Winner of the 8-10 yrs. age group: Grace Fittro, 8 yrs., of Cedar Springs

Winner of the 6-7 yrs. age group: Trent Staal, 6 yrs., of Cedar Springs

Winner of the 4-5 yrs. age group: Hazelle Mosher, 5 yrs., of Comstock Park

Congratulations to the winners of the annual Cedar Springs Post Easter Coloring Contest sponsored by Northwest Kent Mechanical.

Entries came from as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada! Others came from areas including Sand Lake, Howard City, Pierson, Comstock Park, and even Horton, Michigan.

Congrats go to Trent Staal, of Cedar Springs who won in the 6-7 yrs. age group. Hazelle Mosher, of Comstock Park took first place in the 4-5 yrs. division. And first place for 8-10 yrs. competitors goes to artist Grace Fittro, of Cedar Springs for her creative flair. Good job Grace!

Prizes may be picked up at The Post Newspaper Office located at 36 E. Maple Street in Cedar Springs on Friday, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. or next week during regular business hours.

The Cedar Springs Varsity Competitive Cheer team took first at both Comstock Park and Forest Hills Northern.

Saturday, January 7, brought all three Cedar Springs competitive cheer teams to Comstock Park for the Comstock Park cheer invitational. In total there were 12 middle school teams, six JV teams and 24 Varsity teams, in which our varsity competed for first place against seven district teams.
Cedar Springs middle took second place with a round 2 score of 135.08 and a round 3 score of 284.3, bringing them a total score of 419.38.

Cedar Springs JV took first place with a round 1 score of 180.7, a round 2 score of 147.3 and a round 3 score of 243.7, bringing them to an overall total of 571.94.

Cedar Springs Varsity took first place with a round 1 score of 211.6, a round 2 score of 216..28 and a round 3 score of 264.4, bringing them an overall total of 692.28.

On Monday, January 9, the JV & Varsity traveled to FHN for their first conference meet of the season.

Cedar Springs JV brought home another first place finish with a final score of 566.90. Coach Katy Hradsky said, “I am very proud of my team and their first conference performance. Since we are the only JV team in our conference our goal is to be ourselves and improve every week. I would have to say that the girls did just that! This is a very talented group of athletes. I can’t wait to see where the season takes them.”

Cedar Springs Varsity also brought home another first place finish with the final score of 738.48 and some of their highest scores of the season.

Coach Anne Olszewski said, “I am very proud of them. This is only the fourth meet of the season and we are scoring above 725! If we can continue to improve and maintain our work ethic, I am very hopeful for state finals at the Delta Plex in March!”

The next competition will be Saturday, January 14, at Wyoming Middle school at 1 p.m.

Sophomore Baylie Vandyke knocks down a short jumper over a Comstock Park defender Friday night.

The Cedar Springs Girls Basketball team won their fifth straight game Friday evening, December 16, defeating Comstock Park 60-41. The Lady Red Hawks are currently 5-1 overall heading into the Christmas Break.

Cedar Springs jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead less than a minute into the game on a pair of free throws by Baylie VanDyke, a Brighton Miller jumper, and an Ali Sparling steal and layup. The Panthers however kept the game close throughout the first half until the Red Hawks finished the half strong to build a 29-20 halftime lead.

Cedar Springs came out of the break on a terror, outscoring Comstock Park 19-5 in the third period to build a 23-point lead after three quarters. Six different players scored for the Red Hawks in the period.

The Red Hawks were led by Vandyke with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Sparling had another strong game netting 14 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 6 shots on the evening. Maddie Vandusen added 11 points, while Ashley Wise chipped in 8 points and 9 rebounds in the winning cause.

Cedar Springs is off for Christmas Break. The Red Hawks will travel to play Rockford on January 3, before beginning conference play at Lowell on January 6.

The Comstock Park Varsity Soccer team showed solidarity with the Cedar Springs Soccer team by giving each one of them a shirt showing their support for a cure for Brison Ricker.

Back row (L to R): Comstock Park coach Jamie Bogart, Kim Ricker, Brian Ricker, Cedar Springs coach Kyle Avink. Front: Brison Ricker.

A year ago, 15-year-old Brison Ricker was playing on the Cedar Springs Red Hawk Varsity soccer team as a freshman. Just a few short months after the season ended, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and has been fighting for his life ever since.

This year, Brison and his family traveled to Comstock Park to watch and support the Varsity Soccer team for their first game on August 24 against Comstock Park. But what happened at the game was something unexpected.

“It was tear-filled start to the night as the ‘opposing team’ showed our family amazing support, with a t-shirt for Brison and all the players on the CS team, a signed game ball and a donation to our family,” wrote Kim Ricker on her Facebook page. “Over $800 was raised from this team who does not even know our family personally. This shows incredible sportsmanship and what a great coach and team they are! Tonight was so much more than a game, and we are so grateful to coach Jamie Bogart and the Comstock Park Varsity Team!”

The t-shirts given to the team and to Brison had a number one on the front with Cedar Springs vs Comstock Park 8/24/2016 over it, and on the back it read: Opponents on the field; teammates for a cure. #Rickerstrong

Thank you for sharing that wonderful act of kindness!

Do you have an act of kindness you’d like to share with our readers? Shoot us an email telling us the details of what happened, along with a photo (if you have it) and your contact info, and we’ll print it as space allows.

From Friends of the White Pine Trail

In the southern area of the tail, in Plainfield Township, there will be trail disruptions during this summer and fall.

In Comstock Park there will be equipment in and adjacent to the trail due to sewer line work for the next few weeks, and possibly into the fall. Please be very careful in this area and do not interfere with the construction activity. If you encounter someone directing you around construction, please follow their directions.

Between Belmont and Rockford there will be some equipment on the trail for the next month or longer.  There will be persons directing traffic whenever there is equipment on the trail – please cooperate with these folks that are doing their best to keep the trail open, you safe, and get the project done. The Trail Will Not Be Closed For Extended Periods in this area unless there are unforseen circumstances.

If you have questions regarding trail conditions please contact us. We will do our best to keep everyone informed.

Check our FaceBook page for up-to-date information.

If you see any problems that you feel needs attention please contact us as soon as possible—we need your help!

In Howard City Area, Montcalm County

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials announced that construction of the Rice and Tamarack Creek bridges on the White Pine Trail in Howard City will begin Monday Aug. 8.

The White Pine Trail is actively utilized by non-motorized users throughout the year and snowmobile users in the winter months. Bridge construction will include abutment replacement and pier removal, as well as the placement of a 60-foot-prefabricated bridge over Rice Creek and a 84-foot-prefabricated bridge over Tamarack Creek.

The White Pine Trail has been temporarily re-routed to Federal Road bypassing both bridges. The detour is posted. Construction is anticipated to be completed in November.

Questions about the trail closure may be directed to Scott Slavin, DNR unit supervisor of White Pine Trail State Park, at 231-775-7911 or slavins@michigan.gov

Cedar Springs junior heavyweight Patrick Depiazza went undefeated with five wins at Tri County.

By Barbra Chong

The Cedar Springs High School Wrestling team traveled to Tri County on December 12, for the first invite of the 2015-2016 season. The Varsity team is almost at full strength, missing a 103 lb weight class that caused a void this weekend. With the void at 103, this created a 6-point deficit each dual. They defeated Kenowa Hills with a score of 65-9, then defeated Lakeview with a score of 53-22, and continued the winning streak against Pine River with a score of 35-25.

The next dual was a loss against Comstock Park, with a score of 23-43, and finished the day against Tri County with another loss of 18-38. Out of the eight teams competing, Cedar Springs finished the tournament in third place. Comstock Park took second place, and Tri County took first.

The boys wrestle for their individual score but each individual contributes to the overall team score. The individual records are:

Heavyweight Patrick Depiazza who went undefeated with 5 wins; 125 lb Jordan Ringler, 140 lb Jacob Galinis, 145 lb Lucus Pienton, 152 lb Anthony Topolski and 171/189 lb Ryan Ringler, with 4 wins each; 112 lb Logan Hull and 171/189 lb Chris Shaffer with 3 wins each; 130 lb Jordan Andrus and 135 lb Jesse Empie with 2 wins each; and 119 lb Patrick Fliearman, 160 lb Gage Gardner and TJ Brecken with 1 win each.

The upset of the day was caused by freshman Ryan Ringler, when he wrestled up a weight class and beat Tri County’s Senior state qualifier, Jarrod Tague, by regular decision 11-9.

“The boys strolled into the tournament with their typical Red Hawk swagger. They were tenacious on their feet and ferocious on the mat,” said Varsity Head Coach Nick Emery.

“We have a young team overloaded with potential and starving for glory. If you enjoy wrestling and are looking for entertainment, make the trip to Forest Hills Central to watch the Kent County Championships starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 19, to support the team and be a part of something special.”

The Junior Varsity took five wrestlers to compete against Tri County on Friday, December 11. The top placers were two freshmen—Aaron Smith who went undefeated with a record of 4-0 and Cody McHenry with a record of 3-1.

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks take on the Comstock Panthers in Comstock Park tonight (Thursday, August 28) 7 p.m. The photo above is from the last time they played them in 2011.

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks hit the gridiron this week for the first football games of the year. The varsity will take on last year’s OK-Blue champ Comstock Park, on the Panther’s home turf, Thursday, August 28, at 7 p.m., in the first of four non-conference games.
This game should be a great matchup between two highly competitive teams. An Mlive.com article predicted that Cedar Springs will finish second in the OK-Bronze behind Forest Hills Northern, and that Comstock Park will finish second behind West Catholic, which moved from the OK-Bronze to the OK-Blue.
The Wyoming Wolves were moved into the OK-Bronze to take the place of West Catholic.
The Red Hawks have played the Panthers 26 times since 1950, for a record of 11-15. They competed against them regularly when they were both part of the OK-Blue between 2005 and 2011, and as non-conference rivals between 1998-2002. They also competed yearly between 1960 and 1969, when they were both in the Tri-River Conference, and 1950-1953 in the Kent-Ottawa Conference.
The Red Hawks, under Coach Gus Kapolka, will need to be at the top of their game from the first whistle. In their first four games, the Red Hawks will face four teams that all made the playoffs last year—Comstock Park, Sparta, Belding, and Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Last year Comstock Park went 12-1, losing to South Christian in the Division 4 semi-final game.
Head out Thursday night, August 28, and support your Cedar Springs Red Hawks at Comstock Park. Game time is 7 p.m.

Brad Brechting led the team in total points scored with 22 against Comstock Park. Photo by Kelly Alvesteffer.

By Kendra Coons

On Monday, January 20, 2014, the Cedar Springs Red Hawks varsity boys basketball team took on the Panthers of Comstock Park. Before this match-up both teams were undefeated and ranked in Western Michigan. It was a very close game between the two undefeated teams. There was a total of 11 lead changes throughout the game, but in the end, Comstock Park came out on top and beat Cedar Springs 73-69 in overtime.

“I felt we played at a high energy level from the start. The game was back and forth for a while and every possession required that level of energy,” said head Coach Jeff Patin.

In the first period, it was a tight race the whole time, but Comstock Park ended up leading the Red Hawks 14 to 12. The Red Hawks came back fighting hard after the first period and entered into halftime down 5 points. After halftime, the Red Hawks came back out focused and in the third period, the Hawks scored 19 more points to add on to the score. Comstock Park was still on top after they scored 21 points, making it 50-43 at the end of the third period.

The Red Hawks were not willing to give up and at the end of the fourth quarter the Hawks scored a total of 20 points while Comstock Park scored 13. At the end of the fourth quarter, the game was tied 63-63, sending it into overtime. The teams fought hard and the game went back and forth. In the end, Comstock Park scored 10 more points to clinch the victory, while Cedar Springs scored 6. The final score was 73-69 Panthers.

“Comstock Park is a very good team. When you play a team of that caliber every possession is important,” stated Coach Patin.

Cedar Springs’ own Brad Brechting led the team in total points scoring 22. He was 9 for 13 on his two point shots and 4 for 6 on his free throw shots. Cameron Link also came on strong totaling 15 points. Link was 3 for 8 on his 2-point shots and 6 for 9 on his free throws. David Kearney, Aaron Mabie and Nick Krajewski also contributed to the Red Hawks points by scoring some key baskets in the middle of the game. Kearney had a total of 12, and Mabie and Krajewski both came in with 6. Overall, Cedar Springs was 22 for 56 on their shooting. Their shooting percentage for the game ended at 39.3 percent.

Comstock Park’s Jake Bush and Matt Hurley both scored a total of 20 points for the Panthers. Drake Baar came in third in highest scoring for Comstock Park with 14 points. The Panthers beat the Red Hawks in their shooting percentage coming in at 42.9 percent.

The battle between the Panthers and Red Hawks was a hard fought match. The game ended was tied 8 times and the largest lead throughout the whole game was 10 points. After the loss, the Red Hawks record is now 8-1.

“We didn’t finish the game the way we would like to, so we are hoping to learn from that experience,” commented Coach Patin.

On Friday, January 24, the Red Hawks were scheduled to play the West Catholic Falcons. Due to the weather, the game was cancelled and rescheduled to Monday, January 27. Due to weather, the game was also cancelled again. It is now rescheduled to Saturday, February 1. The boys varsity game will be starting around 4:30 pm after the girl’s game. The varsity boys basketball team’s next game is scheduled for Friday, January 31 at Cedar Springs High School. The Red Hawks are matched up against the Wildcats of Northview High School. The Red Hawks are looking for their 9th win. So come on out and support the boys varsity basketball team! Tip-off is at 7:30 pm! Go Red Hawks!

“It should be a very good game,” noted Coach Patin. “Both teams have had some success in the early part of the season, so it should be fun.”

Jeanette Sukstas in shotput

Taylor Vanlangen in long jump

Tuesday May 1 the Girls track team traveled to Comstock Park and defeated the Sparta 83 to 54 and Comstock Park 111.5 to 20.5. The team finishes in first place in the OK Blue with a 6 and 0 record is 9 and 1 overall. This is the first time in school history the Girls track team has finished the conference dual season in first place.  Katie Weiler set a new OK Blue record in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:06.6.

The team competes for the outright conference championship on Thursday May 10 and Friday May 11 at Belding.

Placing and scoring points for the Red Hawks in the meet was:

First place: Kenzie Weiler 400, 3200 meter runs; Rieley Hondalus in the high jump; Katie Weiler 800 and 1600 meter runs; Aly Hamilton 100 and 200 meter dashes; Marissa Oakes 100 and 300 hurdles; Abby VanDusen long jump and pole vault; Jeanette Sukstas shot put and discus;3200-meter relay team of Sommer VanDyke, Maddie Pekrul, Katie Weiler, and Kenzie Weiler; 1600 meter relay team of Rieley Hondalus, Aly Hamilton, Katie Weiler, and Sommer VanDyke;

400-meter relay team of Rieley Hondalus, Marissa Oakes, Abby VanDusen, and Aly Hamilton.

Second place: Marissa Oakes long jump; Maddie Pekrul 1600 and 3200-meter runs; Emily Shaft 400-meter dash; Briana Person high jump and pole vault; Kayla Bohy discus; Fenessa Cotton 300-meter hurdles; Sommer VanDyke 800-meter run.

Third place: Sommer VanDyke 1600-meter run; Abby VanDusen 300-meter hurdles; Sayge Wight 200-meter dash; Rieley Hondalus long jump; Shaelyn Fasel shot put.

Girls track team takes fourth in home invitational

Saturday, May 5, the Cedar Springs girls track team hosted the Red Hawk Team invitational and scored 650.5 points to place fourth behind three division 1 teams. Rockford was first with 778 points, followed by Jenison 747.5 and Greenville 723.

Kenzie Weiler took first in the 3200-meter run with a new meet and Red Hawk Stadium record with a time of 10:58.70.

Also placing first was the 3200-meter relay team of Sommer VanDyke, Maddie Pekrul, Katie Weiler and Kenzie Weiler.

The team is leading the OK Blue conference and are preparing for the conference finals on Thursday May 10 and Friday May 11 at Belding. Thursday events start at 4:00 and Friday starts at 6:00.

Placing in the top 6 was:

Second Place: Rieley Hondalus long jump; Kenzie Weiler 1600 meter run; the 400-meter relay team of Marissa Oakes, Sayge Wight, Abby VanDusen, and Aly Hamilton.

Third Place: Abby VanDusen long jump; Aly Hamilton 100 and 400 meter dash; Katie Weiler 800 and 1600-meter run; 1600-meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Sommer VanDyke, Rieley Hondalus, and Katie Weiler.

Sixth Place: Maddie Pekrul 3200-meter run

Girls take fifth at JV invitational in Lakeview

On Monday, May 7, a small number of Girls track team members traveled to Lakeview for a JV Invite. The team scored 43 points and placed 5th in the meet.

Placing in the top 6 was:

First Place: Emily Shaft 400-meter dash;

Third Place: Shanye Mann 3200-meter run; 800-meter relay team of Kellie Spahr, Sayge Wight, Mara Ellison, and Olivia Finch.

Fourth Place: Taylor Vanlangen long jump; Emily Shaft 200-meter dash.

Fifth Place: Emily Shaft 100-meter dash; Shanye Mann 1600-meter run; Charlene King 3200-meter run.

Sixth Place: Kayla Bohy Shot put; Caitlin McCurken 800 and 1600-meter runs.

After suffering their first conference dual meet loss since 2008, the Red Hawk boys track team came to the Red Hawk Invite to defend last year’s title. Last Tuesday, May 1, the Hawks traveled to Comstock Park to compete one last time in the OK Blue. They defeated the Panthers 114-23, while suffering defeat to Sparta 92.5-44.5.

“Sometimes, our best effort isn’t quite good enough and that is what happened tonight,” said Coach Jeff Myers. “We didn’t match up well versus Sparta. They have the four fastest relay teams in the league and tonight; we gave them 20 points by losing those four events. We ended a great run in the league by going 17-1 in three seasons of dual meets,” he added. “One good point was that we recognized that nearly two-thirds of the boys set personal bests in one of their events. Improving at each competition and giving our best effort are the positives we took from this.”

On Saturday, May 5, the Hawks entertained seven other schools in their annual invitational. After an exciting day of races, jumps and throws, the Hawks defended their 2011 title and claimed victory again by 9.5 points over Kenowa Hills. “We had three new teams entered this year. Cadillac, Reed City and Greenville brought us new challenges. After ten events, we were down by two points to Jenison. After the 800m run, we not only passed them, but kept Kenowa Hills and Cadillac from sneaking past us. This was the closest finish that we have ever had,” noted Myers. “For the most part, we competed at a high level today, as has been happening each meet this year, as we have continuously lowered our times or improved our field events.”

Leading the way for the Hawks were two record breaking performances by junior Connor Mora. He set two new school records by running 4:13.55 in the 1600m run and 1:56.62 in the 800m run (also stadium and meet records). Junior Aaron Dault also achieved two wins in the 110m and 300m hurdles. Other medal winners for Cedar Springs included a third place by the 3200m relay team (Mora, Alex Bray, Austin Sargent, and Aaron Brooks); Derek Ash in the discus (4^th); Rylan Ash in the discus (6^th); Dault in the long jump (3^rd); Nate Jones in the high jump (3^rd); Dault in the high jump (4^th); Brandon Sipka in the 400m dash (5^th); and Brooks in the 3200m run (4^th).

The Junior Varsity traveled to Lakeview on Monday for the annual Wildcat Invitational. They will finish the week Thursday and Friday at Belding for their last OK Blue Conference Meet. The Hawks enter the meet seeded second and look to knock off their rivals from Sparta. Action begins at 3:45 on Thursday with field events and preliminary and semi-final races. Friday begins with boy’s pole-vaulting at 3:45, followed by the finals at 6:00.

#20 Jon Shaw challenges for the ball vs. Comstock Park. Also pictured are #7 Aaron Dault, #17 Luke Dault, #19 Ilan Caballero.

The Cedar Springs boys varsity soccer team walked on the field Tuesday, October 4, geared up for an aggressive match up with the Comstock Park Panthers. The tone of the game remained charged up when only a little over 10 minutes into the game, Red Hawks forward Kyle Szirovecz knocked the ball under the keeper’s gloves, giving Cedar Springs a quick lead (28:48) [Assist Aaron Dault]. With only 7:23 remaining on the clock, Comstock Park tying up tied up the game and put it into two 10 minute regulation overtime periods. In the first over-time, on a free kick, Aaron Dault blasted the ball past a wall of Panther players into the upper 90. Once again the Panthers tied the game up in the second over-time with only 5:07 remaining in play. But the Red Hawks fought back when #7 Luke Dault found the back of the net with only 4 minutes left on the clock. Assists were credited to Kyle Szirovecz and Jon Shaw. Cedar Springs claimed a 3-2 double over-time victory over Comstock Park.
On Thursday, October 6, the Red Hawks added another win to their OK Blue record by shutting out the Belding Redskins 8 to 0. The Hawks jumped to an early lead when Jon Shaw connected with a pass from Robert Klein and drilled it into the net (35:25). Minutes later, Aaron Dault drove a free kick past the goaltender into the upper 90 giving Cedar a 2-0 lead (29:49). The Red Hawks third goal was credited to Josh Champion, who rocketed a shot, from the 40 yard line, over the keeper’s head.(17:05). Freshman Parker Selleck, redirected in a corner kick, sent by Trevor Rose, giving Cedar Springs a comfortable lead of 4 to 0 at the half (14:29). The defensive line of Dontae Ensley, Trevor Rose, Josh Champion, Bryan Taylor and Kyle Longcore protected the Cedar Springs goal by shutting down the Redskin offense. Second half scoring began right away when Cedar Springs was awarded a direct penalty kick and the team called goalkeeper, Kyle Coutchie, upfield to score his first goal of the season (38:02). Minutes later, Aaron Dault scored his second goal of the evening, when he launched a free kick past the goaltender (36:20). The last two goals of the match were credited to forward Robert Klein, with Dontae Ensley assisting both, and Trevor Rose also assisting the final goal on the game. This secured Cedar Springs second mercy win of the season.
“This week our goal was to really enjoy the game and get back to the reason we all started playing soccer…for the love of the game,” said Cedar Springs Coach Kyle Avink.
Congratulations on another great win Red Hawks!

Cameron Klompstra passing baton to teammate in relay.

Mother Nature continued to play havoc with the Cedar Springs boy’s varsity track team as another meet was postponed and forced them to have a double dual meet against Belding and Comstock Park at Red Hawk Stadium last Thursday, April 30. The team showed resiliency by defeating Comstock Park 118-19 and Belding 124-13 on a very cold, misty, and windy night to improve their record to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference. The Red Hawks took all the possible points in 13 of the 17 events against Belding and 10 of 17 against Comstock Park by winning all the events except the shot put against Comstock.
Individual field event winners were Dan Sagorski(discus), Nate Jones(high jump), Derek Ash (shot put), Hank Porter (long jump), and AJ Olszewski (pole vault). The sprint winners were James Putnam (100), Alex Hemry (200), Ron Fisk (400), and Justin Balczak (110H and 300H). Connor Mora led the distance crew by winning the 800m, 1600m, and the 3200m runs.  The 400m relay (Putnam, Hemry, Olszewski, and Ryan Austin), 800m relay(Hemry, Fisk, Balczak, Austin), 1600m relay(Hemry, Fisk, Balczak, Aaron Leal), and the 3200m relay(Mora, Fisk, Alex Bray, and Aaron Brooks)  were all undefeated on the evening.
“We had to go into the evening with the mind-set that we must do what it takes to get better,” said Coach Myers. “As everyone knows, the weather has limited our opportunities to train to our potential and to work on things during competition. We are running out of time to prepare for the most important meets of the year. We have to go full throttle in every event to maximize our potential,” he explained. “Our training this upcoming week must come from the meets that we participate in. Practice is now for fine-tuning and muscle memory training. It is time to test our mental toughness.”

Justin Balczak jumping hurdles. Photo by M. Balczak.

The team enters this week with the biggest meets of the year, but in this season it must prefaced with the caveat “weather permitting.” Tuesday the 3rd we are home against a tough West Catholic team, while Thursday the 5th we travel to Sparta to take on the Spartans and Coopersville.  The week concludes Saturday the 7th as we host the Red Hawk Invitational at Red Hawk Stadium.  Field events begin at 9:00 am, while the running gets underway at 11:00 am.
“This will be a tough meet for us to compete at,” said Coach Myers.W”e have invited three Division I schools.  After a big week against West Catholic and our biggest rival, Sparta, we cannot relax on Saturday.”