Article - High School Sports Scene

New Lothrop celebrated a Division 4 state title in wrestling this season. But achieving championship success isn’t new for the Hornets.

New Lothrop was most recently in a championship match in 2007 when it lost to Addison. However, the Hornets hoisted the trophy in 2003 and 2004. The title this year ends the 10-year drought.

Jeff Campbell was co-coach with Craig Funsch on the 2003 and 2004 teams and took care of the coaching this season.

The Hornets stopped Hudson’s bid for a sixth straight state title. “It’s a big win; we’ve been chasing these guys for a long time, trying to get a chance at them in the finals,” Campbell said. “What’s really special for us, besides the win, is seeing the turnout, seeing all the support we’ve had, having a little town like we have come together with some high schoolers giving everything they’ve got.”

Campbell believes that getting a shot at Hudson made his wrestlers more focused.

“What Scott Marry and the coaching staff and their kids have done [at Hudson] rewriting the record book of high school wrestling,” Campbell said. “If we were going to win it, that’s the team we wanted to be able to beat. They’re the kind of program other teams are trying to be like.”

Campbell has a 13-year record of 339-63 as New Lothrop’s coach.

“I’ve been there 14 years, but it started a long time before I was there,” Campbell said. “They’ve been winning at wrestling for a long time. It really starts with the youth program. The kids on our team wrestled together when they were in first grade.

“They had fun at the youth level. Junior high starts to be more serious. We try to make a run each year. It’s one of the programs in the state that we can start with the goal of wanting to win a state title. We’ve had some great teams that haven’t gotten it done. That just shows how hard it is to do because of programs like Hudson, Hesperia, Addison, and other teams you always see down there.”

The senior class came through in a major way for New Lothrop, Campbell pointed out. “They all play football and they all play baseball or run track. They’re all two- or three-sport athletes. They’re top 10 in their class. They’re great kids and leaders.”

The fans enjoyed every minute of this season.

“It’s exciting, but it’s nerve-wracking, too,” one of the New Lothrop wrestling mothers said, adding that “half the town” follows the wresters. “They take it very seriously. These boys put in a lot of hours and a lot of time.”

“We have the whole community following,” another wrestling mother said. “It’s been such a long four years, and finally, it paid off and we are here. Every year was a hope that this would be the year, and we left disappointed. But not this year.

“It’s a very big sport. These kids start when they’re six or seven years old and keep wrestling right on through. They become a family and they’re tight brothers. This year, we have a big group, which makes it even better. I’ll keep following them. I have a younger son coming up.”

Back

Dundee vs. Richmond.

It just seems like a natural match-up in the Division 3 wrestling state finals.

That was the case again this year, with the two teams going at it on Feb. 22 at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena. Dundee prevailed 35-26. Last year when the two teams met, Richmond prevailed 34-23. Richmond also won in 2011 over Lake Fenton 33-22 and in 2010 over Dundee 24-23.

Dundee finished runner-up to Goodrich in 2008 and 2009, also, but won it in 2007 over Richmond 29-26. Richmond faced other teams in the finals in 2000, 2002, and 2004, winning it in 2000 and 2002.

“How many times have we wrestled in the finals?” asked Dundee coach Tim Roberts, who has a 15-year record of 414-55-1. “It’s a bunch. I have a ton of respect for them. They’re such a well-coached team and a class community and program. They do such a good job.

“It’s a great rivalry. I respect them so much. It’s tough to be with them in the finals.”

Why are the two teams almost always in the finals?

“I don’t know,” Roberts replied. “I guess we’re both doing good jobs.”

He’s hoping it will continue in the future, but “[w]e’re losing a lot of seniors,” he said. “This is one of my heavier senior groups. We’ll have to do a lot of work to get back here next year.”

Blue Devils coach Brandon Day would like to see his team return to the finals again, but with better results.

“I’m proud of the kids,” he said. “We have awesome kids, awesome parents. The best fans here. It is what it is. You can’t win every time. But we’ll do whatever it takes to come back and give it another shot.”

Day gives credit to both programs. “You win all the time when you do things right all the time,” Day said. “We have two programs that do things right. You win some times when you cut corners and you cheat. We’re here every year because other teams in our division cut corners and it gets exposed out here in the semifinals. They [Dundee] don’t cut corners, and we don’t cut corners.

“We’re similar programs. Their kids are tough, our kids are tough.”

Will it continue?

“It’d better,” Day smiled. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Back

By BUTCH HARMON

For the five seniors in the Lowell starting lineup, it was sweet vindication.

After having their seasons end with losses to St. Johns the last three years, including the past two in the Division 2 state finals, the Red Arrows seniors finally purged their nemeses from down the road on M-21. The Lowell seniors ended their careers with a victory over St. Johns to win the Division 2 state championship, and they did it in dramatic fashion, winning 34-34 on criteria.

The win snapped a string of four state championships for St. Johns and gave Lowell its first state team wrestling title since 2009.

“It’s just an amazing feeling,” said Lowell senior Bailey Jack, who was dancing with his teammates on the mats of Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek minutes after the decision was announced. “It is surreal. It is better than anything I could imagine. Winning individual finals last year was nothing compared to this. I was kind of surprised that it was this close, but it makes it all the more special. They have beaten us the last three years, but we got them today.”

It took a total team effort to get past St. Johns, as every point mattered. The Lowell seniors also needed plenty of contributions from the underclassmen to get the job done. Sophomore Dan Kruse, who came in with a .500 record, came up big against three-time state champion Zac Hall, as he avoided a pin and only gave up five team points with a technical fall. Fellow sophomore Max Dean also came up big, as he went up in weight class and wrestled undefeated returning state champion Angus Arthur and gave up just three team points by dropping a two-point decision. Freshman Eli Boulton, who entered with a sub-.500 mark and went up against defending state champion senior Mark Bozzo, also stayed off his back and gave up a technical fall. All of those matches meant just as much to the Lowell win as did the pins from sophomore Lucas Hall, junior Jordan Hall, and senior Kanon Dean.

“Every kid went out there and followed the game plan,” Lowell coach Dave Dean said. “They all went out there and did the best they could. A point here, a point there, it all added up in the end. I’m just so proud of all these kids.”

Senior Garrett Stehley provided the final points needed for the win. With the Red Arrows trailing by six points entering the final match, Stehley needed to come up with enough points to tie the score and send the decision to criteria. He came through for the Red Arrows, as he was awarded a forfeit win and six points after his St. Johns opponent was disqualified for excessive stalling warnings.

In the end, Lowell seniors Josiah Buys, Kanon Dean, Jacob Garcia, Bailey Jack, Derek Krajewski and Garrett Stehley wrapped up their careers at Lowell as winners.

“We’ve been here every year, and it has always come down to us and St. Johns,” Stehley said. “We knew what we had to do to win the match. It always seems to come down to the two of us, and we wanted to send the seniors out on top and send Coach Dean out on top. Everyone on the team did what they had to do to save points and to get points. It’s just the greatest feeling to beat them in the finals.”

Back

By BUTCH HARMON

When it comes to anything regarding skating in the mid-Michigan area, you can be sure a Miller is involved.

This year’s Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, featured former Michigan State Spartan and East Lansing native Ryan Miller. Miller, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate hockey player in 2001, played goalie for the United States Olympic men’s hockey team. He also played on the 2010 United States Olympic hockey team and won a silver medal.

Miller was almost joined in Sochi by his cousin, Hannah Miller.

Hannah Miller, a junior at Williamston High School, is one of the top figure skaters in the country. She was in contention for a berth on the United States Olympic team but finished in ninth place at the nationals that took place in January in Boston. The U.S. Olympic team took the first, second, and fourth-place finishers from the national team to be part of the Olympic team.

While Hannah Miller fell short of making the Olympic team in 2014, the 17-year-old skater has her sights set on the next Olympics.

“That is definitely a goal,” said her coach and aunt, Kirsten Miller. “She was in contention to make it this year. She was probably not at her peak this year, because she had ankle surgery the end of June and did not return to the ice until mid-August.”

Hannah began skating at age three and rose through the ranks to become one of the top amateur figure skaters in the United States. In 2011, she was the U.S. Novice Ladies champion. In 2012, she was the U.S. Junior Ladies bronze medalist, and in 2013, she was the ISU Junior Grand Prix silver medalist.

Hannah, who carries a 4.0 grade point average, has plenty of international figure skating experience. She has competed as a member of Team USA at two Junior Grand Prix events and won silver medals at both. She has competed in Milan, Italy; Croatia; Estonia; and Sochi, Russia.

She is the daughter of Kevin and Cheryl Miller. Kevin Miller is a former Michigan State hockey player who played with a number of NHL teams during his career and who also played for the United States in the 1988 Olympics. Kevin’s brothers, Kelly and Kip, were also Michigan State hockey players. And Ryan Miller and his brother Drew, who currently plays for the Detroit Red Wings, are cousins.

The Miller family legacy began some 50 years ago.

“My uncle, Butch Miller, came down from Canada to play hockey at Michigan State in the 1960s,” Kirsten explained. “My dad, Lyle, followed him. Hockey has always been in our blood, and my mom was also a figure skater.”

Kirsten Miller was a competitive figure skater and began her coaching career while attending Michigan State University. She has been Hannah’s coach for her entire career.

Hannah has three sisters, and all three also lace on skates. Twin sisters Braedyn and Gisell are 13-years-old and in the midst of their own figure skating careers.

The fourth Miller sister, Neysa, a sophomore at Williamston High School, has taken to the sport of her father and is a hockey player. Neysa plays for the Lansing Spartans, a Tier 1 under-16 girls’ travel hockey team that is coached by her father. The team is an elite-level team that plays against teams from across the Midwest. Like her older sister, Neysa is also a 4.0 student. Her goal is to play college hockey and to someday become a member of the U.S. Womens Hockey Team and compete in the Olympics.

Together, the four Miller sisters are continuing the Miller family legacy on ice.

Back

By BUTCH HARMON

Timing is everything in sports, and the Grand Ledge girls basketball team is hoping that the time is right for a deep postseason tournament run.

After battling through injuries and suffering a pair of losses early in the season, the Comets have been coming on strong the second half of the season and are entering the state tournament on a roll.

“We had some challenges early on in the season getting the team healthy,” coach David Jones said. “We had a couple of losses early, but we went undefeated in the conference. We are playing our best basketball at the right time.”

Grand Ledge has not lost a game in 2014, as they have been unbeaten since losing to Detroit King, the No. 1 team in the state in Class A, at the Motor City Roundball Classic December 30.

“We learned a lot about ourselves in that game,” Jones said. “We were down by 22 points in the third quarter, but the girls hung in there. Something clicked, and the girls made it competitive. We felt if we had three more minutes of time, we could’ve caught them.”

Going into the season, the Comets knew that they had the makings of a solid team.

“Last year, we had four juniors and a sophomore starting, and we made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Grand Haven, the eventual state champions,” Jones said. “We took a team to the final eight, and we returned everyone from that team. We have high expectations for the tournament this year. We hope to return to the quarterfinals and make it even farther.”

Not only do the Comets have the experience, but they also have plenty of other strong points.

“What I like about this team is that we can do about anything,” Jones said. “We have pretty good size. Corey Crocker is 6’3″, and she is an outstanding center. We also have good guards. Hannah and Lindsay Orwat are senior guards who can do about anything. Lindsay was injured early this year, but she is healthy now.”

Hannah Orwat is averaging 18 points per game, while her sister Lindsay is averaging 15 points per game.

“They can both shoot the three or take it to the hoop and score,” Jones said. “They are very aggressive and confident basketball players. They can both score a lot of points, and they feed off each other when they get going.”

Crocker gives the team a presence in the paint. “Corey is going to Michigan on a volleyball scholarship,” Jones said. “Even though she’s playing volleyball, I think she could be one of the best basketball players in the state. She is such a physical presence inside. She is a great defender and rebounder. She is one of the leading rebounders in the area and is just a dominating inside player.”

A pair of point guards rounds out the backcourt. Senior Lauren Bachert and junior Sophia Guzman rotate at the point guard spot.

Senior Codie Drake (6’1″) lines up at forward. She is an athletic player who provides the team with scoring and who will be playing in college at Kentucky Wesleyan College.

The Comets also have solid depth with senior forward Kellie Combs (6’0″) and guard Lauren Rambo.

Back

Crossroads lost 64-29 to Baldwin on Saturday in boys basketball action. Aron Garland had 13 points for Crossroads. Joe Balanda and Larume Goettl had six points apiece.

Crossroads is 6-13 overall and 5-11 in the WMD.

Back

Quinn Tyson scored 21 points and Jake Hayes added 20 points for Big Rapids on Saturday in a 63-42 boys basketball win over Lakeview. Big Rapids improved to 14-4 overall and 13-4 in the CSAA.

Back

Morley Stanwood’s boys basketball team lost 65-53 to Newaygo on Saturday in CSAA action. Tim Cairnduff had 25 points, six rebounds, five steals and five assists for Morley Stanwood. Chase Huntey had nine points and Jon Lagendyk had six points. Andrew Sackett had six rebounds.

Back

Big Rapids Crossroads girls basketball season clinched the WMD League title with a 55-6 win over Baldwin on Saturday. Alyssa Larson had 10 points and five boards for Crossroads. Aubrielle Angell had nine points, six steals and five rebounds.

Back

Big Rapids’ hockey team dropped its regular season finale 2-1 to Manistee on Saturday. Brendan Bomay scored Big Rapids only goal. Joey Hinds had 28 saves in net for Manistee.

Back

New Lothrop coach, fans reflect on wrestling programs’ success

Dundee and Richmond continue unique rivalry

Lowell seniors end careers by defeating arch-rival St. Johns

Miller sisters carrying on family legacy on the ice

Grand Ledge girls looking to make deep tournament run

Crossroads falls to Baldwin

Quinn Tyson sparks Big Rapids

Newaygo downs Morley Stanwood

Crossroads girls clinch title

Big Rapids hockey falls to Manistee