Traverse City Record-Eagle

2007 In Review

January 30, 2008

Sports in Review: October 2007

TC West second at Dow Invitational

MIDLAND (Oct. 1) — Traverse City West took second place at the seven-team Midland Dow Invitational.

Dow won its own tournament with 28.5 points, TC West had 23.5 and Lowell was third with 21.5 points.

Flight winners for West were No. 1 doubles Vikash Pillay and Nathan Feenstra, No. 2 doubles Ricky Bell and Carter Jones.

Four other flights were 2-1 on the day for West: Dan Jarboe (No. 1 singles), Ben Street (No. 2 singles), Andrew Greenman (No. 3 singles) and Zach Hughey and Dillon Deemer (No. 3 doubles).

Harbor hat trick topples Northport

NORTHPORT (Oct. 1) — Ben Cole scored a hat trick as Harbor Light Christian topped Northport 4-2.

Rob Wendt added another goal for the Swordsmen.

Ryan Blessing and Shane Detweiler had goals for Northport (6-8-1), and Detweiler adding an assist.

Trojans win 5-team Invitational

CHEBOYGAN (Oct. 2) — Natalie Matuszak shot a 76 to lead Traverse City Central to the title in the five-team Cheboygan Golf Invitational.

The Trojans finished with a 339. Traverse City West was second with a 347. The Titans were followed by Petoskey (395), Cheboygan (400) and Alpena (415).

Rachel White shot an 83, Erin Chadwell 84 and Taylor Schultz 93 for the Trojans.

West's Brooke Rodes tied Matuszak for medalist honors with a 76. Jordan Newhouse chipped in a 79, Leighanna Whiting 88 and Korinne Diss 104.

Leland tops Norse in overtime, 2-1

SUTTONS BAY (Oct. 2) — Chris Burda scored in overtime to lift Leland to a 2-1 win over Suttons Bay in a Northwest Conference soccer match.

Justin Maleski scored in the first half to stake Leland (10-4) to a 1-0 lead. Blaine Fritz tied it in the second half off a Shane MacDonald assist for Suttons Bay (12-5-1).

It was the second overtime game between the two teams. The Norse won the first encounter 1-0.

Titans clinch a share of title

PETOSKEY (Oct. 3) — Traverse City West clinched a share of its seventh straight Big North Conference soccer title with a 2-0 victory at Petoskey.

Both goals came in the second half thanks to Casey Townsend and Jon Gourlay. Townsend netted the first goal on an assist from Gourlay while the final goal was an unassisted tally by Gourlay.

Ben Wittbrodt had the shutout in net for West (14-2, 8-0 BNC). The Titans can win the title outright when they host Cadillac.

Glen Lake wins triangular meet at Mistwood

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 3) — Macy Henry shot a 64 as Glen Lake beat the Traverse City Central and West junior varsity teams in a triangular at Mistwood.

The Lakers edged the Trojans for top honors, 278-279.

Nancy Bensfeld had a 65, Abbie Christiansen 70 and Lily Christiansen 79 for the Lakers.

Central was led by Natalie Tubbs (63) and Nicole Gunn (69).

Wests's Alexis McCafferty was medalist with a 54.

Titans stay on heels of Cadillac

ALPENA (Oct. 4) — Jessica Oakley's 15 kills, 15 digs and eight blocks sparked Traverse City West to a 25-16, 25-21, 25-15 Big North Conference volleyball win over Alpena.

The victory enabled the Titans (19-15, 6-1) to stay a half-game back of Cadillac in the league race.

For the Titans, Jordan Davenport contributed nine kills and 15 digs, Margeaux Raymond eight kills and 10 digs, Lydia Lovejoy 32 assists and eight digs, Gaby Muller 20 digs and four blocks and Megan Montgomery nine digs and four aces.

TC Central captures BNC

PETOSKEY (Oct. 5) — Five Big North Conference tennis teams gathered for the league tournament.

In the end, it came down to two Traverse City teams for the title.

TC Central defeated TC West in five of seven championship matches — and also won another against final against Petoskey — to wrap up the Big North crown, 38-33, over the Titans.

The host Northmen tied Cadillac for third with 20 points, while Alpena finished fifth with nine.

Central and West were co-champions a year ago and tied for the regular season title this fall, but the Trojans secured the championship outright with six flight winners — three each in singles and doubles.

Titans clich seventh straight title

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 5) — Casey Townsend scored four goals and notched his 50th point of the season as Traverse City Central clinched its seventh straight Big North Conference title.

The Titans (15-2, 9-0) defeated Cadillac 8-2 to win the league outright.

"It's always nice to win your league, but it's not our main objective now," West coach Jason Carmien said. "We've got more work to do."

Townsend scored four straight goals for West after Jon Spencer opened the scoring, set up by Curt Olson.

Nate Arends, Matt Revard and Brady Fagen also added goals for the Titans. Olson had three assists, while Fagen, Revard, Dan Gotshall and Jon Gourlay also had assists.

Ben Wittbrodt and Alex Sanderson split time in goal.

Townsend has 42 goals and eight assists on the season, 13 points more than last year, when he was named Mr. Soccer.

Winless Petoskey shocks TC West

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 6) — Petoskey came into the football game at Traverse City West with nothing on the line and left with so much more.

Winless coming into the contest, the Northmen shocked West 25-22 to spoil homecoming for the Titans.

"I'm speechless," said Petoskey coach Kerry VanOrman, who stepped away to wipe tears from his eyes. "I just feel good for these kids. We lost so many close games ... I'm just so proud of these kids stepping up to the challenge.

"This is one reason to coach football."

While the Northmen (1-6, 1-2 Big North) were celebrating the win on one end, West (4-3, 2-1) was coming to grips with its end of the situation. The Titans must post wins over Alpena and TC Central in the final two weeks to qualify for the playoffs and likely earn a share of the league crown.

Glads top Grayling

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 7) — Spencer Ambrosius picked his spots.

The St. Francis quarterback completed four passes, but two went for touchdowns and a third set-up a score in the Gladiators' 48-28 homecoming win over Lake Michigan Conference rival Grayling at Thirlby Field.

Ambrosius connected with Spencer Wheelock on a 16-yard scoring strike to snap a 21-21 deadlock with just 49.2 seconds left in the second quarter.

On the first drive of the second half, he found Matt Benson from 17 yards out to make it 33-21.

After Grayling closed to within five, 33-28, in the fourth quarter, Ambrosius and Wheelock combined on a 37-yard pass play, putting the ball at the Grayling seven. Three plays later, Grant Robb ran it in from 3 yards to put the game away.

Central clinches share of BNC title

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 8) — There's one check mark off Traverse City Central's goal list.

The Trojans clinched at least a share of the Big North Conference football title under first-year coach Tom Passinault with a 40-7 victory over Cadillac at Thirlby Field.

"There's no question I'm happy with where we're at right now to have a share of the conference," Passinault said. "Winning the conference is one of the first things we talked about at the beginning of the season.

"I'm very happy with our seniors to close out their careers with a season like this."

Central (5-2, 4-0 Big North) can win the league outright with a win over crosstown rival TC West. The Trojans, who play at Bay City Central on Friday, are also one victory away from an automatic playoff berth.

Rayders remain undefeated in league

KALKASKA (Oct. 10) — Charlevoix maintained its perfect Lake Michigan Conference record with a 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23 volleyball victory over Kalkaska.

The Rayders (34-7-8, 8-0 league) were led by Desi Faust (19 kills, 24 digs, 2 blocks), Murphy Gillespie (17 kills, 15 digs) and Aubrey Way (40 assists, 16 digs, 4 aces). Also contributing were Tammy Potter (6 kills, 3 blocks), Michelle Burke (13 digs) and Shauna Spencely (4 aces).

Charlevoix is one game ahead of second-place Boyne City, which the Rayders will host.

Kalkaska (25-5-2, 6-2), which had an eight-point lead in the fourth game, was led by Megan Dunn (13 of 13 serving, 2 aces, 12 digs, 23 assists), Marissa Taylor (10-for-10 serving, 3 kills, 4 blocks), Kaiti Jones (13 kills, 19 digs, 9-for-9 serving) and Khrysten Chandler (5 kills, 4 blocks).

West swimmers sunk, 114-72

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 10) — Despite three wins from Amy Brunner, the Traverse City West swim team fell to East Grand Rapids 114-72.

Brunner won the 50 freestyle (25.93) and 100 butterfly (1:00.84) and joined sister Sarah Brunner, Erin Holstad and Shelby Newhouse on the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:45.24).

Holstad also posted a victory in the 200 freestyle (2:04.45).

Seconds went to Sarah Brunner in the 200 individual medley (2:22.08), Elyse Schultz in the 500 freestyle (5:41.04), Holstad in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.83) and Sarah Brunner, Holstad, Amy Brunner and Jordan Newhouse in the 200 medley relay (1:55.72).

Norsemen share soccer title

SUTTONS BAY (Oct. 11) — Suttons Bay scored three unanswered goals in the second half to beat Glen Lake 3-0 and earn a share of the Northwest Conference soccer crown.

Suttons Bay tied Leland for the title with a 6-2 mark.

Jason McKisson, Blaine Fritz and Shane MacDonald scored second-half goals for the Norsemen. Fritz added two assists and Dan Holmes one.

Suttons Bay celebrated Senior Night. The Norse have five seniors on the roster — Fritz, Ryan Gardner, Niel Bell, Jesus Olivo and Lennart Folchert.

Titans finish perfect in Big North

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 11) — Traverse City West made it 11 straight wins in the series.

TC Central is hoping it doesn't reach 12.

Led by three goals and an assist from Casey Townsend, the Titans posted a 4-2 win over their rivals to finish off a perfect 10-0-0 Big North Conference season.

The two teams could meet again if Central can get by Alpena in the opening round of districts.

For now, No. 5-ranked West's streaks are in full effect, claiming 11 straight against the Trojans and finishing off the regular season with 15 consecutive victories for a 17-2 mark.

"We've got to make it one more if we want to keep going," Titans coach Jason Carmien said.

With 47 goals and 10 assists on the season, Townsend moved up to 15th on the state's all-time rankings for goals and points in a season. The Division 1 record for goals in a season is 53, set by Lake Orion's Billy Weaver in 2003.

Trojans net state final bid

OKEMOS (Oct. 12) — Traverse City Central got to the point at the Division 2 tennis tournament.

The Trojans finished third in the tournament, but earned two more than the minimum 18 points to qualify for the state final.

Top-ranked East Lansing won the regional with 29 points while No. 6-ranked and defending champion Okemos had 23 points to earn the two automatic bids. TC Central, ranked seventh, was runner-up in four flights and finished with 20 points while Midland Dow was fourth with 16 points.

Central coach Larry Nykerk said the goal was to finish ahead of host Okemos, but going to state was the ultimate goal.

"I'm really proud of this team," Nykerk said. "This group of guys has never been to state before. This is a major jump up from where we were a year ago."

Kingsley, Manton win at Mesick

MESICK (Oct. 12) — The Kingsley girls placed all seven of their cross country runners in the top 20 and edged second-place Manton 42-52 in the Mesick Invitational.

Lake Leelanau St. Mary's was third (99), followed by Traverse City Christian (102), Lake City (119), McBain (159), Glen Lake (166) and Mesick (196).

Manton edged Suttons Bay 77-79 to claim the boys title. Kingsley was third (85), followed by Mason County Eastern (96), McBain (103), Buckley (110), Lake City (153) and Marion (161).

Mancelona claims Ski Valley showdown

FIFE LAKE (Oct. 13) — Greg Blanco hit Adam Duerksen on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 1:02 remaining to give Mancelona a dramatic 26-25 win over Ski Valley rival Forest Area.

The victory clinches a playoff berth for the Ironmen (6-2, 6-1), who are tied with Central Lake for the Ski Valley lead.

Duerksen scored three touchdowns for Mancelona. He scored on a 15-yard run and caught a 64-yard pass from Blanco earlier in the game. James Johnson, who rushed for a team-high 64 yards, scored from a yard out.

Forest Area (5-3 overall and in the league) led 19-14 at half. Justin Gordon scored on runs of 55, 6 and 45 yards for the Warriors, who can earn their first playoff berth with a win over Manistee Catholic. Ben Wyatt went in from 12 yards out.

Gladiators win battle, league title

ELK RAPIDS (Oct. 13) — Max Bullough already had the pedigree.

At the game, he began building his resume.

Bullough, a sophomore linebacker/running back for Traverse City St. Francis whose grandfather, father and uncle were all standouts at Michigan State, rushed for 111 yards — nearly all of it in the second half — to help the Gladiators rally from a 12-point deficit and defeat Elk Rapids 49-27.

The victory, coupled with Grayling's 16-0 win over Boyne City, gave St. Francis the Lake Michigan Conference championship. With one game to play, the Gladiators are 6-0 in the league, while the Elks, Boyne and Grayling are all 4-2.

"Winning the conference outright is obviously very nice, but if there's a silver lining in this game it's that we were behind for the second week in a row and we came back," said St. Francis head coach Josh Sellers.

Blues cruise to 45-5 win over Tri-Cities

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 14) — Seamus Ratakalou scored 21 points as the Traverse City Blues Rugby Club cruised past the Tri-Cities Barbarians 45-5 at Bowers Harbor Park.

Ratakalou had two trys, four conversion kicks and a penalty for the Blues (7-1, 4-1 league), who kept pace in the race to reach the portseason playoffs.

Also scoring trys for Blues were Champ Bodell (2), Jim Kehrer and Dave Wenkle.

Traverse City next travels to to Ft. Wayne, Ind., where the Blues must win to qualify for the playoffs.

Stars take a break after 4-1 loss

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 15) — Eleven games into the 2007-08 NAHL season, the Traverse City North Stars are getting a 12-day break in their schedule.

Not that they're going to get a chance to relax much. Head coach Anthony Palumbo said that there is plenty for the Stars to work on during the next two weeks.

"The time off will give us a chance to look back and see what made us successful and what hasn't been successful," said Palumbo, whose team dropped a pair of games to state rival Alpena over the weekend. "We need to concentrate on what we need to improve on."

After losing to the IceDiggers 1-0, Traverse City fell behind 2-0 in the first period the next game and never recovered. Alpena goaltender Nate Pellegrino made 33 saves — and 64 in two nights — as the IceDiggers won 4-1.

TC, Alpena and Mahoning Valley are tied for third place with 13 points each. Marquette is just one point back.

TC West wraps up BNC title

HARBOR SPRINGS (Oct. 16) — Brooke Rodes earned co-medalist honors as Traverse City West claimed the Big North Conference girls golf championship at True North.

West finished with a score of 349. Traverse City Central was second with a 377.

Rodes, who had a hole-in-one, and Central's Natalie Matuszak each fired a 76.

Also scoring for West: Jordan Newhouse (82), Olivia Casciano (91) and Leighanna Whiting (100). Rodes finished with the league's lowest average in the combined matches.

Norsemen knock off Leland, 3-1

SUTTONS BAY (Oct. 16) — Blaine Fritz netted a pair of first half goals to spark Suttons Bay to a 3-1 Division 4 district soccer win over Leland in a battle of Northwest Conference co-champions.

The two teams split a pair of overtime games during the regular season.

Fritz got the Norsemen off to fast start with his two goals. Connor Ott assisted on the first, Shane MacDonald the second.

Leland closed to within 2-1 on a Chris Burda penalty kick with 17:22 remaining.

But MacDonald restored the two-goal lead seven minutes later. Jason McKisson assisted on the goal.

Goalie Jared Orban finished with seven saves.

West tops Cadillac in BNC showdown

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 18) — Share and share alike.

Traverse City West and Cadillac split the Big North Conference volleyball title last season with victories on their home court. This season appears to be a repeat.

TC West wrestled a 25-17, 25-11, 19-25, 22-25, 15-8 victory from the visiting Vikings to move a half game in front of Cadillac for the crown.

The Titans (26-19, 8-1 Big North) and Cadillac (33-9, 7-1) took turns stepping up in the contest.

West looked like it was cruising to a three-game victory with a strong opener and a dominating game two. But Cadillac wasn't about to go out that way.

"We could have easily packed it in," Cadillac coach Michelle Brines said. "Obviously we weren't playing well and West was playing excellent. I'm really proud of the girls. We could have easily gone down in three and been out of the gym early. But we came back to win and force a game five. We gave ourselves a chance."

Suttons Bay perfect in conference meets

BUCKLEY (Oct. 17) — Suttons Bay finished with a perfect 7-0 record in Northwest Conference dual meets with a 25-14, 25-12, 25-19 triumph over Buckley.

Arianna Guillen was 18 for 19 serving with one ace and five digs for the Norse (38-6-3) while Anna Pryor was 9 for 10 with three aces, 26 assists, three kills and two digs.

Other key contributors for Suttons Bay were Crystal Dittrich (11 for 11, one ace, five digs), Maggie Walters (5 for 5, 12 kills, two digs), Charlotte Stowe (9 for 9, five digs), Lena Knoll (six kills, two digs) and Cheyenne Petoskey (three kills, four digs).

Suttons Bay will be the No. 1 seed in the league tournament at Leland.

Elks, Rams run to LMC titles

EAST JORDAN (Oct. 17) — The Elk Rapids boys and Harbor Springs girls both placed four runners among the top 10 to win Lake Michigan Conference cross country titles.

The Elks edged Charlevoix 41-46 to win the boys race. They were followed by Harbor Springs (49), Traverse City St. Francis 986), East Jordan (127) and Boyne City (161).

Harbor won the girls race with 40 points. Elk Rapids was second (48), followed by Charlevoix (83), St. Francis (89), East Jordan (119), Kalkaska (141) and Boyne City (160).

Elks win district semifinal

CHEBOYGAN (Oct. 18) — Elk Rapids lost standout Ian Sliger to a concussion three minutes into the Division 3 district soccer game at Cheboygan.

The Elks still won, though.

"It was gut-check time for my team," Elk Rapids coach Al Gredlein said.

Jaron Jandoc scored two goals and assisted on a third as the Elks beat Cheboygan 5-0 to reach the district final.

Trevor Chase, Garrett Gribi and Andrew Coates also tallied for the 15-4 Elks. Andy Tezak drew three assists.

Andy Caperton posted the shutout in goal.

West, Rodes roll into Div. 1 golf final

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 19) — Everyone wants to be peaking heading into the state final.

As far as the Division 1 golf finale, no one is flying as high — or true — as Traverse City West senior Brooke Rodes.

Rodes fired her first hole-in-one at the Big North Conference championships at True North in Harbor Springs, capping off the Titans' league title.

"I thought it was amazing," Rodes said of the ace on the downhill, 98-yard fifth hole. "It was great it happened in my senior year in the BNC final."

Rodes and the Titans look to continue their roll into the state final at The Meadows at Grand Valley State Unviersity in Allendale.

TC West, ranked between sixth and eighth in the state poll all season, is making its second straight appearance at the state final. The Titans were fourth last spring.

Kingsley celebrates with two victories

KINGSLEY (Oct. 19) — In their final home regular-season game, Kingsley celebrated Senior Night with a pair of non-conference volleyball victories.

The Lady Stags topped TC Christian 25-19, 25-22 and Manton 25-9, 25-14 to improve to 34-10-5.

Every senior for Kingsley had at least one kill in the matches.

Jesse Emery had nine kills, seven digs and was 7 for 7 serving for Kingsley while Brittany Denter had 7 kills, 17 assists, nine digs and was 13 for 15.

Other key contributors were Amanda Ocobock (five kills, 6 for 6, eight digs, two blocks), Kali Weber (seven kills, 3 for 3, two blocks), Abby Cnossen (three kills, four digs, one ace, three assists) and Evie Wyse (11 for 12, three kills, four digs).

TC Christian topped Manton 25-14, 25-14 in the other match.

Playoffs, pride on the line

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 19) — The stands in Running Stadium at Thirlby Field will be crowded tonight. One side black, the other side green.

The Traverse City West Titans take on the crosstown Central Trojans in their annual rivalry game, the finale of the regular season. At stake is a piece of the Big North Conference title and a state playoff berth.

But students at both high schools know tonight's game is about more than just football.

It's about heart.

In the days and hours prior to kickoff, school spirit flows through the halls like blood through the veins.

There's something different about this game, compared to others during the season. Every banner taped to the walls, every T-shirt sold, every person dressed in green or black — it all means more.

"It's pretty much to see who's going to be the talk of the town for the next year," said Anthony Gilland, 16, a West sophomore who plays junior varsity football. "It's the game we're going to remember."

Gaylord blanks Cadillac, qualifies

GAYLORD (Oct. 20) — On a night when swirling winds and drenching rains made it next to impossible to throw the ball, Gaylord depended on its running game to qualify for the playoffs.

The Blue Devils (5-3, 3-2), known all season for their high-powered passing attack, rushed for 339 yards en route to a 35-0 victory over Big North foe Cadillac (2-7, 0-5).

The Blue Devils qualified for the playoffs for the sixth time in Will Cleaver's eight-year tenure as coach.

A Will and a way

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 20) — Will Conklin had never caught three touchdowns in his career.

And neither had anyone in the history of the Traverse City Central-Traverse City West rivalry game.

Both streaks came to a halt on Friday.

Conklin hauled in three touchdowns from J.T. Hogan — including a spectacular diving catch in the end zone — as Traverse City West completed a 25-20 come-from-behind win in front of an estimated 8,000 fans on a wet, windy night that would decide which of the two rivals would continue to play this season.

Conklin made a leaping catch in the end zone in the second quarter that was the highlight of the game.

The win puts West in the playoffs and leaves Central at 5-4 and with very slim hopes of making the 256-team postseason field a year after a winless season.

Fall Classic

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 20) — Traverse City is a football town. It always has been.

Sure we turn our heads when the Red Wings are in town, and are happy about the Tigers' revival. But it's still a town that's all about football, as anyone who ventured near Thirlby Field was reminded of Friday night.

The excitement buzzed through Running Stadium much like the southwest wind that howled across the field. The student bodies from Traverse City West and Central schools traded chants of "This is our house" with taunts of "We can't hear you" as fans packed the stands and lined two and three-deep around the field to watch the action.

But the fanfare, and level of competition, that swirled around Friday's game was like a blast from the past. The game was huge, and not just because a lot was on the line for the two teams in terms of a conference title and a playoff berth.

This night belonged to the West Titans. After the Trojans played a near-flawless first half that would have made their teams of years ago proud, the bigger, stronger team in green took control of a game that was clean, hard-hitting and well-played in rainy, windy conditions. Now West moves on to the playoffs, hoping to create another memory in the legacy of Traverse City football.

Titans hold their place at D1 final

allendale (Oct. 21) — Traverse City West finished what they started — in the same place.

The Titans — sixth after the first day of the Division 1 golf state final at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University — placed sixth with a team score of 737.

West cut 15 shots off its score from the first day.

"We stayed in sixth, but we dropped from a 376 to a 361, which was nice," West coach Cathy Coon said. "They did a lot of great things out there today and played well as a team."

Grand Blanc won the title with a 656 followed by Rochester (686) and Northville (707).

Brooke Rodes led TC West with an 84 for a two-round total of 173.

Olivia Casciano shot an 88, Jordan Newhouse an 89 and Leighanna Whiting a 100 for the Titans. Newhouse finished with a 184, Casciano a 186 and Whiting a 194.

TC West blows by Dow, 6-0

MIDLAND (Oct. 21) — The defending Division 1 state soccer champions were able to blow by Midland Dow and win a seventh straight district title.

Traverse City West had the wind at its back in the first half and scored all of its goals before the intermission in a 6-0 rout of the Chargers.

"There were 30 mph gusts," TC West coach Jason Carmien said. "We had the wind in the first half and we had four goals in the first 15 minutes and six overall.

"In the second half we just defended."

TC West (19-2) will continue to defend its state title at the Grand Blanc regional.

Norse win Div. 4 soccer title

SUTTONS BAY (Oct. 22) — Suttons Bay scored three second-half goals to beat Glen Lake 3-0 in the Division 4 district soccer final.

The Norsemen (19-5-1) will host North Muskegon in a regional opener.

The win was Suttons Bay's fifth over Glen Lake this season.

Blaine Fritz scored two goals in the first five minutes of the second half to give the Norsemen a cushion. Jason McKisson assisted on the first, Shane MacDonald the second. MacDonald scored the final goal, off an assist from Fritz.

Suttons Bay out-shot Glen Lake 14-6. Jared Orban was in goal for the Norsemen, the Northwest Conference co-champions.

Suttons Bay claims Northwest title

LELAND (Oct. 22) — Suttons Bay added the Northwest Conference volleyball tournament title to its regular season crown.

The Norse topped Kingsley 26-28, 26-24, 25-12, 25-23 in the final of the tourney. The same two teams were 1-2 in the regular season.

Suttons Bay reached the final with a 25-10, 25-14, 25-11 victory over Frankfort in the semifinals and then waited for Kingsley to get past Leland 25-12, 23-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-12.

Clarkson trips up TC West, 2-1

MIDLAND (Oct. 24) — There won't be back-to-back Division 1 championships for the Traverse City West soccer team.

Clarkston eliminated the Titans from the regional tournament, 2-1.

West senior Casey Townsend, the reigning Mr. Soccer, suffered a "slight concussion" two minutes into the game and had to be taken out, said Titans head coach Jason Carmien.

"But the kids played hard without him," said Carmien, whose team finished 19-3. "We were only down 2-1 with 10 minutes to go. We played well; we just came up short."

Carmien said Townsend's injury came on a throw-in, when he and another Clarkston hit heads.

Oliver Kupe put the Wolves ahead 1-0 with a header off a corner kick nine minutes into the contest.

Clarkston made it 2-0 when Andy Pinkos tallied with 20 minutes left in the game.

Joe Dommer's unassisted goal 10 minutes later cut the margin to 2-1 for West.

The Titans had a chance to tie the game with a minute to go, but their free kick sailed over the cross bar.

One goal enough for SB, Alcona

SUTTONS BAY (Oct. 24) — Jason McKisson scored the only goal of the game with 9:17 remaining as Suttons Bay edged North Muskegon 1-0 and advanced to the Division 4 regional soccer final.

Suttons Bay (25-1) will play Lincoln-Alcona at 7 p.m. The Tigers advanced with a 1-0 win over Harbor Light Christian.

McKisson's goal was assisted by Connor Ott and came after McKisson settled the ball in front from 12 yards out.

Freshman Jared Orban was the winning goalie for Suttons Bay, turning away seven shots including two that turned the tide.

Norse coach Randy U'Ren was impressed by his team's composure after North Muskegon received three yellow cards and a red card.

"I'm so proud of the way we played and the class we showed," U'Ren said.

West sews up share of BNC

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 25) — Kill efficiency in volleyball is like a batting average in baseball: Hit .300 and you're doing well.

When it comes to the Big North, Traverse City West is hitting .900.

The Titans clinched at least a share of its ninth league title in the 10 seasons of the conference with a 25-17, 25-11, 25-12 victory over TC Central.

TC West finished the league with a 9-1 mark while Cadillac is a half-game back at 8-1. The Vikings close out league play against TC Central.

Michigan Tech honors TC's Baic

HOUGHTON (Oct. 25) — Traverse City High School graduate Milan Baic will be one of seven former Michigan Tech University athletes inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame.

Baic was an a three-time All-American Nordic skier for the Huskies. He earned four letters from 1977-81 and was named CISA's most valuable skier in 1979-80.

He finished in the top five of the 15-kilometer race at the National Collegiate Ski Association Championships in 1981.

Baic will be honored at halftime of the Michigan Tech-Gannon football game as well as at a banquet and MTU hockey game.

Joining Baic will be football players John Groves and Fred Guenther, standout hockey goaltenders Bruce Horsch and Jim Warden, women's basketball star D'Andra Poyfair-Walter and volleyball standout Kristan Schuster.

TC West swimmers lap Devils

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 26) — On Senior Night, Traverse City West's three seniors — Keeli DePoister, Jordan Newhouse and Sarah Roper — each had a hand in three wins as the Titans swam past Gaylord 139-47 at the Civic Center pool.

Individually, DePoister won the 100 backstroke (1:09.74) and Roper captured the 100 breaststroke (1:21.59).

All of Newhouse's wins came through relays — the 200 medley with DePoister, Roper and Erin Holstad; the 200 freestyle with Kate Reed, Roper and DePoister; and the 400 free with Amy Brunner, Sarah Brunner and Shelby Newhouse.

Holstad won the 100 freestyle in 56.26, good enough to qualify for the state meet.

Also winning for the Titans were Amy Brunner (200 free), Shelby Newhouse (200 individual medley), Sarah Brunner (50 free), Shea Williams (500 free) and Kara Pohlman in diving.

Sophomores strong for Central Lake

CENTRAL LAKE (Oct. 27) — Two sophomores stepped to the forefront for the Central Lake Trojans on Friday.

Jared Danbert scored three touchdowns and Nate Peterson two as Central Lake advanced to the Division 8 district championship game with a 32-6 win over Pickford.

The Trojans (9-1) will host Cedarville (10-0) for the district title. Cedarville edged Iron Mountain North Dickinson 12-8 in its district opener.

Central Lake is the defending district champion.

"This is a great win for these kids," Trojan coach Adam Grybauskas said after beating Pickford.

Mancelona wins first playoff game

ROGERS CITY (Oct. 27) — Adam Duerksen rushed for 243 yards and four touchdowns as Mancelona won its first football playoff game in school history with a 38-14 Division 7 district victory at Rogers City.

Duerksen's first touchdown came on a 47-yard reverse. It staked the Ironmen (8-2) to an 8-6 lead at half.

He scored on runs of 35, 15 and 1 in the second half.

James Johnson added a 3-yard scoring run. Johnson finished with 58 yards rushing.

"This was a big win," Mancelona coach Dan Derrer said. "We played really well, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. It was probably our best all-around game of the the year."

Benzie boys, girls qualify for states

BENZONIA (Oct. 28) — Benzie Central's top runner finished seventh. It's seventh was 24th.

That kind of depth led the Huskies to a boys Division 3 regional championship and state finals berth, seven points ahead of Elk Rapids.

Benzie also qualified on the girls side, putting seven runners in the top 25 of the 14-team race — including individual champ Devyn Ramsey and runner-up Michael Carnegie — to finish eight points behind regional champ Pine River. Kingsley was third.

Gaylord falls in offensive shootout

MT. PLEASANT (Oct. 29) — It was expected to be an offensive showcase and it was.

Mt. Pleasant outscored visiting Gaylord 49-35 in a thrilling Division 3 playoff game. The teams combined for 1,268 yards offense.

Gaylord ends its season with a 6-3 mark while Mt. Pleasant (7-3) advances to the district finals against Sault Ste. Marie.

Two marathons in two days for TC man

TRAVERSE CITY (Oct. 30) — Tony Anderson can cross two states off his list.

Anderson, who is attempting to run marathons in all 50 states before he turns 65, knocked off two in one weekend recently when he finished the Kansas City Marathon (Oct. 20) and the Des Moines Marathon (Oct. 21).

For Anderson, general manager at Cherryland Electric, it was his seventh marathon in his seventh state — and his fourth in the last 11 months.

It was the first time, though, he ran marathons on consecutive days.

Despite the travel and the strenuous physical test, he was back at work that Monday morning.

"I didn't know how I would feel since I had never done this before," he said. "On Sunday (after the second marathon) I told myself, 'I'll never do this again. But by Monday I thought, 'I might try it again.' I felt good."

Anderson, 45, ran the Kansas City Marathon with friends and training partners Dean Bott and Kevin Krause. Bott finished in 3 hours, 50 minutes; Krause 3:55; and Anderson 4:26. Bott and Krause opted for the half-marathon in Des Moines the following day. Anderson covered the 26.2 miles in 4:45.

Norse, Rayders advance

GLEN LAKE (Oct. 31) — District favorites Suttons Bay and Charlevoix won their Class C district openers at Glen Lake.

But after the Rayders swept the host Lakers, Suttons Bay lost its first game before dispatching TC St. Francis 20-25, 25-16, 25-11, 25-17.

Suttons Bay (48-8-4) advanced to face Mancelona in the district semifinals while Charlevoix takes on East Jordan.

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