Vikings, Northmen share a title
cADILLAC (March 3) — Cadillac and Petoskey earned a share of the Big North Conference basketball title.
The Vikings jumped to a 22-4 first quarter lead en route to a 53-29 win over visiting Traverse City Central.
Petoskey went on the road to post a 55-48 victory at Alpena.
Dustin Dibble poured in 24 points for the Northmen (15-5, 7-3 BNC), while Chad Ellis added 12 and Steve Behan 11.
Dibble and Puls entered the game in a tie for the league scoring title. The 6-foot-9 Puls managed only nine points, however, while the 6-7 Kindt had seven.
Cadillac (17-3, 7-3), meanwhile, took command early to beat Central.
Cadillac, which led 32-9 at half, was paced by sophomore Ben Simons, who scored 24 points. Kyle Hinkle added 10 points and four assists and Kyle McDonald seven rebounds and four assists.
Lee Spanski's 12 points paced Central (2-18, 0-10).
Harbor Light wins volleyball districts
PELLSTON (March 4) — When No. 2 meets No. 4, something's gotta give — or someone has to take.
Harbor Light Christian did the taking as Class D's second-ranked volleyball team swept fourth-ranked Pellston 25-18, 25-9, 25-9 in the regional final.
The Lady Swordsmen, who also swept Mackinaw City, advance to the regional tournament at Johannesburg-Lewiston.
Pellston's post-season playoff hopes are over, but the Hornets' season isn't. After two postponements, the Ski Valley Conference tournament still has to be played at Inland Lakes. Pellston (39-9-2) will be gunning for its seventh consecutive league crown.
TC West claims district
ALPENA (March 5) — Jessica Oakley, Margeaux Raymond and Jordan Davenport dominated at the net as Traverse City West won the Class A volleyball district at Alpena High School.
West (28-19) advances to the regional tournament at Muskegon Reeths Puffer. The Titans will take on the Forest Hills Central district champion.
West opened with a 24-26, 25-9, 25-10, 25-7 victory over Escanaba, then defeated Big North Conference rival Gaylord 25-9, 25-11, 25-8 to advance to the finals.
The Titans captured the district with a 25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16 win over Marquette.
Traverse City Central, which swept BNC rival Alpena twice during the regular season, was upset by the Wildcats in the first round 25-18, 23-25, 12-25, 25-16, 15-10.
West's final flurry
TRAVERSE CITY (March 7) — When the game got its tightest was when Traverse City West got loose.
The Titans shook off rival Traverse City Central in the fourth quarter to win 54-42 in the Class A district basketball opener for both teams.
West (5-16) survived to play another game, advancing to the district semifinal at Gaylord to take on Escanaba (13-7).
McGrath rolls into finals
KINGSLEY (March 8) — Joe McGrath may have pulled off the greatest comeback since the return of bell-bottoms and lava lamps.
McGrath, a 135-pound Kingsley senior, opened the 2006-07 wrestling season with two losses in November.
He's reeled off 55 consecutive victories since.
"It's definitely been an unusual season," said McGrath, who will compete in the Division 4 individual state tournament beginning tonight at The Palace of Auburn Hills. "I've had good records in the past, but it's usually been a few wins here, a loss there — nothing like this."
Actually, few people have ever seen anything like it. According to the Michigan High School Athletic Association, McGrath needs two more wins to crack the state's top 100 list of most wins in a season, but there are no records listed for consecutive wins after starting 0-2.
Kingsley coach Jim Bandlow thinks McGrath may stand alone atop that list.
Hall of Fame coach returning
TRAVERSE CITY (March 9) — When Larry Nykerk stepped down as Traverse City Central boys tennis coach in 1999, he thought that was it.
But when practice starts for the boys team — Nykerk will be back at the helm.
Nykerk coached boys tennis for 31 seasons. The Trojans won regional titles in eight of his last nine years.
Now he's back.
"The boys program has been down a little in recent years, compared to the girls, and I think Larry was ready for another challenge," said Cliff Girard, who will assist Nykerk. "He'll do a good job. He's extremely organized — in practice and in meets. He's willing to see the programs he's put in place stay at a high level."
Nykerk, who still coaches the girls team, was coaxed into taking the boys job — and he's glad he's back.
End of the Line
LELAND (March 9) — Sometime over the next eight days, Leland's volleyball season will come to an end.
And so will a tradition of sisters.
Senior setter Whitney Grant and senior libero Ashley Erhardt are the third — and final — members of their families to play for the Comets.
"I liked all six of those kids," Leland coach Laurie Glass said. "They're all nice kids, from nice families. It's certainly not a given, but I've been lucky to have a lot of good kids come through.
"But these six from these two families have come up through the volleyball program and have been a big part of our success."
Whitney Grant and Ashley Erhardt have already won state titles, accomplishing the feat last season. But all six of the sisters have reached the semifinals while Megan Grant, a 2002 graduate, also went out with the big trophy.
"It's cool that Megan and I both got to experience winning a state title," Whitney Grant said.
Four straight titles for TC St. Francis
TRAVERSE CITY (March 10) — It was one for the record books.
St. Francis did something it has never done before — the Gladiators won a fourth consecutive district basketball title.
Ben Wheelock's 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists sparked St. Francis to a 60-46 win over the host Kalkaska Blazers in the Class C final here.
The Gladiators advance to the regional in Gaylord, where they'll play Lake Michigan Conference rival Charlevoix. The two teams split a pair of games during the regular season. Charlevoix (20-3) edged St. Francis (18-4) by a game to win the league title.
Although the Gladiators didn't win a conference crown, they were certainly savoring another district title.
"This is a big deal for us," Wheelock said. "It's big for our senior class. A lot of people thought this would be a rebuilding year. This means a lot to us — to come here and win this championship."
Skiver falls in state wrestling finals
AUBURN HILLS (March 11) — This time, Wes Schroeder got the best of Manton's Tom Skiver.
Schroeder posted a 2-1 victory over Skiver to win the Division 4 heavyweight state wrestling title. Skiver won the meeting in last year's final.
"It was just a good, hard-core heavyweight state final match," Manton coach Jim Smart said. "It was just what we anticipated."
How Skiver lost his state title was a little tough to take. Skiver was called for stalling in the final minute of the third period and that point was costly.
Manton teammate and step-brother Brandon Norman wound up third at 215 with a 9-5 victory over Mancelona's Cody Sehl. Norman reached the consolation final by beating Logan Sanders of Ithaca 5-1 while Sehl topped Kyle Ritter of Manchester 11-2.
Treece sets two records
TRAVERSE CITY (March 13) — Three days, two state records.
Glen Lake senior Marissa Treece set the records in the National Scholastic Indoor Track Championships in New York City over the weekend. Treece won the 5,000 meters in a time of 17:04.32 and finished second to New Jersey's Ashley Higginson in the two-mile in 10:22.96. Her times shattered the previous state marks of 17:28.69 and 10:25.76 set by Portage Northern's Sharon VanTuyl nearly 10 years ago.
Treece whittled 21 seconds off her previous best in the two-mile and 50 seconds off her personal best in the 5,000.
In the 5,000, Treece made her move on the 15th lap, passing New York's Elizabeth Briasco. She pulled away by running consistent 40-second laps. By the time she finished, Treece had lapped everyone in the field except Briasco, who was 37 seconds back.
Lakers put end to regional drought
BEAR LAKE (March 15) — Bear Lake ended a 21-year drought.
The Lakers pulled away in the second half to beat Marion 55-46 in a Class D regional semifinal at Cadillac. It was Bear Lake's first regional win since 1986.
"This is fantastic," Lakers coach Bryan Groenwald said. "It's a huge moment. I mean these guys don't know how to act. They don't realize what they've done. This is a huge milestone for Bear Lake."
The Lakers' locker room was tranquil afterwards, but the players were certainly aware of the win's significance.
"This means a lot to us. It means a lot to Bear Lake," center Clayton Setzer said. "It's a great feeling."
Bear Lake (23-1) will play Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (20-3) for the regional championship. Sacred Heart, which beat Muskegon West Michigan Christian, played for the state title last March.
Grieving teen leads team to title
SAULT STE. MARIE (March 15) — It was an emotional week for Jared VanWormer.
The 14-year-old forward for the Traverse City Pepsi Bantam AA team suffered through the death of his father, then played an instrumental part in his team's march to Traverse City's first-ever boys travel team state championship the following weekend.
Larry Derda — a former player with the Traverse City Bays of the USHL in the 1970s — died after suffering a heart attack while playing drop-in hockey at Centre ICE.
The close-knit TC Bantam squad of 19 teenagers capped off a 58-11-3 season with the state title in Sault Ste. Marie, defeating the Canton Crush 4-2 in the championship game. VanWormer scored in the finale, one of his four goals in the five-game march through the tournament.
"After the game, knowing he wasn't there was hard," VanWormer said of his dad. "Normally (after a game) we'd talk about how I played and the team played and how to get better."
Much of the team attended Derda's funeral. He was 55.
"We were all sad for Jared," said 15-year-old teammate P.J. O'Hagan, who played on a Pee Wee A team coached by VanWormer's father. "We were there for him."
Nine ski teams earn academic honors
TRAVERSE CITY (March 16) — Nine northwest Michigan ski teams have been honored for their academic prowess.
In Division 1, the Traverse City Central girls placed third with a 3.74 grade-point average, while the TC west girls were fifth at 3.69.
The Central boys squad tied for fourth at 3.50 GPA.
In Division 2, the Charlevoix-East Jordan boys were second (3.64), Petoskey tied for fifth (3.49) and Gaylord was 10th (3.30).
On the girls' side, Charlevoix-East Jordan was fifth (3.65), Gaylord eighth (3.60) and Grayling ninth (3.57).
Manistee captures regional
MANISTEE (March 18) — Manistee had Menominee's number — again.
Jacob Kiss scored 21 points and Jason Dontz 10 as the Chippewas took the Class B basketball regional at Petoskey with a 59-46 win over the Maroons.
Manistee's last two regional titles in 1981 and 1972 also came at Menominee's expense.
"I'm proud of these kids," Manistee coach Paul Marfia said." "This is a goal we set. I know every team sets goals at the beginning of the season, but not many teams get to reach their goals (in the tournament). This is great for these kids, it's great for this community. These kids worked hard for this."
The Chippewas (22-2) will face East Grand Rapids in the quarterfinal at Houghton Lake. The Pioneers beat Cedar Springs 67-62 in double overtime. East Grand Rapids was a state finalist a year ago and features All-State candidates in 6-9 center Justin Anyijong and University of Michigan-bound point guard Kelvin Grady.
McClary a unanimous all-stater
traverse city (March 20) — Durrell Summers of Redford Covenant earned the Associated Press Class D player of the year honor for the second straight season. He also finished fourth in Mr. Basketball voting.
Summers was one of five unanimous selections on the Class D All-State first team. Lansing Christian's Peter Bunn, Bellaire's Michael McClary, Ontonagon's Eric Hawley and Iron Mountain North Dickinson's Mark Roell also were unanimous picks, with Bunn and McClary as repeat first-team All-State choices.
Rounding out the honor squad were Jackson Christian's D.J. Baisden, Bear Lake's J.J. Randall, Burton Genesee Christian's Scott Soldan, Buckley's Justin Weaver and Sterling Heights Parkway Christian's Joel Williams.
David Duncan, a 17-year veteran at Cedarville, was voted Class D coach of the year.
Bellaire's Cody Bock, Mackinaw City's Chase Closs, Northport's Drew Mitchell and Gaylord St. Mary's Alvin Sitkiewicz were honorable mention selections.
Rayders Crandall is all-state
MIDLAND (March 21) — Tim Ryan, who led Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central to a 16-4 regular-season record and a No. 9 statewide ranking, was named The Associated Press Class C Player of the Year.
Joining Ryan on the all-state Class C team are Zack Craig of Morenci, Chase Simon of Detroit Community, Bobby Gibson of Harper Woods, Mitchell Crandall of Charlevoix, Paul Koviak of Holton, Kelvin DeVries of Kalamazoo Christian, Sean Jones of Carson City-Crystal, Ryan Clark of Leslie and Houghton's Greg Peterson.
McBain's Justin Sluiter was an honorable mention selection.
Duo set for semis
TRAVERSE CITY (March 22) — Charlevoix and Saginaw Nouvel each have a first team all-state player.
The Rayders will look to keep Nouvel's from going off while trying to get theirs going.
Charlevoix (23-3) faces Nouvel (22-4) in the Class C state semifinal at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
The Panthers' all-state player, 6-foot-3 senior Tim Ryan, happens to also be the Player of the Year. The versatile Ryan had 23 points, eight rebounds and four steals in Nouvel's 70-67 overtime victory over Detroit Community in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
While the Rayders will try to handle Ryan, Charlevoix hopes senior all-state forward Mitchell Crandall can find it.
Crandall has scored just five points in the last two tournament games, four in the 57-56 quarterfinal triumph against Houghton.
His struggles on the offensive end hasn't hurt Charlevoix yet, but Charlevoix coach Keith Haske said the task gets tougher with every round.
Bell tolls for the Eagles
EAST LANSING (March 23) — It was another heartbreaker for Bellaire.
Cedarville wiped out a 12-point third quarter deficit to beat the Eagles 58-55 in a Class D basketball semifinal at Michigan State's Breslin Center.
The Trojans (25-0) will face defending state champion Wyoming Tri-unity in the finals.
Jordan Sweeney's 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining was the backbreaker. That snapped a 53-53 deadlock.
Bellaire's Cody Bock hit a short jumper with 28 seconds to go to cut the gap to one, 56-55. But the Eagles had only four team fouls and had to commit three more before putting Cedarville at the foul line. Sweeney drained a pair to make it 58-55 with 13 seconds left.
Cedarville's pressure defense then forced a turnover — the Eagles 19th of the night — and the Trojans were able to run out the clock.
Weber could change view of prep hockey
GAYLORD (March 25) — For too long, high school hockey has been viewed as the place where second-tier players play.
The so-called best players leave after a year or two to go to Midget AAA, where they seek the eye of scouts.
Will Weber is helping change that notion.
A state Dream Team selection, the Gaylord defenseman chose to stay at home and graduate with his classmates.
By doing so, Weber may have made as big an impact on high school hockey as any other player in the state.
The Columbus Blue Jackets had scouts at Gaylord's final six games of the season. The Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers are among at least eight teams who have had scouts come to Gaylord games this season.
"It's an unusual thing — and a very good thing for us and high school hockey in general," Gaylord coach Bill Touroo said.
Cool Runnings
TRAVERSE CITY (March 26) — When Anne Bonney agreed to run a three-mile relay leg in the 2002 Baltimore Marathon, little did she realize it would change her life.
Five years later, Bonney, 33, is still running — and biking and swimming, as it turns out. She's finished 10 marathons, 15 triathlons and an Ironman. She's training for another triathlon and a 24-hour adventure race (trail running, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, orienteering).
Now, Bonney, the senior manager for women's marketing at Under Armour, is in the midst of joining a growing number of runners completing marathons on all seven continents. She just finished two in the last month — the Antarctica Marathon and the Fin Del Mundo Marathon in South America (Ushuaia, Argentina). Ushuaia is the southern-most city in the world Bonney's father, Al, an Old Mission Peninsula resident, joined her on the excursion. Not as a spectator, but as a participant.
Al, 63, walked and jogged a half marathon in Antarctica and completed the full marathon in Ushuaia.
"Finished fifth from last," Al said. "But I finished."
Going the Distance
HONOR (March 27) — In Greek mythos, the man who inspired the term "marathon" died right after his 26-mile run to tell of a victory on the battlefield.
To 55-year-old Brian Lea of Honor, the distance makes him feel alive.
Lea has completed 40 marathons, branching out into mountain climbing and road biking.
He has run in the Antarctic, climbed Mount Rainier and ran a 50-mile trail run the same month he turned 50.
He has climbed 14,000-foot Mount Rainier twice — once solo in 1998 and again in 2000 with Roger and Nate Rousse. Add in seven trips up the 14,255-foot elevation of Long's Peak in Colorado, and Lea's vertical distance is approaching his running expanse.
This summer, he plans on climbing the Wind River Range in Wyoming, then doing a summit climb of 13,770-foot Grand Teton. Ultimately, he wants to conquer Alaska's 20,320-foot Mount McKinley — also known as Denali, which means "the great one" — the highest mountain peak in North America.
Win is 300th for Weber
SUTTONS BAY (March 28) — With a milestone on the line, the Traverse City West baseball team came out swinging.
The Titans opened the season with a sweep of Suttons Bay, 15-2 in five innings and 16-6 in four.
The wins enabled West coach Randy Weber to reach a milestone. Weber is 301-105-8 during his career, which included nine years at Glen Lake and is now two games into his fourth season with the Titans.
Area trio earn Class D all-state honors
TRAVERSE CITY (March 28) — If Jessica Hass, Whitney Grant and Anna Lau were on the same squad, they'd have all the main positions at the net covered.
Now they are on the same team.
Harbor Light Christian's Hass and Leland teammates Grant and Lau were named first-team Class D all-state, the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association announced.
All three are seniors.
Hass topped the 600-kill plateau as the middle hitter for Harbor Light. Grant dished out more than 1,200 assists as the Leland setter this season. One of her top weapons was Lau, who had more than 450 kills as an outside hitter for the Comets.
Spotty winter a grade "D" for sports
TRAVERSE CITY (March 29) — Winter, we barely got to know you. It was about a five to six week winter unless you want to count that wet heavy dump of snow we got at the beginning of the season way back in late November, early December.
It started similar to recent past winters with some early snow and cold to get us excited, then went on a six-week hiatus until early February. While winter was here it was good; cold weather — maybe a little too cold at times — and good snow conditions. But, overall it again was one of the warmest winters on record and snowsports in our region of the country suffered.
This winter has been very spotty, and, overall, has not been kind to snowsports enthusiasts. It's given us a few highs, but lots of lows, and it left us wondering what to do with January; many went hiking, some mountain biking and a few even went kayaking.
MHSAA awaits high court ruling
TRAVERSE CITY (March 30) — Area athletic directors were put on alert.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) notified school officials that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider its request to review lower court rulings in its gender equity lawsuit.
If the Supreme Court refuses to review the case, it is expected the MHSAA will re-align six sports seasons, starting in the fall.
The lawsuit, filed in 1998, charged the MHSAA with discrimination since girls play some sports in "non-traditional" seasons. In particular, the suit sought to move girls basketball to winter and girls volleyball to fall — a move that would put the seasons in alignment with the NCAA and with most states in the nation. The suit contended that playing in non-traditional seasons limited exposure and hindered chances of female athletes earning college scholarships.
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