Traverse City Record-Eagle

2007 In Review

January 31, 2008

Sports In Review: January 2007

Manistee takes title at Kalkaska Tournament

KALKASKA (Jan. 1) — A strong first half helped Manistee win the Kalkaska Christmas basketball tournament with a 64-54 victory over the host school in the championship game.

Manistee led 14-11 after the opening quarter and increased its advantage to 33-18 at halftime.

Jake Kiss led the Chippewas (7-1) with 22 points and five assists. Andrew Tighe added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Chris Keller led Kalkaska (1-5) with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Ryan Lietow added seven points and five assists and Steven Bobofiglio six points.

Oh mercy: Titans run up 11-2 win

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 4) — AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" blared over the loud speaker as Traverse City West entered the rink.

A few moments later, it was the No. 6 Titans who were feeling that way, as 1-7 Cadillac surprisingly led 1-0 just 3:17 into the game.

From there on, it was the Vikings who were shaking, as TC West awoke and bolted away with an 11-2 Big North Conference rout that enacted the goal-differential rule with 10:09 left in the second period. From there, the clock ran and the game was halted after two periods, due to the lead being eight or more goals after 30 minutes of play.

"Everybody played well, and we're finding that to be a key for our team," West coach Anthony Palumbo said. "If everybody plays well, we'll be a successful team."

Players, teams academic all-state

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 4) — Paul Elliott of Traverse City St. Francis and Eric Hagadorn of Gaylord St. Mary have been named first team academic all-state by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.

Their teams were also recognized as academic all-state — St. Francis in Division 7 and St. Mary in Division 8.

The Glads were second in the state with a 3.866 grade-point average, just 0.004 behind Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

The Snowbirds won the Division 8 title with a 3.849 GPA. Frankfort was second (3.814) and Onaway fourth (3.651).

Other northern Michigan teams named all-state were: Division 2, Traverse City Central (3.768); Division 3, Gaylord (3.814); Division 4, Cadillac (3.739); Division 5, Grayling (3.575); Division 6, Suttons Bay (3.705), Lake City (3.656), Charlevoix (3.586) and Boyne City (3.418); and Division 8, Bellaire (3.498).

Mother Nature is hurting business

GRAYLING (Jan. 7) — Jerry Balmes gave up on this winter tourism season weeks ago.

He's not even going to open his ski resort, Skyline Ski and Country Club in Grayling.

"Anyone with a business in northern Michigan is a gambler. We gamble on the weather. Sometimes we win. This winter we lose," Balmes said from his deserted lodge as he peered outside at a dry ski run.

The combination of no snow, high expenses, a sluggish economy and very few tourists helped Balmes decide to remain closed this winter, he said.

Snow-dependent businesses across the region are feeling a financial crunch as the white stuff continues to elude the northern stretches of the Lower Peninsula. Many business owners say it's going to be a difficult since no significant snowfall is forecast anytime soon.

TC Home School's Towersey signs

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 7) — Katie Towersey, who helped the Traverse City Bulldogs win a home school state basketball championship, has signed a letter of intent to play at Division III Kuyper College in Grand Rapids.

Towersey, daughter of Chuck and Susan Towersey, will join a college basketball program that is in its infancy. She plans to study elementary or secondary education.

Towersey played two season for the Bulldogs, who finished 22-1 in 2006 under coaches Kris and Rachelle Crosby. She averaged 10.4 points, three assists and three steals during her senior season.

Benzie wrestlers shine at tourney

GOBLES (Jan. 8) — The Benzie Central wrestling team turned in a solid performance at the Gobles Team/Individual Tournament.

The Huskies defeated Covert 54-24, Twin Lakes 82-0 and Gobles 42-36 in the team portion of the tournament, then medaled 12 of 14 wrestlers in the individual portion.

Leading the way were Brad Frostic (140 pounds) and Jimmy Frederick (285), who won titles, and Ryan Couturier (215), who placed second.

TC reaches silver final at Bay City

BAY CITY (Jan. 8) — Traverse City Central lost a close match to Midland Dow in the silver bracket final of the Bay City Central Invitational volleyball tournament.

The Trojans (9-13) went 0-3 in pool play, falling to semifinalist Alma 25-23, 25-20, eventual tournament champion Mount Pleasant 25-16, 25-6 and tourney runner-up Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker 25-23, 25-20.

Central rebounded with a 14-25, 25-18, 23-21 win over Bay City Central in the silver bracket quarterfinals and a 19-25, 25-12, 15-9 victory over Saginaw Heritage in the semifinals.

Pacing the Trojans, who travel to Gaylord for a Big North Conference match on Wednesday, were Laura Dwyer (36 kills), Jessica Hoffman (16 kills, 22 digs), Laura Spencer (21 kills), Barbara Burke (56 assists), Maddie Lagina (35 assists) and Brittany O'Neal (33 digs).

Titans make statement

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 11) — The job isn't over.

Despite an impressive 8-2 victory over hockey rival Traverse City Central to avenge a 9-0 loss last year, the cross-town TC West squad isn't taking anything for granted.

"They have two things we want, and that's the Big North (title) and bragging rights," Titans defenseman Jack Sherwood said. "And we want both back."

The Division 1 No. 4-ranked Titans (9-5) justified their ranking, and have now defeated both the defending state champions (TC Central) and the No. 1-ranked team in the state (Orchard Lake St. Mary's) in the same season.

West still unbeaten in Big North

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 11) — Cadillac did something no Big North Conference volleyball team has done to Traverse City West in two seasons.

The Vikings went one step further, winning two games from the four-time defending league champions.

But the Titans wouldn't be denied, winning the final two games to top Cadillac 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 15-8) in a battle of league unbeatens.

"That's all right, we still won the match," said West coach Emily Lovejoy, whose team improves to 4-0 in conference play. "We took it when it counted."

Charlevoix wins volleyball showdown

CHARLEVOIX (Jan. 12) — It's not a good thing to go into a Lake Michigan Conference volleyball showdown without your team's leading hitter.

It didn't seem to slow down Charlevoix.

The Rayders overcame the loss of Ashley Bradley to an ankle injury to top Boyne City 25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 25-22.

Bethany Pearson had 13 kills and Sasha Spencley 12 kills, 12 digs and three aces for the Rayders (15-6, 4-0). Desi Faust added 11 kills, Emily Heffling 11 digs, Aubrey Way 15 digs and 17 assists and Zita Anderson 14 assists and 12 digs.

TC Christian claims Frankfort Invite

FRANKFORT (Jan. 14) — Traverse City Christian, led by tournament MVP Anne Friedlander, beat Northport 27-25, 25-19 to win the six-team Frankfort Volleyball Invitational.

The Sabres (15-2) beat Leelanau School and Northport in pool play. Christian beat Frankfort (25-11, 25-18) in the semifinals.

Northport reached the finals by beating Bear Lake (25-27, 25-14, 15-9) in the semifinals. The Wildcats were 1-1 in pool play.

Bear Lake beat Frankfort for third (25-21, 26-24). Bear Lake was 2-0 in pool play, but lost to Northport in the semifinals. Frankfort was 1-1 in pool play.

Buckley defeated Leelanau School for fifth.

Joining the Sabres' Emily Morgan on the all-tournament team were Northport's Octavia Buss, Bear Lake's Jackie Griffith, Frankfort's Kirsten Rice, Buckley's Norah Chalker and Leelanau School's Natalie Stow.

Elks clip Central; West rolls

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 14) — The Elk Rapids Elks pulled out a 16-14 win over the Traverse City Central Trojans in the Great Northwest Bowling Conference.

The Trojans rolled a 172 to win the first Baker game. The Elks rallied with a 185 in the second to finish with a 328-312 edge and a 6-4 lead as the teams headed into the regular game portion.

The Trojans pulled ahead 11-8 with strong games from Steve Tate (197) and Matt Rosinksi (185). Stephen Pina rolled a 194 to win his point as did Wes Phillips. But the Elks rebounded with an 888 team game as Phillips (194) and Jacob Wilson (231) came up big for the Elks. Rosinski had a 199 for the Trojans, who had 1687 total pins, five less than the Elks' 1692.

Traverse City West improved to 4-0 by beating Traverse City Christian (0-4) 30-0. Steven Turner led the Titans with a 426 series (214,212).

St. Francis (2-2) beat Benzie (1-3) 30-0. Mike Dendrinos 397 series (193, 204) and Joe Balog 391 (177, 214) led the way for the Glads. Jason Gray rolled a 180 for the Huskies.

Harbor Springs knocks off TCSF

HARBOR SPRINGS (Jan. 17) — Traverse City St. Francis coach Pat Cleland would like to exchange the gift that Harbor Springs gave him for his 40th birthday.

The Rams' Trent Moody sank the first of two free throws with 3.8 seconds left as Harbor stunned the Gladiators 65-64 in Lake Michigan Conference basketball.

St. Francis (9-2, 5-1 LMC) is ranked second in Class C by the Associated Press. The Rams (6-3, 4-2) have won five of their last six, including four in a row.

"Our kids are ecstatic. This was just a huge victory," said Harbor Springs coach Phil Hoffman. "We've been playing well. Hopefully we can keep building."

Titans start new streak with sweep

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 18) — The sweep streak starts anew.

Traverse City West — which lost a Big North Conference game for the first time in two seasons — topped rival TC Central 25-17, 25-13, 25-23 to close out the first half of the league campaign at 5-0.

Not bad for a team that doesn't even have a senior on its roster.

The match was also a learning experience for an equally young squad from TC Central (12-16, 3-2).

Unfortunately the Trojans have to learn how to play without 6-foot-2 freshman middle Laura Spencer. A herniated disc put Spencer on the sideline for the match against the Titans and likely for the season.

Central dominates West, 54-18

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 19) — In a season that began with plenty of questions, Traverse City Central may be finding some answers.

The Trojans, who returned only three starters from last season's Division 1 regional championship squad, improved their Big North Conference record to 2-1 with a 54-18 home victory over TC West.

It helped that Central's three returnees were all solid wrestlers — and leaders.

Last season, senior Will Arnold went 48-11, won a Big North title and reached the state finals. Senior Keegan Schrider was also a BNC champ, and junior Jacob Secor won 31 matches and reached the regional tournament.

Coach Rinal named the trio captains, along with senior Jake Hansen and junior Dylan Thorington.

All the captains were victorious, and no one was more impressive than the 119-pound Secor, who pinned the Titans' Tyler Hyde in 1:56 to give Central a 27-0 lead after five matches.

"I just go out there and wrestle hard," Secor said. "It doesn't matter who it is, I just want to do my best."

Norse top Leland in tourney final

GLEN LAKE (Jan. 21) — Suttons Bay, which lost to Leland earlier in the tournament, defeated the Comets 2-0 in the finals to claim the Glen Lake Invitational volleyball title.

Norse coach Mike Kelly said the win was Suttons Bay's first over Leland "in five or six years."

The Norse opened with wins of 21-6, 22-20 over Traverse City St. Francis and 21-19, 21-12 over Marine City Cardinal Mooney before losing to the Comets 21-11, 21-14.

Suttons Bay then defeated host Glen Lake twice — 21-11, 21-16 in the final match of pool play and 25-9, 25-8 in the semifinals.

Kingsley wins Whittemore tournament

WHITTEMORE (Jan. 22) — Kingsley pinned down the opposition at the Whittemore-Prescott Invitational, going a perfect 5-0 to win the title.

The Stags' (22-5) wrestlers downed Midland 46-18, Freeland 42-22, Whittemore-Prescott 41-18, Rudyard 53-12 and Oscoda 63-9 to wrap up the crown.

Kingsley had five wrestlers with marks as unblemished as the team's, as Austin Sanchez (119 pounds), Billy Preston (125), Joe McGrath (135), Warren Niewadomski (189) and Cary Tompkins (189/215) were each 5-0.

Plans under way for new trailhead

CHEBOYGAN (Jan. 23) — It looks like smooth sledding for a new trailhead in Cheboygan, at a spot just north of where the Gaylord-Cheboygan and Alpena-Mackinaw state trails intersect.

The trailhead will be at Lincoln Street and Western Avenue in Cheboygan, and state and local officials agreed to design the facility together.

Designs will be completed this year and construction likely will begin in early 2008, Cheboygan City Manager Scott McNeil said.

Local business owners lauded the trailhead concept and said it's sure to boost the economy by luring trail-users to the city along the Lake Huron shoreline.

Central sweeps Petoskey in three

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 25) — Maddie Lagina had 16 assists as Traverse City Central swept Petoskey, 25-21, 25-20, 25-14.

Meredith Aja had nine kills and five blocks and Laura Dwyer seven kills and seven blocks. Jessica Hoffman added seven kills and 17 digs for the Trojans (15-18, 4-2 Big North).

'We have enough snow'

BELLAIRE (Jan. 28) — Patience has paid off for the White Pine Stampede.

One week after officials were on the verge of canceling the 31st annual cross country ski race, director Jack McKaig has announced that the event will definitely be held in Antrim County.

"My stomach has stopped churning," McKaig said. "We have enough snow."

"Enough" is a relative term, McKaig warned. There is enough that two race distances will be offered — 10 kilometers and 20K — but not enough to save the marathon.

This will be the third consecutive year that the 50K race has been shortened or eliminated.

McGrath, Gillison claim wrestling titles

GAYLORD (Jan. 29) — Kingsley wrestler Joe McGrath and TC West's Trevor Gillison won their weight classes at the 29-team Northern Michigan Championships in Gaylord.

Kingsley was sixth and West eighth overall. Roscommon won the team title.

McGrath (38-2) won the 135-pound weight class, avenging his two losses in the process.

Jon Nuckles (Hwt.) and Rob Kautman (171) were third for Kingsley. Cary Tompkins (215) was fifth, Warren Niewadonski (189) and Billy Preston (125) sixth while Trevor Voice (103) and Cody Mutter (152) were seventh.

Gillison won the 125-pound division for West by going 4-0. Seth Chargo (145) was third for West with Dustin Drake (119), Jay Meyer (135) and Brad Gillison (140) seventh. Cal Meyer (171) placed eighth.

Rayders win LMC showdown

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 30) — The Charlevoix Rayders stayed perfect in the Lake Michigan Conference with a sweep over their closest rivals in the league volleyball race.

Charlevoix improved to 6-0 in the LMC and 25-10-1 overall with a 25-13, 25-20, 25-16 win over Traverse City St. Francis.

Pacing coach Liz Grunch's team were Desi Faust (9 kills, 3 aces), Aubrey Way (8 kills, 9 assists, 8 digs), Sasha Spencely (8 digs, 4 kills), Zita Anderson (10 assists), Emily Heffling (10 digs) and Bethany Pearson (10 digs, 7 blocks).

St. Francis drops to 11-10, 6-2, battling with Boyne City for second in the league behind the Rayders.

Titans come away with giant win

BELLAIRE (Jan. 30) — Some low-seeded skiers came up with big performances for Traverse City West.

With the Titans in a fight with Clarkston for first place in the annual Traverse City Central Ski Invitational at Schuss Mountain, No. 5 skier Lauren Lockwood finished third in the afternoon giant slalom and No. 6 Kaitlynn Schneider placed 10th.

That helped the West girls hold on for a 50.5-65 win over the Wolves. TC Central was third (118), followed by Petoskey (165), Harbor Springs (171), TC St. Francis (230), Cadillac (250), Lake Orion (254.5), Gaylord (259), TC Central B (297), Benzie Central (372) and TC West B (405).

Bums ink Vericker, Carter

TRAVERSE CITY (Jan. 31) — With pitching well ahead of most teams in the league, the Traverse City Beach Bums turned their focus to position players.

The Frontier League independent team re-signed first baseman Brad Vericker, finalizing a deal first announced in November, and also signed utilityman Justin Carter.

Vericker added instant offense to the Traverse City lineup last summer after being acquired in a late June trade with the Gary SouthShore RailCats. Vericker went on a tear from the start, ripping off a nine-game hitting streak and batting .392 with three homers and 16 RBI in his first 14 games.

Carter will be back in Traverse City in 2007 after spending training camp with the club last May. He did not make the final roster.

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