Article - High School Sports Scene

By BUTCH HARMON

Thanks to strong team work and players who excel at their roles, the Corunna boys basketball team is enjoying its season and has its sights set on a successful second half of the season and state tournament.

Corunna opened the season by winning seven of its first nine games.

“Halfway through the season, we have been learning to compete and complete games,” said coach Jason Schemenauer. “I have appreciated the team and their willingness to focus on key areas that we’ve identified and need improving.”

One of the most impressive statistics on this year’s team is that the team is averaging 68.4 points per game. While that is impressive, Schemenauer sees other strong points.

“The noticeable thing is scoring, and everyone will read about how many points are scored and be impressed,” Schemenauer said. “The most impressive thing to me is the team’s willingness to adapt to different roles. For example, every game MJ Myles defends the other team’s best shooter/scorer, Josh Fattal defends the other team’s point guard, Mikhail Myles has improved his rebounding and is leading us in blocked shots per game (1.8), Grant Renwick had seven assists and five steals vs. Lakewood.”

The Cavaliers are looking to build on that strong start and to finish just as strong.

“The sky is the limit for this team,” Schemenauer said. “If we get better, improve everyday, and remain close teammates, then anything is possible.”

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Al Post has reason to be excited about the St. Louis boys bowling team this season. It’s started strong, 2-0 in the conference and 6-0 overall, and it has a chance to do very well in the state tournament.

The team average is 994.

“That’s pretty good for Division 4,” Post said. “We’re an experienced team. We took second at the Battle of the Bakers at Battle Creek. That’s like a Division 1 and 2 tournament for Bakers. We took second in the Owosso tournament, and we were the only Division 4 team in that, too. Not trying to brag, but this is an exceptional group, probably the best I’ve had in the nine years I’ve been coaching.”

Post has three seniors in Chris Adams, Bobby Church, and Conner Pilmore.

“Conner has really come along,” Post said. “He’s been a bowler since he was a sophomore. His game has grown immensely. He can break the lanes down mentally, where he really couldn’t before. It truly comes from a lot of hard work. The starting five made it to the semifinals last year, and they all return this year. From the time we got back last year until now, they’ve worked on their game. They’ve been out here at the bowling alley [300 Bowl] bowling all summer, working on their game.

“Conner has been huge. He’s been the driving force behind it. He’s got the guys together. If I’m out there and they’re bowling, he helps out. He’s gone beyond expectations for a high school bowler.”

Adams is averaging 204 and Church 198.

“They’ve come along and made it so far last year and saw what it was and have been determined to get back there,” Post said.

Also back are juniors Jeff Fisher and Zack Fenby. “They’ve been on the varsity since they were sophomores,” Post said. “They’ve come along great. The big thing with our team is they’ve learned spares are a central part of our game. Once they get rolling, they’re hard to stop. We cover our spares.

“They drive through the tough spots, cover their spares, and keep pushing and pushing. They take off and accelerate. When they do that, they explode. They really learn how to break down the lanes. That’s because of their dedication, basically. They’re the most dedicated team I’ve had. I’ve had some good ones. In 2011, we went to the finals and got beat in the finals.”

Winning it all is a definite goal.

“You do want to take it one match at a time,” Post said. “But for us, to not make a serious run with this team would be a big letdown. We have all the experience in the world. Their first year there, they went to the final eight and got beat. It’s our year to make a run. For a Division 4 team, they’re phenomenal. Other coaches have said that, too.”

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By BUTCH HARMON

The Owosso community lost long-time coach and teacher Tom Harkema on Jan. 6 when he passed away from cancer at the age of 56.

Harkema, a native of Owosso, had been a fixture in Owosso from his playing days to being a coach and teacher at Owosso High School. The loss was compounded, because Tom’s older brother, William “Bill” Harkema, passed away the same day after battling multiple sclerosis for several years.

Coach Harkema was a 1975 graduate of Owosso High School, where he played football and was a member of the track team. Following high school, he attended Grand Valley State University where he played football. Harkema was named the Scout Team Player of the Year during his career with the Lakers.

After graduating from Grand Valley in 1979, Harkema served as a graduate assistant coach at Grand Valley under his older brother Jim Harkema. He was the head coach at Dexter High School, and he also coached in Texas for six years.

Harkema served two stints as head coach at Owosso. He coached the Trojans from 1988 through 1998, and he returned to the sideline in 2010 and coached the Trojans since.

Along with coaching football, Harkema served as the Owosso boys’ track coach for the last 17 years. Harkema led the team to Capital Area Athletic Conference (CAAC) titles the last two springs.

“I have known Tom since we were 13 years old, and I have worked with Tom for 25 years,” said Owosso softball coach and administrative assistant JoEllen Smith. “It is not going to be the same without Tom, but it could be better because of Tom if the community comes together as a team the way he taught it will be better.”

Along with coaching, Harkema was a math and physical education teacher at Owosso High School and also served as the public address announcer at Owosso basketball games.

“Tom was definitely an Owosso person,” Smith said. “If he was cut, he would bleed blue and gold.”

In 2012, Harkema led Owosso to its second-ever playoff appearance. Owosso defeated Cadillac 27-14 in the first round of the playoffs for the first playoff win in school history.

“Coach Harkema was very excited, and everybody was very excited,” said Brody Eddington, a running back on that team. “We made history. I just remember the look on his face. Everything was amazing.

“Coach Harkema was very passionate,” continued Eddington, who was also a sprinter on the track team for Harkema. “He always pushed every player to be the best they could be.”

Coach Harkema compiled a record of 50-49 during his first stint as head coach of the Trojan football team and was 16-22 the past four seasons for a career record of 66-71.

Harkema impacted many lives as a coach, and even helped some of his former players enter the coaching profession. Former Charlotte High School and current Forest Hills Eastern High School head coach Eddie Ostipow is one such coach who was helped by Harkema. Ostipow graduated from Owosso in 1992 and played on Coach Harkema’s team.

“I was fortunate enough to play for Coach Harkema and to also coach on his staff,” Ostipow said. “He was also pretty instrumental in helping me get my first head coaching job. We have stayed in contact and talked to this day. I would usually talk with him at least once a week. He was a very good guy; they don’t come any better.”

Ostipow served for four years on Harkema’s coaching staff. Ostipow and Harkema also worked at each other’s football camps during the summer. When Ostipow’s Charlotte teams qualified for the playoffs, Harkema would make the one-hour drive to Charlotte two or three times a week to help at practice or to scout from the press box during the game.

“Tom loved Owosso and loved the high school and loved the kids,” Ostipow said. “He was in his element around kids, and it didn’t have to be football. If a student happened to be a cross country or track runner, he was the kind of guy who would do anything to help him. Tom was one of those guys that any time you needed something, you could count on him.”

Harkema also was known for never forgetting his former players. “Even when you graduated and left the program, you did not end the relationship with Tom,” Ostipow said. “If it was a little thing or a big thing, Tom was willing to do it. If 10 years later he heard a player needed a job, Tom would make the phone call.”

Owosso athletic director Dallas Lintner is now faced with the task of replacing his football and track coach, and he knows what a challenge that will be.

“Tom has been a mentor and a friend of mine for many years,” Lintner said. “My job now is to replace the irreplaceable. Tom was such a fair and loving man that it is quite a tall order. What I have to do is find a coach that will carry our program forward in a way that honors Coach Harkema’s legacy and what he put into the program.”

Harkema cared about all the sports in the Owosso school system, not just the sports that he coached. “Tom helped organize competitive cheer years ago when no one was willing to step up,” Lintner said. “He also started our middle school swim program. He talked to swim coaches from other areas and started a program for middle school kids so they could swim. He was always there to support anything.”

Harkema’s legacy in Owosso spilled over into all aspects of life.

“There was standing room only and 2,000 people in our gym for the memorial service,” Lintner said. “There were players from his first team, students who never played a sport, parents, community members, members from his church; there were just so many different types of people that he impacted. That was real indicative of the man he was.”

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Gary Stanglewicz has called it a career at St. Louis.

And what a career it’s been.

He has retired after 30 years as volleyball coach, only the second one in the history of the program. His predecessor and first St. Louis volleyball coach was Kathy Hutfilz.

“It was my second year in teaching and I had wanted to get into coaching,” he said. “I applied at other places. Kathy asked me if I wanted to coach JVs here. I said I’d give it a shot. I had played some volleyball in high school and college. I enjoyed it and thought maybe I could learn the game.” So Stanglewicz became the junior varsity coach, a position he held for two seasons.

Prior to that, Stanglewicz attended high school at Warren Cousino, then graduated from Central Michigan University in 1989. After graduation, both he and his wife were hired at St. Louis, he as a special education teacher. He had not coached prior to arriving at St. Louis.

His win total is 1,254. Included in that total are two state titles, (Division 3 in 2001 and Class C in 1999) and a Division 3 state runner-up honor (2010).

When he took over the program, Stanglewicz said he had a “solid, steady” program, although he was able to take it to higher levels, which included winning conference and postseason titles.

“Three out of my first four seasons were losing seasons,” he said. “Then we won our first league and our first district. In my fourth season we were last in the league. The next season we were first and won a district. Then we had a string of 19 straight districts.”

St. Louis won 21 league championships in the CSAA and TVC and 23 district titles. The Sharks also claimed 10 regional titles and made it to the state semifinal 10 times.

This season, St. Louis had 54 wins and won the conference.

“We had some younger players that were in the system for a couple of years,” Stanglewicz said. “Then they turned it around in the senior year. The key was the next year when we graduated five players and still came back and won a district. We won a district and championship the following year.

“That was the big key, that it wasn’t just a group of athletes but our program was finally on the right footing.”

Players today seem to be more athletic than when he first started coaching, Stanglewicz indicated. “When I started, the first time they started volleyball was when they’re in the ninth grade. Now, a lot of them start in the fourth grade. They’re so much more experienced, and the game comes easier to them.”

Even after 30 years, “I feel there’s a lot more I can learn,” Stanglewicz said. “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know that much about it and how many quality coaches there are out there.”

He had seven college players from his 2003 team, including two in Division 1, two in Division 2, and three in Division 3. “For a Class C school, that’s pretty good,” Stanglewicz said.

Monyka Paul, a 1996 St. Louis graduate, was a captain at Western Michigan University when it won the Mid American Conference her senior year.

Brishia Stroben, who graduated in 2005, was third in Miss Volleyball voting as a senior. She came the closest of Stanglewicz’s players to winning the title of Miss Volleyball. She had a record for kills in her career at one time and played at Lake Superior State University.

As a coach, “we spent a lot of time with technique,” Stanglewicz said. “We play discipline style. Our kids learn about respect for their opponents and officials. Sportsmanship is important to us. I’m a teacher by trade. It’s more than just about volleyball.”

Stanglewicz said he and his wife, an elementary school teacher, both retired last year, but St. Louis hired him back to continue teaching for this year.

“We sold our house in St. Louis and moved to Gladwin County,” he said. “In order to run the program, I need to be at the school quite a bit. We’re going through a lot of changes at home with remodeling and rebuilding. Being an hour away, we’ll do it for this year, but it’s not something I can continue. This group of seniors I’ve been with four years. It was a group I spent a lot of time with. I figured this would be a group I’d be out with.”

A replacement volleyball coach has yet to be named.

“We have lot of good talent at the younger levels,” Stanglewicz said. “This is a good time for a new coach to come in and set their expectations.

“There’s so many challenges involved. Every part of it is a challenge you face every day. I’d like to continue coaching at some point if there’s something closer to me. I feel I still have something I can give and be successful.”

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By BUTCH HARMON

Basketball is one of the best team games around, and it can also be one of the best ways that a family can bond and stay close.

That is the case with current Michigan State University star and former East Lansing High School standout Klarissa Bell and her family. Bell, a former Miss Basketball, is very close to her stepbrothers MJ and Mikhail Myles, who are varsity basketball standouts at Corunna High School. Bell’s older brother, Devlin Bell, was a basketball standout at East Lansing High School and Lansing Community College, while younger brother Westin Myles is a freshman at East Lansing who is already making a name for himself on the varsity team.

Not only has Klarissa Bell spent many an hours playing basketball with her younger brothers, but her basketball career was also spurred on by her stepfather, Monty Myles.

“My stepdad is really big into coaching, and he got me into basketball,” Klarissa said. “I started playing soccer when I was young, but my stepdad convinced me to go out for the Ballers, a local AAU team.”

Once she started playing basketball, she had no shortage of teammates or opponents for games of one-on-one or two-on-two.

“When we were younger, we had a full outdoor basketball court next to our house,” Bell said. “Now we play whenever we get the chance. Sometimes we go to the Breslin Center to play against each other.”

Bell was one of the finest high school basketball players to ever come out of the Lansing area and is in the middle of her senior year with the Spartans.

Brothers MJ and Mikhail are currently enjoying big seasons of their own in Corunnna.

MJ is a senior who recently scored his 1,000th career point in a game against Lake Fenton. The game was stopped after MJ reached the milestone, and there was a ceremony to acknowledge his achievement. “That was real cool,” MJ said. “It [1,000 points] was always something I wanted to do. I was able to do it in front of my friends and family, and I was given a basketball signed by all of my teammates.”

The brothers have been playing together for three years on the varsity at Corunna, something that has been special for MJ. “It has been a lot of fun,” he said. “My brother is also a very good player. We really have a lot of fun with it. We played on different teams here and there growing up, and that was fun, but it’s much different now. It’s much bigger hype playing varsity basketball.”

Playing basketball and going to class at Michigan State, Klarissa does not have much of an opportunity to see her younger brothers play. The brothers, however, do check out their sister’s games as much as they can. “I go to almost all of her home games that I can make it to,” MJ said. “Today I didn’t go, but it was on ESPN.”

While their schedules keep the family members apart, basketball has a way of bringing them together.

“We are definitely an athletic family,” Mikhail said. “It’s something that we all have in common that we can talk about. It’s kind of hard with us being here in Corunna, but every once in a while we play a family game at the Breslin.”

Making the schedule even more hectic is that Westin Myles is playing on the varsity at East Lansing High School.

“He [Westin] is very good,” MJ said. “He’s very big for his age. He’s about six foot two and he’s a point guard.”

“I see Westin at East Lansing more just because it’s closer,” Klarissa said. “Westin is tall, and he has great ball-handling skills.”

While it is harder to see each other during the basketball season, the sport has kept and always will keep them close.

“When we were younger especially, we played in a lot of the same tournaments,” Klarissa said. “Basketball brings us all together, and we have something in common to talk about. We have always enjoyed going to each other’s sports events no matter if it was football. It’s a commonality that we all have.”

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Central Montcalm senior Cody Veltkamp has been having a productive senior season so far for the Green Hornet wrestling team. He’s wrestling at 119 pounds and 125 pounds.

Coach Dan VanderVlucht noted that Veltkamp has won the St. Louis Invitational three straight years.

This year, Veltkamp has a 24-4 record. “He’s having an outstanding season right now,” VanderVlucht said.

Veltkamp has advanced to the blood round at state finals for a shot at seventh or eighth place but lost by a point in his bid.

“I think he can place top five,” VanderVlucht said. “Any given day, he can be the No. 1 kid there. Cody’s stronger parts are his shots and when he’s on top.”

Big Rapids is getting strong wrestling seasons out of seniors Nathan Weckesser and Alim Muhammed.

Weckesser is 32-2 at 130 pounds while Muhammed is 23-1 at 145.

“They’re great work partners for each other,” said coach Dan Sleeper. “They’re looking for the best guy in the room, and they’re always looking at each other. They’re best guys in the room. They just go at it. Every day is a brawl. It’s nonstop action. It’s paying off for them.

“They’re good listeners. They do what the coaches ask.”

Sleeper is confident that his two wrestlers can make a long run at state.

“You have to stay healthy and keep working hard,” Sleeper said. “You have to stay consistent.”

Greenville has two outstanding wrestlers in Alec Ward and Jake Hopkins.

Ward is 30-2 with a career record of 166-37. He’s a senior at 130 pounds who is focusing on having a successful postseason.

“He’s good in all areas of wrestling,” said coach Paul Johnson. “He’s good on his feet, good at escaping, getting to his feet, and riding his opponent. He has good stamina.

“He aspires to be a state champ. He’s never made it to the finals. I’m sure he’d like to make it to the finals.”

Hopkins, a senior 152-pounder, is 25-5 this season and 88-26 for his career. He was a district champion last season, but he broke his ankle going into regionals and will look to place at state this year.

“Those are reachable goals for him,” Johnson said. “He has real good balance. He’s a good athlete and that serves him well on mat.”

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By BUTCH HARMON

Thanks to a pair of four-year varsity players, the Holt boys basketball team is off to a strong start this season.

After winning the Capital Area Athletic Conference (CAAC) Blue division last year, the Rams have set their sights on defending that title and on making another deep run in the state tournament in March.

The Rams began the season with a seven-game winning streak. Key to Holt’s fast start has been solid team defense. “Our defense has been pretty good,” said coach Matt Essell. “We have been holding opponents to 54 points per game. We’re guarding people pretty well. We also have a pair of four-year varsity players who are playing really well.”

The four-year veterans give the Rams a strong inside-outside game. Senior Don’quall Jackson (5’10”) plays the point guard position, while Colin Jones (6’4″) is back at power forward.

“Colin is a good inside-outside player,” Essell said. “He has made our second-most three-pointers, and he is also a real good inside player. Don’quall leads us in assists and scoring. They are both four-year players, and they have started the majority of the games during their careers.”

Jackson is one of the Rams’ team captains, as is senior Tyrell Williams (6’3″), who plays a wing position.

“Tyrell leads us in three-pointers, and he is averaging nine points per game,” Essell said. “He is our third top scorer. Combined, the three seniors average about 45 points per game for us.”

While the Rams have a solid core of seniors, they also have some talented young players like freshman post player Jaron Faulds (6’8″). “Jaron just keeps getting better and better,” Essell said. “He has just had two double-figure games in a row. Things are starting to slow down for him on the floor and starting to click for him. He has been a big help for us.”

The improvement of Faulds and the rest of the team will be key for Holt down the stretch this season and going into the tournament, where it hopes to make another deep run.

“We reached the regional finals last year,” Essell said. “We played Grand Rapids Christian, and Drake Harris scored 38 on us and they beat us by five. We got a tough district and anything can happen. We want to win our district and then try to get to the Breslin. That is the big goal for us this year.”

Overall, Essell sees some differences between this year’s squad and last year’s team. “We are not as quick on the perimeter as we were last year,” he said. “This year we are a little longer. We don’t turn teams over as much on defense, but we probably play better team defense. We probably have a little more skill offensively. The guys handle pressure well and can get to the basket.”

One of Holt’s closest wins this year was a double-overtime win against Hudsonville at the Breslin Center during the Holiday Hoops Invitational. Another was the defeat of East Lansing on a buzzer-beating shot by Williams.

“We are trying to get all the parts working at the same time,” Essell said. “Getting that clicking is the biggest challenge. We won some close games this year, and we’ve gutted some out.”

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By BUTCH HARMON – Growing up with a basketball coach for a dad and a pair of athletic older brothers, it should have been no surprise that DeWitt senior guard Natalie Knauf developed into a standout point guard.

A three-year varsity player, Knauf is the floor general for a DeWitt girls’ team that has plenty of balance and is off to a strong start this season.

“Natalie is that person who pushes the tempo for us,” coach Bill McCullen said. “We try to push the tempo with our full-court press, but when the press is not clicking, Natalie knows how to push the tempo.”

Knauf also knows how to get the ball to the open teammate. The Panthers have a balanced offense, led by Hannah Stoll with 11.9 points per game, Abby Nakfoor with nine points, Claudia Reid with 8.1 points, and Lexi Banaszak with eight points.

“We have had different people stepping up and scoring,” McCullen said. “We have a very balanced offense, and that is why I enjoy this team. They are happy to make the extra pass, and that is one of our biggest strengths.”

The fact that the team members get along is crucial to their success. “I think we are having an awesome season,” Knauf said. “Our team chemistry is one of the reasons we are doing real well. This is by far the best team chemistry of any team I’ve been on.”

Having a solid point guard like Knauf also helps develop balanced scoring. “We have several different scoring options, and Natalie does a nice job of running the offense and making us go,” McCullen said. “She has also worked on her shot, and teams have to play her honest. She is capable of knocking down the open three. That has made her a better passer, because teams have to guard her on the perimeter, and that opens things up. She is a tough kid and a hard-nosed kid who does a nice job for us.”

Having older brothers who are athletes helped to develop that toughness. “Her brothers are football players and wrestlers, and they are tough kids,” McCullen said. “Growing up in that family, it helped make her competitive.”

Natalie’s brother Nick currently plays college lacrosse at Indiana Institute of Technology, while her other brother Nate is a wrestler at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. Natalie’s dad Doug Knauf is the head boys’ basketball coach at St. Louis High School.

“I loved growing up and playing sports with my brothers,” Natalie said. “We would always be playing sports in the backyard and playing basketball in the front. My dad has also coached football and basketball for 28 years. It helps having a coach for a father. Whenever we would drive back from an AAU game, he would talk to me about my game, and he would tell me whatever he could to help me improve.”

While Knauf is a standout point guard, basketball is not the sport that she will be playing in college. Also an excellent soccer player, Knauf accepted a scholarship offer to play college soccer at the University of Toledo.

“I’m excited about playing soccer in college,” Knauf said. “It’s something I always wanted to do.”

Before the spring soccer season and college soccer, though, Knauf and her teammates have plenty of basketball to play.

“We are just taking it one game at a time,” Knauf said. “We want to get through districts and then go as far as we can.”

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By BUTCH HARMON

When it comes to combining athletic achievement with excellence in the classroom, few high school athletes do it as well as Alma senior guard Maddy Seeley.

A four-year varsity player for the Panthers, Maddy has been enjoying a memorable senior season.

She kicked off the season in a big way when she scored her 1,000th career point in a 69-44 win over Swan Valley on Dec. 12. After she recorded her 1,000th point, the officials stopped the game and presented her with the game ball.

“It was real exciting,” Maddy said. “I didn’t know that they would stop the game and announce it. It was real cool to have my family and friends there with me, and it was real cool for the officials to do that for me.”

Scoring her 1,000th point was an accomplishment that meant a lot, not only to Maddy, but also to her coach and to the program.

“Maddy scored her thousandth point more than a month ago in front of a home crowd,” said coach Jenny Intveld. “Based on what I have been told from long-time residents and our administration in Alma, this milestone has not been reached by many of our girls’ basketball players in the past. We honored her by pausing the game and giving her the game ball. You could tell that she was overwhelmed by the support that our fans and community members gave that evening. It means a lot to the program to see someone work incredibly hard, and it also means that she is really supported by selfless teammates who set great screens, make great passes, and haul in rebounds that give us those opportunities on offense.”

Seeley finished the game with 28 points, and on Jan. 8, she set another milestone when she scored a career-high 38 points in a 52-48 win against Shepherd.

While she is averaging just shy of 30 points per game, scoring is only one of the facets of her game. “Maddy is a solid guard that has developed into an explosive scorer,” Intveld said. “She is the type of player that can shoot the lights out from the perimeter but can also penetrate and create shots in paint. As a defender, she is athletic enough to hang with the best players on the opposing teams, and her knowledge of the game allows her to see things defensively that others may not. Maddy leads very easily by example and is always the first one in the gym and the last one out. She never tires when it comes to working on her game and improving her skill set. This year, she has focused on becoming more of a vocal leader both on and off the court.”

A point guard in the past, Maddy has settled in at shooting guard this year thanks to a familiar face joining her in the backcourt. “I’ve been more of a shooting guard this year,” she said. “My sister [Mackenzie] is a freshman, and she has taken over at point guard. Having my sister play point guard allows me to do more things off the ball.”

Being able to share her senior season with her sister is special. “It’s real fun and I am really enjoying it,” Maddy said. “It’s really cool having her as a teammate. We push each other and help each other out. It’s been really great.”

As good a player as Maddy is, her personality and character are just as outstanding. “As an individual, Maddy is an absolute gem,” Intveld said. “She has a big heart for others, and I know that kind of caring demeanor comes from her solid family structure and influence.”

Maddy is the daughter of former Alma athlete and graduate Paul Seeley, and her mom Tracey was a standout athlete at Parkway High School in Rockford, Ohio. Maddy’s decision to commit to play college basketball at Northwood University was made easier knowing that she would still be close to her family.

“I am real close to my family, and Northwood is close to home,” Maddy said. “It also has a very good business school, and that is what I wanted to go into. I’m real excited about playing at Northwood. I committed over the summer, and it was nice being able to concentrate on my senior year knowing I had my college figured out. I’ve always been interested in Northwood, and I really like the coaches there.”

Seeley plans to major in business, and excelling in the classroom has gone hand-in-hand with being a standout athlete.

“Outside the gym, Maddy’s focus has been on family and academics,” Intveld said. “She has maintained a 4.0 GPA through almost four years of high school and sets a high bar for herself when it comes to success in the classroom, which comes as no surprise when you look at the work ethic she displays on the court.”

Seeley has steadily improved as a basketball player during her four years at Alma, and her high school coach sees plenty of room for growth as she becomes a college player.

“I’ve seen very few athletes, at all levels of play, make such growth each year after being moved up to varsity as a freshman,” Intveld said. “Naturally, you would think this would happen, but for some it doesn’t. Maddy hasn’t plateaued yet, and I’m just not sure where the ceiling is for her. Each year she gets better and better. That is a testament to her and her work habits/competitive nature. I don’t think she will allow herself to ever be satisfied with where she is at as a player, and because of this, I’m confident that she will continue to develop new aspects of her game and be a great contributor to the Northwood team next season. Her impact on the high school game in our area and to our school is only the start for this kid.”

Before she begins her college career, Maddy still has some unfinished business with the Alma girls’ team.

“Right now, I think we are just getting better and better as a team,” Seeley said. “League play is starting over, and I think we are going to show some teams that we’ve improved. I’m real excited to see how we do against everyone the second time around the league.”

With Seeley leading the way, the Panthers will be a dangerous team down the stretch.

“To our team, Maddy means the world, but not solely based on her incredible production on offense,” Intveld said. “She means the world to this team because of the examples she sets on and off the floor. You won’t find a kid who works harder than she does every time she steps on the floor, and you will have a hard time finding someone who wants to pass their knowledge along to those on the team and those coming up through the ranks within our program. It is her heart, her ability to lead by example and through the choices she makes, as well as her hard-working nature that will make her difficult to replace.”

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If there’s one sport that should enjoy the higher-than-average snowfall the area has seen this winter, it would be skiing.

In past winters, mild weather sometimes made it tough for ski resorts to be open any earlier than January, causing problems with ski teams that wanted to get in preseason work. Most schools’ ski programs have official meets that start in January and end with the state tournament in late February.

Jeff David is the coach of the Okemos ski team and notes that the team’s time improved for training and regular season meets.

The team skis at Mount Brighton, and “compared to years past, there’s no comparison” David said. “We have been blessed with temperature that allows for snow making. [The new owners] have increased their snow production capabilities by five-fold.

“We have had coverage from the first day on with snow…The week after Thanksgiving, we were on the hill. It’s been terrific.

“Our approach is to get as much mileage as we can in terms of our pre-skiing and primarily drill work,” David said. “We started off getting kids comfortable on the snow and going through our battery of drills. Early season, even though there may be coverage, often time resorts don’t want you to plant courses yet for a variety of reasons.

“We have had a chance to get on snow early and train and have drills. It helped our team prepare for our first competition. It gives us a chance to get an early start. It will help kids to get to be where they need to be sooner. Hopefully, they can continue to build their skills. Provided the weather stays the way it is, we’ll have a great opportunity to have our regional and state without any chance for delay. The past couple of years, we’ve struggled by having to throw chemicals on the hills, especially down here in southeastern lower Michigan where we train.”

Terry Avink, Rockford ski coach, concurred that the snow has made it a good ski season so far. “As a team, we generally train more up north than we have this season,” he said. “The large amount of natural snow here at Cannonsburg and Pando has allowed us spend more time on the snow and less time driving to northern resorts. We always have trained in December, however, this season allows us more local training and the option to pretty much do any type of training we choose, whether it’s tall poles, stubbies, or brushes.”

Avink agrees that meets have been highlighted with good quality snow, and it could make for excellent conditions at the late-season meets.

“Our condition at the ‘burg was normally good even in lean snow years due to their snow-making process,” Avink said. “However, with the large amount of natural snow, they are able to groom terrain into the hill as opposed to having to focus on making snow.

“Natural snow also makes us as ski racers feel more excited about our sport and also gets friends and families more involved.”

Clare, coached by Jann Cleary, usually trains and competes at Snow Snake Ski & Golf in Harrison.

“This year we had dry land training for only two days, and then we were able to hit the slopes to concentrate on the techniques of skiing,” Cleary said. “Having this extra time has allowed many of the racers to improve significantly and the more advanced skiers to hone in on their technique. Ski racing is a very precise sport with very little room for error.

“Snow Snake does an excellent job preparing the race hill for all the race teams in the area, so we have always had enough snow on the hill to practice, but not always the excellent conditions we have had this year. The extra fresh snow has made for wonderful skiing conditions. But, we are not the only ski team that has the advantage of great snow; all teams have had this benefit.”

Clare started practice Nov. 18 for dry land and took off Thanksgiving week.

“Then we were skiing on the hill Friday after Thanksgiving when Snow Snake opened to the public,” Cleary said. “The following week we also skied and conditioned by hiking the hill many times.

“Last year, we were not able to ski until just before Christmas. We have our ski camp up at Schuss Mountain every year, and last year, the first time we all skied was at the first day of camp. This year, all of us had been skiing before camp. This made camp much more beneficial.”

Heritage coach David Corcoran said his team usually trains in the Saginaw area. The additional snow probably doesn’t directly have an impact on his team, he indicated.

“Our first meet doesn’t take place until kids come back from holiday break,” he said. “We can’t practice over break. Now that we’re in season, it’s nice to have great snow to ski on. But overall, there’s been no effect on the Heritage team.”

In fact, additional snow, which canceled school at Heritage, also canceled ski team practices.

“Our preparation time was lost due to the overabundance of snow,” Corcoran said.

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