Former Ithaca coach Rollie Carman hopes to bring winning ways back to St. Louis

John Raffel

Sports Scene

 

Rollie Carman has worn a few different high school baseball caps in his career. But now he’s coaching at St. Louis, and his goal is to turn the Sharks into contenders again.

As of mid-May, St. Louis’ record was 5-8.

“It’s going all right,” Carman said. ”We’re doing OK.”

The new St. Louis coach was head coach at Ithaca the previous eight seasons. Prior to that, he was at Carson City-Crystal four seasons, St. Louis one year, Alma three seasons, Montabella three years, plus Ithaca for two.

“I’ve been all over the country,” Carman smiled. “Never been able to settle down.”

He’s been handling the coaching duties wherever and whenever he’s been able to fit into a particular program, Carman noted.

“My goal is to build this program back to where it was not too long ago,” Carman said of St. Louis. “They were really good. There’s a lot of support from the community, and there’s a lot of people working hard to make sure the baseball is good. That’s kind of why I went there.”

Carman has been impressed with the support he’s getting from parents. “You get parents on your side, and that’s nine-tenths of the battle,” he said.

St. Louis will continue to have an active summer program with Carman on board. “That’s the way it is,” he said. “If you’re going to have a program, you have to have kids playing baseball from January until September, and then they can take the rest of the time off. But they have to be playing January to September. That’s pretty much how you generate good ballplayers. You can’t just go from March to June.”

St. Louis has 18-and-under and 16-and-under baseball programs that were started last season.

“You look at what they’re offering St. Louis kids for baseball, and it was pretty easy to decide to go there,” Carman said. “We’ll play Shepherd, we’ll play Chip Hills, we’ll play Beal City, we’ll play Harrison, Gladwin, teams over that way. We play Mount Pleasant teams, too.”

When high school season ends, Carman and his players will get right into the summer campaign.

At St. Louis, “we’re basically teaching kids from the ground up,” he said. “It’s certainly going to be a process this year. You have a new coach. My program is pretty extensive and the kids have a lot of learning to do.”

Between varsity and junior varsity, Carman has 26 total kids on the teams this spring.

“It’s really hard to go with more than that,” Carman said. “You can’t have 15 kids on your team because the ones that aren’t playing won’t play. It makes it hard on coaches. If you don’t play them, they quit. Our numbers are where they need to be. We just have to get the right group of kids there.”

St. Louis plays in the TVC West. Building the program into a conference contender is a high priority for Carman. “Your whole season is based on league play,” he said.

A native of the area, he lives in Sumner, between Carson City and Ithaca, and is a teacher at the St. Louis correctional facility.

The poor spring weather seems to emphasize Carman’s point of having players take advantage of the warm summer months to play baseball.

“I want kids that are going to play baseball when baseball is available and not just in the spring,” Carman said. “The youth program in St. Louis is really strong. We can keep kids interested in baseball. It’s just a matter of time.”

 

 

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Flint Powers girls soccer feature

By BUTCH HARMON
Thanks to the return of a trio of players who were part of one of the strongest travel teams in the nation last spring, the Powers Catholic girls soccer team is poised to return to the top of the mountain in Division 3 soccer this season.
As freshmen at Powers, Ally Haran, Morgan McKerchie, and Heather Rolls were part of a Powers team that won the state championship. As sophomores, they were all-state soccer players who helped the Chargers reach the Division 3 state title match. Last year, the trio chose to play for the Hawks, a Michigan-based travel team that was one of the top teams in the nation. Michigan High School Athletic Association rules do not allow players to participate in travel team sports during the same high school season, so the girls were not part of the Powers varsity team that eventually reached the state semifinals. This season, the trio decided to play their final year of high school soccer together at Powers, and the results have been impressive.
“We have been doing well,” coach Art Moody said. “We started the season with a 12-0-1 record. Our only tie was 2-2 against Fenton. We have been scoring a lot of goals this year. We have scored over 70 goals in our first 13 games. We have also allowed only five goals this year.”
The Chargers have been putting up those numbers against some strong opponents. “We played some very good teams early on this year,” Moody said. “The big difference is this year, when we get opportunities on offense, we have been capitalizing on them. We have been putting teams down early, and that has been boosting our confidence.”
Having a trio of elite players return to the lineup has also been a big boost for the Chargers. The three players have all signed to play college soccer with Division 1 programs. Rolls, the starting goalkeeper, has signed with Georgetown University. McKerchie, a forward, has signed with Michigan State University, and Haran, a defender, has signed with Wake Forest University of the Atlantic Coach Conference.
“All three girls played for the Michigan Hawks, and all three decided to come back this year,” Moody said. “They won a state title their freshman year, and in their sophomore year, they made it back to the state finals. They were all also all-state as sophomores. Last year, they competed on the national level for one of the best select teams in the country. This year, they all decided to come back and finish their high school careers at Powers. They also hope to make it back to the finals.”
The trio has helped make this a special year for Moody, who won the 100th game of his coaching career earlier this season.
The Powers team is not just about the returning trio, however. The three join a squad that has plenty of talent returning from a team that reached the state semifinals last spring.
“Gabriela Gerra is a senior who has been playing for us since she was a freshman,” Moody said. “She is a midfielder, and she has been at the core of the team. She is a captain and is a big part of our team and is one of the better players on the team.”
The Chargers have also been getting solid play from senior Kristin Syrowik. “Kristin is a four-year player for us at forward,” Moody said. “She has been scoring a lot of goals for us.”
The five seniors have been leading the way for the Chargers, but plenty of talented young players are following behind. “We have been building a strong girls’ soccer program here at Powers,” Moody said. “We have some real solid seniors this year, but we also have a very nice freshman class this year. Our junior varsity program has also been very strong. The freshman class will allow us to continue to play at a high level.”
With the state tournament around the corner, the Chargers are keeping their focus. “Our philosophy is to play one game at a time,” Moody said. “It is the next game that we focus on. That has helped us as a program. As a team, we stay focused on the goal at hand.”
The ultimate goal, however, is to bring another girls’ soccer championship back to Genesee County. “When these seniors were freshmen, they were the first girls’ soccer team to win a state soccer championship for Genesee County,” Moody said. “As sophomores, their goal was to become the first team to win back-to-back state titles in Genesee County. We hope this year to bring another state title back to Genesee County.”
 
 
 
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Okemos girls soccer feature

By BUTCH HARMON
Led by one of the premier soccer players in the state, the Okemos girls soccer team is setting the stage for another deep state tournament run.
In senior Ashton Miller, the Chieftains have a nationally-ranked player. One of the most highly recruited players in the country, she eventually signed with Duke University.
“Ashton is as mature a player as I have ever been fortunate to coach,” said Okemos coach Brian Guggemos. “She loves to train, and she trains at a high level. We have a young team this year, and she is great with young players. She does a good job of bringing them along. Ashton is a captain for us this year, and she has done a great job.”
Miller is a midfielder who is also a member of the prestigious Michigan Hawks travel team and the Under 17 United States Women’s National Team.
“Ashton is an incredibly talented player,” Guggemos said. “She is a top-20 national recruit and is going to Duke, which is a top 10 national soccer team. She is doing great this year and is a great teammate.”
Miller is not the only Division 1 player on this year’s team. Senior Kristelle Yewah has committed to playing soccer at Michigan State University next year.
“Kristelle is also a captain and is great at involving the younger players,” Guggemos said. “She is a great player to have on any team. She can score a goal on her own out of nothing. She has done a lot of heavy lifting for the team, and that is always a challenge, as opposing teams focus on her and always mark her. She still has been able to score 15 goals for us this year.”
The Chieftains also have a talented junior, Erin Doster, who has the attention of college recruiters. “Erin is a junior who is going to be a Division 1 player,” Guggemos said. “She is a sparkplug for our team. Her work rate is very high, and she has a knack for scoring goals. She scored 10 goals as a freshman and has been in double-digits in goals every year. It is great for a coach knowing you have a player that talented that is always giving great effort, and I look forward to coaching her for the next year and a half.”
Okemos has also been receiving solid play from Vanessa Nigg, who fills a variety of roles for the team. “Vanessa plays pretty much every minute of every game,” Guggemos said. “She plays goalkeeper for us and also forward. She could be a full-time goaltender and a full-time field player, but we need her for both. She is outstanding in both settings.”
The veteran core of Okemos has been having another solid season. The Chieftains tied for the CAAC Blue championship with Grand Ledge and Holt. “We’ve had a little bit of a hit and miss this season due to the weather,” Guggemos said. “I think the weather has hurt us as much as anyone, because we have a lot of new players to the varsity. It has been difficult to get some consistency due to the weather.”
While the weather has posed problems, the team has come together as a unit. “I really like the personality of this year’s team,” Guggemos said. “The girls really enjoy being around each other. There are no cliques, and everyone gets along great with each other.”
The team has also improved as the season has progressed. “Obviously, getting a share of the league championship has been a highlight,” Guggemos said. “We were very fortunate, and the girls are happy with it. We’ve also had some good wins. We beat Williamston and played well in some other games, as well. We played Grand Blanc to a 2-2 tie. They are a great team, and we were a little short-handed. We were also a little short-handed against East Lansing, and we earned a 2-0 win.”
With the season winding down, Okemos has its sights set on a strong tournament showing. Two years ago, Okemos won the Division 1 state title.
Last season, the Chieftains traveled to the Grand Rapids district, a district heavily loaded with talented teams. “We beat Forest Hills Central that was ranked one or two in the state in the first round,” Guggemos said. “In our next game, we lost 1-0 to Caledonia, and they were also ranked in the top ten. That was one of the most difficult districts in the state, with four of five teams ranked in the top ten in Division 1.”
This year the Chieftains play closer to home in the Holt district. “We open with Battle Creek Lakeview, and then we play the winner of the Jackson/Lansing Everett game,” Guggemos said. “I think we have a chance to win a couple of games and make some noise in the tournament. We just have to keep improving. We didn’t get as far as we hoped last year, and this year we are hoping to change that.” 

 

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Big Rapids golfer coming on strong

Big Rapids coach Mark Posey has a younger boys’ golf team this year. In the past, the program has produced all-state golfers and state titles, and this year, he has a sophomore prospect who figures on making quite a lot of noise before the 2014 season comes to an end.

Carter Bechaz has been leading the way, not only for Big Rapids, but also for the entire Central State Activities Association. He shot a 74 for medalist honors in the final CSAA jamboree in mid May.

Bechaz’s freshman season was an indication to Posey that Bechaz had a chance to be a special golfer. “He was learning how to play the game,” Posey said. “He averaged like a 90. He was still learning how to play golf.”

But in the matter of just one season, Bechaz went from the team’s No. 4 or 5 golfer to No. 1 in the CSAA.

“He’s about eight strokes better than he was last year at this point,” Posey said.

The improvement in Bechaz’s short game has made him a better golfer, Posey noted. “Last year, he missed a lot of greens, would make a chip, but wouldn’t make the putt,” Posey said. “He wouldn’t get close enough. Last year, he’d get up and down maybe once or twice in a round. This year at one of the tournaments, he was like 80 percent.”

“I’m getting it closer to hole,” Bechaz said. “I’m definitely a lot more focused. Last year, I was probably more nervous, too, coming in as a freshman and being on the varsity. I was more comfortable in the environment and playing with better people.”

The time that Bechaz put in during the summer has paid off, Posey pointed out. “He was out playing a lot of summer tournaments. He knew from last year when we sat down with his stats at the end of the year and said, ‘Hey, this where you’re losing your strokes.’ He took it from there and worked on his short game. This year, he’s a whole lot better.

“One thing I like about Carter is he has a good head on his shoulders. He really does a nice job of keeping his emotions in check. A really good golfer has a good head on his shoulders. Carter has that. He doesn’t get down or get really excited. He just goes out and plays with the game he has that day. He goes and grinds it out.”

Bechaz, like other golfers, has had to battle the weather to get his game where he wants it to be. “I’ve been on the range with my varsity players just once this year,” Posey said. “That’s how bad it is. So we’ve spent a lot of time on the putting greens.”

Bechaz said he’s been focusing on his drives. “I’ve been slicing them a lot and just need to keep focused at practice, which is tough with all the rain,” he said. “I played a lot, three to four times a week, during the summer. I have a membership at Katke (Ferris State’s course), and I also play up at Traverse City in a junior golf league.”

Posey hopes to see Bechaz stay in the low to mid 70s for the rest of the season. “We have some tough courses coming up, so he’ll have to work hard to do that,” Posey said. “He’s certainly capable of it. That would be a goal for him. Considering what he was averaging last year, it’s just phenomenal.”

Bechaz has been reaching his expectations. “I can definitely shoot a lot better than I have been,” he said. “There’s been some silly mistakes in there.”

Bechaz also plays football and basketball, but he said that golf is his favorite sport from the individual aspect.

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Jordan Newman sets career goals record

By BUTCH HARMON

Lake Fenton senior forward Jordan Newman’s job is to score goals, and no one in the history of Michigan high school girls’ soccer has done that job better.

Earlier this year, Newman set the record for career goals scored when she recorded her 168th goal. By the middle of May, she had totaled 29 goals on the year and had moved her career total to 183.

“Jordan is just an all-around great soccer player,” said her coach Lenny Glasstetter. “Her job is to score goals, and she is very good at it. She is fast, has great timing, knows how to set up her opponents, and finishes with a lot of power. She gets a lot of her goals on headers and volleys. She also has great accuracy. She is probably shooting at about 50 percent.”

Newman has been a big goal scorer since the day she stepped into the Blue Devils’ starting lineup as a freshman. She finished her freshman year with 40 goals, scored 56 as a sophomore, and tallied 58 goals last year as a junior.

She is a little off last year’s scoring pace, but that is no surprise to her coach. “Everybody is putting three or four players on her in every game,” Glasstetter said. “She is still going to score a lot of goals. I’m sure she will end up with over 40.”

While her goals may be down a little this year, her overall production is still high. “She has always been good at setting her teammates up, but this year even more so,” Glasstetter said. “She is not a player who shoots the ball every time she touches it. Defenders don’t know if she is going to shoot the ball or pass it when she gets the ball.”

Setting the career scoring record was very special for Newman. “It was an awesome feeling,” she said. “It was a great accomplishment. Everything I worked so hard for, all the goals that I scored, it means something even more now.”

The record-setting goal was one that Newman will never forget. “Going into that game, I needed three goals, and I thought about what it would be like to score that goal,”she said. “I wondered who would assist me on that play, and I was hoping it would be someone I played with all four years. It ended up being our center back, Brenna Meicher, who I grew up playing soccer with. She kicked the ball over the back line, and I ended up with it and shot it in.”

Setting the all-time scoring record was not something that Newman planned for. “When I started playing high school soccer, I scored a lot of goals, but I never thought about a record until I broke our high school’s record for goals,” she said. “It was the beginning of my junior year when I broke the school record that I thought about the state record, but it was not something I tried to do. I just go out and try to score goals, and the records come with it.”

Newman is focused on helping her team advance as far as it can in the upcoming state tournament. “I feel like this is the best year we’ve had since I’ve been in high school,” she said. “I feel that we have a shot to go a long way in the state tournament, and this is our best year for that.”

After high school, Newman will continue her soccer career at Charleston Southern University in South Carolina. Newman chose that college over Oakland University, Butler University, and Florida Gulf Coast University.  

 

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Alma track coaches excited with their teams

Alma’s boys’ and girls’ track and field teams have enjoyed strong seasons.

Chris Brown is coaching the boys’ team, which started the season with a record of 6-1.

Jake Morey has been the team’s top distance runner. “He ran a pretty heavy load for us to be able to win at some of our dual meets,” Brown said. “He’s ran the 4×8, the mile, the 800, and the two mile in three consecutive meets now. That’s racing four miles in a meet. There’s not a lot of recovery time. But we have to rely on him.

“We’re hoping as we get to [the postseason] that he’ll get a big drop in his times. He’s a strong distance kid. He’s got a shot at our two-mile school record.”

Malcolm Davis has been strong in the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter dashes. “He’s a kid that I’ve really relied on,” Brown said. “We have a couple of [400 and 800] distance kids, Damian Castillo and Brevan Bender, and I’ve relied pretty heavily on those kids throughout the season.”

He’s had some consistent senior throwers in Clayton Carr and Curtis Doyle. “That’s one event where I know I can count on first or second place from both of those guys,” Brown said.

Sophomore Brenden Howard has displayed his talents in the sprints, while junior Jacob Adams has done so in the pole vault and the long jump.

Adams “is a good example for some of our younger kids to stick with it. We’ve been banged up all year. We’re trying to get to the point where we’re all getting healthy.” said Brown.

“Chase Austin is a major contributor. He is a junior, but only in his second year of track. He hurdles and is currently ranked second in our region in the 300 hurdles. We have high hopes that he will be a state qualifier for us in the hurdles and possibly a relay.  He has been a major scorer for us all year,” Brown continued.

Jamie Puffpaff is coaching a very young, but talented, girls’ team.

“We have many freshmen that have stepped up,” she said. “We have 17 on our team and over half are freshmen. That’s encouraging, moving forward as a program.”

Tayla Guerrero, a freshman, is the team’s top sprinter. Madison Doolittle, also a freshman, has been the top hurdler and also does some sprints. Lexi Morton, a senior, does well in the throws.

“Many of them are freshmen, so the fact they can come up to a varsity sport as freshmen and are making such an impact, I would say we’re exceeding expectations,” Puffpaff said.

Morton has been enjoying her best season. “She’s an outstanding girl who has improved each and every year,” Puffpaff said.

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DeWitt boys and girls track teams enjoying depth

In Kelly Williams’ seventh season as head coach, she has been having fun with her DeWitt girls track and field team.

“We have several returning athletes from last year’s state meet, including our relays and our 100 state champ,” Williams said. “We’ve been doing pretty well. We’re in a little bit of a rebuilding year. As the weather gets better, we’re going to see some times drop.”

Josie Yesmunt is back as a senior after winning the 100-meter dash in 12.18 seconds in the state meet last year.

The hurdles also remain a strong event. “We’re getting to five or six in the big invites,” said Williams, noting that Amber Koenigsknecht has been leading the way.

Distance runners performing well for DeWitt include Shelby Watterson and Emily Murdoch. Middle distance aces are Madison Slater and Jordan Lee.

Strong regional and state performances are a goal for the Panthers. “We certainly do well in the relays, all four of our relays,” Williams said. “We do well in our sprints, our 800. We have a good hurdler, a good high jumper, throwers. Our distances have been doing well.

“We’re not as deep [as last year’s team]. We have each event covered, but not as deep. I don’t think we’re quite as strong. It took us longer to get going this year. We’re where I expected us to be.

“We picked up a couple of seniors that have helped us a lot. In the high jump, we picked up Hannah Stoll, who is a basketball player and will be at the next level. Audra Kimble in the distances, she came out and she’s a senior. She’s definitely helped us.”

The Panthers girls’ team jumped out to a 3-1 start on the year.

Bob Acre is the boys coach.

Senior Blake Smith, headed for Cornell University next year, has been leading the way in the 100- and the 200-meter dashes. “We were at indoor meets at Grand Valley and Michigan State, and he won the 100 at both indoor meets,” Acre said. “He’s been running very well. He does not have the tall, lanky sprinter body. He’s shorter, compact, and has decided to get in the weight room the last couple of years and has improved his strength. In the winter, he’s done a lot of off-season running.”

Acre also likes what he’s seen from senior Ben Seeger and from freshman sprinter Austin Smith. Senior Alex Lantz, a sprinter who has been out with a leg injury, has returned to help in the relays and in the 400-meter dash.

“We have a pretty good group of seniors,” said Acre, who singled out senior John Lippert’s work on the sprint relay teams and in the hurdles.

Matt Meagher, a sophomore, has done well in the hurdles, the 400-yard dash, and the pole vault. Senior Nate Trevino has led the way in the long jump and hurdles.

 Junior Mitchell Kolito has shown promise in the distances and is a college prospect, Acre added.

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Chippewa Hills track team’s winning streak continues

It seems to be a tradition that the Chippewa Hills Warriors girls track team will not lose a meet and will take its conference title.

That’s been the case again this year, as the Warriors sealed another CSAA title on May 13 by winning the league meet.

Chippewa Hills boasted several CSAA champions, including all four relay teams. Erin Drouillard won the pole vault and the discus, Jennifer McNeal the high jump and the 400-meter run, Amanda Koepf the shot put, Arielle Esch the 100-meter hurdles, Megan O’Neil the 800- and the 3,2000-meter runs, and Nicole Snyder the 200-meter dash.

The Warriors ended their dual season with a 7-0 record and now have 84 straight victories, going back to the 2002 campaign, and have won 12 straight league titles. The Warriors were third at the MITCA team meet last season and sixth at the MHSAA state finals.

Sally Schafer has been the Warrior coach since 2000. “What’s really helped is the consistency of the coaching staff,” she said. “We’ve all been together for quite a few years. They know who their coaches are going to be. We have a great middle school program, too. They start off young in the program, and we build off of that. The younger kids have the older kids to learn from.”

Bob O’Neil has been Chippewa Hills girls’ middle school coach since 2001. He has averaged between 30 and 50 seventh- and eighth-grade girls on this teams. “This year, we have a bigger team,” he said.  “We started with 60 and are down to 56 now.”

It’s O’Neil’s opinion that Chippewa Hills’ middle school success has something to do with the Warrior girls’ stunning success. “I think it helps a lot,” he said. “It gives them exposure. They see what the high school girls do.”

O’Neil, whose daughter Megan is an all-state distance runner for the Warriors, noted that not many of his athletes have much pre-middle school-level track and field experience. “Middle school track helps get them started,” he said.

“These kids want to do what the older kids are doing,” Schafer said. “So they work towards it.”

“We have really good coaches and dedicated athletes,” said Drouillard, a senior. “There’s a lot of kids starting off at a young age. In seventh grade, the middle school coach would want us to have fun. It’s like a big family.”

Many female athletes from Chippewa Hills have gone on to run college track. Drouillard is gong to Aquinas College and O’Neil to the University of Wisconsin.

In spite of all the success, though, not all of the 84 straight wins have been easy, acording to Schafer. “We had to go against Fruitport and Ludington, and we beat Ludington, when it came down to the mile relay. Spring Lake was in that conference that year. It was tough. Every team was beating out every other team. There’s been close calls for sure.

“One of my fondest memories is actually when we took second in the conference in one of my first years as coach. As head coach, we hadn’t been doing well and were trying to build up and were with Fremont, which has always been a powerhouse in track and field. They were pretty dominant. We tied them in the conference meet. They won the duals, so we ended up second in the conference. But that was the highest we had done in years. I remember being so happy for the kids. From that point on, we won.”

Schafer usually has up to 50 girls on her team. “The first few years, we were low 30s,” she said. “Each year it’s built up. The last few years we fall between 42 and 50.”

Schafer is obviously hopeful that the streak can continue when new teams Tri County and Grant enter the CSAA next season. “The girls want to keep it going,” she said. “Tri County, we were in a league with a few years back, and Grant, I’m kind of familiar with them. I think they’re good track schools. Hopefully, it will bring some good competition to the league. I’m looking forward to that.”

The Warriors have been deep across the board this season, Schafer noted. “We have speed and our distances are strong, and our field events are doing phenomenal. We have four high jumpers that have qualified for regionals. Three pole vaulters have qualified. Our throwers are doing great. We’ve got young throwers. Across the board, we are three-four deep. Because they’re on a quality team, they have to work their way in.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lansing Catholic Central golf feature

By BUTCH HARMON

With the bulk of its team back from a squad that won the Division 3 state title last year, expectations were high for the Lansing Catholic boys golf team heading into this season. As the season heads to the home stretch, the Cougars are well on their way to fulfilling those expectations.

“So far, the season has been going very well,” coach Charlie Furney said. “We have quite a bit of returning players who have experience from last year’s state championship team. We did lose one player, and he (Jacob Johnson) is at Oakland University now. We miss him because he was our number one player last year, but we are actually a deeper team this year.”

Johnson was one of the premier players in the state last year and was named the player of the year in the Lansing area.

Although Johnson moved on, the Cougars have plenty of talent back. Senior Brent Marshall and junior Niko Voutsaras lead the way this year. They were both averaging 77.2 for 18 holes at midseason, and they give the Cougars a strong one-two punch. Marshall finished second in the state as an individual last year, was the medalist at the Perry Invitational this year, and was second at the Ranger Invitational at Grand Valley State University. Voutsaras was third at the CAAC Open this season.

Overall, the Cougars have six golfers averaging under 83 for 18. Sophomore Owen Rush averages 79.4, junior Adam Elias 80.2, senior Avery Nelson 81.6, and junior Patrick Gillespie 82.2.

“They are all taking their turns leading us in scoring in tournaments this year,” Furney said. “They have finished in quite a few top 10s and have won a lot of ribbons. Three of them were in the top ten at the CAAC Open, and five out of six were in the top 20 at the Perry invite.”

The core group of players also has experience at the state meet. “Four of our players have state finals experience, and that will help out down the road,” Furney said. “We also have two seniors, three juniors, and one sophomore, so we have a nice mixture of classes.”

Lansing Catholic’s experience and depth has paid off this season with a number of strong efforts. The Cougars won three of the five tournaments they entered and finished third in the other two tournaments. They opened the season by winning the Dick’s Sporting Goods Classic at Green Briar in Perry. They then won the CAAC Open and the Forest Hills Central Ranger Open against mostly Division 1 and 2 schools.

Playng against some of the strongest golf schools in the state is by design, as the Cougars prepare for another deep tournament run.

“With six players back from last year’s team, we have the experience where we think we can compete for another state championship,” Furney said. “We are taking it one match at a time and we compete as best we can. We have been competing against good teams in Division 1 and 2 to get us ready for the Division 3 meet. The goal is to ultimately try to repeat. We certainly enjoyed the success we had last year and would like to have that success again this year.”      

 

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Ithaca track team having solid season

Fourth-year coach Gene Lebron has enjoyed coaching a very talented Ithaca girls track team this spring.

“We’ve broken quite a few records,” said Lebron.

As of mid-May, the Yellowjackets had broken four records. Records have fallen in the 3200-meter relay, the 800-meter relay, and the 400-meter relay. The 400-meter relay record had stood since 1988. Brianne Draper has broken the school record in the 100-meter dash.

The 3200-meter relay features two freshmen and two sophomores, Courtney Allen, Kurstin Kalisek, Amelia Freestone, and Blaire Showers.

“It’s a deep middle distance field that I have,” Lebron said.

The 800-meter relay team includes Draper, Mikala Fairchild, Emily Foster, and Erica Sheahan, and the 400-meter relay has Fairchild, Draper, Sheahan, and Vanessa Waldron.

“Mid-Michigan is so tough in track,” Lebron said. “We have a really good team. But St. Louis is in our league. We’ve gone undefeated this year in dual meets, except against them. So we were 8-1. Our only loss was to St. Louis. For invitationals, we’ve been in the top two or three basically every invitational we’ve gone to. There are times once again that we’ve been second and St. Louis has been first.

“There’s just so many good track and field teams in this area. It’s tough to get into a meet in this area and bring home a championship.”

But before the season ends, the Yellowjackets have some lofty goals to achieve, one of which is to do well in the conference championship meet against St. Louis.

“They’re a tough team, but they make us better,” Lebron said.

The regionals came before the conference meet, and the Jackets were confident of sending a good number of athletes to the state finals. Pewamo-Westphalia, the defending Division 3 state champion, was slated to be at Ithaca’s regional, with many of its athletes returning from a year ago.

“This year, I’m hoping to get all of our relays there and several individuals,” Lebron said. “Draper, and whatever sprinting event we put her in, should make it. Erica Sheehan, and whatever event we put her in, should make it. My distance runners should advance in individual events.”

Lebron has enjoyed depth in Ithaca’s attack this season. “In the last few years, we’ve been strong in the distances,” he said. “We’ve had all-staters. We have a strong contingent of sprinters. We picked up a sprinter from Beal City, Erica Sheehan. Brianne is a battle-tested veteran. We’ve put together solid sprint relays.

“Where we’ve struggled is in field events. We’ve getting better there. We do have a pretty good all-around team. If there’s a weakness, it would be the field events.” 

But when all is said and done, Lebron is confident this could be his best team at Ithaca.

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