EAST LANSING, Mich. – June 17 – The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations online or by mail for game officials for the 2019-20 school year.

The MHSAA annually receives registration by more than 9,500 officials, and had 9,519 during the 2018-19 school year. The highest total of officials registered for basketball, 4,026, with football also with more than 2,000 registered officials during this past school year.

For all new and returning officials, those who register online again will receive a $5 discount off their processing fees. A $16 fee is charged for each sport in which an official wishes to register, and the online processing fee is $40. Officials submitting registration forms by mail or on a walk-up basis will incur a $45 processing fee. Officials registered in 2018-19 will be assessed a late fee of $30 for registration after July 31. The processing fee includes liability insurance coverage up to $1 million for officials while working contests involving MHSAA schools.

Online registration can be accessed by clicking “Officials” on the home page of the MHSAA Website at www.mhsaa.com. Forms also are available online that can be printed and submitted by traditional mail or hand delivery to the MHSAA Office at 1661 Ramblewood Drive in East Lansing. More information about officials registration may be obtained by contacting the MHSAA by phone at (517) 332-5046 or by e-mail at register@mhsaa.com.

There is an officials’ registration test for first-time officials and officials who were not registered during the past school year. The test is derived from the MHSAA Officials Guidebook, which also is available on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website. Additional exams must be taken by those registering for football or basketball for the first time or those who were not registered for those sports during the previous school year. Manuals for both sports also are available on the Officials page. New officials and those who didn’t officiate during 2018-19 also must complete the online MHSAA Principles of Officiating course, also available on the MHSAA Website.

There also are opportunities to officiate for students at least 14 years old and in grades 9-12 through the MHSAA Legacy Program. Juniors and seniors may officiate subvarsty contests, while freshmen and sophomores may officiate contests at the middle school/junior high levels. Mentor officials will work events with Legacy participants to provide guidance and support. Find information on the Legacy Program on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools that exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools that enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.

Congratulations to the following Red Hawk baseball players for being chosen all-conference and all-conference honorable mention:

Trevor Reed – senior

Trevor was named All-Conference Honorable Mention and he is also a John Bos All Star Representative. A four-year varsity starter, Trevor batted 2nd for the Red Hawks this season, and ended with a .283 average. Having the most reliable glove on the team, he also solidified the center field position. Trevor started the season slow, but came on strong at the end, becoming the team’s best hitter. He represented the baseball team as athlete of the month for the High School in May. He plans to attend Cornerstone University next fall to pursue a career in worship arts and teaching.

Thomas Reed – senior

Thomas was named All-Conference and he is also a John Bos All Star Representative. He played the difficult role of being both the leadoff hitter and the team’s second baseman. Thomas was a force to be reckoned with at the plate, leading the team in extra base hits and becoming one of the emotional leaders of the squad. He ended with a .258 batting average. Thomas plans to attend Muskegon Community College in the fall and play baseball. He will pursue a career in criminal justice.

Dylan Williams – senior

Dylan was named All-Conference and is also a John Bos All Star Representative. A four-year varsity starter, Dylan did a wonderful job as the team’s leader behind the plate, batting .345. He batted 3rd in the lineup and hit the team’s only homerun, which came on senior night against Forest Hills Northern. Dylan also worked this season as a closer, coming in at the end of close games and attempting to win it for his team. He had 18 strikeouts, 9 walks, 2 saves and ended with a 2.143 ERA. Dylan will be playing baseball at Calvin College next fall and will pursue a career in nursing.

Bryce Marvel – sophomore

Bryce was named All-Conference. He entered his second year on varsity and played both pitcher and first base. He made it clear early on that he would be the ace of the pitching staff. In the past season, he picked up about 5 mph on his fastball and really learned to control his off-speed pitches. His highlights on the mound were holding conference champion Forest Hills Northern to only one earned run and shutting out Big Rapids in the pre-district contest. Overall he had 52 strikeouts, eight walks, and finished with a 1.615 ERA, and a .356 batting average. Marvel will work hard in the off season and looks to bring his experience to the baseball team next spring. 

Peyton Newman – senior

Peyton was named All-Conference and is also a John Bos All Star Representative. Petyon was given the challenging task of being the cleanup hitter on a very talented team. He rose to the challenge, often leading his team in offense. He finished with a .333 batting average. He also took charge of the difficult role of playing shortstop, which was a problem position for the team last year. He also pitched, finishing with a 3.907 ERA. Peyton plans to attend GRCC and focus on a career in sports management and business.

By Judy Reed

Aubree Mouthaan, a 2015 Cedar Springs graduate and 2019 graduate of Saginaw Valley State University, will be playing professional softball in Alabama this summer after being drafted into the American Softball Association (ASBA) Pro Softball League. 

Aubree, the daughter of Jodi and Chad Mouthaan, formerly of Cedar Springs but now of Howard City, played standout softball for Cedar Springs, earning all-conference and Advance Dream Team honors twice; all-district and all-area twice; and earning scholar-athlete honors.

She continued her standout play at Saginaw Valley, becoming the program’s all-time home runs leader in the 2019 season, tallying 33 total in her career as a Cardinal. She hit .297 in her 200 games played, posting 39 doubles, 124 RBI, 55 walks and a .552 slugging percentage. Aubree registered a career-best .374 batting average in 2019 and earned All-GLIAC Second Team plaudits. Her 39 doubles rank 2nd all-time and her 124 RBI rank her second.  

The Post caught up with Aubree as she headed to Alabama this week to begin her 6-week stint with The Field. We asked her how she felt when she found out she had been drafted.

“I was very shocked, but felt ecstatic,” she remarked. “I’ve worked for this my entire life. I’ve dreamed of playing pro ball since I was a little girl and to realize it came true is unbelievable!”

Aubree attributes her success to the support system around her over the years. “My mom was a big softball player and introduced me to it, and my dad helped me, too. I grew to love the sport even more as time went on. If it weren’t for the people supporting me, I wouldn’t be playing as long as I have,” she explained.

Aubree mainly played shortstop this year for Saginaw Valley, but did a little bit of everything on the infield. She was drafted as a shortstop/3^rd basemen. 

The American Softball Association is a new alernative for women’s professional softball in America. It is a league that features four teams and is based in Satsuma, Alabama. 

Aubree’s first game with the team is this Friday. She will play for six weeks, then head back to Michigan the last week in July. “I’ll then come back and try to live real life,” she said. She said if the team likes her, there’s always the possibility they will ask her back for next year.

In the meantime, she’s thankful for the chance she’s getting to live her dream. “I just want to say thank you for the support from the Cedar Springs community, my parents, and everyone who has helped me because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today.”

This spring the boys and girls middle school track teams saw great success despite a hurdling weather season.  Entering into a new middle school league this season, both teams continued their success they have seen in the past.  

The boys team finished the regular season undefeated with a record of 6-0.  The 8th grade boys were conference champs, while the 7th grade was runner up. For the first time a middle school regional meet was held and the boys were regional champs. The boys finished the season at the Mega Star meet held at Shepherd High school as runner ups.  Antwuan Nicholls set the school record in the 200m (24.35) and Ethan Grove set the pole vault record with a jump of 11’3.  

The girls team finished the regular season with a record of 5-1. The 8th grade girls finished 3rd at the conference meet, while the 7th grade girls finished as runner ups. They finished 9th place at the regional meet and 10th place at the Mega Star meet held late in May. Danika Fesseden tied the school record in the pole vault with a jump of 8’3. In only her third time running the 400m, Kendahl Brown ran a 1:02.56 at the Mega Star meet to break the record. The team of Danika Fessenden, Larissa McGrath, Julia Smith and Molly Bentley broke a 10-year record in the 3200 relay running a 10:58.55.

On Saturday, June 1, six members of the Cedar Springs boys track team traveled to Zeeland Stadium to compete in the MHSAA Division 2 State Track Meet.  

First up in running events for the Red Hawks was the 3200-meter relay team consisting of Dilan Sargent, Jaydon Moleski, Daniel Vermulm, and Corey Bowers.  The team came in seeded sixth but they had other plans. After shaving 7 seconds off their state qualifying time, the boys placed fourth with a season best of 8:01 to earn all-state honors.  

After two weather delays, Corey Bowers competed next for the Red Hawks in the 1600-meter run. He was seeded 18th but finished in 9th place with a time of 4:28. Alex Nylaan was up next for the team competing in the 300-meter hurdles. He finished 15th with a time of 41.93, a personal second fastest time for him. Dilan Sargent then took to the track for the 800-meter run, where he finished 12th in a time of 2:00 after being seeded 15th.  

Justus Larsen also competed in high jump earlier in the day. He had three great attempts at the height of 5’11” but just missed.  

 “There were great efforts by all of the guys despite the weather delays,” said Coach Jeff Brazier. “It is a plus that all of our state qualifiers will be returning next year.”

Congratulations to all!

Over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, two local soccer teams played in the GRIT tournament at Northview High School. 

The U12 team swept their division and went 4-0. 

The U11 team won 3 and tied 1 game, taking them into the championship game where they played their best game of the tournament taking the championship 3-2. 

Both teams are coached by Adam Petty and Dustin Ingersoll. 

The varsity baseball team began its 2019 post-season campaign against the mighty Cardinals of Big Rapids on Tuesday, May 28. The Cardinals have an ongoing reputation among the schools to the north of being a powerhouse. Last Tuesday they ran into the mighty arm of sophomore Bryce Marvel. Marvel pitched a complete game, allowing only three hits, striking out nine, and only walking two. Dylan Williams played an outstanding game as well, throwing out three runners, one of them to end the game.  

The highlight of the game for the Red Hawks came in the third inning when Thomas Reed led off by getting hit by a pitch. Trevor Reed then drove a single to left field, followed by a sacrifice fly ball deep to center field by Dylan Williams. With runners on first and third and one out, cleanup hitter Peyton Newman strolled to the plate. He dropped down a perfect bunt, successfully scoring Thomas from 3rd base. That would prove to be the winning run with the final score 1-0. Cedar Springs ended up with three total hits in the game, 2 by Trevor Reed and one late in the game from Seth Biggs.

In the district semi-final on June 1, the varsity team took on another team from the north in Chippewa Hills. Despite several weather delays, the contest was able to get under way.

The Red Hawks combined for 13 total hits in the 15-5 victory. Thomas and Trevor Reed both had two hits, as did Connor Ellison and Peyton Newman. Adding one hit each were Dylan Williams, Jeremy Campione, Logan Kobayashi, Willy Zain and Nathan Male.  

Newman and Ellison split the game on the mound, doing a great job of keeping their opponents off balance.

In the lackluster final, the Red Hawks faced their long-time rival in the Sparta Spartans. Bryce Marvel toughed it out on the mound, but the luck seemed to be with the Spartans as they were able to scatter 11 hits and score 7 runs. Very few balls were hit hard, but the Sparta hitters managed to find gaps in the defense and get runners on base. The Cedar Springs batters managed only one hit from Aiden Brunin, though they hit several balls hard.  

Those of you who’ve played baseball know that sometimes it’s a funny game. You can hit the ball well and, if you hit it right to the defense, things don’t go your way. This game just wasn’t meant to be for the Red Hawks who finished as the district runner up.

Their final record on the season was 15-17.

The Red Hawks opened the final week of the regular season against a powerhouse from the north in Central Montcalm.  In the double header the boys were only able to manage a total of 8 hits.  

In game one,  on May 20, Nathan Draper did a great job throwing strikes.  In 5.3 innings of work he struck out 3 and walked 2.  Bryce Marvel threw the last 5 outs of the game, striking out 2 batters.  Trevor Reed, Jeremy Campione and Nathan Male had the only hits in this contest in which Cedar lost 5-1.

In the second game, Peyton Newman took the mound.  He got through 6 innings, striking out 3 and walking 3.  His off speed pitches kept Central Montcalm off balance throughout the game.  Nathan Male came in to close out the last inning.  Cedar Springs entered the 7th inning with a 3-2 lead, but a costly error allowed the Green Hornets to score a pair of runs that led them to a 4-3 victory when the Red Hawks weren’t able to push a run across in the bottom of the inning.  Getting hits in this game were Dylan Williams, Bryce Marvel, Logan Kobayashi, Trenton Snoeyink and Jarrett Hoogerhyde.

On Tuesday, May 21, the Red Hawks took on the conference leaders, the Huskies from Forest Hills Northern.  In the first game, Husky pitcher St Antoine was tough.  This season he has been the top pitcher in the league with an ERA under one.  The Red Hawks were only able to scratch out two hits in the 10-1 loss.  Seth Biggs drove a single to left in the 5th inning, and Dylan Williams crushed a solo homerun to left late in the game as well.  Connor Ellison did well on the mound, throwing 4 complete innings.  Nathan Male closed out the game, pitching the final three innings.  The story of the game was again, a few costly errors.

This was the final home game for the varsity, which meant senior parents were honored in a brief ceremony between games.

The second game went only four innings due to the umpire losing control of the game and calling a forfeit.  The final score was 6-0 with Trevor Reed getting the only Red Hawk hit.

The third game of the series, and the final regular season game was played at Forest Hills Northern on Wednesday.  Bryce Marvel took the mound for Cedar Springs.  In 6 innings of work he struck out 7 and walked only one.  Yet again, a few errors cost the Redhawks the game, with a final score of 3-2.  Jeremy Campione led the Hawks at the plate with a pair of hits, while Nathan Male, Connor Ellison and Peyton Newman each added a hit as well.  

The varsity baseball team finished the regular season with a record of 13-16.  They were able to defeat some very good baseball teams, but also struggled hitting at times.  Coach Glyshaw is very proud of their accomplishments and is looking forward to a successful post-season district tournament.  They play the host school, Big Rapids, on Tuesday, May 28.  The winner will move on and play Chippewa Hills on Saturday, June 1.

 The Cedar Springs JV Baseball team ended their season with a OK White Conference tournament loss to Northview at home on Friday May 24, 12-10.  The tough loss ended a very successful and fun season for the Red hHwks.  

 “I am so proud of the fight and determination these young men showed today,” commented Coach Greenland. “After going down early in the contest 6-0 it could have been really easy to quit.  But these young men did not and fought hard to the end and we come up a little short on this one.” 

The JV Baseball team ended their season with an overall record of 19-9-1 and a OK White Conference record of 11-7, finishing 3rd in conference.  Many highlights in the season include a 10 game winning streak and a 6-5 win against a top Division 1 OK Red conference program in Caledonia.

Good luck in the future and go Red Hawks!

On Monday, May 13, the varsity baseball team traveled to Greenville to take on the Yellow Jackets.  

Senior Seth Biggs took the mound in game one and split the game with Nathan Draper.  Each pitched 3 innings in the 6-4 loss.  The Red Hawks managed 8 total hits in the game but couldn’t get those hits when they needed them.  Dylan Williams led the team with 3 hits.  Conner Ellison added two more.  Peyton Newman had one hit, as did both Thomas and Trevor Reed.  Greenville jumped out to an early lead and the Hawks chipped away at the lead, but weren’t able to catch up.

In game two, Ellison took the mound.  He was able to successfully keep the Yellow Jackets off balance for 5 innings, allowing only 3 runs.  Dylan Williams came in to close out the final two innings to earn the save in the 4-3 victory.  Biggs led the squad with 3 hits.  Nathan Draper and Trevor Reed each had 2.  Thomas Reed and Bryce Marvel added one hit each.  

“The Red Hawk bats were excellent in this double header,” said Coach Justin Glyshaw. “Unfortunately, many players experienced the bad luck so many ballplayers go through by hitting balls hard that end up going directly into the glove of your opponent.”

The third game of this three game series saw sophomore Bryce Marvel on the mound for Cedar Springs on Wednesday, May 15.  Greenville continued to smash the baseball in this game, totaling 14 hits throughout the game.  Brilliant pitching on the part of Marvel, along with a defense that made some great plays allowed the damage to be minimal.  Marvel walked only one Yellow Jacket hitter and struck out 8 in a complete game performance. Though the Red Hawks had only four hits during the game, they were able to take advantage of a few key situations to score when they needed to.  Nathan Draper, Jeremy Campione, Dylan Williams and Trevor Reed each contributed with one hit each.  In the end, Greenville was denied opportunities by the Cedar Springs defense with the final score in Cedar’s favor 5-3.  

On Thursday, May 16, the Red Hawks played a non-conference game against Caledonia at Cornerstone University.  Unfortunately, the game got out of hand early as Caledonia came out swinging the bat and crushing the baseball.  They put up 17 runs in only 6 innings, while the Hawks were only able to eek out two hits: one from Seth Biggs, the other from Thomas Reed.  With one week to go in the regular season the varsity baseball team is holding on to a 13-11 record.  They wrap up regular season play this week with games against Central Montcalm and Forest Hills Northern.