Article - High School Sports Scene

Frankenmuth just had too much firepower when it came to the Division 3 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Track & Field finals meet at Comstock Park.

The Eagles scored 96 points to get past defending state champion Pewamo-Westphalia, which had 72.

Sydney Bronner, a junior, tied a meet record under hot conditions when she won the high jump at 5’6″. She also took first in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.08 seconds.

“It’s definitely hot, but I pushed through it,” she said. “I’m really happy with my season. This was a goal from the beginning. I wanted first. It was confidence and form, for sure. I’ve tried 5’6″ about seven or eight times. I finally got it. I was pretty happy.”

Her previous best was 5’4″.

Angie Ritter, as expected, had a big meet that included first place finish and a new meet record of 12.09 seconds in the 100-meter dash, and first place and a new meet record of 24.72 seconds in the 200-meter dash.

Ritter, like the other athletes, acknowledged that it was a warmer day than normal. “I had a good feeling; I knew I could do it,” she said after the first race. “This is not what it’s usually like. It’s pretty hot.”

Sara Beulla was second in the 200-meter dash in 25.97 seconds for the Eagles. Beulla, Ritter, Bronner, and Cadi Palmreuter were on the 800-meter relay team, which set a meet record of 1:41.17. Frankenmuth took second in the 400-meter relay at 49.99. Ritter was also on the second-place 1,600-meter relay team that had a time of 4:04.59.

Stephanie Lambeth was third in the pole vault at 10’6″.

The Eagles won the state title in 2012 but were unable to grab the team trophy last season and finished fourth.

“We all performed up to par, like we were supposed to,” Ritter said. “Last year we had a few fallouts. This year we did what we were supposed to do, or even better. We came in with a positive attitude. We knew Pewamo was our competition. We knew they were pretty good. We were taking them seriously.”

Prior to the 1600-meter relay, Ritter could flash a smile. The Eagles had the meet in the bag.

“It was a good day,” she said. “In the 200, I improved by 0.3 seconds.”

Ritter, with three firsts, which were all personal bests for her, and one second, was happy. “The state championship says it all,” she said. “We were pretty happy with that. From the get-go, we knew we had a chance. We knew we had a solid team. We’re spread out in all of our events.”

Ritter will be taking her talents to Grand Valley State University.

“This was our hope, MITCA and the state,” said coach Michael Snyder. “When you start setting up state records and school records…three state records today and four school records. You know they did what they’re supposed to do. It’s something you don’t have words for. It’s pretty special.”

“We knew Pewamo was going to be there, and they were,” Snyder said. “The way our girls were performing, all they had to do is keep doing it.”

A week earlier, Frankenmuth won the MITCA meet, which was not attended by Pewamo-Westphalia. The Eagles had 957 points, compared to 877.5 for second-place Madison.

“The coaching staff we have, between the boys and girls, they specialize, so it helps with the 17 events,” Snyder said. “These ladies work every day. They work hard.”

The sprints and field events were key for the Eagles.

Ritter “is one of those incredible sprinters,” Snyder said. “When her sister Kelsey, who went to CMU, left, you didn’t know if we’d have another Kelsey. We did. And Angie broke Kelsey’s record today in the 100 meters. The seniors we have, we’ll miss them all. They’re role models. That’s a part of it.

“We bring our whole team [of 35 here], even though we have 10 girls that competed.”

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Pewamo-Westphalia’s coach realized that it would not be easy repeating as Division 3 girls’ track and field champion.

It proved not to be, as Frankenmuth stormed to the Division 3 title this year with 96 points, compared to Pewamo-Westphalia’s 72. The next closest team, Manistee, was far behind with 33 points.

Several Pirates won state championships. Kenzie Wieber won the pole vault at 11’6″; the 400-meter relay team of Sasha Platte, Jenna Thelen, Gabie Hummel, and Wieber won in 49.78 seconds, and the 1,600-meter relay team of Brenna Wirth, Cammie Noeker, Betsy Arens, and Marissa Wirth won in 4:01.16.

“It was awesome,” Hummel said. “The girls are really good to run with. Our competition, we know, was Frankenmuth. It was hard work and believing we would get there. We’ve worked on our handoffs and we’ve got them down.”

“I think everybody did very strong,” Wieber said. “It’s hot, and sometimes the heat kills the performance. Everybody is pushing their hardest, giving 100 percent.”

In the pole vault, “this year, it was awesome competition,” Wieber said. “The competitors were all great. The whole dynamics was great compared to other years. My sister won pole vault four years. I’m proud to keep the tradition going. I think the key was faith in each other, in our God, and in our coaches.”

Wieber will now take her talents to Central Michigan University.

In the 1,600-meter relay, “I think we performed really well, and we broke our school record,” said Marissa Wirth. “We’ll take second place [as a team]. But it’s disappointing not to take first the way we worked as a team. Everyone performed their best.

“It’s really fun. The 4×4 team I’ve been with the last couple of years.”

The Pirates got second-place finishes from Thelen, Brenna Wirth, Marissa Wirth, and Wieber in the 800-meter relay, with a time of 1:43.38, and from Brenna Wirth, who finished the 400-meter dash in 58.07 seconds.

“We fully expected it would come down between us, between both teams,” coach Scott Werner said. “We have nothing to hang our head about today, at all. We were only projected to score somewhere in the 50s when you look at the seeding, and we put up 72. That’s not only one or two kids stepping up. That’s the whole team stepping up.

“All of our relays set school records today. We are just competing at an elite level. [Frankenmuth] was a better team today. I’ll give them all the credit in the world. I’ll take my hat off to them.”

Werner acknowledged that he figured ahead of time that Frankenmuth had too much scoring power to overcome. “I know our two teams have been watching each other all year,” he said. “I thought we would be able to compete with them at a high level. I’m sure they felt the same way. We came in and executed very well. [Frankenmuth] is just an unbelievable team.”

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Mount Pleasant’s Emma Kahn played no small role in her team’s successful postseason run.

“She does her job quite well,” said coach John Bunting. “Wherever she’s at, she draws a lot of attention. When she’s able to distribute the ball, she does. When she draws two or three defenders, that will draw opportunities for other players.”

Kahn had 17 goals and 15 assists this season and led the team in both categories.

“I think this is the strongest our team has ever been in four years of playing,” she said. “We really started to click. You see time and time throughout the season we suffer a lot of injuries. We’ve been getting stronger and stronger.”

Coming into this season, Kahn, a midfielder, had racked up 49 goals and 31 assists for Mount Pleasant and was on the 2013 Sports Scene Girls Soccer Dream Team. She was playing club ball for the Saginaw Vardar soccer club and was a captain for all of her teams.

“I’m very happy with my play this year,” she said. “I’m playing a different type of position, which is not what I’m used to. I’m passing a lot more. I’m more of a forward more than midfield, but I’m still midfield.

“I’ve learned how to become a better player every year. I think I’ve improved a lot, more so learning how to be a [multi] dimensional player.”

Kahn has played soccer since she was four. “My dad was the coach of my first team, called the Watermelon Blasters,” she said. “I developed a love and passion for it.”

Her career is far from over, considering that she’ll be playing in the collegiate ranks for Western Michigan University.

“I think they’re looking at me more as an attacking outside mid,” Kahn said. “I’ll focus on my workouts. We’ve been given a summer workout plan. I’ll work on that, and try to be the best I can be.”

“She’s so dynamic, that it’s hard to stop her in so many ways,” Bunting said. “A lot of teams start to focus on her so much, and there’s great talent around her that are able to get success.”

It was her fourth season. Was it her best?

“As far as production, no, but she has a lot more assists this year, and she was aware of more of her teammates,” Bunting said. “It’s her best year because she’s gotten her team to where they are now. She was able to work with her [teammates].”

Bunting had a team that finished at 13-5-5 and advanced as far as it ever has in the past. But the regional title slipped from his team’s grasp when its season ended in a 1-0 loss to Grand Rapids Christian in the Division 2 regional final.

Katelynn Hartman scored twice for the Oilers in their 2-0 victory over Reeths-Puffer in the regional semifinal.

Kahn scored the only goal in her team’s 1-0 district title win over Cadillac.

“Last year, we had a lot of great seniors that graduated,” Kahn said. We have some freshmen coming up. We just wanted it more.”

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DeWitt was hoping to make an appearance in the Division 2 baseball state final and came close. The Panthers had a high-scoring offensive machine that got them into the final four. Their bats exploded for 14-8 and 14-7 victories over Portland and Linden in the regional.

The bats stayed hot in a nine-inning, 12-7 victory over East Grand Rapids in the quarterfinal.

But dramatically, the DeWitt bats were quiet in a 2-1 loss to the Richmond Blue Devils in the semifinal game.

The game was a battle between Zach Leah of Richmond and Sam Smith of DeWitt. Leach allowed one run on four hits, walking two and fanning five. Smith allowed two runs on eight hits, walking two and fanning five.

Richmond scored single runs in the third and sixth innings. Dillon McInerney doubled home the winning run for Richmond in the top of the sixth.

DeWitt scored in the fifth on a wild pitch, which brought home Chris Ruby.

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By BUTCH HARMON
For a year, St. Johns junior Karrigan Smith had been preparing for the day when she would compete for a state championship, and when the time arrived, she not only won the title but did it in a big way.

Competing in the 1600-meter run, Smith turned in a new Division 2 state-record time of 4:51.53 to win her first state title and the first state track title won by a St. Johns girl in program history.

“It was a surreal feeling,” she said. “My coaches and I have been talking about this for the last year. One of my goals was to win a state championship.”

To win this year’s title, Smith had to defeat a familiar rival, Megan O’Neil of Chippewa Hills, the winner of last year’s 1600-meter title. Smith used a strong finishing kick to edge O’Neil by over two seconds.

“Megan O’Neil and I were in the lead the whole time,” Smith said. “My goal was to work off her pace. It came down to the last 150 meters, and I was really glad I pulled through.”

Setting a new record and winning a first state title for St. Johns made it even more special. “Winning the first title in school history made it extra special,” Smith said. “I didn’t even know that I set the state record. The new record was an extra bonus on a great day.”

Smith had a busy day at the finals, as she also placed seventh in the 800-meter run and was part of the 1600-meter relay team.

With a state title under her belt, Smith is turning her attention to her final cross country season this fall. Last year, she finished third at the state cross country finals. “I’m coming off a break and gearing up for cross country season now,” Smith said. “I’m looking forward to my final year of cross country. I finished third last year and looking to have hopefully a real good performance at state this year.”

Smith is also excited about her team’s outlook. “We’re looking real strong,” she said. “We’ve been meeting as a team every Sunday. We are always looking for new runners in the program. I think we not only have better numbers, but the quality of people also. I think we have a real good chance at conference and making a run at state this year.”

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By BUTCH HARMON
You could say that Capital Area Athletic Conference Red Division runners left the competition seeing red at the Division 2 girls’ state track and field finals. Three runners from three different schools combined for a total of four individual state titles and a new state record. Another CAAC Red runner placed in the top three in three different events.

St. Johns junior Karrigan Smith set a new Division 2 record when she won the 1600-meter run in 4:51.53.

Josie Yesmut of DeWitt came away with a pair of individual state titles and helped DeWitt finish in third place as a team. Yesmut won the 100-meter dash in a time of 12.33 seconds and won the 200 meter-dash in 25.0. She also teamed up with Jordan Lee, Hannah Stoll, and Madison Slater to finish in third place in the 1600-meter relay.

Haslett placed 14th as a team and crowned a champion in Allison Rich. Rich won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.30 seconds. She also placed second in the 300-meter hurdles.

Ionia finished in 13th place as a team and was led by Hailey McRoberts. McRoberts earned all-state honors in three different events. She placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.44 seconds, third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.68, and third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.56.

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By BUTCH HARMON
After winning state championships at No. 2 singles as a freshman and as a sophomore, what would Okemos junior Emily Struble do for an encore this year?

Move up to No. 1 singles and win that state title. That was exactly what Struble did, winning the championship at the Division 2 state finals in Holland. Her win helped Okemos to finish in fifth place as a team.

Struble was not expected to make it into the winner’s circle in her first year at No. 1 singles, as she came in seeded fifth. That seeding proved to be a minor obstacle for Struble, who defeated the No. 1 seed, Labina Petrovska of Birmingham Seaholm, 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinal. She then knocked off No. 2-seed Clare Aleck of Forest Hills Northern 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in the championship match.

“Coming in as the five seed, I knew that I would have to upset higher seeds in order to win. But I knew that the people that were ahead of me, I could at least compete with,” Struble said. “My last match, I knew she would be a little bit worn out from her last match, so I wanted to keep her on the run as much as possible.”

Struble headed a strong corps of Okemos singles players, who all reached the semifinals. At No. 3 singles, Catherine Wingrove reached the finals, while Monika Francsics (No. 2 singles) and and Kylie Wilkenson (No. 4 singles) both reached the semifinals.

DIVISION 3
In the Division 3 state finals, at No. 1 singles, Williamston sophomore Sara Daavettila prevented Cranbrook Kingswood’s Alexandria Najarian from winning a fourth straight state title. Daavettila, who came in seeded second, defeated the top-seeded Najarian 6-3, 6-1 to win the title. Her win helped Williamston to a seventh-place finish in its first season in Division 3.

Haslett finished 12th in Division 3. Senior Shea Donahue reached the semifinal at No. 1 singles, where she fell to Najarian.

DIVISION 4
The Capital Area Athletic Conference Red Division had a pair of teams finish in the top ten at the Division 4 finals. Portland placed fourth and Lansing Catholic finished eighth.

Sydni Greenhoe led the way for Portland, as she reached the finals at No. 4 singles. Portland’s No. 4 doubles team of Brooke Butterfield and Morgan Wittkopp also reached the finals. The No. 3 doubles team of Hayley Bonn and Michelle Dorshimer reached the semifinal round.

Calla Ramont led the way for Lansing Catholic, as she reached the finals at No. 1 singles.

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By BUTCH HARMON
After having its state tournament run stopped at the district level last year, the Okemos girls soccer team was determined to make a deeper run this season.

That mission was accomplished, as the Chiefs not only won the district title, but also added a regional title and advanced to the final four in Division 1. In the semifinal, Okemos dropped a 3-0 decision to eventual state champion Northville.

The senior trio of Kristelle Yewah, Ashton Miller, and Lauren Zisholz led the way this year for the Chiefs, who finished the season with a 13-7-2 overall record. Yewah and Miller both earned first-team all-state honors. During their four years on the varsity, the two helped lead Okemos to three district titles, two regional titles, and a state championship in 2012. Miller will be continuing her career at Duke University next fall, while Yewah will be playing at Michigan State University.

“Ashton is an incredibly talented player,” said coach Brian Guggemos. “She is a top-20 national recruit and is going to Duke, which is a top 10 nationally soccer team. Kristelle was also a captain and was great at involving the younger players. She is a great player to have on any team.”

While Okemos will miss the seniors, it will have 16 players back next spring, including eight starters. The Chiefs will return junior Erin Doster, who was a second-team all-state player this season, and junior goalkeeper Vanessa Nigg, who was an honorable-mention all-state player.

Okemos had five girls earn first-team all-conference honors: Doster, Miller, Nigg, Yewah, and junior Erin O’Connor. Sophomores Kailey Peterson and Caroline Serkaian and Zisholz all earned honorable-mention all-conference honors.

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The Chippewa Hills girls track team could say it enjoyed the best of both worlds this season, winning two state titles on consecutive Saturdays.

First, there was the MITCA team state title on May 24. Then the Warriors sneaked through for the MHSAA Division 2 crown on May 31 at Houseman Field in Grand Rapids.

The MITCA meet focuses on the whole team, while the MHSAA event zeroes in on individual performances.

Chippewa Hills scored 1,347 points at the MITCA meet to finish well ahead of Harper Creek, which finished with 1,122.

Key performances for the Warriors at that meet included Megan O’Neil, first in the 1,600 meters in 5:10.94, first in the 3,200-meter run in 11:26.6, and third in the 800 meter-run in 2:22.74; Jennifer McNeal, first in the 400-meter dash in 59.6 seconds and second in high jump at 5’2″; Nicole Snyder, second in the 200-meter dash in 25.94 seconds; Arielle Esch, third in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.21 seconds; Erin Drouillard, third in pole vault at 11’0″; the 800-meter relay team, second in 1:46.38; and the 3,200-meter relay team, second in 9:42.97.

“The MITCA state meet, I was pretty confident we were going to pull that off unless things fell apart on us, which I didn’t foresee happening,” said coach Sally Schafer. “I felt we had the strongest team. I figured we could do it. So it happened. It was really cool.”

The Warriors needed only 34 points to win the MHSAA meet. Their 34 points compared to 29 for Waverly and 28 for both DeWitt and Spring Lake.

“It wasn’t that I wasn’t confident, and I knew it was possible,” Schafer said. “I just figured that one meet, we needed to be right on with everything and with all the seeds we had and where we were seeded. We needed to have a clean meet, then we’d have a shot at it. That was my attitude with that one.”

O’Neil was second in the 1,600-meter run in 4:53.92 and second in the 800-meter run in 2:17.09, Drouillard was third in pole vault at 10’11”, McNeal fourth in the 400-meter dash in 58.60 seconds, and the 3,200-meter relay team was fifth in 9:42.26.

But the championship would came down to the final event, the 1,600-meter relay. Waverly took first in the event, but by taking sixth in 4:03.87 for a school record, the team of Emonee Anderson, McNeal, O’Neil, and Snyder, gave Chippewa Hills the points it needed to win its second state title in as many weeks.

“It worked out where you never know how other teams are doing,” Schafer said. “But it all came out to the last race of the meet. When it came down to that race, we were nervous, but we were confident they could do it.”

When the Warriors took sixth, it was time to celebrate the title.

“We had to wait to see, because the times were so close between first place and eighth place in that relay,” Schafer said. “It was two seconds. I know Waverly had won it. We had to at least take eighth. It was so tight with all the different heats.

“It was exciting. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to the season.”

It was the first state title in both MITCA and MHSAA for the Warriors, who also earned academic all-state honors.

“The MITCA celebrates your team as a whole, how deep is your team, what qualities you have as a team across the board,” Schafer said. “We were three-deep in almost every event. The MHSAA, the only ones that can compete there are those that [qualified from] regionals. You’re not getting a complete team, you’re getting individuals.”

The Warriors had 10 athletes qualify for the MHSAA state meet.

“We took a big chunk of our team there,” Schafer said. “Some teams make it with fewer, and they score a lot of points. We took 10 and scored enough points to win. They preach the team concept, and I feel that helped us win both. It definitely helped us win MITCA.”

In terms of prestige, “I can say the MHSAA is what people recognize more outside of track and field,” Schafer said. “As a coaching association, that’s why we have the MITCA team state, because we recognize the quality team, kind of what wrestling does. The difference is that wrestling recognizes theirs [as MHSAA champs].

“If you’re a team that wins MITCA, you’re going to have strong numbers on that team that will probably make it to MHSAA.”

“They’re both so different,” O’Neil said. “MITCA is so rewarding as a team. There’s three people per event. You know everyone had a part in winning it. MHSAA is weighted more on individual success.”

A police escort awaited the team when it returned home after the MITCA meet.

“It was amazing,” O’Neil said. “We had always talked about MITCA. We never really got to talking about MHSAA. At the MHSAA meet, we knew we had a shot at winning it. I was focusing on running in my events. Coming into the 4×4, we know if we placed well, we’d win the meet. It was so exciting.”

The Warriors have had consistently strong teams in past seasons and might get the job done at both state meets again next season.

“Having a program do something this big makes the younger kids want to be a part of this,” Schafer said.

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Reese put in its bid for a Division 3 state baseball title but fell short in the semifinal, losing to University Liggett School 7-1.

The Rockets had won a tight regional with 2-1 and 2-0 victories over Memphis and Montrose. Then they blanked Pinconning in the quarterfinals 5-0.

Liggett defeated Decatur 9-0 in the finals.

In the semifinal, Reese had four hits total and only one walk. Cody Peyok had one of those hits and scored the only run. Liggett had a 6-0 lead after three innings.

Liggett and Reese each committed three errors. “We made a couple of mistakes,” coach Dave Elliott said. “We made some throwing errors. We gave them extra bases, which gave them an opportunity to score a few more runs. Not that it probably would have made a difference in the game, but you never know as it goes on.”

Matt Sahr and Cody Peyok were the pitchers for Reese. “There were some close pitches I thought we could have had,” Elliott said. “But that’s a part of baseball. I’m not complaining. I’m saying there’s a few pitches that could have gone either way.”

Elliott has a 19-year record of 418-198-4. The Rockets made it to the semifinals in 1997 and lost to River Valley, which went on to win the title.

This year, Reese’s season ended at 28-8-1, but it was a memorable one for the Rockets.

“At one point, we were 11-7,” Elliott said. “But I play a lot of kids. I try to see my other kids. You never know when the situation may come up that you need them.”

After the 11-7 start, Reese then won 17 straight games.

“We played really well and got some good pitching,” Elliott said. “Even in the tournament, up until the time we played Liggett, we had only given up two total runs. We had a good team and great kids. You don’t want it to end, but unfortunately, it does.”

Defense and pitching paved the way for the Rockets. “Our defense, especially the last 17 games, we played really solid,” Elliott said. “The infielders and outfielders made some great catches. That was key.”

Peyok batted .407 for the Rockets.

“I had eight seniors on the team, and six of them started,” Elliott said. “We’re probably going to be young next year. My catcher [Jacob Hartman] was only a freshman.”

Elliott had expected a huge season. “Three kids had been with me for three years,” he said. “Justin Heinlein was my shortstop and was a key to my infield, especially defensively.”

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Frankenmuth powers to Division 3 girls state title

Pewamo-Westphalia girls track team settles for strong second place effort

Emma Kahn leads the way for Mount Pleasant soccer team

DeWitt bats take team to semifinals

Karrigan Smith St. Johns track

CAAC Red girls track brief

Okemos and state tennis roundoup

okemos soccer recap

Chippewa Hills celebrates pair of girls state track title

Reese’s 17-game win streak comes to an end