  Girls Finish Strong At Regionals
Photos by Joan Ludtke and Rachel Rodriguez Coach Atwood: The Cross Country team competed at Regionals hosted by Benzie Central High School on Saturday, October 30. The girls team finished their season with a 7th place finish in a field of 15 teams. Annie Feldpausch was 17th, Kiara Edwards 36th, Jolena Deaton 44th, Courtney LaClair 45th, Ryleigh Balke 50th, Cecelia Rodriguez 54th and Allie Rodriguez 60th. Competing in the Post Regional Open Meet was Ashton Byle in 4th place, Avery Bowman 19th, Keagan Kailing 28th, and Zane Keith 49th and Sydnee Ochs was 40th in the girls' PROM. The boys team won the Region 29 race, besting 2nd place Mason County Eastern by 16 points. Individual Regional medalists were Coleson Cruzan in 6th place, Nathan Ciolk 10th, and Kobe Canning 12th. Our top three also earned team medals, along with Kaleb Canning in 17th, Carson Foondle 19th, Malachi Graves 24th and Christian Ringler was 32nd. The boys have qualified for the State Meet in Brooklyn, MI on November 6th at Michigan International Speedway. Running personal best times on Saturday were Avery Bowman, Ashton Byle, Kaleb Canning, Coleson Cruzan, Carson Foondle, Malachi Graves, Zane Keith, Ryleigh Balke, Kiara Edwards, and Allie Rodriguez. Season best times were achieved by Kobe Canning, Christian Ringler, Jolena Deaton, Annie Feldpausch, and Cecelia Rodriguez. Congratulations to all the runners!
0 Comments
   White Cloud falls to Eagles in rain soaked playoff game Photos by Cassie Rickert It hasn’t been easy for White Cloud when it comes to the gridiron for a while now. For three full decades and a couple more years beyond, the right side of the W-L column has outweighed the left every season with the exception of the ‘03 team. Those years included twice when there weren’t even enough players to effectively field a team. But they have always been a resilient group. I’ve been on the sidelines when Cloud teams were significantly outmanned yet never let down and battled to the final ticks of the clock. Thus, it has been great to see the team make it into the playoffs. Their opposition was a top seeded highly talented Carson City Crystal team that holds a vision of going deep into the tournament. The result was a 40-3 loss on the Eagles home field in what turned out to be a mud bowl. But they got in. All season long they played with pride and this young team put together more wins than any Cloud team since that ‘03 group. WC has had a lot of success in other sports along the way. Baseball, softball, basketball, cross, track and volleyball have all had their days in the sun. Maybe now it’s football’s turn. Earning a spot in the postseason helps build programs and as I said they are young and hungry. Let’s see what next season brings. Go Cloud.      Photo and story by Alexis Mercer Tri-County 36 - Grant 14 After a dominant performance by his Vikings in the opening game of the playoff season, Head Coach Phil Butler said: "Very proud of our guys. They executed in all 3 phases and came out and played very physical against a very good football program. They set a goal to get back to the district title game. They have worked extremely hard to make that happen and now get the opportunity to play in it. This game was great for our players and community." Tri-County came to play, marching the ball down the field and scoring on the opening drive. They added 2 points to go up 8-0 and they would not let up from there.  The Tigers weren't without their highlights and solid play. Grant's Brady Jacobs intercepted a pass on the Vikings 17. But in the first half the Tigers failed to put points on the board. In fact, they did not score until the 4th quarter when they were down 36-0. Grant would score one more touchdown within the final minutes of the game, but it would be the Vikings who will move on to host Muskegon Oakridge next week in the District Final game.   Rain, puddles and mud are not usually conducive to fast times while running. But the Lions Cross Country runners were not going to let a little mud stop them from having a race to be proud of. For most of them, it would be their last run of the season. The girls ran first, as they have all year. Sophomore Remington Arney put herself in with the lead pack and stayed there the rest of the race. She would end up with a 9th place finish, earning All-Region honors and a trip to Michigan International Speedway next weekend for her second State Finals appearance. The remainder of the team would run aggressively and finish in the respective times: Zoey Walerzcek (9th, 23:56, PR), Olivia DeJohn (10th, 24:14), Elizabeth Chaffee (11th, 24:30), Lyda Lathrop (11th, 25:32), Aamori Paz (10th, 25:47), Connelly Hefferan Nordlund (11th, 26:56). Division 2 boys ran after the Division 4 boys and the course was a little more beat up by then. The rain was a little more steady by then. And the air was a little cooler by then as well. But the boys are tough and were excited to end their season with a bang. Michael Murray led the Lions with his final race in a Newaygo Cross jersey, crossing the finish line in 20:36. Junior Bryce Grugett came across next with a 21: 43, followed by sophomore Mathew Miedema in 22:10 and sophomore Luke Acton in 23:26.
 Regional Champion Conor Somers attacks the hill at the 1 mile mark 2021 XC Regional at Chip Hills
Very wet/mist and muddy – some wind. Cool temps. Taava Johnson (sr) qualifies for the State Finals. Taava ran her best race and time of year despite the tough conditions. She knew where she had to be to give herself a shot at making it to finals, and she put herself there and stayed there. She finished 16th, she was seeded 28th or so. Elise Pfieffer (so), Shyann Callison (fr), Rachel Maddox (fr), and Amy Perret (sr) all ran solid races while Carol Portelinha (sr) and Marcella De Aquino turned in PR’s despite the conditions. The girls placed 13th of 17 with 361 points. After a 4th and 2 second places Conor Somers (sr) was finally able to claim a regional title. He led the team to a 2nd place with 77 points. The boys ran a solid race, but couldn’t quite hang with Petoskey who scored 63. Brennan Schuler (sr) joined Conor on the All-Region team with his 14th place finish. Gavin Schuler (sr) placed 17th, with our “pack of 4” Carter Sherman (fr), Cole Lowery (fr), Sean Pettis (so), and Johnny Christensen (so) placing 22, 23, 24, and 26. I think those young guys ran really well and gain a lot of experience in their first regional meet. None of that group were seeded in the top 30. All-Region Conor Somers – Regional Champion Brennan Schuler State Qualifiers Boys Team Taava Johnson The stat qualifiers will run next Saturday afternoon and the Michigan International Speedway. Full results can be found here - https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/193138/results Coach  By Hesperia Volleyball Coach Monica Grimard N3- The annual Lori Vargas Volley Against Violence Tournament has been raising money since 2012 to help organizations that deal with domestic violence while increasing awareness of this pervasive problem. Panther Coach Monica Grimard has spearheaded the gathering since organizing the initial VAV with then Coach Joan David. The name of the event was changed 5 years ago to honor its namesake whose life was ended by domestic violence. Ms. Vargas was the mother of a former Panther player. On Saturday, October 23rd Hesperia was able to host their annual Lori Vargas Volley Against Violence Tournament after having to get creative and split the annual tournament into 4 quads in 3 locations last year with all of the COVID restrictions. This year 15 teams were able to compete in a 12 hour awareness event, spread out carefully, of course! Hesperia, Newaygo, White Cloud, Fremont, Grant, Marion, Cedar Springs, Pentwater, Chippewa Hills, Reed City, Tri-County, Frankfort, and Onekama were all returning teams, while Mason County Eastern and Montabella were newcomers this year to the annual event. Outlasting 13 other teams, Fremont and Grant ended as co-champions. This past Thursday evening they played for the bigger trophy and bragging rights,and also the gold division championship for the CSAA. The Tigers won that match and the Packers will get a chance for redemption when they meet in the Districyt opener on Monday. Ten players were chosen by the officials for the All-Tournament Team. Lacey McCallum from Hesperia, Kayla Fisk from Newaygo, Carson Scarlavai from White Cloud, Alexis LaCount from Fremont, Chloe Chase from Grant, Kendra Ray from Chippewa HIlls, Makenna Outwin and Kennedi Jager from Cedar Springs, Katelynn Holmes from Reed City, and Taylor Kruse from Marion.  The Panthers came out on top of their pool, with the record of 3 wins and a split with Newaygo 25-24, 24-25, after coming back in game 2 from a 1-14 deficit, the lady Panthers battled to earn the number #1 seed. Next, it was on to tournament play and the Panthers battled three exciting sets with the Packers of Fremont with the scores 20-25, 25-20, and 9-15. Panther offensive leaders were Elli McAree with 31 kills, Emma Joppich and Emmet Tinkham with 17 and 16 kills respectively, and 13 kills from Lacey McCallum. Additionally, McCallum had 75 assists on the day and 22 aces. Joppich and Tinkham had 18 and 14 aces at the service line as well. Defensively, Joppich and Emma Muckey each had 32 digs on the day, while McCallum added 22 digs for the Panthers. McAree had 4 blocks, Tinkham and Caitlyn Frees each added a block for the Panthers. Although all the totals are not added, we feel it was a successful day of volleyball, fundraising, and awareness! We would like to thank all who helped to make a successful event! “Domestic violence does not discriminate. Anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender can be a victim – or perpetrator – of domestic violence. It can happen to people who are married, living together or who are dating. It affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.”-Tracy Malone   Photo by Joan Ludtke Cross Country Coach Atwood: White Cloud Cross Country hosted 89 runners from Hart, North Muskegon, GR Chariots of Fire, Mason County Central, and Holton on Tuesday, October 26. The boys finished 2nd to the talented Pirates of Hart. Nathan Ciolk finished 6th, Kobe Canning 8th, Coleson Cruzan 9th, Carson Foondle 16th, Kaleb Canning 17th, Malachi Graves 20th, Ashton Byle 24th, Christian Ringler 28th, Nik Parks 32nd, Wyatt Karnes 38th, Avery Bowman 44th, Keagan Kailing 45th, Jarrett Warlick 48th, and Zane Keith 51st. The Lady Indians finished third to Hart (ranked #1 in D3) and Mason County Central. Annie Feldpausch finished 7th, Kiara Edwards 18th, Courtney LaClair 24th, Jolena Deaton 30th, CeCe Rodriguez 34th, Allie Rodriguez 35th, and Sydnee Ochs 38th. Congratulations to all the runners. White Cloud's next race will be the Regional 29 at Benzie Central High School on Saturday, October 30. Racing starts at 9:30. Volleyball Coach Strait: Last night the Lady Indians dropped a match to Kent City. Leaders on the night were Abby Derks with 6 kills, Carsyn Scarlavai with 11 assists, and Elizabeth Compeau with 14 digs. Tonight (Thursday), the Seniors will play their last home match. Game time is at 7:00.  Photo by Brent Foondle  Cloud Cross notches another Invite win
Coach Atwood: The White Cloud Boys Varsity team wrapped up their last invitational for the season with another win and brought home their fifth championship trophy for 2021. In our division, Nathan Ciolk finished 4th, Coleson Cruzan 5th, Carson Foondle 17th, Kaleb Canning 43rd, Asthon Byle 47th, Malachi Graves 24th, Christian Ringler 26th, and Avery Bowman 39th. Medal winners included Nate Ciolk, Coleson Cruzan, Carson Foondle, Kaleb Canning, and Ashton Byle. Good job, guys! Our next meet is Tuesday, at home.  Seriously...who the heck is this guy? The second season begins this week for four of our area teams.
Division 5 Grant at Tri County, Friday 7pm. The Grant Tigers will make a return visit to Tri County, the site of their encounter earlier this season when the Vikings lit up the scoreboard with 40 points to the 14 the Tigers were able to tally. It was a low point for the Grant team after opening with losses to a pair of highly ranked teams in Comstock Park and Reed City plus a forfeit win over Chip Hills. After the loss to TC they were 0-3 when taking the field but rebounded with wins over Fremont and Newaygo before dropping a pair of close ones and finishing with the Kent City victory that propelled them into the playoffs. The Vikes have had a dream season marred only by a 6 point loss to eventual conference champ Reed City. They have reeled off 6 straight wins since then including a few comebacks behind an uptempo offense anchored by a strong running game and a big play defense. Their last 2 wins required some Viking magic in the 4th and this is a team that simply believes they can win each time they take the field. Grant is a better team than the one that visited TC 6 weeks ago. But so is their opponent. The winner will face the survivor of Big Rapids vs Oakridge. Eagle fans are accustomed to playoff football with the program playing past game #9 in 26 of the last 27 years while claiming a trio of state titles along the way. The Cards were taken out of last season’s all inclusive tourney by Oakridge and their passing game will need to be on fire to have a shot at game #11. Division 8 White Cloud at Carson City Crystal, Friday 7pm The good news is that White Cloud made the tourney. The bad news is they face a Carson City Crystal team that has rolled over opponents with the exception of a scoreless effort against conference rival Breckenridge 3 weeks ago that cost them the conference crown. Last season in the playoffs the Eagles lost a close one to eventual state finalist Ubly and many players remain from that team. Even including the shutout CCC is averaging 40 points a game. The most the Cloud has put on the board was a 33 point effort in the season opener and their non forfeit wins came against teams with a combined record of 2-24. Not saying the Cloud doesn’t have a chance here but a lot would have to go their way. A whole lot. Holton at Muskegon Heights, Saturday 1pm This one should be pretty interesting. The Heights haven’t won a game on the field in 6 weeks since besting conference rival Manistee. It was also their only win against a team with a winning record. The Red Devils are a enigma. The team shows signs of being a really good team and can fall short in games they should win. They can put up points behind their strong passing attack but like many high school air games it can be prone to turnovers. The defense gives up points...a lot of points...and the offense needs to outshoot opponents to give the Devs a shot at a win. But the Tigers also yield plenty of points. This one might need a calculator to keep track of the score but we’re hoping the Devs win so N3 contributor Joe Mclean can continue to gift us with his innovative and insightful views of the game. The winners of these games will face each other in the District Finals Other CSAA teams in the playoffs Manistee at Reed City The ‘Yotes should handle this one against a Manistee team that is probably pretty happy to be in the playoff round. Central Montcalm at Montague The Hornets are a good team but they better bring their best game to the lakeshore because Montague at home will be a rough go.  Warrior Invite – Chip Hills
Cool and Calm - Great Weather We run here every year and every year we think it is one of the best courses in Michigan. Some hills, some flat, some woods, some open field and well measured. The trails are wide and always well groomed. The girls ran really well with many turning in PRs. The meet was two divisions run together but scored separately. I will giving over all placings not division placings. Senior Taava Johnson led the way in 7th place running 25 seconds faster than she did here last year. Elise Pfeiffer (so) PR’d by 40 seconds with an outstanding performance to place 30th. Shyann Callison (fr), Carol Portelinha (sr), Marcella De Aquino (sr), and Amandine Perret (sr) all ran PR’s also. I don’t have the division team scores but the girls placed 11th with 274 pts in the combined team scoring. The boys ran a quality race also with several PR’s. Conor Somers (sr) led the field with a 15:43. Brennan and Gavin Schuler (sr) both placed in the top ten while our 4-7 continue to develop some really strong pack running. Carter Sherman (fr), Sean Pettis (so), Hernik Quist (jr), and Johnny Christensen (so) worked together the majority of the race and all finished within 4 seconds of each other in 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th places. Carter, Sean and Henrik all scored Pr’s. The boys won their division and the combined scoring with 27 pts. Reed City was 2nd with 114. We will return to Chip Hills on Friday for our Regional race. Results can be found here - https://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/meet/191791/results Warrior Invite JV Race Cool and Calm weather Blake Taylor (fr) seized the lead in the first 100 and never relinquished it. He did a great job maintaining his intensity throughout the whole race to win comfortably with a new PR of 19:17. Lucas Bradley (fr) moved up over the first mile to take over 2nd place. He ran strong over the last mile to extend his lead over 3rd to over a minute. Brandron Rasmussen (fr) running his first race in Fremont colors, placed 8th in 23:41. Coach |
Archives
October 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed