The Bri Alspaugh File
St. Louis High School
Sports: Volleyball, basketball, track
Season Accolades: Scored a career high 27 points in the win against Alma, guided the Sharks to a 10-1 record
GPA: 3.5
Accomplishments: Third team all-state volleyball sophomore year, second team all -state volleyball junior and senior years, Most Improved basketball freshman year, MVP sophomore year
Future: Would like to work in a hospital as an ultrasound technician
The Ally Haran File
Powers Catholic High School
Sports: Basketball and soccer
Season Accolades: Basketball team captain; helped the basketball team jump out to an 11-1 record; averaging 12.5 points, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 5 rebounds per game this season
GPA: 3.74
Accomplishments: 2011 soccer state champions D3, 2011 soccer all-state second team, 2011 soccer academic all-state, 2011 basketball academic all-league, 2011 basketball second team all-conference, 2011 basketball Big 9 Champions, 2012 soccer state finalist D3, 2012 Soccer Michigan Dream Team, 2012 soccer academic all -state, 2012 basketball academic all-league, 2012 basketball first team all-conference, 2012 basketball Big 9 Co-Champions, 2013 basketball state finalist Class B, 2013 basketball first team all-conference, 2013 basketball all-state honorable mention, 2013 Basketball BCAM Academic All-State
Other: National Honor Society since sophomore year
College: Will pursue Bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University while competing on varsity soccer team
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jan. 23 – The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2013-14 school year have been announced.
The program, celebrating its 25th anniversary, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year. Again this winter, it will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.
Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 608 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, the final two scholarships will be awarded to two at-large minority recipients.
Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification and could have more than one finalist. Crestwood, Hastings, and Marlette each have five finalists this year. Fourteen schools each had two finalists: Bay City Central, Marian, Dearborn, Grand Haven, West Catholic, Manistee Catholic Central, Marquette, Thornapple Kellogg, Midland Dow, Swan Valley, Sturgis, Traverse City Central, Walled Lake Western, and Yale.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.70, while the average of the application pool was 2.16. There are 75 three-plus sport participants in the finalist field, and all but two of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 407 schools which submitted applicants, 55 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,701 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the MHSAA Website at the following address: www.mhsaa.com.
2013-14 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
BOYS CLASS A
Stone Manczak, Bay City Central
Zachary Segall, Berkley
Andrew Barton, Birmingham Seaholm
Rami Kadouh, Dearborn
Samuel A Mousigian, Dearborn
Jared Hagan, Crestwood
Jalal Taleb, Crestwood
Brad King, Garden City
Ryan S. Fischer, Grandville
Kenneth Elkin, Grosse Pointe North
Chris Kruger, Holt
David Doyle, Linden
Craig Ekstrum, Marquette
David Walter III, Thornapple Kellogg
Nate Fisher, Midland
Vikram Shanker, Midland Dow
Tanner Vincent, Novi
Trevor Denoyer, Petoskey
Kellen Scott Michael, South Lyon
Kyle Dotterrer, Traverse City Central
Cody James McKay, Utica Ford
Devin Kimberlin, Walled Lake Northern
Mitchell Dennis, Walled Lake Western
David J Walczyk, Walled Lake Western
GIRLS CLASS A
Anna Haritos, Avondale
Saige Tomczak, Bay City Central
Jessica Hacker, Bay City Western
Tatyanna Dadabbo, Marian
Clare Nienstedt, Marian
Tala Taleb, Crestwood
Caroline Ann Hagan, East Lansing
Elizabeth Cowger, Fenton
Paige Blakeslee, Gibraltar Carlson
Mallory Beswick, Grand Haven
Claire Elise Borchers, Grand Haven
Joslyn Mae TenBrink, Jenison
Jessica Graves, Lowell
Gabrielle Gencheff, Marquette
Fiona B Shea, Thornapple Kellogg
Kallisse R Dent, Midland Dow
Rachel Barrett, Milford
Grace Kao, Okemos
Kirsten Avery Chambers, Riverview
Meghan Datema, Rockford
Elianna Shwayder, Saline
Molly Peregrine, Traverse City Central
Sarah O’Connor, Waterford Kettering
Jenna Ciennik, Waterford Mott
BOYS CLASS B
Tye Wittenbach, Belding
Carl Steinhauser, Berrien Springs
Ryan Spaulding, Freeland
Joseph Corey, West Catholic
Nicholas Linck, West Catholic
John Gatti, Grosse Ile
Matt Johnson, Hastings
Richard Cassell, Lumen Christi Catholic
Ben Woodruff, Northwest
Ismail Aijazuddin, Lamphere
Zachary A Ohs, St. Mary Catholic Central
Michael T. vonKronenberger, Ogemaw Heights
Anthony William Canonie, South Haven
Trenton Karle, Three Rivers
Daniel Kosiba, Vicksburg
Noah Nicholl, Yale
GIRLS CLASS B
Greer Elizabeth Clausen, Cranbrook-Kingswood
Abigail Brown, Caro
Lindsey Brewis, Divine Child Catholic
Bailey Baker, Eaton Rapids
Callie Jensen, Gladstone
Grace Bosma, Hastings
Kylee Nemetz, Hastings
Amanda M Metz, Otsego
Alexandra J Grys, Portland
Kiersten Mead, Swan Valley
Courtney T Reinhold, Swan Valley
Roxane L Strobel, Spring Lake
Peyton Boughton, Sturgis
Alea Penner, Sturgis
Angela Maurer, Williamston
Alana Koepf, Yale
BOYS CLASS C
Ty Michael Rollin, Beal City
Matthew S Johnson, Fennville
Carter Ballinger, Jonesville
Luke Joseph Smigielski, Mancelona
Dakota Hall, Marlette
Bradley Schaub, Marlette
Kyle Baxter, Mayville
Stephen T. Erwin, Shrine Catholic
Jason Beckman, Shelby
James Barber, St. Charles
Devin Morrow, River Valley
Nicholas DeSimpelare, Unionville-Sebewaing
GIRLS CLASS C
Korinna Corbin, Addison
Kirsten Olling, Breckenridge
Elizabeth Baker, Bronson
Melissa Dowell, Clinton
Amanda Reagle, Homer
Mandy Haferkorn, Iron Mountain
Megan Chapman, Westwood
Keara Wilson, Marlette
Grace Leighton, Mendon
Allie Kendall, Nouvel Catholic Central
Kari Feddema, Schoolcraft
Erin McDonnell, Traverse City St. Francis
BOYS CLASS D
Grant Hohlbein, Lenawee Christian
Bret Hiveley, Au Gres-Sims
Tyler Anthony Johnson, Bear Lake
Jeremy Bigalke, Manistee Catholic Central
Ben Feliczak, Manistee Catholic Central
Steven McKenzie, Marcellus
Alec Firack, Pickford
Harding Fears III, Southfield Christian
GIRLS CLASS D
MacKenzie Ciganick, Bellaire
Julie Ahnen, Bessemer
Sara Inbody, Deckerville
Vanessa Freberg, Superior Central
Kari Borowiak, St. Mary Cathedral
Lyvia Deaver, Jackson Christian
Erin Gast, Lake Linden-Hubbell
Jennifer Malcolm, Plymouth Christian
Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
If there was something good that came from last year’s regional semi-final loss to Greenville, it’s that the Bay City Western wrestling team was left wanting more.
“Our goal now is, of course, to make states this year and do something once we get there,” said Steve Goss, who is in his sixth year coaching the Warrior wrestlers. “We’ve dominated everybody this year, but the one team that we lost to [John Glenn], and that was by one point. We just beat Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 22, 52-21, and they’re a pretty solid team.”
Aside from the one-point loss, the 2013-14 season has gone simlilarly to the way that last year went. A season ago, the Warriors rolled to a 20-3 record, were Saginaw Valley League North Division Champions, and won their Division 2 district title. Chris Schoenherr (130 pounds) took second place in the state finals, and Tom Schoenherr (125) and Jake Alarie (215) both took eighth.
The Warriors, who are ranked sixth in Division 2, recently took third in the power-laden New Lothrop tournament, won both the Grandville and Freeland invitationals, and have already wrapped up the SVL-North title this year with a perfect 10-0 league mark in duals.
“That was the first [goal]; we feel good about that being secured,” Goss said of winning the league. “We want to keep focused on securing all our matches and having control as much as possible and not get pinned at all hopefully. [Hopefully] we win districts and continue on from there and individually, we’re working on getting as many guys through districts and to regionals. We host regionals this year, so hopefully we can launch as many as we can from here to states.”
From the 119 weight class up to 215, the Warriors don’t lose many matches. Wrestlers in those classes are Coby Moore (119), Blake Jackson (125), Mike Rojas (130), Jacob Wibirt (135), Tom Schoenherr (140), Chris Schoenherr (145), Zak Davis (145), Cole Rechsteiner (152/160), Cody Okes (189), and Alarie (215). Noah Schoenherr (112) is an up-and-coming member of the team as well, according to the coach.
“We have a tough row [of wrestlers],” Goss said. “We have three Schoenherr boys in our lineup, and they’re all outstanding. Moore is doing really well for us, too; he’s just a very skilled wrestler. Jackson is a sophomore, but he’s ranked ninth or tenth in the state right now. Okes is a junior, and he is wrestling really well right now.”
Rojas and Alarie are two of the team’s top seniors, and the coach noted just what they mean to the team.
“Alarie is a returning state medalist, and he has really worked hard as well,” Goss said. “He’s a very physical wrestler, very aggressive and smart, also. Rojas, a good portion of his matches have been pins. He goes out, takes care of business. He doesn’t get too nervous, he’s just been running through opponents going 21-1. He’s very businesslike and tough all-around. He really gets into his wrestling.”
Chris Schoenherr narrowly missed out on a state title last year, and his quest for a championship took a heavy hit during football season when he broke his leg. He’s come back to pick up a pair of wins, and the coach is hoping to see the junior continue to mend quickly.
“It’s been good to have him back,” Goss said. “He’s really performing well; he’s just so mentally into the sport. In his first match back, he pinned his opponent in 30 seconds. In his second match, against Mt. Pleasant, I thought it was going to take him longer, but he pinned him in 35 seconds.”
Coach Goss feels that Schoenherr’s quick recovery should lead him to another strong postseason run.
“Last year he had a phenomenal run to the state finals,” Goss said. “I’m hoping he’ll be at full strength by then. We’re watching out for that leg, but he hasn’t had any problems. We’re picking and choosing our sports with him for awhile, and we’re really hoping he’s ready for individual and team districts. Not only is he a great wrestler, but he is a good leader, and that of course helps the team.”
Though the squad may have high expectations and a lofty state ranking, the coach is still stressing basic strategies for success.
“We just need to give 100 percent effort and focus and do the best we can,” Goss said. “We need to finish matches strong. The last 30 seconds are really important. They have been good representatives of Western wrestling and the community, and we just need to keep chugging away. We have a bunch of good guys on the team. They’re a good group, they’re all-state academic, and they’re just good representatives of the area.”
This and That
In other county wrestling, Bay City Central senior Davon Jackson recently reached 150 career wins. In early January, Jackson also set the Central wrestling record for career pins, with 100. A year ago, he took the Division 1 individual state finals by storm. He lost his opening round match in the 152-pound weight class to Jordan Atienza of Livonia Franklin in a 16-8 major decision. From there, he won five straight matches to finish in third place. This year, he has earned MVP honors at nearly every tournament he’s attended and is seen by many as a main contender for a state championship.
Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
The Meridian wrestling team has lost more matches so far this year than it did all of last year, but third-year head coach Jeremy Sampson is hoping that the losses add to growth in his team.
“It has been an up-and-down season; we have wrestled very well at times and rather flat at times,” he said. “We have wrestled a brutal schedule thus far. Our tough scheduling should pay off when the postseason tournament starts. We are in a very tough district and regional and should do very well.”
A year ago, the Mustangs went 20-3, won the Gladwin team tournament, took second in the Jack Pine Conference, and won their second straight district title. Meridian advanced six grapplers to regionals and three to the state finals, which were highlighted by Joe Shuler taking fifth at 112 pounds.
Despite its difficult schedule, Meridian has had plenty of solid showings this year. It was runner-up at the Ogemaw Heights Invitational, placed fourth out of 19 schools at the Freeland Invitational, and took seventh at the prestigious New Lothrup Invitational. Chase Robinson (130 pounds) and Kaine Sturgeon (285) have both already picked up their 100th career wins, and Eric Fader (215, ranked third in Division 3) has a chance to reach the 150-career win mark.
Other standouts so far this season have been Tyler Brinley (103), Shuler (ranked eighth in Division 3), Matt Hoffman (135), Jesse Fellow (140), Paul Streeter (152), and Jess Levier (160).
“I just want us to stay healthy and continue to improve,” Sampson said. “We have improved so much already this year, it’s only fitting that we continue to work hard and leave our mark. I think we have a heck of a chance to win our conference and then to win our team districts. Once you get to regionals, strange things can happen, so a trip to team states is one of our goals, as well.”
Those are rather lofty goals, considering conference foe Roscommon has won 10 straight league titles. Both squads were 2-0 in league action as of Jan. 22. Their district doesn’t get any easier, as they’ll be pitted against Freeland, Bullock Creek, and Garber.
“Our wrestlers need to continue to work hard and to stay disciplined,” Sampson said. “We have made a good name for ourselves for not giving up in matches, and that is huge to postseason success.”
Geoff Mott
Sports Scene
Boys basketball players from Ithaca suffered their first athletic competition loss since the baseball district finals last spring when they lost a 66-51 decision to Carrollton after starting the season 4-0.
While losing is entirely new to this group – four starting seniors in the lineup and nine team members overall played for the four-time state champion football team that hasn’t lost in 56 games – they fell into a small rut in January and lost three of four Tri-Valley – West games.
Coach Jim Thompson isn’t worried about this being a new trend. “I’ve got four seniors who are always ready and always prepared,” he said. “They know there is a sense of urgency, and they want to compete.
“[These losses] just fuel their fire. They have great leadership they’ve learned in football, and they are ready to step forward.”
Ithaca won its first four games by an average of 30 points. After the Carrollton loss, the Yellowjackets dropped a 65-64 decision to unbeaten Valley Lutheran before blasting Montabella 74-36. Michigan Lutheran Seminary then beat Ithaca 62-55 on the Yellowjackets’ home court before Ithaca responded with a 76-47 win over Breckenridge.
“We were well-conditioned from football, so there is no excuse there,” senior forward Logan Hessbrook said. “We’ve transitioned pretty well from football to basketball, and we have some great coaching to do it.”
Part of the success from football manifests itself in how the players approach basketball, Hessbrook said. “It’s a long season, so you have to keep your focus,” he said. “You take it a game at a time and keep working to get better.”
Hessbrook is relying on fellow seniors Travis Smith, Eli Villalobos, and Josh Hafner – along with talented sophomores Jake Smith and Spence DeMull – to make the necessary improvements to win that elusive district title this year.
“The regular season is here to get us ready, and with four seniors, we put that development on all of us,” Hessbrook said. “We don’t like to lose. This is fuel to our fire.”
The tough losses – especially to league opponents – are helping to season Thompson’s team for tough games that will come in March.
“The last four years with Valley Lutheran, Carrollton, Michigan Lutheran Seminary, and us … it’s a very difficult league,” Thompson said. “Anybody can win it, and your players learn how to fight for the wins.”
Thompson knows that every team will give Ithaca its best effort because of the success of Ithaca’s athletic program. “We always have a bullseye on our backs,” Thompson said. “But we’ve got a veteran group of guys who know what to do. They’ve been here. It’s easier as a coach when you have this much leadership.”
By BUTCH HARMON
After falling to St. Johns is the last two Division 2 state championship matches, the Lowell wrestling team is on a mission to send its talented senior class out as winners.
To prepare for what will be a rigorous state tournament, the Red Arrows have wrestled a challenging schedule this season. The schedule included Davison, currently the top-ranked team in Division 1, and Detroit Catholic Central, the Division 1 state champion the last two seasons.
Lowell defeated Davison 35-34 in early January, and on Jan. 22 the Red Arrows took down Detroit Catholic Central 36-27 before the entire Lowell student body in an afternoon match at Lowell High School.
“It was a great win,” senior Bailey Jack said. “We came back to beat them after being down early. We are definitely on our way to our peak right now. We’re working hard and looking to get ready for the tournament.”
The afternoon assembly match was a special milestone for the Red Arrows, who are one of only three teams in the state to have participated in such an event. “It was a totally new experience for us,” senior Kanon Dean said. “We had an assembly dual, and Detroit Catholic Central had an assembly dual with Davison, so there are only three teams in the state that have had this experience. I love the fact that our school was able to experience this, and I’m thankful that our coaches and athletic director were able to secure this for us.”
The win added momentum to a Lowell team that has been ranked No. 1 in Division 2 this season.
Coach Dave Dean also believes that his team is gaining momentum as the tournament draws closer. “I don’t want to jinx anything, but we are definitely improving,” he said. “This team has been great, and they are buying into everything. We have a lot of harmony on this team and great leadership.”
That leadership is not limited to the senior class. “We have a lot of leaders,” said senior Derek Krajewski, “especially with our younger kids. Our juniors and sophomores and our freshmen have stepped up.”
Those leaders have helped the Red Arrows continue to pile up impressive wins as the season has developed.
“We’ve been building every week of the year,” Kanon Dean said. “This was a big win, and we continue to make measurable improvement. Our goal is to win the state, but we are not hanging our season on it. If we end up winning state that will be great, but if not, the guys on our team have put forth a great effort and have accomplished a lot this season.”
Birch Run has lost six all-state wrestlers to graduation the past two years. Nine seniors that graduated last year qualified for the state finals, and four of them placed at the state meet.
“We’re young, so we’re having some growing pains right now,” coach Bart Bennett said. “And I’ve never quite had a season where we’ve had so much sicknesses. So we’ve been trying to get healthy, and we just deal with.”
The Panthers have dealt with the issue by winning. By mid-January they had posted a 17-2 record in dual meets and had already clinched a fourth-straight share of the Tri-Valley Conference – East title.
“Luckily, we’re deep enough squad where we’ve been able to substitute in and move guys around,” Bennett said. “TVC – East was our first goal. Now we want the Conference meet, districts, and regionals.”
He has a couple talented seniors leading the way. Mitch Franklin finished seventh at 145 pounds at state last year and has wrestled at 152 this season. Jared Elliott dropped a 9-6 decision in the Division 3 152-pound state title match to Comstock Park’s Luke Pahl. He couldn’t crack the starting lineup as a freshman and lost in the blood round at regionals as a sophomore.
“Jared probably shouldn’t have lost [to Pahl]. He got caught on his back and it cost him,” Bennett said. “We’re working on eliminating those. Jared is a talented kid, and he’s worked hard. Some of his toughest matches have been in practice against guys like three-time all-staters Lake [Bennett] and Damian [Johnson].”
Junior Jerry Fenner is back to defend the 119-pound state title that he won last year by a 3-2 fourth overtime decision over Swan Valley freshman Matt Santos. Fenner has lost four times this year – three times to defending state champions and once to Santos at the Saginaw County Wrestling Meet.
“He can learn from that,” Bennett said. “We’ll move him up a weight class and try to get him the best matches we can as we prepare for districts.”
Elliott, Fenner, and Franklin are all near 150 career wins, while junior 215-pounder George Lahar is near 100 career victories.
Freeland wrestling coach Mike Ritt likes what he’s seen so far from his team this year. The Falcons are 17-6 overall and 3-1 in the TVC Central. They have been successful at tounaments, winning at Hemlock; taking second at Meridian; and taking third at invitationals at Ovid-Elsie and North Branch and at the Saginaw County Wrestling Meet.
“The season has gone well to this point,” said Ritt, who is in his 15th year as the head coach. “I think that the rest of the season should go pretty well; like anyone else it will depend on health. So far so good.”
Ritt pointed out that his top three wrestlers this year are Kolten Radaz (sophomore, 125 pounds), Josh Schlak (senior, 135) , and Charlie Ferens (senior, 140).
“Each qualified for the state finals last season,” Ritt said. “We are optimistic that each will again qualify. Each of the boys has the tools to place in the top eight, and we have confidence that each will.”
After finishing in second place at an early-season meet in Oscoda, Garber wrestling went home with first-place hardware from the Carrollton Invitational Jan. 18 after going 4-0 on the day.
The Dukes, who boast a lineup of nine freshmen, won three pool matches, 45-30 over host Carrollton, 42-36 over Fulton, and 72-6 over Birch Run’s ‘B’ team. Garber capped off the day with a 40-36 win over Millington in the championship.
The Dukes’ Andrew Yaworski (119 pounds), Noah Borgouthy (152), Mike Vanseumeran (160), Chris Vandriessche (189), and Joe Foret (285) all went undefeated on the day, while Ryan Christensen (103) and Carson Kayner (215) lost one match apiece.
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