Ovid-Elsie’s girls tennis team lost to Frankenmuth 8-0 on Tuesday in tennis action.
In singles, Leah Batora lost 6-2 6-0 at No. 1, Mallory Arnett fell 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2, Emma Phillpson fell 6-0, 6-1 and Hollie Vermilya lost 6-2, 6-0, Grace Samson and Danyelle Frink fell 6-4. 7-5 in No. 1 doubles. Kayla Duckert and Shyler Stehilk lost in No. 2 doubles, Anika John and Shelby Frink lost in No. 3 doubles 6-0, 6-0 and Natalee Whitford and Joely Johnson lost in No. 4, 6-1, 6-0.
DIVISION 1
Teams to watch statewide: East Kentwood, Grosse Pointe South, Saline
Top local teams: East Lansing, Rockford, Swartz Creek
Preview: Grosse Pointe South is the defending state champion.
Sprinters Leah Deboe and Alexis Williams lead Lakeview. “We had five athletes compete at the state meet last year and hope to have more this season,” said coach Becky Pryor.
Swartz Creek coach Joshua Atwood expects “that our team will compete in every meet and hopefully push towards the upper half of the Metro League standings this year.”
“East Lansing, Grand Ledge, and Okemos are very tough teams. I feel that Holt ranks right alongside of these teams,” said Holt coach Pam Stafford.
Top performers in state: Jordan McDermitt, Davison
Top local performers: Lauren Brasure, Rockford; Jordan Storer, Midland Dow; Kali Dent, Midland Dow; Renee Genovesi, Swartz Creek; Alena Benjamin, Swartz Creek; Imani Taylor, Swartz Creek
State finals prediction: Saline emerges as state champion.
DIVISION 2
Teams to watch statewide: Divine Child, Forest Hills Eastern.
Top local teams: Chippewa Hills, Dewitt, St. Johns
Preview: Divine Child is defending state champion.
Belding coach John Carlson, with 17 returning letterwinners. hopes “to come in the top three at team state, to come in the top five at individual state.”
Alma will be led by athletes like Lexi Morton in the throws and Taula Guerrero in the sprints. “We have some hard-working and talented athletes that are going to help us be successful this year,” said coach Jamie Puffpaff.
Karrigan Smith leads St. Johns in the 800-meter run and the 1,600-meter run. “We’re missing some positions keeping us from being great,” said coach Neil Feldpausch.
“Our goals are to win conference, compete for a regional title, and peak for the state meet,” said Forest Hils Eastern coach Andrew Wright. “We’d love to improve on our runner up finish from last year, but there is a lot of work to be done with the state meet fast approaching. We have a lot of talent, but we are incredibly young.”
“This will be a very strong team,” Forest Hills Northern coach John Klump said. “While we lack depth, we have very good athletes in every event. We may not take a lot of points, but we will win a lot of events.”
Top performers in state: Mary Kostielney, Forest Hills Eastern; Camron Nelson, Forest Hills Eastern; Ashlee Moran, Forest Hills Northern
Top local performers: Kenzie Weiler, Cedar Springs; Karrigan Smith, St. Johns; Meg Darmofal, Mason; Megan O’Neil, Chippewa Hills
State finals prediction: Divine Child will handily take another title.
DIVISION 3
Teams to watch statewide: Pewamo-Westphalia
Top local teams: Pewamo-Westphalia, St. Louis, Frankenmuth
Preview: Pewamo-Westphalia is the defending state champion.
Top local performers: Kaylie Rhynard, Shepherd; Jasmine Harper, Clare; Courtney Allen, Ithaca
State finals prediction: It won’t be easy, but Pewamo-Westphalia will sneak out another title
DIVISION 4
Teams to watch statewide: Traverse City St. Francis, Reading
Top local teams: Beal City, Breckenridge, Fowler
Preview: Traverse City St. Francis reigns as defending champion.
Kirsten Olling of Breckenridge will be running for her fourth straight state title in the 3,200-meter run.
Addie Schumacher of Beal City is the two-time defending champion in the high jump.
“Last year, there were four teams that had a real shot to win the title,” said New Lothrop coach Tim Krupp. “This year, I see three teams going into the season with enough talent and depth to make a run at the title, they are the defending champion Traverse City St. Francis, Beal City, and Reading. Also returning some quality athletes are Fowler and Ottawa Lake Whiteford.”
“We have been in the top three in the state in Division 4 for the past five years, and I hope our team will be in the top three once again,” said Fowler coach Jill Feldpausch.
“I have an exceptional group of girls, athletically and academically,” said Reading coach Debra Price. “They work hard at everything they do and are just a lot of fun to be around and coach. I am looking forward to more success in their season.”
Top performers in state: Holly Bullough, Traverse City St. Francis; Jenny Davis, Reading; Michelle Davis, Reading.
Top local performers: Addie Schumacher, Beal City; Hannah Steffke, Beal City; Kirsten Olling, Breckenridge; Haley Fischman, Lansing Catholic; Erin Field, Lansing Catholic; Savannah Feldpausch, Fowler; Allison Hufnagel, Fowler; Brianna Feldpausch, Fowler;; Madison Koenigsknecht, Fowler
State finals prediction: Reading emerges as state champion this season.
DIVISION 1
Teams to watch statewide: East Kentwood, Grand Blanc, Lake Orion, Walled Lake Central, Oak Park, Saline
Top local teams: Davison, Swartz Creek, Bay City Central
Preview: East Kentwood has won four of the last five state titles. “I am hoping to have a strong season,” said coach David Emeott. “We have many returning state qualifiers from a year ago, who have worked very hard over the off-season.”
Lakeview is 45-1 in duals over the last eight seasons. The team “lost a great senior class to graduation, but I feel that our current squad is young, but has a ton of potential,” said coach Matt Miller.
Grand Blanc coach Edward Stanbury has some good talent to contend for a state title. “We should be top five again,” he said. “The past two years, we have been runners-up in Division 1. We hope to do the same or [take the] top spot.”
“The Ottawa Hills boys will be a legit threat to win the state title in the 100m and 200m dash individually and in the 4×200 and 4x100m relay,” said Ottawa Hills coach Antonio Shellman. “The boys’ team only have a handful of seniors, but our juniors and sophomores athletes have championship meet experience, finishing second last year at Division 2 state championships.”
Lowell coach Sarah Ellis commented, “We lost several key seniors last year, so this year will be a growing year; we have many young athletes.”
Top performers in the state: Grant Fisher, Grand Blanc; Drake Gauthier, Grand Blanc; Devin McKinney, East Kentwood; Antoine Lloyd, East Kentwood; Justin KipRotich, East Kentwood; Kevin Smith, East Kentwood; Ben Hester, East Kentwood; Jalen Evans, Lakeview; Sam Beal, Ottawa Hills; Shawn Kneeland, Ottawa Hills
Top local performers: Daniel Kroth, Okemos; Dietrich Hittner, East Lansing; Michael Buffin, Grand Ledge; Liam Kelly, Lowell
State finals prediction: East Kentwood will easily win another title.
DIVISION 2
Teams to watch statewide: Allendale, Chelsea, Ottawa Hills
Top local teams: Cedar Springs, Lansing Sexton, Williamston
Preview: Chelsea finished ahead of Ottawa Hills for the title last season.
Trevor Curtis in the 3,200-meter run will lead the Belding attack.
Alma plans on being a TVC Central contender. “Young athletes will need to step into major scoring roles, and we need to stay healthy,” said coach Chris Brown.
Top local performers: Austin Sargeant, Cedar Springs; Mason VanDyke, Mason; Blake Watson, Corunna; Alex McCormick, Haslett
State finals prediction: Chelsea will emerge again as state champion.
DIVISION 3
Teams to watch statewide: Kelloggsville, Mason County Central, Standish-Sterling Central
Top local teams: Frankenmuth, Lansing Catholic, Nouvel Catholic Central
Preview: Kelloggsville is the defending state champion.
Ithaca will be strong in the sprints. “This year will have to be a rebuilding year to develop the younger athletes,” said coach Jason Marcy. “I have a good group of seniors that will be invaluable to helping me develop the new talent.”
“I expect that we will be in the top five teams at the state finals,” said Lansing Catholic coach Tim Simpson. “We have been in the top 10 the last three years and won the championship in 2012.”
Top local performers: Jack Peters, Lansing Catholic; Nick Peters, Lansing Catholic; Keenan Rebera, Lansing Catholic; James Sira, Bullock Creek; Hunter Nivision, Clare
State finals prediction: Standish-Sterling Central will be the champion this season.
DIVISION 4
Teams to watch statewide: Albion, Concord, Evart, Saugatuck
Preview: Saugatuck is the defending state champion.
“I believe Concord will dominate the state finals,” said Reading coach Kurt Stump. “They have sprints through 3,200.”
Top local teams: Crossroads Charter Academy, Pewamo-Westphalia
Top performers in state: Max Hodges, Evart; Shannon Cummins, Reading; Mason Thomas, Reading
Top local performers: Cooper Terry, Sacred Heart Academy; Tanner Droste, Pewamo-Westphalia; Nick Pung, Beal City; Bruce Thelen, Fowler; Thomas Horak, Fowler; Nathaniel Feldpausch, Fowler; Zach Feldpausch, Fowler
State finals prediction: Evart has won two straight MITCA titles and will finally take an MHSAA crown this year.
Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
They were district champions last year. The Freeland Falcon girls soccer team is off to a strong 7-0-1 start to this year, but first-year head coach Lauren DeRoo isn’t anywhere near satisfied.
“I look forward to the rest of the season,” she said. “We’re doing pretty well so far, but I think that we can only get better. There’s only more to come.”
If DeRoo’s prognostication proves true, it could mean exciting things for the Falcons. Aside from a 1-1 tie with Bay City Western, Freeland has dominated its opponents, outscoring them 43-2.
“I feel like they’re really coming together as a team,” DeRoo said. “Having a new coach is tough. They definitely respect me, which I appreciate. I play a different style than what they are used to, but they are very dedicated and are learning fast. My starters are a very good group of athletes with a lot of background in soccer, which is great.”
DeRoo, who played collegiate soccer for Schoolcraft College and for Saginaw Valley State University, and who coaches the Midland Fusion travel soccer team, isn’t surprised with her team’s progress. “Everybody works well together,” she said. “We kind of feed off each other. It’s kind of like a support system that we have with each other. If somebody gets burned, the team recognizes that and say that it’s my turn to step up. They don’t want to let each other down, which is a great feeling.”
DeRoo was actually hired to be the team’s strength and conditioning coach near the end of last season by former head coach Rodrigo Barassi. It was just before districts, and she was given the task of getting the Falcons into prime shape for the playoffs.
“I think they had some kind of comfort level with me,” she said of transitioning to head coach. “I’m not sure that they trusted me, but they had a comfort level with me. Now, we’re like a big family, we trust each other, and everybody works hard.”
Just three girls graduated from last year’s team, including all-state selection Darby McCracken. The Falcons have been getting strong play from the likes of Taryn Taugher (eight goals), Michelle Herring (seven goals), Gabby Mills (seven goals), Kelsey Ropp (captain), and Macey Miller (captain).
“Ropp and Miller, they are both seniors and my two captains,” DeRoo said. “They do a really good job getting them warmed up, getting them focused and ready to go. When I get there, I don’t have any problems, we just get right into it. They’re good leaders.”
Add in the hard work, the comfort level, and the family atmosphere, and the Falcons will take the results, whatever they may be, the rest of the year. Although if they get that perfect mixture, the results should be exactly what they’re looking for.
“Well, for the rest of season, I really hope we don’t lose a game,” DeRoo said. “We just want to become an even better team and just continue to grow. We want to win our district and move further than we did last year. Hopefully we can win our regional. Our hope is that all the hard work and dedication will get us a regional title.”
DeRoo may be a first-year head coach, but she’s already well aware of what it will take for her team to make a good run in the postseason.
“Lots of conditioning, running, making sure that the girls are fit, and making sure that they’re technically sound and tactically ready,” DeRoo said. “We have to go over drills and set plays and make sure they’re ready for whatever comes at them. You can kind of tell what kind of competition you will have, but you never know until you hit the field. Hard work and dedication, that’s what’s going to get us there.”
Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
The Bay City Western softball team made it all the way to the Division 1 championship game last year, where it fell to Mattawan 2-1. Early signs are indicating that the Warriors are a force to be reckoned with once again this year, as they’ve started the young campaign 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Saginaw Valley League North.
“We have our all-state senior pitcher, Hannah Leppek, back,” head coach Rick Garlinghouse said. “She threw 38 scoreless innings in a row in the state tournament last year, and she is currently 5-0 with two no hitters.”
Western did lose three starters to graduation, but Leppek isn’t the only returner from last year’s 37-3 team.
“We have all-state honorable mention shortstop Meredith Rousse, who is a four-year senior lead-off hitter currently batting .556,” Garlinghouse said. “Rousse led the team in hits last year. She has power and has plenty of range at shortstop.”
Seniors Kaylynn Carpenter (center field), Ashtyn Decatur (third base), juniors Blair Miller and Leah Vandervort (catcher), and sophomore Kelsie Popp also return from last year’s team.
“Making it to the state championship game and losing 2-1 to a school that has won two of the last three state championships is nothing to be ashamed with and says we can play with anyone, and they better be ready for a complete game from us,” Garlinghouse said. “The hardest thing about last year was we played as well as we could, and it still wasn’t quite enough. The positive thing to take away was we didn’t give the game away, we just got beat by a better team on that one particular day.”
Western is no stranger to lengthy postseason runs, and the Warriors are hoping for yet another one this year.
“With four seniors on this year’s team, they have been to the final four twice, and they know we can get back, but we also know we have to play well, don’t beat ourselves, and have some luck along the way,” Garlinghouse said. “There are 35 games or so to be played before the state championship game, so there is plenty of time to perfect our team game.”
Garlinghouse, in his tenth year as Western head coach, admits the prospect of even playing in another state title game is pretty exciting.
“Just to have people talk about our team and a state championship is very rewarding for our staff for all the time and effort it takes to be recognized at the state level,” he said. “After our last doubleheader, we had a full-blown practice in an effort to prepare for our next games.To me, that exhibits the character and perseverance of this team.
“This team has plenty of talent, as much as any team,” Garlinghouse added. “As much as any team we have had at Bay City Western, but we need to get some games in, because everyone is not at the same level they need to be at or that it takes to be completely successful.”
Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
EAST LANSING, MI – During a person’s life, people drift in and out on a daily basis.
Whether it’s a life-long relationship or a chance encounter, a person’s persona is largely made up by the people they meet in their time on this earth.
As a star basketball player for the Michigan State University men’s basketball team, senior forward Adreian Payne has had his share of Sparty lovers drift into and out of his life during his time on the team.
He has touched the lives of so many people in the Spartan nation – a strong young man who was raised by his maternal grandmother in a rough part of Dayton, Ohio, who turned himself into one of the top recruits of 2010, a recruit that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had to have.
Payne did not disappoint and has been a key contributor in keeping the Spartans one of the top teams in the nation in his four years.
But it was one of those chance encounters during a team-sponsored hospital visit in 2011, when Payne met a little Spartan that changed his life, that he showed the world what is good in mankind, and what is great about sports.
During that visit, Payne met Lacey Holsworth, a little girl with a big medical problem. Holsworth, who was from St. Johns, was fighting neuroblastoma, a nerve cancer that was terminal.
Visits to hospitals by sports athletes occur all the time. It’s a great thing when kids and adults get a visit from some of their heroes – it’s a visit that usually brightens a day in the lives of those who need their days to be brightened.
But Payne, who is dealing the the daily rigors of being a student/athlete on a high-profile basketball team at a Big Ten school, took his visit to the next level.
He adopted Lacey as a little sister and took her places that every Spartan fan dreams of, like walking out with him on Senior Night or cutting down the nets in Indianapolis after Michigan State won this year’s Big Ten Tournament.
He also played games with her, colored with her, and bought her stuffed animals, just like a good big brother would for a sick little sister.
But Payne said that Lacey gave much more to him, a different perspective on life, and how precious it is.
One of those perspectives is that life can be cruel. On April 8, Lacey lost her battle to cancer.
There is no way a beautiful eight-year-old should be taken from this earth too soon, and there is no way a star forward who is getting ready to take his talents to the next level should have to deal with loss of a little sister.
But these tragedies happen every day and are dealt with by people worldwide. We were just lucky enough to see an incredible friendship play out and to watch as a sick little girl give so much strength to a 6’10” power forward.
Payne said the “Princess Lacey” will always be a part of his life. Thankfully, their beautiful story will always be a part of my life, and a reminder of why sports, and the athletes who play them, are so great.
Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
CORUNNA, MI – Hannah Dean was just looking to get a little stronger to help her increase her shot put and discus distances in track and field, and her brother Aaron told her that she needed to start lifting weights.
The Corunna junior really took to weight lifting, enjoyed her time in the weight room, and became stronger than even she could imagine.
So she decided to test her strength against other girls from across the state, and the result was a state championship.
Dean won the state title for the 220-pound weight class March 7 at Whitmore Lake High School.
She won with a lift of 270 pounds in the squat, 175 pounds in the bench press, which is a new state record, and 320 pounds in the dead lift, for a total weight of 755 pounds.
“I am very surprised I won,” Dean said. “I could have told you going into state that I would have benched this much, or squatted that much. It shocked me that I did that much weight.”
Hannah’s mother, Lori Dean, was more proud than shocked at what her daughter accomplished. “I’m so proud of her,” she said. “Her brother got her into lifting; they just wanted to get stronger for track because they are both throwers, and she took to it.
“What’s made me proud, is that nobody told her she had to do this,” Lori added. “She faces a lot of adversity doing this – she gets teased by the boys. But she knows that she can beat them in lifting.”
Chris Curtiss, Hannah’s coach, couldn’t be more pleased with how well Hannah performed during the course of the season. “Prior to the state meet last year, she had only been to one meet, and that was regionals,” Curtis said.
“She went to the state meet, and her doing as well as she did there, that fueled the fire. And I told her she could be a state champion next year, and she did just that. We have been using her as an example, not only to the guys on our football team, because I’m the coach, but to other athletes. “Number one, she was there every single day, number two, she did exactly what her coaches wanted her to do, and the third part to this, is she worked as hard as she could, and she became successful because of that.”
And she is proving she can beat all the girls, too.“She didn’t know you could compete,” Lori Dean said. “She trained all winter, and her coach came to her and said there were regional and state competitions, and she wanted to do it.”
Hannah Dean says she loves lifting. “I like that it is an individual sport, because that is is all on me if I do good,” she said. “It is more of a sport for me now, because I have done well. But more of training to get better in the shot and discus.”
And her shot and discus are improving. She puts just over 31 feet and has thrown the discus 120 feet in practice.
Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
MOUNT PLEASANT – Damon Brown doesn’t have to think twice when asked who is the best coach in his household.
“Definitely my wife,” he answered. “I got into coaching because of her.”
Damon Brown just won the girls’ Class D state championship, leading his Sacred Heart Academy team to an exciting 56-53 win over Forest Park in the state title game at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center, so his wife has to be pretty special.
Brown is the husband of Keisha Brown, the former boys’ coach at Sacred Heart, who later moved on to coach the Alma College women’s team.
Keisha Brown passed away on April 10 after a seven-year battle with cancer. She was 41 years old and is survived by Damon and their 8-year-old daughter Angel.
“What really made her special is she really cared,” Damon Brown said of his wife. “It was never about Xs and Os with her; she was generally concerned about her athletes outside of basketball. Yes, the Xs and Os were important, but she really cared about people, and it was neat to see a lot of her boys come back for that final service to be with her, because she did mean a lot to them.”
Mrs. Brown was a great player as well, playing for Tulane University and later for a professional team in Finland.
In 2001, after her playing career, she moved to Michigan from Louisiana to be with her husband, who was already here.
Then her coaching career started to take off, and her husband’s coaching career began.
“She was coaching AAU and started coaching the girls’ junior varsity team at Sacred Heart in 2002,” Damon said. “At the end of that season, the boys’ varsity position opened up, and Nancy English, who was the principal at that time, hired her as the boys’ coach.
“At that time, I was officiating and on the road three nights a week, and we wanted to spend more time together, so I got into coaching,” he added. “I encouraged her to apply for the boys’ job, because I knew she could bring something to that position, but she was doubting herself, if she could coach the boys. That’s when she said to me ‘I will apply for the boys’ job if you take my junior varsity job.’ I did, and that’s how it began.”
Damon Brown assisted his wife in her new job as the boys’ coach. “It was funny when she first got the job, there were three men on the bench with her, and the officials used to come to us to introduce themselves before the game,” he remembered. “At that time, we told them the head coach was on the end bench and pointed at her.”
As her career progressed, she would need no more introductions.
From 2003 to 2009, when she took the job at Alma, Mrs. Brown led the Sacred Heart boys’ team to five straight conference titles, four district titles, three regional titles, and one state runner-up finish.
She was named the Saginaw News’ Boys Coach of the Year in 2006.
She was also the athletic director at Sacred Heart from 2006-2009.
In 2008, Damon Brown became the coach of the Sacred Heart girls varsity team and incorporated what he learned from his wife into his coaching style.
“She definitely rubbed off on me,” he said. “What I learned from her, it was about the relationships with kids — she did that and was successful, and I took that into my coaching.
“She was a competitor, being a former college and professional player. She had a fire in her, that she wasn’t going to lose, and she did that with cancer, fighting it hard until the end.”
Damon also remembers his wife as being a selfless person, always putting other people ahead of her. “During the quarterfinals for my team this year, the Cancer Treatment Center of America that was treating her wanted her to call them back about her treatment, and she refused,” he said. “I asked why, and she said this week was about you and the girls, and there is no cancer this week. That was the type of person she was, always putting people ahead of herself.”
Kristina Lilly, who is Damon Brown’s assistant coach and a physical therapist who worked with Keisha Brown during her fight against cancer, remembers those moments, too. “This is a huge loss,” she said. “She had the ability to touch so many people’s lives. I am personally saddened not to have her in my life anymore, but she touched my life in so many ways.
“I think one thing about her, and why she meant so much to people, she had the ability to relate,” Lilly continued. “She had the ability to have a genuine relationship with everybody she came in contact with. She meant the world to my three brothers, who all played for her. That made her versatile enough to coach the boys and the women, she could have relationships with so many. And that was evident at her funeral, because there is not many times you will see 20-year-old boys bawling for a 40-year-old woman at her funeral. She touched a huge spectrum of people in the community.”
Damon Brown didn’t know how many, until she was gone.
“What I tell people, you go from the highest of highs, winning a state title, and then the lowest of lows, having to bury your wife,” he said. “It’s been a tough month, but I have been amazed of how many people she touched. As a husband, you don’t realize how many people your wife touches. We had over 900 at the service Mount Pleasant, and another 500 in Morgan City back in Louisiana.”
Lilly was one of the 900 in Mount Pleasant. “She fought this very hard for the past seven years,” Lilly said. “She was super strong throughout, and let it never define her. I think it made her stronger and made her an incredible inspiration to me and other people.
“She was busy but never showed that she was tired. She never showed anything was getting the best of her. She was always positive and had something great to say, and that is why she meant so much to so many people.”
Former student and junior varsity player Lizzy Albaugh said that Mrs. Brown meant a lot to her, even though she didn’t play for her. “One thing I remember about Keisha, I would be having a rough time in school, and she knew I was down,” she explained. “She would come to me and say what’s up, and I would say I’m down and she said you stay up, don’t let anything get you down. And here is a woman with breast cancer at that time, telling me to keep myself up. She was definitely a fighter.”
Mrs. Brown was so strong and had the foresight that she started the Angel Wings Fund, named after her daughter to help families of those who have died from cancer.
“She waas very passionate about that,” Damon Brown said. “When she was first diagnosed in 2007, I remember her looking at me and saying ‘What about Angel?’
“Then we found out there was not a lot of resources out there for the children. She made it her life’s goal to help families, especially children, to achieve their goals And she also wanted to make awareness in the community about cancer. Now here we are, and this all started because she was worried about the children losing their parents.”
As for Angel?
“She is doing great,” said Damon, who was married to Angel’s mom for 10 years. “She is tough like her mom. She is back in her routine, and Sacred Heart has been great for her, because she likes going to school.”
Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
Sam Houston State University women’s bowling coach Brad Hagen knew that Erin Brown had championship qualities in her when she was at the high school level. After all, she was a main reason that the Davison High School girls bowling team won the 2012 MHSAA Division 1 team title her senior year.
That’s why he brought her down to Texas to be part of Sam Houston State’s fledgling women’s bowling program – a program that was just in its second year of existence.
“Part of the rhyme behind the reason I recruited Erin is that I follow the states that have varsity bowling,” Hagen said. “I keep up with state statistics, scores, and averages. I just followed Erin’s progress at the state tournaments and throughout the years, and there was consistency there. And she came from a state championship team, and that added to it.”
Hagen’s recruiting techniques seemed to work. Brown chose Sam Houston State, and just two years later, she helped the Bearkats win the school’s first NCAA Division I national title, winning the 2014 title at the Game of Wickliffe in Wickliffe, Ohio, in April.
Brown was the team’s No. 2 or 3 bowler all year and helped beat the University of Nebraska in the national title game 4-2.
“Funny how it worked out,” said Brown, a sophomore. “My coach found me by the Internet. He had seen me at national tournaments in youth bowling and followed me in high school. He then found me and messaged me on Facebook. I came down here in March of 2012 and knew this is where I wanted to be. People were great, and the campus was beautiful. I didn’t look anywhere else – I didn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Now Brown has a national championship to go with her state championship.
“This is definitely something we always wanted to do,” Brown said of her college team. “We knew we had a good shot at it, but when we won it didn’t set in until we got back to campus. There we had a welcoming party when we got back; that is when it set in. Knowing that we won the first NCAA Division I title is amazing.
“It was a young program, and they found me,” she added. “This is only fourth year as a program, and we won a title, so it’s been some fast progress. This is the third year going to national finals, and I have been part of two, and it’s been great.”
The road to the championship wasn’t easy.
On Thursday, the Bearkats bowled every team in the tournament in a round robin format and went 2-5 and ended up as the eighth seed going into match play on Friday.
On Friday, Sam Houston State beat the No. 1 seed, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 4-2, in a best-of-seven match.
Then the Bearkats beat the No. 4 seed, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, 4-2.
The tournament was double elimination, and Sam Houston State had to go against top seed Maryland Eastern Shore again, and it won 4-0.
That set up the final matchup against Nebraska, which Sam Houston State won 4-2. Nebraska was also 3-0 in match play up to that point.
Brown bowled well, ending up 15th individually after Thursday’s games with a 1405. In match play, she did well bowling in a Baker games format.
Brown carried an average of over 200 during her time at Davison, and averaged 218 in league play this year at Sam Houston State. But she acknowledges that bowling in college is more difficult than in high school, not just for the obvious reasons.
“Moving on to collegiate bowling, it is the same concept, but a bigger deal,” she said. “I had to move on from one to the other to accomplish this, that’s because the tournaments are much longer and more demanding in college, and the patterns on the lanes are harder. So you have to know more about mechanics of bowling and have to have a better style to bowl in college.”
When Brown left Davison, she didn’t have a chance to defend the Cardinal title, but she will have that opportunity at Sam Houston State.
“That is the first thing I asked my teammate and friend on the team,” Brown said. “We looked at each other and said, ‘What do we do next year?’ We won’t let this determine anything, we won’t let this get to our heads. We will still will work hard and practice hard and try and do it again next year.”
Her high school team has won two more team titles and is currently on a three-peat.
By BUTCH HARMON
‘Deep and talented’ is the way to describe the DeWitt baseball team this year. With a host of veterans back from a team that won a second consecutive CAAC Red title, the Panthers are again one of the premier teams in mid Michigan.
A total of 13 players return from a team that went 24-5 last year.
In senior catcher John-Michael Moody, the Panthers have a four-year varsity player who was second-team all-state last year. He hit .427 a year ago with four home runs and 34 RBI.
Moody is joined by fellow senior Justice Shankel. A three-year varsity player and all-region selection, Shankel led the team in hits (35), runs (32), triples (3), and stolen bases (20 of 21) last year. He was also second in home runs (3) and RBI (29) and is a true five-tool player who can run, hit, throw, hit for average, and hit for power.
Senior Sam Smith is another three-year varsity player. An all-region player, he is a pitcher and first baseman who hit .432 last year with 24 RBI.
The Panthers also return a pair of players who were hit by injury last year. Junior shortstop Keaton Sackett returns to anchor the infield after an ACL injury last year, while senior pitcher Evan Smith returns to the starting staff after a broken wrist cut short his season.
“This year’s team is a veteran, experienced bunch,” said coach Alan Shankel. “We return 13 varsity players from a 24-5 league championship team. Many of the starters have multiple years of varsity experience. We are carrying 19 players this year, so the key will be getting everyone to accept and fulfill their role to the best of their ability. Depth will be a strength of this team, if everyone commits to the mission.”
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