Article - High School Sports Scene

It was a season to remember for the Ovid-Elsie girls soccer team.

When the Marauders defeated Swan Valley 4-0 in late May, it gave them the school’s first district title.

Victoria Stutzman had two goals and one assist for the winners, while goalkeeper Megan Walter had 16 saves.

Ovid-Elsie ended its season at 13-3-2 with a 2-0 loss to Frankenmuth in the regional semifinal.

“This year, we had a shortened season due to weather,” said coach Craig Thelen. “But traditionally, we usually ended up with around four or five losses.”

Winning the first district title was huge. “We’ve been in five district finals in seven years,” Thelen noted. “We’ve had our shot at the district title. [Swan Valley] was no pushover. But it was a long time coming.”

Swan Valley ended its season at 15-5-2, for the best record in school history. But Ovid-Elsie was a team of destiny when it came to taking the district title.

O-E scored two goals in each half and, Thelen noted, executed the game plan very well.

“We played as a team all year long,” he said. “We gave Frankenmuth a run for their money. The first few minutes, we had a breakaway.”

Ovid-Elsie had six shots compared to three for Frankenmuth, but it couldn’t convert with its dump-and-chase offense against Frankenmuth and goalkeeper Claire Carter.

Stutzman, a junior, wound up with 27 goals and 15 assists and earned all-state honors. Another junior, defender Logan Trefil, had five goals and two assists. Four goals were headers.

The Marauders were undefeated in the conference.

Only two seniors were on the team this season. That factor alone has Thelen excited about 2015 prospects. “This year, our local paper quoted this as being a rebuilding year, but these girls just worked together every day,” he said.

Stutzman and Courtney Kusnier, another junior, were captains.

“Courtney Kusnier didn’t have a lot of stats with just three goals and nine assists, but she controls the middle for us and is a big part of our team,” Thelen said.

The team aspect was truly a mark of this squad, as far as Thelen was concerned. “We have Victoria, who is a standout player,” he said. “There’s willingness to pass to everybody. No one person will not pass to another person. There is the communication and teamwork, all-for-one attitude. Last year, we had a lot of individual talent and a lot of expectations. This year, not a lot was expected of us. The girls just worked hard.”

Other girls that earned all-conference and all-district honors include Walter, Paige Conley, and Courtney Loynes.

“One of the team strengths was their ability to adjust in games,” Thelen said.

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By BUTCH HARMON
The Ithaca girls track team enjoyed one of its best performances in school history this spring, when it placed 11th overall with 15 points at the Division 3 state track and field finals at Comstock Park.

The Yellowjackets had nine girls qualify for the state finals, and all nine came home with all-state honors.

“We performed great, actually,” coach Gene Lebron said. “It was the best showing I ever had as head coach, and it was probably the best showing in school history. To send nine girls and have all nine girls earn all-state honors is quite an accomplishment, especially in a year like this, when there were so many great teams and athletes there.”

The strength of this year’s team was the relay events, and three of Ithaca’s teams earned all-state honors. The 4 x 200 relay team of freshman Mikayla Fairchild, senior Brianne Draper, freshman Emily Foster, and sophomore Erica Sheahan led the way, placing fourth with a time of 1:46. The 4 x 100 relay team of Fairchild, Sheahan, senior Vanessa Waldron, and Draper also came up big, as it placed sixth with a time of 51.33. Ithaca also placed in the 4 x 800 relay, with the team of sophomore Blaire Showers, sophomore Kurstin Kalisek, sophomore Alyssa Mankey, and freshman Courtney Allen placing seventh with a time of 9:46.

“Our 4 x 8 and 4 x 2 both qualified for nationals,” Lebron said. “We have everyone coming back in the 4 x 8 next year. Of the nine girls who earned all-state at the state meet, only two are seniors. We have a lot of girls coming back next year, including some other girls people don’t even know about.”

Draper, a senior, will be missed. Along with running on two state-placing relay teams, she finished seventh in the long jump with a leap of 16’7″ after being seeded 16th heading into the finals.
“Brianne has been our team leader the last couple of years,” Lebron said. “She just had a phenomenal meet.”

The Yellowjackets also received a big effort from Sheahan. Sheahan, a member of two relay teams, also finished sixth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.41. “Erica scored more points than anyone on the team,” Lebron said. “She was all-state in Division 4 at Beal City last year, and she didn’t know how she would do in Division 3 this year. She did very well, and she is only going to get better.”

Lebron was also pleased with Allen’s performance this year. “Courtney was all-state in cross country this year,” Lebron said. “She is our best distance runner, and she ran real well this year. I’m looking for big things in the future from her.”

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Chippewa Hills’ softball team didn’t quite match the accomplishment of the girls’ track squad that won two state titles.

But it was still quite a season for the softballers, who finished with a 27-8 record, won the Central State Activities Association title, and won district and regional crowns in the postseason.

In the Division 2 regionals, Chippewa Hills gained revenge on Escanaba, which in 2013 defeated the Warriors 5-4 in the regional title game. This year, it was the Warriors with a 1-0 victory over the Upper Peninsula team in the semifinal. Elle LaLonde had a bases-loaded base hit. The regional title game result was a 5-4 victory for the Warriors over Ogemaw Heights in nine innings.

Cassidy Johnson was the winning pitcher in both games. She fanned seven and scattered four hits in seven innings against Escanaba. Against Ogemaw Heights, she fanned seven and gave up 10 hits.

Brooke Lewandowski had a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth.

In the quarterfinals at Mount Pleasant, the Warriors lost 4-0 to Croswell-Lexington, whose pitcher, Megan Guitar, pitched a no-hitter and allowed only two walks.

Johnson, Kendall Boone, and Olivia Wolfe were all-CSAA first-team players.

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Unionville-Sebewaing Area wanted to leave Michigan State University after the Division 3 state title softball game with a 41-0 record and the championship.

But a talented Gladstone team from the Upper Peninsula pulled out a 2-1 victory, and the Patriots instead went home at 40-1 with the state runner-up trophy.

Unionville-Sebewaing had two hits from Stephanie Neuman.

Gladstone got single runs in the first and third innings. Sharon Tanner scattered eight hits for Gladstone. Nicole Bauer took the loss.

Unionville-Sebewaing coach Steve Bohn has a three-year record of 117-10. His team also made it to the title game last year, where it lost 3-0 to Dundee.

Gladstone won the title with a 30-2 record.

“You have a team that came in with two losses and a team that came in with no losses, No. 1 team in the state and No. 3 in the state,” Bohn said. “It’s exactly the way that game is supposed to be. It’s a one-run game. A hit here or there makes a big difference both ways. A double play in one inning was a big spot there.”

It was among the most exciting games of the tournament weekend. “It was a good fast-pitch softball game,” Bohn said.

USA had rolled through the tournament. It won 6-0 and 11-0 over Meridian and Shepherd in the regionals, 10-1 over Reese in the quarterfinal, and 7-5 over Clinton in the semifinal.

“It’s such a great season, and the girls played so well,” Bohn said. “Right up to this last game. We had eight hits, just didn’t get that one to get the next run in. We came up short. That’s hard to swallow. Our goal from day one was to win every game and win the state championship. But we didn’t win the state championship. It’s pretty tough to swallow right now.”

Among the many times USA couldn’t cash in on its opportunities was in the fifth. The Patriots had two runners on with one out. Erica Treiber hit a liner that wound up in a double play.

“That’s the way this game is,” Bohn said. “A blooper is worth as much as a bullet. Sometimes they fall, and sometimes they don’t. You look at the college level, they go double elimination then best 2-out-of-3. There’s a reason they do that.”

DIVISION 2

Lakeshore ended the Division 2 softball season at 35-9 after a 4-3 victory against Ladywood on June 14 at Michigan State University. Lakeshore scored two runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to take the victory. Haley Thibeault got the win, giving up three hits and striking out three. Rachel Riedel got a hit and two RBI for the winners.

DIVISION 4

Rogers City held back Kalamazoo Christian to take the Division 4 state softball title at Michigan State University. Rogers City had single runs in the third, fifth, and seventh innings. Courtney Streich, Morgan Hall, and Alexa Quaine had two hits apiece for Rogers City. Tori Sides, Rebekah VanDam, Dara Knasl, and Erica Block had base hits for Kalamazoo Christian. Nikki Radke was the winning pitcher for Rogers City, which finished the season at 34-6.

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By BUTCH HARMON
With a number of veterans back from last year’s state title team, Lansing Catholic golf coach Charlie Furney knew that his team had what it took to win another state title. Led by six veterans from last year’s squad, the Cougars made it two in a row this spring and won the Division 3 state championship with a two-day score of 633 at The Meadows Golf Course on the campus of Grand Valley State University.

Lumen Christi Catholic took second place with a team score of 641.

Depth was the key for Lansing Catholic. Junior Patrick Gillespie led the Cougars with rounds of 77 and 75 for a total of 152.He finished fourth overall as an individual. Senior Brent Marshall, who will be joining the Grand Valley golf team next year, finished eighth overall with a 156, as he carded rounds of 75 and 81.

“Everyone on this team is competitive with one another,” Furney said. “They all get along and play together in the summer and through the winter in domes. A good number of them went down South during spring break to play, and I think it did them a lot of good. We had quite a bit of returning players who had experience from last year’s state championship team, and we were actually a deeper team this year.”

“The mindset going into the season with the players we had back was to repeat,” Furney said. “From the very beginning, that was our goal, and I think the key to this year compared to last year was they all lowered their stroke averages.”

Junior Niko Voutsaras shot rounds of 75 and 85 to finish with a 160, while sophomore Owen Rush carded rounds of 85 and 79 to finish with 164.

Powers Catholic finished in the top ten, as it totaled a 680 team score to finish in eighth place. Troy Tomczak led Powers with rounds of 82 and 83 to finish with a 165 total. Blaise Vanitveld also finished with a 165, as he carded rounds of 81 and 84.

St. Charles also placed in the top ten. Balance was the key for St. Charles, as it totaled a 343 on the first day and a 344 on the second day to finish with a 687. Dustin Pumford led the way for St. Charles, as he carded rounds of 78 and 80 to finish in a tie for ninth as an individual with a 158 total.

Rhet Schrauben of Portland placed third as an individual with rounds of 73 and 78 for a 151.

Scott Sparks of Lutheran High School North was the individual medalist, as he shot rounds of 67 and 76 for a 143 total.

DIVISION 1
Swart Creek won the Division 1 team state title in a red-hot tournament that went down to the final hole. It totaled 584 (293, 291) to edge Detroit Catholic Central by one stroke (293, 292) and third-place Rockford (294, 295).
Balance was key for Swartz Creek. Ben Zyber led the way with a 141 (72, 69), followed by Mike Kelley with a 142 (72, 70) and Jack Weller with a 146 (69, 77).
Zyber was one of five golfers who tied for medalist honors with a 141. Ben Roeder of Midland Dow, Jordan Bohannon of Birmingham Groves, Seth Terpstra of Grandville, and Joel Pietila of Rockford also shot 141, with Dow’s Roeder winning the state title on the third hole of the playoff.

DIVISION 2
Cranbrook-Kingswood captured the Division 3 state title with a 618 team total to edge out Forest Hills Eastern, which finished second with a 623.
DeWitt and East Lansing both finished in the top ten. DeWitt totaled 640 (322, 318) to take seventh place, while East Lansing totaled 646 (328, 318) to place eighth as a team. Mason finished in a tie for 11th with 649, while Mt Pleasant finished 13th with 685.
Individually, Austin Carter of Croswell-Lexington won medalist honors with two rounds of 72 for a 144 total. Joe Croom of East Lansing placed seventh with a 149 (76, 73), while Zach Rosendale of St Johns (76, 76), Tristan Brunst of Mason (73, 79), and Geoffry Croley of DeWitt (74, 78) all finished in a tie for ninth place with 152.

DIVISION 4
White Pigeon captured the Division 4 team title with a total of 654 (328, 326), while Charlevoix and Alcona tied for second with 663.
Sacred Heart Academy finished 10th as a team with a 691 total (353, 338). Fowler placed 12th overall with 693, while New Lothrop finished 13th with 730.
Joel Sneed of Leland won individual medalist honors with a 147 total (74, 73), while Sam Wagner of Pentwater placed second with a 151.
Austin Feldpausch of Fowler finished 10th as an individual with rounds of 79 and 81 for a 160 total.

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New Lothrop had plans to upend Beal City in its first appearance in a baseball state title game.

Mission accomplished.

Grant Steinborn scattered seven hits over seven innings, walking two batters and fanning four, in leading his New Lothrop team to a 5-0 Division 4 state championship win June 14 at Michigan State University.

The Hornets finished at 34-6 for their first state title and dashed the hopes of Beal City, which finished 36-4.

“We came on at the right time this year,” said New Lothrop coach Keith Villano, who has a four-year record of 114-25-2. “We’ve had a good-hitting team all year. We work and work on it and work on it and go with a certain approach. We have good athletes. I’m very blessed. They get on any way they can.”

The Hornets have had success in various sports like football, wrestling, and baseball. “There’s no question we have high expectations for all the sports,” Villano said. “We have great coaches in our district. We have a couple of our guys that won a state title with wrestling. We don’t hang banners in the gym unless it’s a state title.”

The Aggies had been hoping to get the title after faltering in the final game a year ago.

But Steinborn and his teammates got the job done for the Hornets. Quentin Taylor had two hits, an RBI, and scored a run, and Brodie Bennett had two hits and an RBI, plus a walk, from his No. 9 spot in the order.

“The first [title] for baseball is a great feeling,” Steinborn said. “We did our coach’s philosophy, which is to throw strikes and put the ball in play and play defense.”

Steinborn entered the finals with a 13-1 record and a 1.10 ERA. “He’s a very durable pitcher,” Villano said. “There’s no question his mechanics are sound. Grant’s a gamer. There’s no question in my mind that he was going to go out, throw strikes, and let my defense take care of things. We have a very good defensive team as well. It worked out. He worked out of some jams and was able to shut them out.”

“We thought it was going to be a closer game,” Steinborn said. “We had every confidence in the world we were going to come home with this victory. When you get outs as often as I was, your confidence builds and builds. My location was on, and I could mix on any pitch I wanted to.”

The Hornets had to hang on for dear life against Glen Lake in a 3-1 semifinal victory on June 13. “It feels good, I knew we could do it,” Villano said after that game. “The bottom line is we still have one more game to play. We can’t be satisfied with this. We have to move on. [Beal City] is a great team. They’ve been here before. They have players that play hard. We’ll grind it out and see what happens.”

Cameron Pope started the semifinal game and took the win.

Steinborn came on in the seventh but had a major scare with the tying runs on base. “I had a lot of confidence in [Steinborn],” said Pope. “I have a lot of confidence. I knew his control was going to be fine.”

Glen Lake’s Austin Odziana hit a line shot down the left field line that would have scored two runs, but it was inches foul.

“The almost-double wasn’t a double,” Villano said. “The baseball gods were looking out for us. We came out and got a quick win. It wasn’t easy. You always need those breaks to go your way. [In the final] we’ll throw strikes, put the ball in play, and play fundamental baseball.

“Not too many people hit it that hard off of Grant,” said outfielder Taylor. “When that kid did it, I was a little nervous. I was scared. He struck him out, yeah.”

“I thought we pitched well,” Glen Lake coach Kris Herman said. “We did the things we wanted to do coming into the game. We pitched well, and we played good defense. We generally can scrape for some runs here or there. Today we never got ourselves into a position where we could manufacture anything. But we did have our opportunities, no question about it.

“They got two big hits when they needed them, and we couldn’t get those hits when we needed to have them.”

Beal City “is usually pretty good,” Taylor said the day before the final game. “I think we can beat them. We’re pretty confident. We have the attitude we need to win.”

About 24 hours later, Taylor proved to be right on the money with his prediction. “[Coach] told us if we put the ball in play we could win this game,” he said after the victory.

The Hornets only outhit the Aggies 10-7, but the Hornets were able to string together their hits more effectively. “They usually do some sneaky things on the basepaths, but we didn’t allow them to do that,” Taylor said.

New Lothrop had one run in the second and three big ones in the fourth to take control over the Aggies. “When we got ahead, I think they got a little down and started making some errors,” Taylor said. “They couldn’t get back up.”

Villano admitted he had a “great feeling” coming into this season that it could be something special. “It was a very difficult [run] through the tournament,” he said. “We had to go through a lot of tough teams. These guys went out there. They’re a gritty team, they’re not going to give up. They don’t give up. They don’t let the little things bother them. They keep going. They pick each other up.”

Villano, Steinborn said, “always stands calm and supports us through everything. He doesn’t freak out. That helps us play better.”

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By BUTCH HARMON
The Okemos girls lacrosse team showed plenty of heart this season on its way to a runner-up finish in Division 2.

Featuring a balanced attack, the Chieftains turned in a memorable tournament run before dropping an 11-7 decision to East Grand Rapids in the Division 2 title match at Rockford.

Okemos had to overcome a key injury in the title game that made it even more difficult to play against an East Grand Rapids team going for its third straight state title. In the opening minutes of the game, sophomore standout Kendall Luberto suffered a severe ankle injury and was lost for the remainder of the game. Luberto entered the game as one of Okemos’ top offensive players.

“I think our girls played tough,” coach Donny Luberto said. “One of our starters went down in the first three minutes of the game, and that threw us out a bit. But the girls played tough. I knew they would keep fighting and keep playing tough.”

Okemos battled the entire 50 minutes while attempting to become the first Michigan high school team to defeat East Grand Rapids since 2010. Okemos scored the first two goals before the Pioneers came back to tie the match 2-2.

Okemos again battled back and went up 4-2 before East Grand Rapids closed out the first half with four consecutive goals to take a 6-4 lead.

Okemos continued the fight in the second half and tied the game 6-6 early on. East’s depth, however, proved to be too much to overcome, as the Pioneers outscored Okemos 5-1 down the stretch to come away with the win.

Despite the loss, Okemos accomplished plenty this season. It finished the season with a 20-4 record and was ranked second in the state at the end of the season. It had a number of impressive wins, including a 9-7 win over No. 3-ranked Caledonia, a 9-6 win over Division 1 No. 2-ranked Marian, and a 9-6 win over Division 1 state finalist Ann Arbor Pioneer.

“This was a great group of kids,” Luberto said. “We have six or seven who will be playing college lacrosse. Our team grade point average was also 3.8. These kids were wonderful. They did a nice job and I am proud of them.”

Okemos had a balanced offense this year, led by senior Bailey Ellsworth, who entered the championship match with 55 goals and 16 assists, and sophomore Kendall Luberto, who entered the final game with 48 goals and 30 assists. Senior Olivia Sherman entered the title game with 46 goals and 27 assists, while senior Alex King entered the final match with 31 goals and 30 assists. Sophomore Angela Palmer entered the title match with 36 goals.

Senior Courtney Humphrey paced the Okemos defense, while senior goalkeeper Katie Johnson had a 5.0 goals against average and a 70% save percentage.

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By BUTCH HARMON
What a time for your best effort.

Competing at the Division 3 state track and field finals at Comstock Park, Laingsburg’s Michael Schauer picked a perfect time to turn in the best performance of his high school career in the discus. He threw the discus 172’8″ to surpass second-place finisher Clay Walderzak of Standish-Sterling, and the throw was a full three feet farther than his previous best throw.

“I think it was just the great competition here,” said Schauer. “All the other guys are the best throwers in the state, and you have to push yourself. I think going up against all these other great athletes, it just gets the adrenaline going.”

Winning a state title was not something that Schauer had in mind when the track season began. In fact, his goals were a little lower.

“Actually, at the beginning of the season, I was just hoping to make it to the state meet,” he said. “My best throw last year in the discus was 151, so I was hoping to improve this year and make it to state.”

Schauer put in plenty of time during the off-season to prepare for this year’s track season. “I practiced a lot in the off-season,” he said. “My dad helped me a lot and encouraged me. He has been a big part of my success.”

While Schauer competes in both the discus and the shot put, the discus is his specialty. “I think my best shot put was 48 feet,” he said. “The discus is my favorite event. I started doing both the shot and discus when I went out for track as a freshman.”

Winning a state title wrapped up a perfect season for Schauer, who also won the regional discus title.

“It feels great winning the state title,” Schauer said. “I never lost in the discus all season. It’s a great feeling to end the season with the state title and having never lost all year.”

A four-year member of the Laingsburg football team and a three-year member of the basketball team, Schauer finished his high school career with a 3.8 grade point average and will be going to Michigan State University, where he plans to concentrate on academics, although he did leave open the possibility of going out for the track team as a walk-on.

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By BUTCH HARMON
The home field never felt so good for the Rockford girls lacrosse team.

Playing the Division 1 state finals on their home turf, the Rams dominated play from start to finish against Ann Arbor Pioneer. After jumping out to a 5-1 lead, the Rams cruised to a 16-7 victory. The win was the second state title in a row for the Rams, who also won last year’s state title match at Rockford.

Rockford’s nine seniors led the way to the two state titles. Meghan Datema was one of those nine seniors, and having the opportunity to win a second state title in front of the home fans was very special for her. “In my sophomore year, we lost in the state semifinals,” she said. “The state meet was held here at Rockford, and it was not a good feeling watching another team win the state title and celebrate on our home field. We were ready this year. We were focused, and we came out ready to play.”

Rockford knew that defeating Pioneer would be difficult, as the Rams only beat Pioneer by a score of 10-9 earlier this year. After going down 5-1 in the championship, Pioneer battled back and cut the Ram lead to 5-4 before Datema scored back-to-back goals, giving the Rams a 7-4 advantage.

“We were missing a couple of girls the first time we played them,” coach Mike Emery said. “It was also the day before spring break, so it was getaway day. We had 22 turnovers that day. Today we had eight. We did a lot better job taking care of the ball and in possession today. Our defense also did a great job today. We didn’t allow them to score for most of the second half.”

Rockford closed the first half strong with a 5-0 run to go into halftime with a 13-5 lead.

Defense was key in Rockford’s victory, and the Ram defense began to dominate in the second half. Rockford opened up the lead to 15-5 in the second half and held Pioneer scoreless until a pair of late goals.

“Winning this title was real special,” senior defender Aimee Hite said. “We lost a lot of defenders throughout the season, so seeing how the defense came together and how strong they played was real exciting. We pretty much held them without a goal the entire second half.”

Junior goalkeeper Katie Elwell turned in a strong game with nine saves. “This is just incredible,” she said. “I never thought I would have this experience of winning it two years in a row. You just can’t describe this feeling. I’m so proud of all the players, we all just worked super hard.”

Datema led the Ram offense with five goals and one assist. Sophomore Alex Vandermolen added four goals. The same two players led the Ram offense all season. Datema entered the championship match with 58 goals this season, while Vandermolen entered the game with 50 goals.

Senior Kyleigh Egnatuk ended her career in a big way, as she scored three goals and added an assist. “We worked very hard this season,” she said. “We knew we had to put in a lot of work to get to where we wanted to be. Winning another state title was our main goal. We definitely knew how hard we had to work to do it again.”

The strong start was key to the win. “I thought today we came out strong and focused,” Egnatuk said. “That showed when we came out and scored those five early goals. I thought in the first game that we played against them we had a lot more turnovers, and that was something we cleaned up today.”

Winning a second state title was more difficult than winning the first one. “It was definitely harder,” Egnatuk said. “It felt like we had a big target on our back all season.”

In the end, the Rams defended the title and defended their home turf and sent their seniors out with their second straight state title. “It was so special to end the season on our home field winning a second state championship,” Datema said. “It was the perfect ending. Both of these state titles have been picture perfect. This one may have been more special because it was the last game of my career.”

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By BUTCH HARMON
Who said that the days of the multi-sport athlete have passed?

Try telling that to the Meridian boys track team. In this age of specialization, it is a testament to high school athletes playing multiple sports. Meridian’s multi-sport athletes showed just how successful cross training can be, as they captured the MHSAA Division 3 boys’ track and field championship at Comstock Park.

“With the athletes we had coming, I thought we had a good chance at a top three finish, if everything went right,” coach Dave Pettyplace said. “We brought six, and five scored for us.

Those athletes included senior Jacob Wenzlick, who is also a member of the baseball team. While Wenzlick’s baseball teammates were busy at home winning a district baseball title, Wenzlick was helping the track team win the state championship.

Wenzlick ran on three winning relay teams for the Mustangs. “This was just nuts,” he said. “We didn’t even win our conference or our regional. To win a state championship is incredible.”

Wenzlick was not the only assist the track team received from the baseball team. Senior Dan Johnson, who played baseball last year, broke his wrist before the baseball season this year. Unable to play baseball, he decided to come out for the track team. At the finals, he found himself part of the 1,600-meter relay team that not only won a state title, but also set a new state record in the process.

“This is my first year of running track, and it was awesome,” Johnson said.

While the track team received an assist from the baseball team in Wenzlick and Johnson, it received an even bigger assist from the Meridian basketball team. Seniors Kevin Scheibert and Jacob Ham are first-year runners on the Mustang track team. Members of the basketball team, they were busy during previous springs playing travel basketball to prepare for the next season. Knowing that their high school basketball careers were finished, Pettyplace talked the duo into coming out for the track team.

Scheibert and Wenzlick stepped into vacancies on the 400-, 800-, and 1,600-yard relay teams and helped all three to win state championships that were key to Meridian’s success as a team.

“We had three guys who were in their first year running track,” Pettyplace said. “They were part of three relay teams that took first place and that was a big key.”

Another big key was a fifth-place performance from Ham in the 200-meter dash. Seeded eighth, Ham told a teammate that he was going to take it easy in the 200 to save himself for the 1,600 relay at the end. His teammate let him know that those points in the 200 would be key for the team, and Ham changed his game plan.

“Those points were pretty important,” Ham said. “I had the mile relay after that, and I wasn’t going to try very hard, but when I was told we needed those points I ran as hard as I could and finished fifth, and it helped us win the state. This is just incredible. It is the most incredible feeling I’ve ever had.”

Ham would not have had the chance to compete for a state track title if not for the recruiting efforts of Pettyplace. “Coach has always talked to me about coming out for track,” Ham said. “This spring I was done with basketball and decided to come out. I’m really glad I did.”

Just like his basketball teammate Scheibert. “I’m at a loss for words,” Scheibert said. “This was the first year for the two of us. We just came out for the fun of it, never realizing we would get in this position.”

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Ovid-Elsie girls soccer team nets first district title

Ithaca girls track story

Chippewa Hills advances to quarterfinals in softball

Unionville-Sebewaing falls just short in bid for perfect season

Lansing Catholic central boys golf and golf roundup

Division 4 baseball title belongs to New Lothrop

Okemos Division 2 lacrosse story

Michael Schauer Laingsburg track champ

Rockford wins D1 lacrosse state title

Sanford Meridian boys track D3 finals