Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
Most basketball programs would be more than pleased with a 10-6 season.
But with the high standards of winning set at Ithaca, a 10-win season with many games left to play can seem underwhelming.
The Yellowjackets completed January with a 47-40 loss at Hemlock, their second loss to the eventual Class C district favorites this season. After rebounding with home victories over St. Louis (65-27) and Chesaning (55-51 in OT), Ithaca could not get over the hurdles at Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary on Feb. 16 as it fell 60-54.
“This might be the best defensive team I’ve ever had but we just can’t make shots,” Yellowjackets head coach Jim Thompson stated. “We can’t seem to get in any rhythm with our shooting and we’re also shooting only 44 percent as a team at the free throw line, which just isn’t going to get it done. Hopefully this upcoming stretch where we have some games in a short period of time will help get us going, because sometimes kids would rather just go out and play rather than go through practices.”
Junior forward Baylee Chaffin leads Ithaca this season with a 13.4 scoring average to go with 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Junior guard/forward Tom Steward is putting in 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Senior guard Joey Bentley contributes 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.4 steals. Sophomore guard Peyton Smith adds 8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.7 assists per contest.
“I love this group of kids and they play hard, but we just need to figure out how to hit some shots,” Thompson added. “Not a lot has changed from last month. We don’t have a lot of time left to figure it out.”
Wrestling
The Yellowjackets had their team season come to a close at districts with a 54-22 loss to Alma.
Tristan Sparks earned a pinfall win at 145 pounds, while Josh Grover earned a win by fall at 160. Guillermo Macias won a 12-4 decision at 189. Harrison Cameron picked up a victory via forfeit at 125.
Macias has led the charge for Ithaca all season with a 39-5 record and 26 falls to his credit. Sparks is 29-15 with 25 wins by pin. Ethan Schall is 27-13 with 18 victories by fall. Dakota Hamilton comes in at 25-14 with 11 wins via pin.
After winning an individual district title, Macias advanced to the regional semifinals before falling in a 16-5 majority decision to Elijah Stevenson from Lansing Sexton.
Schall also qualified for individual regionals at heavyweight and moved on to the quarterfinals before losing by fall to Brock Kuhn from Michigan Center.
Girls Basketball
This was not the season the Ithaca girls basketball team envisioned as it sits at 5-12 with a few games remaining before districts.
But when your star player in Michigan State commit Kayla Belles goes down to a knee injury, there is little to be done other than continue with what is still left on the court.
To Belles’ credit, she has been a tremendous influence on the young roster as she attends not only every game but is at each practice acting as an extra coach.
There is no doubt Ithaca is improving as a team and should be set up to improve next year with the core back intact, but right now it’s a season of “what could have been” had Belles stayed healthy.
Remember, this is a program only two years removed from playing in the Class C state finals at the Breslin Center during Belles’ sophomore year. Last year was strong too despite losing some key pieces around Belles.
The Yellowjackets have played strong basketball as of late with wins in two of their last four games, downing host Bullock Creek 34-16 and host St. Louis 40-31 with losses at Hemlock (42-23) and home against Chesaning (44-33).