Butch Harmon
Sports Scene
Thanks to a veteran core of golfers, the Davison girls golf team is picking up where it left off last season.
Last year’s team turned in one of the finest seasons in school history. The Cardinals finished fifth at the Division 1 state meet along with winning a Big Nine championship and taking second place at the regional.
The team is looking for more of the same as the season heads for the stretch run.
With three of last year’s top golfers back, including senior all-stater Laura Farah, Davison has enjoyed a solid season.
Farah finished in 16th place as an individual at last year’s state meet. A model of consistency, she finished in the top ten at nine tournaments last season and has been playing at an equally high level this season.
Farah is joined in the starting lineup by junior Andrea Richards, who also had a strong performance at last year’s state meet.
Senior Mariah Minzi had a big year last fall and has been pacing the team this season.
Senior Allison Swanson and sophomore Kaylee Brookshire were also on the varsity team last season and have added to the team’s solid depth.
Added to the list of veterans are several newcomers who have stepped up. Senior Megan Kechner is a newcomer to the team and has had a big impact. Kechner is joined by fellow senior Katie Hazel, junior Mariah Ferris, and sophomore Tara Schneider.
Davison soccer
Thanks to a roster loaded with seniors, the Davison soccer team is off to a strong start this season and is looking to secure the final Big Nine conference soccer championship.
The Cardinals finished the first round of play in the Big Nine by defeating Carman-Ainsworth 8-0. The team has relied on balance on offense this season, and that balance was evident against Carman-Ainsworth. Brennan Simerau led the team in scoring with a pair of goals, while Aaron Cummings, Christian Pumphrey, Tyler Hodges, Zach Hummel, Elliott Konieczka, and Eric Barrett all scored goals.
“The win puts us in first place at 2-0-1 in the Big Nine,” Pittenger said. “At the moment, the target is on our backs. Powers, Flushing, and CA will be coming at us with everything they have, and we will need to play our best team soccer everyday to achieve our team goal of finishing on top of the Big Nine Conference.”
Through the first 11 games of the season Davison fashioned a record of 5-3-3.
Girls cross country
The Davison girls cross country team has been hitting on all cylinders this season.
The team turned in on of its top efforts of the year when it won the Genesee Invitational. Davison scored 27 points to take first place, followed by Durand with 53 points.
While Durand’s Madi Atkinson was the overall champion with a time of 20:19, Davison runners captured the next three spots. Amanda George placed second with a time of 20:31, Casey Shafer was third with a time of 21:05, and Jordann McDermitt was fourth with a time of 21:19.
“The team continued to improve their times again,” said coach Ron Whitman. “We had personal bests by all seven runners in the varsity race. They are working hard in practice and continuing to set new goals.”