Senior Chris Shaffer (189lbs, 21-7 record) sealed the win for the Red Hawks against Rockford.

The Varsity Wrestling team accomplished a mission last weekend that had not been completed since the 1995 State Championship season. On Friday, January 19, the boys defeated arch nemesis Greenville 55-9 in front of the home crowd for Parents Night. Topping off the weekend, the Red Hawks were able to pull away from Rockford in the upper weights to knock off our Division 1 neighbors 37-24 at the Lakeshore Super Duals.

Trevor Marsman opened the Rockford dual with a last second take down, handing the tough Brock Fisher a rare loss. It was a complete team effort as the Red Hawks fought off bonus points through the heart of Rockford lineup, which includes All-Staters Noah Anderson and Jack Richardson. After wins from Nate Male, Aaron Smith and Jacob Galinis, the Red Hawks found themselves down 18-21. Lucus Pienton battled for a last second escape to tie the dual, and Xavier Anderson displayed his talents to keep the match within reach.

Trailing 21-24, Rockford voided All State Ryan Ringler and it would all came down to senior Chris Shaffer. A cool-eyed Shaffer stated, “I got this Coach,” then he went on to claim a major decision and ice it for the Hawks. Caleb Baty placed the cherry on top with a 30-second pin at Heavyweight to cement the victory for the Red Hawks.

“The boys are turning in a fine season, compiling an 18-6 record (5-1 OK White) and will be in action this weekend looking to threepeat as Champions at the Shelby Superduals,” said Coach Nick Emery.

Photo by J. Troupe.

By Jacquie Troupe

Cedar Springs Youth Wrestling Club had three ladies and their families travel to Grass Lake, Mich. for the War of the Roses Michigan Girls State Championship, on Sunday March 6. Caleigh and Annabelle Wood and Ariana Meyers all competed in round robin matches. This style of competition allows the girls to have plenty of quality matches. There were 111 girls who participated in 29 divisions.

Caleigh Wood placed 3rd in the 40-45lb Elementary division; Annabelle Wood placed 4th in the 67-75lb Elementary division; and Ariana Meyers placed 3rd in the 124-134lb Middle School division.

“Three amazing girls went to wrestle against some of the best girls in the state of Michigan,” said Coach Brandon Wood. “Caleigh, a veteran of girls wrestling, has 3 years experience and fought a hard bracket for third. Ariana and Annabelle, both first year wrestlers, showed great heart. Ariana quickly made a name for herself, giving both girls she lost to a heck of a run for their money. I’m proud of our outstanding Cedar girls!”

Check out www.waroftheroseswrestling.com for more information on girls’ competitions.

If you are interested in wrestling locally, please contact us through our facebook page: Cedar Springs Youth Wrestling Club.

By Jacquie Troupe

Cedar Springs Youth Wrestlers and their families had a busy weekend! A total of 12 wrestlers travelled to Thornapple-Kellog High School for a MYWAY West Regional Tournament, Shepherd High School for a MYWAY North Regional Tournament and Grass Lake High School for the War of the Roses Girls State Championship (see article here for girls results).

Blake Falan placed first in the 08-07 55lb novice Division.

Jonathan Libera placed second in the 11-09  Combined 61/64lb all; Logan Troupe placed second in the 04-03 90lb novice; and Carter Falan placed second in the 04-03 90lb open divisions.

Wayne White placed fourth in the 143 high school division.

At the end of the day, Cedar Springs Youth Wrestlers competed in 38 matches resulting in 21 wins and 17 losses. Carter Falan had the most pins in the least amount of time with three pins in 9:48 and the fastest tech fall with two minutes. Blake Falan was second with two pins in 4:10. Overall, eight team pins in a total time of 20:53 for the day!

The Creative Technologies Academy Boys and Girls Cross Country teams headed into the Class D State Championship meet with a lot of confidence, and rightfully so. Many of their runners had recently completed either their season or career best run times in the previous two weeks. For the boys team, it also meant that Junior captain Ethan Lehman was going to be able to compete after having to sit out the previous few meets with a stress fracture in his right leg.

The Charger boys finished with their best showing ever at the Class D meet, finishing in 13^th out of over 30 teams. They were once again led by Sophomore Les Miner, who finished 2nd overall with a time of 16:50. Lehman finished with a season personal record in his first race back with a time of 18:51. James Hofstra (19:58), Dawson Ingersoll (21:07), and Dawson Armstrong (21:28) rounded out the top 5 for the Chargers. With no seniors on the roster but plenty of experience, expect to see even better things out of this team next year.

The CTA Lady Chargers also had an impressive race led by Freshman Brianne Calkins with a personal career best time of 24:35. Not far behind her was Junior Tatyanna Lawson (25:00). Rounding out the varsity runners was Senior Kaleigh Keech. Kaleigh was running on a sprained ankle, but still fought through her final race to finish with a time of 38:30.

On Saturday, May 30, three members of the Cedar Springs girls track team competed in the MHSAA Division 2 State Track Meet in Zeeland. Senior Kenzie Weiler brought home the school’s first Track and Field state championship by winning the 3200 meter run. With 500 meters to go, Kenzie took the lead and ran away from the rest of the field. She won with a new school record time of 10:41.98 and was just two seconds off from setting a new Division 2 state record in the 3200 meter run.

Kenzie received All State honors in track and field and, combined with her achievement in the classroom, she also earned Academic All State in Track and Field. In the fall, Kenzie will continue her education and running career at Michigan State University.

Sophomore Tara Tepin competed in two events, in her first trip to the state finals. Tara placed 19^th in the 100 hurdles and ran a career best 47.21 in the 300 hurdles, for an 11^th place finish. Junior Allyson Marvel also in her first trip to the state finals placed 18^th in the pole vault with a vault of 8’ 11”.