By BUTCH HARMON
While area athletes are making news on high school tracks and ball diamonds across Michigan, local high school alumni are making the home folk proud with their exploits on the collegiate level.
- Last year the Owosso baseball team turned in a memorable season that was highlighted by a run to the regional finals. Two key members of that team, catcher Marcus Wojtkowicz and pitcher Austin Buchmayer, are continuing their strong play on the college level. Wojtkowicz is currently playing junior college baseball at Louisburg College in Illinois. He was hitting .408 in mid-April with one home run, 17 RBI, three doubles, and a .535 on-base average. Buchmayer is making an impact at Adrian College. He has a perfect 4-0 record with a 1.07 ERA. In 25 innings of work in relief he has recorded 14 strikeouts.
- Former DeWitt standout Dena Droste turned in a solid first season with the Kent State girls basketball team. Droste averaged 2.9 points per game and 2.0 rebounds. In her final game of the season, she played 33 minutes and finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
- Ian Yetsko of Grand Ledge was one of the top baseball players in the area last year. This year at Oakland University, he is hitting .368 with a .446 on-base average and 13 RBI.
- Daniella Patton was one of the top tennis players for Midland Dow last season. She has carried over her fine play to the collegiate level at Xavier University. Patton finished her freshman campaign with an 11-11 overall record. She was 10-8 at No. 2 singles and 1-1 at No. 1 singles.
- The Michigan State University baseball team is powered this season by a number of former area high school standouts. Junior Torsten Boss, a Lowell graduate, is leading the way for the Spartans this year in home runs (3), RBI (31), doubles (12), and slugging percentage (.513). Boss is also hitting .331 and is 9 for 9 in stolen bases. Junior Ryan Jones, a Haslett graduate, is second on the team in batting average at .386, second in runs with 34, and he has driven in 28 runs. On the mound, Grand Ledge alumnus Tony Wieber has the lowest ERA on the staff at 0.95. He has notched six saves and opponents are batting .188 against him. Heritage graduate Jeff Kinley is also turning in a strong season on the bump with a 5-2 record and a 2.20 ERA.
- Grand Ledge graduate Kasey Trieweiler is having a strong first season of collegiate softball. A freshman at Madonna College, Trieweiler is hitting .293 with one home run, 12 RBI, and six doubles. Trieweiler was also named the Player of the Week in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference for the week ending March 25 .
- Durand’s David Madrigal was one of the top runners on the high school scene during his time with the Railroaders. Now a member of the Michigan State University track team, he recently turned in an impressive performance at the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State University. Madrigal finished second in the 5,000-meter run with a career-best time of 14:02.54.
- Fowler’s Lindsey Hufnagel was one of the most dominant track athletes last year for the Eagles. Now a member of the Western Michigan University track team, Hufnagel was a member of Western’s 4 x 100 relay team that took first place at the Dave Rankin Invitational at Purdue University.
- Kyla Walworth was one of the top throwers last year as part of the Holt girls track and field team. Now a member of the Central Michigan University track team, Walworth’s collegiate career is off to a strong start. She finished seventh in the discus and 10th in the shot put at the LSU Relays. She then placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 143’1″ at the Toledo Collegiate Challenge.