Cedar Springs cheer again dominated the mat on Saturday, January 14, at the Wyoming Invitational, with all three teams taking home first place.

The morning started with Cedar Springs Middle taking the lead at the end of round 2 with the score of 99.62 and holding the lead in round 3 with a score of 257.7. This gave them a total score of 352.32 and secured their first place finish.

Cedar Springs JV took the mat in a fight for another first place finish against four other JV teams. They took the lead in Round 1 of the competition with a score of 188.4. Round 2 gained them an additional 149.86 points, and gave them a subtotal of 338.6 and more than a 40-point lead going into the next round. They scored 249.6 in Round 3, bringing their score to 587.6, and securing their first place finish.

The Varsity team took the mat competing against six other teams and a fight to bring home another first place finish. In Round 1 they earned a score of 227.9 points, taking the lead with less than a 2-point difference. They kept their lead in Round 2, with an additional 224.08 point, bringing their subtotal to 451.98 and a difference between first and second place of more than 20 points. Round 3 earned them a score of 309.3, for a total score of 761.28—the girls’ highest scores of the season and a 40-point lead over the second place team.

Cedar Springs JV and Varsity will be at West Catholic Friday January 20th at 5 p.m. and on January 25, Cedar Springs will host the next conference meet at Cedar Springs High school at 6 p.m.

Come out and show your support for these coaches and athletes as they fight their way to conference champs!

By Barbra Chong

Cedar Springs High School Wrestling had a successful evening at Allendale’s Conference Tri Meet last Wednesday, January 27. The Red Hawks went undefeated, starting off against Forest Hills Eastern 57-9, and ending with West Catholic, 60-12.

The team is currently in first place with a 4-0 record in the OK Bronze Conference.

At our Junior Varsity level, 125 lb Aaron Smith and 130 lb Anthony Brew went undefeated. 140 lb Gonzalo Baladia and 171 lb Billy Hammer each scored a victory. On the Varsity level 112 lb Logan Hull, 125 lb Jordan Ringler, 130 lb Jordan Andrus, 135 lb Jesse Empie, 140 lb Jacob Galinis, 145 lb Anthony Topolski, 152/160 lb Nate Patin, 160/171 lb Gage Gardner, 171/189 lb Ryan Ringler and Heavy Weight Patrick Depiazza all went undefeated. 119 lb Patrick Fliearman and 152 lb Xavier Anderson also claimed a victory for the evening.

Saturday, January 30, the Red Hawks traveled to Shelby for their Team Challenge. The Varsity team is still missing a 103 lb wt class, causing a void and 6 point deficit each dual. With an impressive start to the day, the Red Hawks defeated Holt with a victory, 78-0; Grand Rapids Catholic Central gave us more of a challenge but the Red Hawks were on their game and came away with their second victory, 42-34. Keeping the momentum going, Hart was our next opponent and Cedar Springs continued the winning streak, 48-22. Shelby proved to be our toughest competitor but again the Red Hawks had their game faces on and remain undefeated, 36-30. The Championship round concluded our day against Mason County Central and the Red Hawks proved to be the best team performing with a final score, 52-22. Fourteen teams were attracted to the competition and Cedar Springs brought home the coveted Championship Title.

Individual records are as follows: 119/125 lb Jordan Ringler, 171/189 lb Ryan Ringler and Heavy Weight Patrick Depiazza went undefeated. 135/140 lb Jacob Galinis, 145 lb Anthony Topolski, 160 lb Gage Gardner and 171/189 lb Chris Shaffer claimed four wins each. 112 lb Logan Hull, 119/125 lb Patrick Fliearman, 130 lb Jordan Andrus and 135/140 Jesse Empie claimed three wins each.  152 lb Nate Patin  claimed two wins and 130 lb Anthony Brew, 215 lb TJ Brecken and 215 lb Cody McHenry claimed a victory as well. Freshmen, Anthony Brew made his Varsity debut and won his first match by fall. Freshmen, Ryan Ringler is still turning heads with his impressive performance over Senior Spencer Knizacky of Mason County Central, who is currently Division 4’s #1 Ranked Wrestler in the state of Michigan. Ringler won his match by regular decision 13-10.

“Senior Captain Ant Topolski stepped up his leadership game and told the boys, ‘if we can upset Catholic Central and get by these other teams we will be Champions and that would feel pretty good’ and so they did. Each dual twist and turned with unique matchups therefore each player was afforded an opportunity to test their skill. The boys proved they are a team and teamwork makes the dream work,” said Head Coach Nick Emery.

Prepare for pink game this Friday

By Kendra Coons 

The Red Hawks suffered a tough loss to West Catholic last Friday night. Photo by Kelly Alvesteffer.

On Friday, October 11, the Varsity football team went up against West Catholic at Red Hawk stadium for their annual Homecoming game. The Hawks came out strong, but ended up losing to the Falcons 36-14. This loss now makes their record 3-4 in overall play and 1-2 in conference play. The Red Hawks are now no longer in the running for the playoffs.
In the first quarter, with 12 seconds into the game, the Hawks very own Junior Mavrick Cotten ran up the middle for a 65-yard touchdown. Kaden Myers then passed to Senior Cameron Link for a two-point conversion. At the end of the first quarter the score was 8-0 with the Red Hawks in the lead.

In the second quarter, West Catholic’s Travis Russel passed to Brad Burns for a 23-yard touchdown. They added a two-point conversion, which tied up the game at 8-8. Cedar Springs scored again when senior quarterback Austin Hilyer passed to senior Cameron Link for an 8-yard touchdown. The Hawks tried for the two-point conversion, but it was no good. At the end of the first half the Hawks were in the lead 14-8.

In the third quarter West Catholic came out strong by scoring 3 touchdowns in 4 minutes. Travis Russel passed to David Banuck for a 15-yard touchdown and passed to Brad Burns for a 48-yard touchdown. Lasavian Majewski also ran the ball for a 38-yard touchdown. All three kicks by Travis Hoving were good. At the end of the third quarter, the Falcons took the lead 29-14.

In the fourth quarter West Catholic scored another touchdown by Andy Corey running for a 3-yard touchdown and the kick by Travis Hoving was good. At the end of the game the final score was 36-14 in favor of West Catholic.

“I feel we played well, but just not good enough to win,” commented Red Hawk Coach Gus Kapolka. “It was a hard fought game and [West Catholic] made more plays in the second half to win.”

On Friday, October 18, the Varsity team matches up at home against the Huskies of Forest Hills Northern The game will be played at Red Hawk Stadium and it is the annual “Pink Game” to honor breast cancer survivors and victims. It is also the team’s last home game of the season.

“[The Pink game] is for a good cause and the boys feel honored and privileged to be a part of it,” said Kapolka.

Come out and support your Cedar Springs Red Hawks as they play in their last home game of the season! The game starts at 7, so please be there to cheer on the team and don’t forget to wear pink!

By Kendra Coons 

On Thursday, October 10, the Cedar Springs JV football team went up against West Catholic at Falcon stadium. West Catholic took the win, 40-30 over the Red Hawks. The JV team’s overall record is now 5-2 and 2-1 in conference play.

On offense, the team’s quarterback, Collin Alvesteffer, had 11 carries, 71 rushing yards, 71 passing yards, and also scored one touchdown. Keenan Gosselin had 14 carries, 52 rushing yards, three touchdowns and one two-point conversion. Isiah MacDonald had 8 carries, and 29 rushing yards. Bryan Cebrero had 6 carries, and 52 rushing yards. And, Anthony Topolski had 17 carries, 157 rushing yards, one touchdown, and 2 two-point conversions.

On defense, Collin Alvesteffer led the team in tackles with a total of 8. Coming in close behind him with 7 was Anthony Topolski. Lane Gott came in with 6, and DaMarcus Barnett had 5.

“As a team we felt like we had a good game plan coming into the game, but in the end it came down to who made the least amount of mistakes,” said Coach James Streeter.

On Thursday, October 17, the Hawks take on Forest Hills Northern at Husky Stadium. With 2 conference games left, the games are on the line for the JV Red Hawks.

“As a team with a lot of new faces, we’re still working on finding our identity, but we’re looking forward to finishing strong,” commented Streeter.

The game starts at 6:30 p.m. Come out and support your Red Hawks as they play their last away game of the season!

The Red Hawk team after winning their conference championship

The Cedar Springs Red Hawk girls track team won their first conference championship in school history, on Friday May 11, at Belding. The team scored 128 points to finish ahead of West Catholic, who scored 112. The victory in the conference meet, combined with an undefeated league dual record, gives the team the outright OK Blue Championship. Congratulations to all the athletes and coaches on an excellent season! For all the details on the win, click here.

Abby VanDusen (center) in the 100 meter hurdles.

The Girls Varsity track team hosted their first OK Blue meets of the year. In a double dual meet at Red Hawk Stadium the Red Hawks defeated West Catholic by a score of 76 to 59 and Belding 81.5 to 54.5. The teams overall record is now 5-1 and are 2 – 0 in the Ok Blue. The team travels to Chippewa Hills on Saturday April 21 for the Warrior Invitational and on Tuesday April 25 Travel to Forest Hills Northern for an Ok Blue meet.

Placing for the Red Hawks was:

First Place: Jeanette Sukstas shot put and discus; Abby VanDusen long jump;  Aly Hamilton 100 and 200 meter dashes; Kenzie Weiler 1600 and 3200 meter runs; Katie Weiler 800 meter run; 400 Meter relay team of Marissa Oakes, Sayge Wight, Abby Vandusen, and Aly Hamilton; 1600 meter relay team of Riley Hondalus, Aly Hamilton, Katie Weiler, and Sommer VanDyke; 3200 meter relay team of Sommer VanDyke, Maddie Pekrul, Kenzie Weiler, and Katie Weiler.

Second Place: Rieley Hondalus 400 meter dash; Shaelyn Fasel discus; Abby VanDusen pole vault and 100 meter hurdles; Marissa Oakes long jump; Katie Weiler 1600 meter run; Maddie Pekrul 3200 meter run; Briana Pierson high jump; Sommer VanDyke 1600 and 800 meter run.

Third Place: Kayla Bohy discus; Rieley Hondalus high jump; Christina Dean 3200 meter run; Marissa Oakes 200 meter dash; Emily Shaft 400 meter dash.

Spartan Classic

The Girls Varsity Track traveled to Sparta for the Spartan Tri-Level Classic. In the 9th and 10th grade Division the team scored 75 points and placed 4th out of 8 teams. In the 11th and 12th grade division they scored 46.5 points and placed 6th out of 8 teams. Kenzie Weiler won the 3200 meter run and set a new school record with a time of 10:55.55. Also taking first places were Aly Hamilton in the 100 meter dash and the 3200 meter relay team of Emily Shaft, Shayne Mann, Maddie Pekrul and Kenzie Weiler.

Also placing for the Red Hawks was:

Second Place: Aly Hamilton 200 meter dash; Marissa Oakes 100 meter dash and long jump; Katie Weiler 1600 meter run; Abby VanDusen pole vault; 400 meter relay team of Rieley Hondalus, Marissa Oakes, Abby VanDusen, and Aly Hamilton.

Third Place: Maddie Pekrul 1600 meter run; 800 meter relay team of Kellie Spahr, Sayge Wight, Mara Ellison, and Emily Shaft; 3200 meter relay team of  Sommer VanDyke, Kayla Ovokaitys, Allie Veltkamp, and Katie Weiler.

The Red Hawk boys track and field team competed last Tuesday and Saturday. On Tuesday, they hosted a double dual with West Catholic and Belding. The Hawks improved to 6-0 on the young season by beating the Falcons 76-61 and the Redskins 85-52. On Saturday, they traveled to Coopersville to take on seven other schools at the annual Bronco Classic. They Hawks entered three teams—middle school, junior varsity and varsity. The middle school and junior varsity team placed second in their divisions, while the varsity placed fourth. Overall, they placed second.

Leading the way in points for the season are Derek Ash (throws), all-stater Connor Mora (distance), Aaron Brooks (distance), Ilan Cabarello (sprints), Aaron Dault (hurdles), Rylan Ash (throws), and Nate Jones (high jump).

“We showed a lot of improvement from the first week of competition before spring break. We were rusty in some events last Tuesday, but the boys responded well and improved on Saturday. This upcoming week is going to show if we are contenders or not in the hunt for the league title,” stated Coach Myers.

The Hawks hosted Coopersville in a league dual on Tuesday, and then travel to Chippewa Hills for a 14-team invitational on Saturday.

Tiffany Karger led in scoring for the Red Hawks last week, getting 21 points against West Catholic, and 19 against Tri County.

Cedar Springs girls varsity basketball team traveled to West Catholic High School on Friday, Jan. 27, to face the other undefeated team in the OK Blue, the Falcons. After an entertaining game, the ladies of West Catholic came out on top 43-42, in front a near capacity crowd.

The game was tight from the beginning, with West Catholic holding a one point lead after the first quarter but Cedar fought back to take a three point lead into the halftime break 18-15.

In the third quarter, West Catholic came out with a renewed aggressive offense that featured a two-player pick and roll game and attempted to run the ball up the court at every opportunity. West was able to open up a 9-point lead late in the third quarter. Cedar countered and picked up their defensive pressure and was able to close the gap to 34 to 27 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was exciting as Cedar closed the gap and took the lead late in the fourth quarter. There were several lead changes late in the game with West scoring with about 20 seconds to go. Cedar had one more chance but could not connect on their last attempt at the horn.

Coach Scott Taylor was proud of his teams’ effort. “The girls fought hard and we competed to our best. A game like that always comes down to a few possessions.  Not the last one but different moments throughout the game.”

Tiffany Karger led the Red Hawks with 21 points, Chaya Coxon and Rachael Ludtke each contributed 7.  Molly Holtrop had 4, Brittany had 2, and Hannah Wight had 1 to round out the scoring.

The girls then hosted the Tri County Vikings on Saturday, Jan. 28, in a make up game. The Red Hawks came away with the win by a score of 47-34.

Cedar jumped out to an early lead by 8 points at the end of the first quarter and extended that lead to 25 to 8 at the halftime break. Cedar cruised home to the victory but looked a little tired having played on back to back nights.

Tiffany Karger again led the Red Hawk scoring with 19 points followed by Allie Veltkamp with 9, Chaya Coxon with 8, Hannah Wight had 6, Brittany and Rachael Ludtke with 2 each, and Shaelyn Fasel scored 1.

Kyle Szirovecz (18) and Robert Klein (13) jump for a corner-kicked ball vs. West Catholic. Also pictured are Dontae Ensley (8) and Brandon Goodenough (15).

On Tuesday, October 11, the Cedar Springs Red Hawks hosted the West Catholic Falcons. Aaron Dault lit up the scoreboard when he blasted a rocket ball into the net just below the cross bars (23:43). Shortly after, Ilan Caballero was positioned at the back door of the net and knocked in a ball crossed over from Kyle Szirovecz. (15:09). The final goal of the game came late into the second half, when Robert Klein sliced the ball past the keeper (9:10). West Catholic offense was suffocated and they went home empty due to the fact that Cedar dominated the ball on both ends of the field. Cedar’s defense demonstrated a unified effort consisting of Dontae Ensley, Aaron Dault, Bryan Taylor, and Trevor Rose and keeper Kyle Coutchie. The final score ended with a Cedar Springs shut-out victory of 3-0.
On Thursday, October 13, Cedar Springs closed OK-Blue Conference play against their rival neighbors to the west, the Sparta Spartans. The Red Hawks took an early command of the game when Kyle Szirovecz drilled the ball past the goaltender, with an assist from Robert Klein (21:34). Minutes later, Robert Klein knocked in another goal sent to him by

Aaron Dault (7) jumps to head the ball vs. West Catholic. Also pictured Jon Shaw (20), Mitch Hanmer (11), Ilan Caballero (19).

Kyle Szirovecz (14:07). Szirovecz was credited for the third goal of the match, giving the Red Hawks a comfortable lead of 3 to 0. A minute before the halftime buzzer, Sparta was granted a free kick, opening an opportunity to sneak a shot in, snatching the ball from the grasp of goalkeeper, Kyle Coutchie, making the score 3 to 1 at the half. Heavy rain began to fall as second half play resumed, creating challenging conditions for the players. Sparta benefited from this when a shot on goal slipped through Coutchie’s gloves and into the net. This unfortunate event fired up the Red Hawk squad and the team went to work to shut down the Spartans and closed out the game with a 3-2 victory. Special acknowledgment goes out to the reserve members of the Cedar Springs team for their strong team efforts and supportive play exhibited throughout the season. They are as follows: Kyle Longcore, Parker Selleck, Brandon Goodenough, Tyler Aungst, and Santiago Quiroga. Red Hawks end their OK-Conference schedule with a 9 win-3 loss record and an overall season record of 12-5. Great playing guys and good luck in districts! The soccer teams appreciated all of the fan support during this season!

Red Hawk Tyler Luevano #5 intercepts the ball in the end zone. Photo by R. Klompstra.

The Cedar Springs freshmen Red Hawks won after a forfeit by Fremont on October 6, and then concentrated on tackling West Catholic October 13. “The boys stepped up to the challenge of facing one of the top teams in our league (West Catholic) and were very focused leading up to game day,” said freshman football Coach Kirk Covey.
With many players in positions they hadn’t practiced all season due to injuries, it was a tough game. The first quarter was a back and forth battle at midfield until the Red Hawks scored, ending the quarter 6-0.
The battle continued in the second quarter when Tyler Luevano made an interception in the end zone denying West Catholic a touchdown. Late in the quarter our offensive line, once again, provided the opportunity for a running back to gain some yards. Jesse VanHemert took advantage of that opportunity and ran it in for another Cedar Springs touchdown. The Falcons responded with a touchdown of their own with one minute left in the half. The Red Hawks were still going strong and with 40 seconds left in the first half, MavRick Cotton scored a touchdown. With a successful 2-point conversion, the first half ended with Cedar 20 and West Catholic 6.
The Falcons came back from halftime determined to even the score. Both sides battled hard, but the Falcons were the only ones to score in the 3rd quarter, bringing the score to Cedar 20 and West Catholic 13.
Early in the 4th quarter, the Falcons intercepted the ball in the end zone preventing a Red Hawk touchdown. Midway through the quarter, the Falcons scored a touchdown bringing the score to Cedar 20 and West Catholic 19. With 5 seconds left, the Falcons threatened to take the lead on a field goal but the kick wasn’t successful and the game ended with a score of Cedar 20 and West Catholic 19.
Our guys showed a lot of heart, most of them were out on the field 100 percent of the time without rest and they hung in there at the end when it counted most. Great job guys! Good luck with your last game of the season at Sparta on October, 20.

Aly Hamilton goes up for two. Hamilton led the freshmen Red Hawks in rebounding, steals and blocked shots this season.

The Cedar Springs girl’s freshmen basketball team wrapped up their season with a thrilling overtime victory over a very good West Catholic team. The game was close from start to finish, and the Red Hawks trailed by 3 with only 8 seconds to go. The ball was inbounded to Mary Monterusso, who dribbled to the 3-point line, but the defender was too close and she could not get a shot off. Mary passed to Nikki Matzke, who drained a game tying last second 3-pointer to send the game in to overtime.

In the overtime period, Mikenzie Francis penetrated the lane several times and drew fouls. Francis made enough free throws to ice the game for the Red Hawks. Cedar Springs came away with a 47-41 victory to end the season on a high note. Francis led the Red Hawks with 15 points and Monterusso had 13. Matzke had 5 points. Aly Hamilton had 5 points and a team high 10 rebounds. Taylor Baker had 4 points, Sayge Wight 3, and Kate Miller two.

The Red Hawks finished the season with a fine 10-6 record, and were 7-3 in the OK Blue conference. Coach Emily Sorensen noted that opposing coaches complimented the Red Hawks on their defense, teamwork, attitude and passing skills.

Mary Monterusso goes over the West Cathloic player. Mary led the Cedar Springs freshmen girls in scoring this season.

Monterusso led the team in scoring with 133 points, and in 3-pointers made with 12. Francis was second with 118 points, and led the team in assists with 37. Aly Hamilton was third with 91 points and led the team in rebounds (134), steals (54), and blocked shots (23).

Nikki Matzke scored 69 points and was third on the team with 66 rebounds. Taylor Baker also had 69 points and led the team by shooting 36 percent from the floor. Sayge Wight was next with 39 points and was second on the team with 69 rebounds. Jessica Kriekaard had 28 points and 29 steals for the Red Hawks, while Kate Miller had 18 points and led the team shooting 75 percent from the free throw line.

Alysha Chaney had 13 points, 14 steals and shot 40 percent from 3-point range. Bre Burns had 5 points and 14 rebounds, and Ally Rohacz had 3 points and 6 rebounds.

Matt Patin (140 lb) with a quick pin in the first round against West Catholic Falcons.

The Red Hawk wrestlers enjoyed success on their home mats last week.
The week started out with a win over West Catholic 53-18, in the OK Blue conference match. Baron Lenardson (103 lb) put the first points on the board with a void win in favor of the Hawks. West Catholic countered with a fall at 112 lb, to tie the score 6-6. Jared Vodry (125 lb) came on strong with an 18-3 technical win over his Falcon opponent. Quick pins by Cody Oehme (130 lb), Matt Patin (140 lb) and Jake Marsman (152 lb) in the first period of their matches added to the Red Hawk Score.  Point wins by Dom Chong (145 lb) and Levi Whipple (171 lb), with additional void wins by Nic Baird (119 lb), Austin Wamser (160 lb) and Cory Wozniak (189 lb) brought victory for the Red Hawks.
The JV team had an impressive show. Senior, Aaron McLaughlin (285 lb) beat his opponent with an aggressive 14-1 major win. Nate Doerr (140 lb) conquered his Falcon foe. Danny Wier (125 lb) earned a fall early in the second period of the match and Kyle Rice (215 lb) battled hard earning a 5-4 score, to win by injury fall.

CSHS varsity wrestlers place first at home invitational.

The JV Red Hawk wrestlers went undefeated for the event.
On Saturday, Cedar Springs hosted five area teams at its home invitational and captured the first place win. The Hawks started the day with a bye in round one,  then went on to defeat Greenville 53-12 in round two. A 73-6 score over Plainwell in the third match led to a 63-17 win over Traverse City West. The championship round found Cedar Springs battling rival Rockford with a 54-9 score to go undefeated as a team and keep the first place trophy at home.
Undefeated Red Hawks for the day were freshmen Baron Lenardson, Brett Bouwens, Jared Vodry; sophomore Cody Oehme; juniors Matt Patin and Austin Wamser, and seniors Nic Baird, Jake Marsman, Levi Whipple and Joe Simon.
The Hawks stay close to home this week as they match up with rival Sparta on Wednesday, January 26 for the final in season OK Blue conference match and then to the Rockford Invitational on Saturday, January 29.