Zoe Castor

Ali Sparling

Ali Sparling – Senior, Girls Basketball

Zoe Castor – Freshman, Competitive Cheer

Congratulations Ali Sparling on signing her national letter of intent to play basketball next year at NAIA member school Aquinas College.  Ali is pictured with her parents Tracie and Brett, as well as members of the Aquinas coaching staff.

Cedar Springs High School senior Ali Sparling signed her national letter of intent last week to play basketball for NAIA member Aquinas College. She currently plays basketball for the Lady Red Hawks Varsity basketball team. Ali is pictured above (seated) with her parents, Tracie and Brett, on either side of her. Standing behind her is Linda Nash, head coach for the Aquinas Saints; and assistant coach Brian Morris. Congratulations, Ali!

Senior Ali Sparling drives to the basket in the Friday, Dec. 2 game against Big Rapids.
Photo by K. Alvesteffer/R. LaLone

The Cedar Springs Girls Basketball Team capped off a busy eight-day stretch by defeating Holland West Ottawa 53-41 on Friday night, Dec. 9. The win marked the Red Hawks fourth straight victory after losing their season opener. Senior Ali Sparling led the team with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Sophomores Brighton Miller and Baylie VanDyke followed with 12 and 10 points respectively.

“West Ottawa was a good test for us,” said Coach Brandon Miller. “They were big and athletic. I am very proud of the girls and the way that they stepped up and executed our game plan. This team has set their goals very high and they are working extremely hard to reach them. We had a very busy week of basketball and it would have been easy to lose focus. Our leadership and work ethic from top to bottom has been great.”

The eight-day stretch began the previous Friday, Dec. 2, when the Lady Red Hawks defeated Big Rapids 44-41. Ali Sparling again led the way, scoring 18 points and hauling in 6 rebounds. Classmates Aaliyah Sargent and Maddie VanDusen chipped in 8 points each. Sargent also led the team with 9 rebounds.

The middle two games of the four game stretch saw Sparta and Grant come to town. The Lady Red Hawks defeated Sparta 45-35 on Monday, Dec. 5. The Red Hawks built a 21-point lead after three quarters. Baylie VanDyke recorded her first double-double of the season netting 10 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Brighton Miller led the team in scoring with 12 points. Maddie VanDusen chipped in with 9 points.

The team was back at it the next night battling Grant. Cedar Springs held a slim 7-point lead going into half but pulled away for a 55-28 victory. Senior Aaliyah Sargent led the team with 17 points  and 6 rebounds followed by Ali Sparling with 11 and 6 rebounds. Ashley Wise and Morgan Shevock also contributed 8 points each in the winning effort.

The Lady Red Hawks next game will be this Friday, Dec. 16, at Comstock Park. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

Cedar Springs Varsity Volleyball played a terrific conference opening match on Tuesday night (Sept. 13) against Lowell, with the Red Arrows prevailing in the three set match on their home floor. Lowell took the sets 19-25, 18-25 and 16-25.

The Red Hawks were led by senior setter Ali Sparling, who put up a strong all around performance with 5 kills, 8 assists, 4 blocks and 7 digs.  Sydney Plummer followed with 3 kills, 3 aces, 8 digs and an assist while Lauren Kostus added 2 kills, 5 service points and 3 aces.  Sienna Wight tallied 6 service points, 2 aces, 1 block and 4 assist while Libero Kaitlyn Coons had 15 digs on the night.

The second conference match on Thursday evening, September 15, at Greenville High School, brought a disappointing three set loss:  19-25, 18-25 and 8-25. Senior Brooke Morris supplied a match high 6 kills and 3 blocks, while freshman Lauren Kostus tallied 5 kills, 7 digs, and a block. Sydney Plummer added 5 kills, 10 digs and 2 aces. Ali Sparling recorded 10 assists, while Sienna Wight had 9. Kaitlyn Coons led the defense with 18 digs.

The Girls Varsity team moves to an overall 1-5-2 record, and drops to 0-2 in the conference.  Their next matches are both home, hosting Ottawa Hills Tuesday evening and Forest Hills Northern on Thursday night.