk, with assists coming from Kyle Gelow, Matt Zaremba, Will Weber and Birk.
Dallas Kniss made 16 saves for the Titans (18-5-1, 9-1), who won nine straight in league action after dropping their BNC opener to Gaylord.
Anderson seeks to extend perfection
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 20) — Andrew Anderson, a 152-pound junior, followed up last year's fifth-place finish in the Division 4 state wrestling meet by going 47-0 with 27 pins this winter.
He's had only "five or six matches" that didn't end in either a technical fall (a win of 15 or more points) or a pin, said coach Mike Simaz.
"He's good, no doubt about it," Simaz said. "And he's a good kid. There's no ego involved. He takes losses in stride, just like a win.
"Either way, he doesn't make a big fuss."
Actually, it's been almost a full year since Anderson's arm wasn't the one raised by the referee following a match. He lost 7-3 at 145 pounds to New Lothrup's Ryan Confer in the third round of the state tournament in 2006, then ran the table in the consolation bracket to finish fifth.
"As soon as I got fifth I looked at the kids ahead of me and three of the four were seniors," Anderson said. "I made it my goal to win the state championship."
Now he has a 109-16 career record with one full season remaining. There's also the possibility of more tournament matches in the coming weeks.
Titans, Northmen win titles
THOMPSONVILLE (Feb. 21) — The Traverse City West girls are primed to defend their state title.
The Titans tuned up for the Division 1 state championship by winning the final Big North Conference ski meet of the season at Crystal Mountain.
West, which swept all five league meets, won the finale with 25 points. Traverse City Central was second with 54. The Trojans were followed by Petoskey (115), Cadillac (145) and Gaylord (174). West and Central finished the season one-two in the overall standings.
Petoskey, meanwhile, clinched the boys title by winning the meet with 54 points. West was second with 72 and Central third with 81. In the final team standings, Central placed second and West third.
Another Titans title
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 22) — A win in three one day is worth a free day the next.
Traverse City West won a share of the Big North Conference volleyball title — and a day off from practice — by sweeping rival TC Central.
But the free day was anything but easy as the Titans blew a late six-point lead in the first game and nearly did the same in the second before polishing off the Trojans 28-26, 25-20, 25-11. The title was the fifth straight and the ninth in 10 league seasons for West (25-19), which splits the crown with Cadillac thanks to identical 9-1 league marks.
Rayders wrap up Lake Michigan title
CHARLEVOIX (Feb. 23) — Charlevoix wrapped up its Lake Michigan Conference volleyball championship by defeating Traverse City St. Francis 25-19, 25-15, 25-22.
The win improved the Rayders to 39-11-1 and 14-0 in the league. The Gladiators fell to 17-15-2 and 8-4.
Pacing Charlevoix were Desi Faust (11 kills), Sasha Spencely (eight kills, six digs), Murphy Gillespie (five kills, nine digs, two aces), Aubrey Way (27 assists, three aces), Ashley Bradley (five kills) and Bethany Pearson (four kills, two blocks).
Abby Clear led St. Francis with three kills and five blocks, and she was 11 for 11 serving with four aces. Jamie Colburn added three kills and five blocks and Jill Kuhlman Kristina Droste each had four kills.
A little challenge
TRAVERSE CITY (Feb. 26) — On any given Wednesday, about 20 skiers and snowboarders can be seen racing down Mt. Holiday. Some are just learning to race. Some are racing veterans just looking to have some fun on the slopes. The Town Challenge, as it is called, is in its third year.
"The neat part about this is that it gets people started," said Denny Hoxsie, a racer and member of the Mt. Holiday board of directors. A number of the racers also compete in larger leagues at places like Crystal Mountain.
A lot of competitors come straight from work. Following a recent race, T.J. Craig was still wearing a button-down shirt from his job at Quantum Sail Design under his ski jacket as he went to the bar for a post-race drink and to get the results from the night's races.
About 30 to 40 skiers and snowboarders are involved, although not everyone shows up to every race. Each racer has two runs to get their best time, and each receives points based on where they place on that night. The points are totaled for bragging rights at the end of the season.
"It's fun to get together with former racers and try and pretend we can race like we used to," said Libby Schulz, who learned to ski at Mt. Holiday.
TC Central strikes back to win title
CLARKSTON (Feb. 26) — The Trojans rolled three 900 games to come back to win the Division 1 regional title.
Traverse City Central was seventh after the Baker games, 59 pins behind No. 1 Lowell.
The Trojans went on to shoot a 925, 906, and 906. Kari Tomaski shot a 199, Stephanie Ackerman a 245 in the last game and Chelsea Thompson a 606 series.
Nikki Schlimme shot a 191 during the team event and also made the state singles finals for the second year with a 181.5 average, coming back from 22nd place with a 237 in the sixth game.
Traverse City West's Molly Valleau will also be returning to the state finals for a second year in a row. She averaged 190.67 over the six games to place second.
The TC West girls were seventh in the team competition.
Steven Tate, a sophomore at Traverse City Central, averaged a 226.5 to place second and also earn a berth in the state finals on the boys side.
As a team, TC Central was ninth and TC West 11th.
State Champs: Titans repeat
MARQUETTE (Feb. 27) — Pressure? What pressure?
Traverse City West successfully defended its Division 1 girls state ski championship in blizzard-like conditions at Marquette Mountain.
The Titans were dominant — placing five in the top 11 in slalom and giant slalom — in finishing with 46 points. Marquette placed second with 74 points while Traverse City Central was third with 88.
"This girls team is as good as any team I've ever had," said West coach Jerry Stanek, who's been involved with 13 state championship teams. "They know how to compete. They know how to win. And they know how to win as a team."
Stanek expected Clarkston to battle West for the title, but the Wolves finished fourth with 115 points.
Boyne City, Petoskey claim titles
HARBOR SPRINGS (Feb. 27) — In a back-and-forth battle that has lasted all season, Petoskey went forth when it counted the most.
The Northmen, who lost to neighboring Harbor Springs by 2 1/2 points in the regional, turned the tables on the two-time defending state champion Rams and won the Division 2 boys alpine ski title at Boyne Highlands.
The original results had Harbor Springs in first place, but a computer program error was discovered. After an hour delay to correct the scoring, Petoskey was declared a 91-103 winner.
Manistee was third (125 1/2), Iron Mountain fourth (138 1/2), Benzie Central fifth (160), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook sixth (184) and Cadillac seventh (186 1/2) in the nine-team meet.
The championship gave Petoskey head coach Brewster McVicker his 13th overall title. Seven of those crowns have come on the boys' side.
Charlevoix earns basketball title
CHARLEVOIX (Feb. 28) — Charlevoix clinched the Lake Michigan Conference basketball title outright with a 52-46 win over East Jordan.
The Rayders, 17-2 overall, finished 13-1 in the league.
Charlevoix won the crown despite losing two talented players by transfer after last season.
"The kids did a great job overcoming that," Rayders coach Keith Haske said. "They did an awesome job."
Mitch Crandall led Charlevoix with 15 points. Corey Gotshall added 10.
Jeff Keyser netted 14 points for East Jordan, which slowed the tempo in a 14-14 first half. Adam Daneff added 12.
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