Did you see that? (9/24-9/30)
October 2, 2012
League champions have been crowned in a number of golf and tennis conferences, and we'll get to more of those next week. Volleyball and cross country provided the best of the non-football action from the week that was Sept. 24-30.
Volleyball
Make it 40: Adrian Madison has owned the Tri-County Conference over the last few seasons, and Thursday pushed its league winning streak for 40 with a pair of wins over Morenci, which also was undefeated in the league this season heading into the night. (Adrian Daily Telegram)
Another weekend, another win: Richland Gull Lake, ranked No. 2 in Class A, this time won the East Grand Rapids Invitational by going undefeated in a Gold division that including formerly-No. 5 Portage Central and new No. 10 East Grand Rapids, among others. (Grand Rapids Press)
Calumet makes it three: The Copper Kings are ranked No. 4 in Class C and have dominated the Upper Peninsula this fall, including at this weekend's Marquette Invitational. Their title march included a final match win over Houghton. It's the third time this season Calumet has beaten Houghton, which won the Copper Kings' District the last two seasons. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette)
Believe in Beal City: Some of the best small-school volleyball in the state is being played in the middle of the Lower Peninsula. Class D No. 3 Beal City downed Class C No. 2 St. Louis at the Sharks home invitational Saturday, and also beat Class C No. 7 New Lothrop on the way. (Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)
Cross country
Loaded fields at CCC: Some of the state's top competition, especially from the north and west, ran at the Carson City-Crystal Invitational on Saturday. Winning the four girls races were Division 2 No. 3 Ada Forest Hills Eastern, unranked Coopersville, Division 3 No. 1 Grandville Calvin Christian and Division 4 No. 3 Bear Lake/Onekama. The boys races were won by Division 4 No. 1 Pewamo-Westphalia, Division 3 No. 1 Grandville Calvin Christian, unranked Alma and Division 1 No. 7 Saginaw Heritage. Cedar Springs' Connor Mora (15:31) and Grand Rapids Christian's Julia Bos (17:37) were the fastest individuals. (Playmakers.com)
Escanaba in the highlight: The Escanaba boys team topped a field of 28 at the Munising Invitational with four finishers among the top 13. Sault Ste. Marie freshman Parker Scott continued his tremendous first season winning the individual title in 16:15. Calumet won the girls race, with Marquette's Lindsey Rudden leading the way individually in 18:21. (Escanaba Daily Press)
Seaholm makes statement: The Birmingham Seaholm girls, ranked No. 3 in Division 1, topped a field that included No. 2 Saline and No. 1 Grosse Pointe South (although without top runners Hannah and Haley Meier). Seaholm placed five finishers among the top 10 in the large school race at the Coaching Legends Classic in Brighton. Division 6 No. 1 Romeo won the boys race. (Oakland Press)
In Memoriam
Northern Michigan loses personality, official: The Traverse City area mourned the unexpected death of Scott Michael Trager, the morning anchorman at 9&10 News/Fox 32 and an MHSAA basketball official for nearly a decade. Trager, who was 46, had been at 9&10 since 1990 and assisted in the creation of the station's 'Sports Overtime" show. (9&10 News)
Story of the Week
Touchdowns for Teal: Those who have watched Monroe's football team this fall may have noticed the players' teal shoelaces, which certainly stand out against the otherwise red, white and black uniforms. The team is wearing them in support of Julie West, whose son Tom West is the standout quarterback. Julie is being treated for ovarian cancer. (Monroe Evening News)
High 5s: 9/26/2012
September 26, 2012
We're kicking off the 2011-12 school year with a newly-crowned MHSAA soccer goals leader, arguably the top female cross country runner in the state, and a boys tennis team that's risen from two wins two seasons ago to two wins over top-10 teams this past Saturday.
Each week, Second Half recognizes two athletes and a team for their successes during the current season. To nominate a candidate, email editor Geoff Kimmerly at [email protected].
Below are this week's honorees. Check back later this week for details plus links to stories on each.
Julia Bos
Grand Rapids Christian senior
Cross Country
Bos, the reigning Division 2 individual champion, is again dominating. Chief among her wins this season was a first place in the elite race at the Spartan Invitational at Michigan State, where she edged reigning MHSAA Division 1 champion Erin Finn of West Bloomfield. Bos finished in a time of 17:20, 15 seconds ahead of the field.
Up next: Bos isn't sure where yet, but she'd like to run next season at a Division I or II college. But she's set to major in biology and eventually go pre-med and become a surgeon. "I really just like science. I like anatomy and physiology. I like doing small detail things with my hands, I'm hands-on, and surgery sounds like a great career."
I look up to: "I don't know too many runners that well. But what I like about (West Bloomfield's) Erin Finn, she just seems to be really good at dealing with the pressure of fame and being on the top, being expected to win. She seems to have a good handle on that."
My favorite course: "I might have to say at the Foot Locker Midwest in (Kenosha) Wisconsin. It had a lot of hills, and I pr'd on that course. (Bos ran a personal record 17:14 and finished second.)
Aaron Chatfield
Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian senior
Soccer
Chatfield eclipsed the career goals record of Dearborn great Soony Saad by scoring his 173rd high school goal last week, and now has 178 and 267 points overall during his four-year varsity career. He's the youngest of five brothers who all played soccer at the school, including two more who rank on the all-time goals list and one who is first for career points -- but with only five more than Aaron has totaled heading into this weekend. His father Rusty was the team's longtime coach and taught him the fundamentals, and Aaron now plays for his older brother Lee, a former standout at the school.
Ready for any competition: “We have a high school with 35 students, and we play high schools with 200 or 300. We play the toughest schedule we can. We have really hard games and not so hard games. I know I can play with the best of them.”
Moves like Chatfield: "This year I've gotten a lot better with my scissor, or double scissor. Mainly, I'm a lot quicker than everybody. If somebody is back-peddling, I'll just push by them and run by them. But the easiest, I touch inside, then touch outside, then take a shot."
Up next: Chatfield is considering a variety of college programs including Division I Liberty and George Mason, NAIA Olivet Nazarene and Northland International (Wis.). He is considering an occupation in sports and ministry. "I would like to go to a Christian school, a school with a spiritual aspect to it. And I want to go to a school that plays good competition. If you want to play (soccer) at the next level, going to a big college is not a huge deal."
Go F.C.: Chatfield joins his brother Paul in rooting for Manchester City, but also enjoys watching Barcelona. His favorite player, like for many, is Messi. "Just how he can go so incredibly fast, even with the ball at his feet, it is so incredible."
Ludington Boys Tennis
The Orioles have improved from two wins two seasons ago to a 15th-place finish at the Division 4 Final in 2011, to defeating two top-10 teams at Saturday's Almont Invitational. Ludington, now ranked No. 6 by the coaches association, beat then-No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 5-3 and No. 10 Almont 6-2. The Orioles also beat Division 3 No. 9 Spring Lake on Thursday, and head into next week with a chance to finish the dual season 9-0 and win the Coastal Conference title.