Traverse City Record-Eagle - Top 10 Sports Stories of 2008

Top 10: Year to remember for Drake
You would think a guy would take it easy when he retires. Not Dallas Drake. Of course, retiring when you're 39, you probably have a little more get-up-and-go than your typical retiree.
Top 10: Glass' second national title
Who says you never get a second chance to make the first reception? Leland graduate Alisha Glass couldn't attend a reception at the White House to honor the 2007 national champion Penn State volleyball team. But Glass plans to make the trip this time.
Top 10: Hebert has successful season
Scott Hebert described 2008 as the best year of his life. It's hard to argue. Hebert -- the head pro at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa -- won two PGA Championships and played for a third.
Top 10: Townsend adds to legacy
This kind of thing is getting to be an old hat for Casey Townsend. For the third straight year, Townsend made his way into the Record-Eagle year-end Top 10. One thing that never gets old for Townsend is scoring goals.
Top 10: TC rolls out new regimes
For the first 11 seasons that Traverse City West had a football team, Matt Prisk was the coach. Traverse City St. Francis hadn't had a football coach without a Sellers' surname since the 1970s. But this fall, two of the three Traverse City schools had new coaching regimes.
Top 10: Bums ride roller coaster
In a topsy-turvy season, the curveballs weren't limited to the field. The Traverse City Beach Bums started out strong, hosted the Frontier League's All-Star Game, limped through the end of the season and overhauled its coaching staff.
Top 10: Three teams win xc titles
In Lisa Taylor's 15 years as cross country coach at Traverse City Central, the Trojans have gone to the state finals an impressive 14 times. Yet, Central hadn't won it all in that time. That is, until this year.
Top 10: Schriber's students thrive
Anthony Kim started the PGA Tour season a relative unknown. The same could've been said for his longtime coach Adam Schriber, who teaches at Crystal Mountain Resort. Things have changed.
Top 10: Soccer title caps banner year
Scott Batchelor knows it's a cliche that defense wins championship. But, he said, that axiom was never more true than during Petoskey's run to a state soccer championship this fall. The Northmen allowed just one goal in six games en route to the Division II title, making it the Record-Eagle's No. 10 local sports story of 2008.