Tyler Helton with the trophy the Tri County baseball team won in 2010. Courtesy photo.

On Friday, May 10, prior it the game against Traverse City West, the Tri County baseball team took a moment to remember an alumni from the team.

Last April, Tyler Helton, class of 2010, was killed in a hit and run accident. Tyler and his parents, Marty and Marcia Helton, were big supporters of Tri County baseball.

“In 2010, Tyler was the unquestioned leader of a team that finished 23-12 and won a district title,” said head baseball coach Chris Overbeek.

The Helton’s were presented with Tyler’s old uniform after the game, which Ryan McKeever wore to honor Tyler. A baseball was also placed on the right field wall bearing Tyler’s number 10.

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks girl’s track team hosted the first OK Bronze Conference track meet last weekend. The team scored 68 points and placed fourth in the meet. The final overall standings in the OK Bronze was fourth out of the six teams. Forest Hills Eastern won the conference meet and was first in the conference overall.

Senior Katie Weiler was the only event winner for the Red Hawks and earned all conference honors by winning the 3200-meter run. Katie also placed second in the 1600 run and teamed up with Allie Veltkamp, Ellie Ovokaitys and Maddie Pekrul to place second in the 3200 meter relay.  Sophomore Marissa Oakes also earned all conference. Marissa placed 4^th in the long jump, 6^th in the 100 meter hurdles and was a member of the third place 400 meter relay and fifth place 800 meter relay team.

Cedar Springs High School seniors Molly Holtrop (left) and Hannah Wight (right) signed with Grace Bible College last month to play basketball.

Long time teammates Hannah Wight and Molly Holtrop have been given an opportunity few players ever experience. After nine years of soccer and eight years of basketball together, hundreds of games and countless wins, these two perennial standouts will continue playing basketball together locally at Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids.

Wight and Holtrop both signed on April 14 to play at Grace under Head Coach Rich Renzema, who hopes to bring the Lady Tigers to the same national prominence as the Grace men’s team, with four NCCAA national championships. The last Cedar Springs Red Hawk to make it big at Grace was Jimmy Booth in 2006, Grace’s first national championship year.

Hannah and Molly have been three-year Varsity starters for the Lady Red Hawks basketball program under two different coaches. As current co-captains of their Varsity soccer team, they will complete three years of Varsity play, which includes an overtime District win against East Grand Rapids in their sophomore year. They round out their athletic accomplishments at Cedar Springs having also played volleyball, having won middle school conference titles in track, taken two first place Gus Macker trophies, and two first place titles at the national AYBT tournament (basketball) in Fort Wayne. They also participated in two annual Powder-Puff football games together during Red Flannel Weekend.  While they were busy doing all of that, they were also Honor Roll students every year.

Congratulations Hannah and Molly, and good luck!

Taylor Vanlangen passes off to Abby VanDusen in the 400 meter relay.

The girls track team traveled to Forest Hills Northern last week for a dual meet. The girls lost to Forest Hills Northern by a score of 79 to 54. The team’s record is now at 2 wins and 3 losses and they finished the league dual season in fourth place.

Placing first for the Red Hawks was Katie Weiler in the 800, 1600 and 3200 runs.  Briana Pierson in the high jump, Jeanette Sukstas in the shot and Abby VanDusen in the and long jump were the other individual winners. Also taking first was the 1600 meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Taylor Vanlangen, Alison Hall and Allie Veltkamp.

The second meet of the week for the team was the Red Hawk Invite on Saturday May 4 at Red Hawk Stadium. The girls placed fifth out of nine teams with 597 points. Rockford won the meet with Jenison placing second. Katie Weiler took the only first for the team with her win in the 3200 meter run. Marissa Oakes was second in the long jump with her best jump of the year at 16’ 4”. Abby VanDusen was right behind her in third place with a season best jump of 15’ 8”. Katie Weiler took the other individual third place for the team in the 1600 meter run. The 400 meter relay team of Marissa Oakes, Taylor Vanlangen, Abby VanDusen and Olivia Finch placed third also season best time of 53.07.

Briana Pierson was fourth in the high jump. Also placing fourth was the 1600 meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Abby VanDusen, Christina Dean and Allie Veltkamp.  The last top six performance was turned in by the 3200 meter relay team of Maddie Pekrul, Allie Veltkamp, Christina Dean and Allie Veltkamp.

The team hosts the OK Bronze Conference meet on Thursday May 9 and Friday May 10 at Red Hawk Stadium. Field events start at 4:00 on Thursday with running prelims at 5:00. Friday’s events start at 4:00 with the Girls Pole Vault and all running finals starting at 6:00.

The season has been a quick one with five cancellations and making up meets at different locations, but the boys team continues to improve at each meet.  They are headed into the OK Bronze Conference meet this Thursday and Friday at Red Hawk Stadium seeded second, after the dual portion of the schedule finished last week, with a victory over Forest Hills Northern. The Hawks are 4-1 for the season and have placed second at the Warrior Invitational at Chippewa Hills (under snowy conditions) and fourth this past weekend when they hosted the Red Hawk Invitational.

Winning events for the Hawks Saturday were Brandon Sipka in the 400m dash; the 3200m relay team of Alex Sias, Alex Bray, Justin Jones and Austin Sargent. Connor Mora won the 1600m and 3200m runs.

Leading the way for the Red Hawks this season has been the pole-vaulting crew of Tyler Hindenach (12’), Dalton VanEss (11’) and Blake Willett (11’).  In the long jump, sophomores MavRick Cotton (20’ 2”) and Brandon Sipka (18’ 11”) have led the charge.  In the discus, Jordan Johnson leads the conference with a 138’ throw. Shot put is led by junior Connor Ackerman (42’ plus). In the sprints, Sipka has been improving his times and winning many races in the 100m, 200m, and 400m dashes.  The distance crew is led by All-State and All-American senior Connor Mora.  Connor has posted the fastest time in the state in the 1600m run (4:12.61), the third fastest 800m (1:56) time in the state and ranks in the top three in the 3200m run (9:23). Along with Mora, sophomore Austin Sargent is second in the region in the 1600m run (4:28) and ranks in the top five in the 800m run (2:02). The 3200m relay team of Bray, Sias, Jones and Sargent lead the region (8:15.80). Finally, MavRick Cotton leads the team in the 110m (15.83) and 300m hurdles (44.1).

After this week’s conference meet, the boys prepare for the regional meet at Houseman Field on May 17.

The girls track team traveled to Forest Hills Eastern for a triple dual meet. The girls defeated Northview 102 to 34 but lost to both Forest Hills Eastern and Greenville. The team’s record is now even at 2 wins and 2 losses.

Placing first against Northview for the Red Hawks was Katie Weiler in the 800, 1600 and 3200 runs. Maria Oakes had two individual firsts in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles. Abby VanDusen was also a double winner in the pole vault and long jump. Seniors Kaitlyn Twork and Jeanette Sukstas won both throws. Kaitlyn won the discus and Jeanette won the shot put. The team won all four relay events against Northview.

The team hosts the Red Hawk Invite Saturday, May 4, at Red Hawk Stadium. Field Events start at 9:00 with the Boys Pole vault and running events start at 11:00 with the 3200 Relay. Running finals for the other events will start at noon.

Also placing for the Red Hawks in the Northview meet was:

2nd place: Jeanette Sukstas, Discus; Marissa Oakes, Long Jump; Allyson Marvel 100 and 300 hurdles; Olivia Finch, 100 meter dash; Maddie Pekrul, 1600 and 3200 meter runs; Emily Shaft, 400 meter dash; Caitlin McClurken, 800 meter run; Maddie Burkwalt, 200 meter dash.

3rd  place: Kaitlyn Twork, Shot put; Briana Pierson, High Jump; Shayne Mann, 1600 and 3200 meter runs; Maddie Burkwalt, 100 meter dash and 300 meter hurdles; Christina Dean, 800 meter run.

David Lewis in semifinal bout.

Two Sand Lake boxers headed into this weekend’s state golden glove tournament with championship aspirations—David Lewis in the 132 lb weight class and Zach Schmuck in the 152lb class.

On Friday, Lewis was matched against Saginaw’s Michael Carsinelli. Lewis was able to control the bout with his jab and also throw quick combinations and get back out of punching range before Carsinelli could counter. Lewis went on to an easy 5-0 decision. Zach Schmuck was matched against the East’s champion, Antonio Negron. Schmuck was able to consistently beat Negron to the punch and also land his jab from the outside, despite not having the height or reach advantage. The victories secured both fighters a spot in Saturday’s State Championship bout.

David Lewis in semifinal bout.
David Lewis won the 132-pound weight class in the state golden gloves championship.

Both fighters would rematch boxers from their West Michigan Championship bouts. David Lewis boxed Holland’s Isaac Flores for the 132 lb state title and once again demonstrated his superior boxing ability in an easy 5-0 decision victory. “After our first fight, I found out he is an undefeated MMA fighter with a couple belts, but what people don’t know is boxing is way harder than MMA,” said Lewis.

Zach Schmuck would rematch Grand Rapids Rafael Ferreira in what would be a closely contested bout. Zach was able to land more combinations than he had in the first bout and also catch and slip many of Ferreira’s wide looping punches. But Ferreira won the bout by decision. “I was really surprised when they announced the decision,” said trainer Troy Rowland. “I thought it was close but I felt Zach did enough to get the win.”

Cedar Rock Storm will hold JV Ice Hockey tryouts on Saturday, May 4, and Sunday May 5, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., at the Cedar Rock Sports Plex, 4758 Cornfield Dr. (just off Northland Dr.), Cedar Springs. The cost is $50 total.

Any school qualifies to play on the JV Club. Birth years eligible are 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. Coaches are Steve Obney and Devon DuBois.

Katie Weiler in the 3200 meter run.

The girls track team traveled to Chippewa Hills for the Warrior Invite on Saturday April 20. On a cold, windy and at sometimes-snowy day, the team took fourth place in the Big School Division, which was won by Rockford. Taking first place in the big school division for the team was Senior Katie Weiler in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. Sophomore Marissa Oakes placed second in the 100 hurdles and long jump in the big school division. Taking third places in the big school division for the team was senior Abby VanDusen in the long jump and the 3200 meter relay team of Caitlin McClurken, Christina Dean, Allie Veltkamp and Maddie Pekrul.
Also placing for the Red Hawks was:
4th Place: Abby VanDusen Pole vault; 400 Meter Relay team of Marissa Oakes, Taylor Vanlangen, Abby VanDusen, and Olivia Finch.
5th Place: Jeanette Sukstas Discus; Briana Pierson High Jump; Maddie Pekrul 3200 meter run; 800 meter relay team of Taylor Vanlangen, Emily Shaft, Kellie Spahr, and Olivia Finch; 1600 meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Abby VanDusen, Allie Veltkamp and Katie Weiler.
6th Place: Briana Pierson, Pole Vault
7th Place: Kaitlyn Twork, Discus
8th Place: Jeanette Sukstas, Discus

The girls track team opened the season by hosting West Catholic in an OK Bronze conference meet. On the best day of spring sports season so the far, the Lady Red Hawks defeated the Falcons from West Catholic by the score of 77 to 60. Senior Katie Weiler lead the team by winning all of the three of the distance events. Sophomore Marissa Oakes took first in the long jump and 100 meter hurdles. The team travels to Greenville next week Tuesday and hosts Northview on Thursday.

Placing for the Red Hawks was:

1st Place: Jeanette Sukstas, Shot Put; Kate Twork, Discus; Marissa Oakes, Long Jump; and 100 Meter Hurdles; Aly Hamilton, 100 meter dash; Katie Weiler, 800, 1600, and 3200 meter runs; 3200 meter Relay team of Christina Dean, Shayne Mann, Allie Veltkamp, and Maddie Pekrul; 400 Meter Relay team of Marissa Oakes, Taylor Vanlangen, Abby VanDusen, and Aly Hamilton.

2nd Place: Jeanette Sukstas, Discus; Abby VanDusen, Long Jump; Allyson Marvel, 100 and 300 meter hurdles; Maddie Pekrul, 1600 and 3200 meter runs; Caitlin McClurken, 800 meter run.

3rd Place: Briana Pierson, High Jump; Abby VanDusen, Pole Vault; Alison Hall, 400 meter dash; Christina Dean, 1600 meter run; Allie Veltkamp, 800 meter run; Shayne Mann, 3200 meter run.