Patrick Depiazza was Heavy Weight Champion and named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Allendale invitational last week. Photo by B. Chong.

By Barbra Chong

Wednesday, January 4, Cedar Springs High School traveled to Rockford for an OK White Conference Quad. The Red Hawks started the night off against Ottawa Hills claiming a victory at every match, final score 78-0. Rockford was our next opponent of the night and unfortunately ended with a loss, 24-41. 119 lb Logan Hull, 130 lb Aaron Smith, 160 lb Lucus Pienton, 171/189 lb Ryan Ringler and Heavy Weight Patrick Depiazza went undefeated with 2 wins each. 112 lb Nathan Male, 125 Patrick Fliearman, 135 lb Jordan Andrus, 140lb Jordan Ringler, 145 lb Anthony Brew, 152 Jacob Galinis, 171 lb Xavier Anderson and 215 lb Chris Shaffer each won a match. On JV, 152 lb Zak Schmid went undefeated with two wins each and Kaedrian Dines won a match.

Saturday, January 7, Cedar Springs traveled to Allendale for the Falcon Invite. The tournament attracted fifteen area teams and some tough competition. Final team standings were Lakeshore with the Championship and score of 216.50, Cedar Springs took 2^nd Place with a score of 205.50 points and Allendale took 3^rd Place with a score of 200. The tournament was broke up into Varsity A and B teams. Cedar Springs entered twelve competitors into the Varsity A division. Final Placements are as follows: Heavy Weight Patrick Depiazza, who remains undefeated this season, took home a Championship Title as well as Most Outstanding Wrestler award; 189 lb Ryan Ringler , 145 lb Lucus Pienton and 140 lb Jordan Ringler also took home Championship titles; 152 Jacob Galinis took home 2nd Place; 119 lb Logan Hull, 125 lb Patrick Fliearman and 171 lb Nate Patin took 3rd Place each; 112 lb Nathan Male, 130 lb Aaron Smith, 135 lb Jordan Andrus and 160 lb Zak Schmid took 5th Place each. The Varsity B Team entered five competitors. 119 lb Kaedrian Dines and 135 lb Anthony Brew each took home a Championship Title; 215 lb Caleb Baty took home 4th Place and 171 lb Xavier Anderson took home 5th Place.

“We’re just a bunch of Cedar Kids doing what Cedar kids do. We have taken some lickings but we keep on ticking,” said Head Coach Nick Emery.

Varsity: The Cedar Springs Varsity Cheer team finished 3rd out of 15 teams at Mona Shores.

This weeks competitions brought the Cedar Springs High School Varsity & JV teams to Mona Shores High School. It was a long night for the girls, due to there being 33 teams at this competition.

Starting in round one, Cedar Springs Varsity scored a 218.5 with a 4-point penalty bringing their score to a 214.5 and placing them in 4th place at the end of round one.

JV: The Cedar Springs JV team finished first out of six teams at Mona Shores.

Cedar Springs JV scored a 195.7 placing them in 1st place at the end of round one.

Continuing on to round two Cedar Springs Varsity scored a 218.7 making their subtotal for round two a 433.28 bringing them up to second place at the end of round two.

Cedar Springs JV scored a 163.6 bringing the subtotal to a 359.3 and holding their first place standing.

Lastly, in round three Cedar Springs Varsity scored a 280.1, bringing their overall total for all three rounds 713.38. This gave them a third place finish out of 15 Division 2 teams, with less than a one-point difference for second place.

Cedar Springs JV finished round three with a 248.7, bringing their overall total to 608 and securing a first place finish out of six JV teams.

Great job to all the girls.

The next High School competition will be Saturday January 7 at Comstock Park High School.

The 2016-2017 competitive cheer season has begun. Cedar Springs Middle School, coached by Deb Garza and Abby Olszewski, took the mat for the first time December 1 at Coopersville Middle School and brought home their first conference win of the season.

Saturday was the start to Cedar Springs high school JV and Varsity season. This brought the girls to Comstock Park High School for the CCCAM Scholarship Invitational, where there were 23 teams from 3 divisions competing.

After the completion of Rounds 1 and 2, Cedar Springs JV, coached by Katy Hradsky, had a combined score of  243.34. Cedar Springs Varsity, coached by Anne Olszewski, had a combined score of 401.56. That brings us to Round 3 where the girls display their impressive stunting and tumbling skills.

After the completion of Round 3, Cedar Springs JV earned a score of 226.08 bringing their total score to 470.14 and earning them a 2nd place finish for their division. Cedar Springs Varsity earned a score of 216.3 bringing their total to 617.56 and earning them a 3rd place finish for their division.
Our next middle school competition will be Thursday, December 15 at Cedar Springs. The JV and Varsity teams’ next competition will be December 21 at Mona Shores. Come out and support a great group of coaches and cheerleaders as they show their pride in being a Red Hawk.

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks are now 1-1 in conference after their win over Greenville.
Photo by K. Alvesteffer/R. LaLone.

By Rebekah Cronk

Friday, January 15th was the first and only home basketball game for the month of January and every player and fan were anxious to win against Greenville.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well from field or from the free-throw line.  Our defense was okay, but when you don’t shoot well you put so much pressure on your defense to keep coming up with stops,” said varsity basketball coach, Jeff Patin.

Although, the varsity team was struggling with shooting the ball, they were able to take a victory against Greenville, with an ending score of 60-51. The varsity team was led by three guys  in the double figures: Dustin Shaw with 13, Je’len Jackson 12, and Jameson Pavelka with 12.

“The win on Friday evened our record to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference,” said Patin.

The Friday night win against Greenville had the boys confident again, but they are still striving to improve their skills, and as a team.

“We feel good about the win knowing that we can still play better, [but] we are continuing to improve and find our rhythm,” said Patin.

The boys are continuing to work hard to try and accomplish the goals they have set as a team.

“We set several goals this year as a team and one [goal] was to win the conference championship,” said Patin.

The goal the team set to win the conference championship is a goal that not only the players would like to accomplish, but a goal that the fans would like to see met as well.

The team played Kent City on Tuesday, January 19, and they play Northview this Friday, January 22. See next week’s Post for coverage of those games.

The Varsity girls tennis team won the Sparta Invitational on Saturday, April 19th. The final team scores were: Cedar Springs 13, Sparta 9, Fremont 8, and Grand Rapids Union 2.

All four singles players for the Red Hawks brought home first place medals: Shannon Leal (#1), Megan Burnett (#2), Katie Schumann (#3), and Rebecca Williams (#4).

The #1 doubles team of Julie Schut and Emma Schut also were winners for Cedar Springs.

The Varsity girls will be in action on Thursday, May 8th at Northview High School at 4:15 and at the OK Bronze conference tournament on Saturday, May 10 at Forest Hills Northern High School at 9:00 a.m.

Aaron Brooks and Connor Mora in the 800 meter run. Photo by R. Klompstra.

The Red Hawk Varsity boys track and field team are off to an impressive start to the season, as they competed in and won two double dual meets before spring break. On March 26, they began the season at Greenville. They competed against the Yellow Jackets and Knights from Kenowa Hills. They defeated Greenville 85-52 and Kenowa Hills 76-61.

Leading the way for the Hawks was returning all-state distance runner Connor Mora. Connor led the 3200m relay team to victory with Ethan Menefee, Austin Sargent and Aaron Brooks. Mora also won the 1600m and 800m runs. Junior Aaron Dault also was impressive as he won the high jump (tie with senior Nate Jones), long jump, 110m high hurdles and 300m low hurdles. Senior and discus state qualifier Derek Ash won the shot put and discus events.

Next, the Hawks hosted their first home meet of the season versus Muskegon Mona Shores and Muskegon Oakridge. The Hawks handed Mona Shores a 99-38 defeat, while the Eagles from Oakridge were beaten 77-60.

Dault remained undefeated in both hurdle events. Mora won the 3200m relay along with the 1600m and 800m runs and the 400m dash. The 800m relay of Blake Willett, Brandon Sipka, Tyler Hindenach and Mathias Mair won a controversial race. Tyler Hindenach defeated all others in the pole vault. Derek Ash won the discus event, while senior Rylan Ash beat all others in the shot put. Finally, senior Aaron Brooks was victorious an impressive early season time in the 3200m run.

“As impressive as those four victories were, we cannot be satisfied. We will have our work cut out for us this season, our last, in the OK Blue. We have to effectively utilize our time at practice and in the weight-room if we have any hopes of retaining our two year run as conference champs. Forest Hills Northern, Sparta, West Catholic and Coopersville will each provide difficult match-ups this season,” stated Coach Myers.

The Hawks begin their conference title defense on Tuesday as they host West Catholic and Belding. They then travel to Coopersville on Saturday to compete at the annual Bronco Classic Invitational.

The Red Hawk girls Varsity track team hosted their first home meet of the year, Wednesday, March 28. The Red Hawks defeated Mona Shores 75 to 62 and defeated Muskegon Oakridge 121 to 14. The team’s overall record is now 3 wins and 1 loss. The 121 points scored against Oakridge is a team record for points scored in a dual meet. The team opens the OK Blue conference at Red Hawk Stadium on Tuesday April 10, with a double dual against Belding and West Catholic.

Placing for the Red Hawks was:

First Place:

Jeanette Sukstas shot put

Kait Twork discus

Abby VanDusen 100 meter hurdles, long jump and pole vault

Aly Hamilton 100 and 200 meter dashes

Mariah Alles high jump and 300 meter hurdles

Rieley Hondalus 400 meter dash

Kenzie Weiler 1600 and 3200 meter runs

Katei Weiler 800 meter run

400 Meter relay team of Marissa Oakes, Sayge Wight, Abby Vandusen, and Aly Hamilton

800 Meter relay team of Rieley Hondalus, Sayge Wight, Marissa Oakes, and Aly Hamilton

1600 meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Allie Veltkamp, Katie Weiler, and Sommer VanDyke

3200 meter relay team of Sommer VanDyke, Maddie Pekrul, Kenzie Weiler, and Katie Weiler.

Second Place: Jeanette Sukstas discus; Rieley Hondalus long jump; Shaelyn Fasel shot put; Briana Pierson pole vault; Marissa Oakes 100 meter dash; Katie Weiler 1600 meter run; Emily Shaft 400 meter dash; Samantha Robinson 200 meter dash; Maddie Pekrul 3200 meter run.

Third Place: Marissa Oakes long jump; Shaelyn Fasel discus; Kait Twork shot put; Briana Pierson high jump; Mariah Alles 100 meter hurdles; Sommer Vandyke meter 1600 run; Allie Veltkamp 800 meter run; Kellie Spahr 200 meter dash; Christina Dean 3200 meter run.

Cedar Springs Keeper Kyle Coutchie saves a ball. Also pictured #17 Luke Dault and #12 Trevor Rose.

On the rainy night of Tuesday, September 27, the Cedar Springs Red Hawks matched skills against the Coopersville Broncos. The Red Hawks came ready to play as a team. They sent the Broncos home 20 minutes early, as they mercied the Broncos, closing out the game with an 8-0 shut-out win. Cedar Springs lit up the score board early when Robert Klein scored from a pass from Mitch Hanmer (38:21). Robert Klein put in two more goals during the game with assists from Aaron Dault and Bryan Taylor.  Josh Champion was also able to capitalize on a goalie deflections from a goal attempt by Klein adding an additional goal. Kyle Szirovecz was on fire. He was credited with four goals for the night, with assists coming from teammates Jon Shaw, Robert Klein and Dontae Ensley. His four goals allowed him to break the “top scorer” school record in boys soccer. Junior Kyle Szirovecz has 55 goals up to this point in his high school career. Congratulations on his accomplishment and keep racking up the goals Kyle!
Rain continued to be an issue for soccer the week, when on Thursday, September 29, the Red Hawks traveled to Forest Hills Northern in OK Blue Conference play. Unfortunately, eight minutes into the play, thunderstorms rolled into the area, forcing officials to reschedule until the following day. The Red Hawks stepped onto the FHN field once again on Friday afternoon anticipating a tough, physical battle against the Huskies. The Huskies put constant pressure on the Red Hawk defensive line of Dontae Ensley, Lee Tompkins, Trevor Rose, Josh Champion, and Bryan Taylor. Despite many incredible saves by goalkeeper, Kyle Coutchie, FHN was able to put three goals in the net by the end of the first half and two additional goals by the end of the buzzer, closing out the game with a 5-0 loss for the Red Hawks. Even though we came up short, our skills on the field only continue to improve as our team continues to pull together and work as a team.
Coach Avink remarked, “We have seen all kinds of facets of play this week and we will continue to find out what works best for us!” Come cheer on our soccer teams as they take on Comstock Park and Belding next week.

Luke Dault (17) chases down the ball. Also pictured: #18 Kyle Szirovecz and #13 Robert Klein.

On the crisp night of Tuesday, September 20, Red Hawk stadium was buzzing with the sound of excited AYSO/CASSA players and their parents as they came to cheer on the Cedar Springs boys varsity soccer team, who was playing against the Sparta Spartans. The Spartans took an early 1-0 lead, but the Red Hawks quickly tied it up when Robert Klein connected with a cross from Kyle Szirovecz, heading the ball in over the keeper’s gloves (30:35). Mitch Hanmer’s well placed throw in to Klein, resulted in the second goal, as Klein kicked the ball over to Szirovecz, who blasted the ball into the back of the net (16:03). The Red Hawks finalized their 3-1 win, when forward Kyle Szirovecz accepted the ball up the field from defender Dontae Ensley, allowing Szirovecz to maneuver through several defenders and shot the ball into the lower corner of the net (34:08).
Following the game, Coach Avink and the team wanted to thank everyone that came out and supported us during our AYSO/CASSA night. “It was a huge success. The guys had some great wins this week and we are excited to continue to move forward in the up coming games!” he said.

Trevor Rose (12) attacks the ball. Also pictured: #20 Jon Shaw and #13 Robert Klein.

On Thursday, September 22, the Red Hawks traveled north to challenge the Big Rapids Cardinals. The Red Hawks took an early command of the game when Robert Klein connected with a pass from Kyle Szirovecz and sent the ball in to the back of the net (16:32). Red Hawk fans cheered when Szirovecz broke away from the Cardinal defense and drilled the ball past the keeper, increasing Cedar’s lead 2-1 (6:40). Szirovecz scored again 11 seconds into the second half, from a perfect cross sent to the net by Klein (39:49). Minutes later, Szirovecz scored a hat trick when he knocked in his third goal of the evening to bring the Red Hawks to a comfortable lead of 4-0 (29:42). With 37 seconds left on the clock, defender Dontae Ensley, tiptoed his way up field during a Cedar Springs corner kick, he got his foot on the ball and drilled it past the keeper giving the Red Hawks a 5-0 shut out victory over the Cardinals.

Red Hawks were winners of their own invitational. Photo by Jim Harthorn.

The Cedar Springs boys varsity track team completed the dual meet portion of the season with a record of 8-0, 6-0 in the conference, with victories over West Catholic (76-61), Sparta (101.5-34.5), and Coopersville (96-41). The team finished the week off by defending their own Red Hawk Invitational by outscoring Jenison, Forest Hills Northern, Rockford, Ionia, and Kenowa Hills. Battling through injuries and Mother Nature, the team was led by a group of seniors that for four years have compiled a record of 29-4 in dual meets, 26-1 in conference meets and own a 23-meet winning streak.

Justin Balczak set a school record this week in the 300m hurdles. Photo by Aimee Brumleve.

There were some outstanding performances this past week. AJ Olszewski set a school, Red Hawk stadium, and OK Blue conference record in the pole vault at 15 feet. Hank Porter set a school and stadium record in the long jump at 21 feet 10 inches and Justin Balczak set a school record in the 300m hurdles at 38.85 seconds.
Personal best performances this week were also put in by Alex Hemry in the 200m, Aaron Dault in the 300m hurdles, Justin Balczak in the shot put, Derek Ash and Dan Sagorski in the discus, Jake Rickner in the pole vault and long jump, Aaron Brooks in the 3200m run, Connor Mora in the 1600m run, Aaron Leal in the high jump, and Ryan Austin in the 100m.
The team enters the conference meet this week as the number one seed. They face a strong challenge from West Catholic and Forest Hills Northern to claim the outright OK Blue Championship. The preliminary heats are today at 4pm and finals Friday at 6pm Forest Hills Northern. As the defending champions, everyone is shooting to knock us off the podium and take our crown. With the weather finally warming up, let’s fill the stands for the boys and cheer them on to victory.

AJ Olszewski set a record in the pole vault at 15 feet. Photo by Mark Balczak.

Row 1: Beth Bullen, Aiyana Plank.Row 2: Amber Dunham, Sam Alger, Brittany Lenardson, Jessica Naffziger, Ellen Pike, Brooke Gust, Kristen Bull, Mackenzie Frederick, Amber Barnes, Jessica Blackmer, Paige Gebhardt. Row 3: Coach Russel, Molly VonSeggern, Alexis Robinson, Tranaya VerStrat, Molly McCarthy, Monica West, Samantha Durkee, Megan Brunett, Shannon Leal, Seana Pursley, Coach Kennedy.

The Cedar Springs Red Hawks Varsity  Tennis team has been steadily improving their stats as the season slowly begins to warm-up in weather and match results. This past week, the varsity girls defeated Coopersville, Sparta, and swept West Catholic. The season has not been weather friendly, and two Saturday tourneys and some non-league matches had to be canceled. Practice was often indoors or outside in some blustery conditions. Despite this, the varsity has posted a respectable 5 wins 3 losses and 2 ties for the season. The league tournament is this Saturday, with regionals at Ludington on May 19.
Playing #1 singles is Brooke Gust. She is currently 2nd in the league and has a dual record of 9-2. She has added some pace to her game and mental toughness that has enabled her to maintain a high level of play. Following Brooke in the lineup is seniors Mackenzie Frederick at #2, and Brittany Lenardson at #3 singles. Mackenzie has 8 wins and 3 losses, and Brittany is 9-2, with a 5-match winning streak. Both play with great patience and are able to adapt their games to defeat different types of opponents. Senior Ellen Pike is #4 singles, and is a 2nd year player that gives the team a valid competitor at #4.
The doubles teams are led by seniors Amber Dunham and Jessica Naffziger. The #1 girls have five match wins with the latest against West Catholic, coming back from a 5-2 deficit to win 7-5, 6-0. They have improved each week, like the whole team, with top results. Following are #2 doubles Paige Gebhardt and Samantha Alger, with a 5-2 record and 4-match win streak. They have sound ground strokes and that inner drive to compete at a top level. Jessica Blackmer and Kristen Bull make up #3 doubles are on a 6-match win streak. Jess, a sophomore, and Kristen, a freshman, blend together well and complement each other with their skills in competition. Below them at #4 doubles are freshmen Megan Brunett and Shannon Leal. They have 4 match wins, with the latest 6-0, 6-0 against West Catholic. Following them are the #13 and #14 girls senior Amber Barnes and freshman Samantha Durkee.
The team has some big challenges ahead being positioned in 3rd place in the OK-Rainbow conference after duals. The team need to have a good day at conference on Saturday, May 14. The tennis year, despite the weather disappointments, has been one of gradual improvement in tennis skills and match competitiveness. Coach Kennedy credits his captains jess Naffziger and Brooke Gust for their leadership, and the rest of the seniors—Amber D., Brittany, Mackenzie, Ellen, and Amber B. for helping to move the team forward this year.

Red Hawk Cheer team 7th in state

“Take the Lead” was the team motto for the season and it seemed to take on different meanings over the course of the season.  One might interpret it as taking the lead in all 3 rounds to win that competition while another might interpret it as being the leader for their team. Throughout this season, this team definitely encountered numerous adversities that they had to overcome in order to reach their final goal of making it to the D2 Competitive Cheer State Finals. The week before State Finals wasn’t any different, the team would have another obstacle to overcome as they entered into the State Finals competition.

“I’m so proud of how all of the girls really pulled together and helped each other out while we were preparing for the biggest competition of our season. I saw new leaders stepping up on our team and our team motto ‘take the lead’ took on a whole new meaning for me!” said Coach Pamela Ingles.

As Saturday approached, the team was continuing to prepare for their competition by finishing all the last minute details for each round.  At the end of their practice on Friday, the girls took a few minutes to share a funny memory from the season with their teammates and several had tears from laughing so hard about a memory that may have been forgotten.  They also shared what they were going to do at State Finals to give everything they could for themselves and their teammates as this would be the last time this team would compete together this year. Saturday morning, the team traveled to the Delta Plex in style. A limo transported all 20 teammates and their coach to the State Finals competition at the Delta Plex.

“It was nice to be able to surprise the girls with special transportation for something that they have worked so hard to accomplish all season—making it to State Finals,” remarked Coach Ingles.

When they arrived to the Delta Plex, they were greeted by several of their fans holding a banner that said “Congratulations Cedar Springs Varsity Cheer.” Out of the 20 girls on the team, 11 where returning from last years team. For 9 of the girls, this experience would be a brand new experience.

Junior Kelli Markosky described her first year experience at State Finals as, “One word—accomplishment. I know that’s what was on everyone’s mind as we walked through the doors of the Delta Plex and realized ‘WOW, we met our goal…we are at State Finals.’ As we stood in line for the national anthem, our hearts were pumping with excitement.”

The Delta Plex was filled to capacity and this was the biggest crowd the girls would compete in front of all year. After they finished round 1, they had their highest round 1 score of the season with a 223.3.  After all the teams had finished round 1, the Red Hawks were in 7th place by .2 behind Kenowa Hills.  Round 2 was started off by Gibraltor Carlson who had 16 girls on the floor compared to Cedar’s 12.  The girls knew they would have to go out there and have their best day in round 2.  Again, they had one of their best round 2 scores with a 235. With only one round left to go, the Lady Red Hawks were still in 7th place behind Lakeshore. Kenowa Hills had dropped to 8th place with an 8 point penalty during round 2.

“Walking out for round 3 was my last time to compete with this team, I knew I had to make it the best round ever and make it a lasting memory for our seniors,”  said sophomore Nicki Luevano. They earned a round 3 score of 307.6.

All of the hard work that started in November would be finished after round 3 was completed.  The perseverance, determination, hard work, and dedication to never give up led this team to their 2nd State Finals appearance, one that they hope will continue as a tradition into the upcoming years.

“It was an amazing feeling to be back at State Finals. Now we just need to aim to go back next year.  I would be so ecstatic if we went to State all four years of High School,” said sophomore Katie Maka.

As the final scores were tallied, the Cedar Springs Red Hawks would score their highest score of the season – 766, which would place them as the 7th best team in the State for D2. “7th isn’t what we were hoping for, but considering everything our team went through I’m satisfied. We found that when its necessary we can pull together and we did as we earned our highest score of the season!” remarked senior Brittany Lenardson.
In the future when this team reflects on their season, they will remember all of the memories they made during practices, competitions, team bonding activities, and ultimately the journey throughout the season to make it to their final goal – making it to the D2 State Finals Cheer Competition. As stated by senior Heather Mindler,”It was the best experience ever to compete at the State Finals!”