Sports
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November 10, 2016
Oceana's Herald-Journal
Cross Country
B
Volleyball
Shelby 3, Mason Co. Central 0 Pentwater 3, Mason Co. Eastern 0 Walkerville 3, Manistee Catholic 0 Shelby 3, Holton 0 Pentwater 3, Walkerville 0 Shelby 3, Saginaw Valley Lutheran 2 Pentwater 3, Calvary Christian 2
Hart girls 7th @ State Finals Adelyn Ackley wins individual state championship Alayna Ackley finishes 7th for All-State honors Hesperia boys 16th, Walkerville 17th @ State Finals Perrin Kirwin finishes 22nd, earns All-State honors
Adelyn Ackley ascends to the top
Sophomore wins state, sets D-3 course record; Hart girls take 7th as a team
By David Bossick Shoreline Media
BROOKLYN — Adelyn Ackley felt just one thing when she crossed the finish line Saturday during the MHSAA Division 3 state cross country meet at Brooklyn’s Michigan International Speedway. “It was a feeling of relief I’ve never had before,” she said. The Hart sophomore was able to hold off Lansing Catholic junior Olivia Theis by 0.7 seconds for the individual state
championship. Ackley’s time also represented a new state finals record for Division 3 girls. “I wanted to follow second place until the second mile, and then I wanted to give it all I had the last mile,” Ackley said. “I didn’t ever look back. I probably should have at the end just to make sure. I wasn’t sure how far she was behind me.” Out of the eight state championship races, both boys and girls, no other race was as closely contested at the end
than the one between Ackley and Theis. The next closest battle was Caro’s Yami Albrecht winning the boys’ Division 3 title by three seconds over Bridgman’s Brian Njuguna. Ackley was the runner-up a season ago to current Michigan State Spartan and Traverse City St. Francis alum Holly Bullough. Ackley cut 37.6 seconds off of her time from last year at the state meet under the
ACKLEY WINS IT ALL continued on 2b
Wildcats’ Kirwin all-state in Division 4; Hesperia, Walkerville finish 16th & 17th By Andy Roberts Herald-Journal Writer
Jim Cherry • For the Herald-Journal
Hart sophomore Adelyn Ackley (left) keeps pace with Lansing Catholic’s Olivia Theis during the Division 3 state girls cross-country finals Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. Ackley beat Theis by 0.7 seconds to win the individual state championship.
BROOKLYN — Hesperia and Walkerville’s boys teams each turned in top-20 finishes at Saturday’s Division 4 state cross-country meet at Michigan International Speedway. Hesperia took 16th place with 382 points, while Walkerville was 17th with 412. Highlighting the D-4 performances was an all-state run from Walkerville senior Perrin Kirwin, who closed his career with an impressive 22nd-place
D-4 STATE RUNNERS continued on 2b
David Bossick • Shoreline Media
Walkerville senior Perrin Kirwin (bib 934) leads a pack of runners during Saturday’s Division 4 state cross-country finals. Kirwin finished 22nd to earn all-state honors in his final race.
Local schools triumph at regionals Falcons gut out win over Eagles
By Andy Roberts Herald-Journal Writer
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MOUNT PLEASANT — On a night that saw neither team able to assert its will over the other, Pentwater’s regional semifinal match against Calvary Christian came down to who made fewer mistakes. The Falcons were that team, staving off a terrific effort from Calvary to eke out a five-game win, 13-25, 25-22, 27-25, 20-25, 15-13. The win was Pentwater’s second straight regional semifinal win to go the distance and earned the Falcons another shot at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, the team that’s knocked them out the last three years. A raucous crowd, particularly on the Calvary Christian side, brought a big-time feel to the vital match, and Falcons’ coach Kerry Newberg said she felt it affected her team’s play despite their experience at this level of tournament action. “It was almost like the deer in the headlights for the first two sets,” Newberg said. “They could not shake it out of them. I can’t blame inexperience. We kind of went away from the game plan tonight. We had to battle it out.” Despite not having its best, Pentwater did display some remarkable guts, especially after the Eagles dominated the first game. The Falcons came right out and grabbed a 6-0 lead in game two. Calvary, also up for a battle, stormed back to tie the game a couple of times, but Pentwater staved off the surge, getting two kills from Linnea McDonough to finish off the second game. Game three was possibly the most heartpounding, but it didn’t appear that’s where things were headed when Pentwater grabbed a 20-9 lead. However, the Eagles, coming out of a timeout, dominated play and forced Newberg to call timeout twice. Calvary managed to survive three game points and even had the chance for one itself, at 25-24, but committed three straight errors to end the game. It was emblematic of the night, as both teams gave their all despite not having their best. “I never felt comfortable all night,” Newberg said. “I don’t think the girls did either. They battled it out, but we never got into a groove. I give the girls a lot of credit. They were tired, but they fought it out.” Even after letting game three slip away, Calvary wasn’t ready to fade, and took advantage of several Pentwater miscues to squeeze out a 25-20 win. That sent the match to the fifth and
Andy Roberts • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Shelby players celebrate a kill by Jaren Smith (8) during Tuesday’s regional semifinal match against Saginaw Valley Lutheran, played at Beal City. The Tigers won the match in four games. Andy Roberts • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Pentwater players Linnea McDonough (left) and Terra Cluchey field a ball in the back row during Tuesday night’s regional semifinal match at Mt. Pleasant Scared Heart. The Falcons won in five games.
final game. Fittingly, that one was back and forth to the end, too. Calvary led most of the way, holding a 13-11 advantage at one point before Taylor Wilkinson delivered a massive kill. A two-hit violation on Calvary, one of several called against the Eagles on the night, tied the game up, and junior Allison McGregor’s ace put the Falcons at match point. An attack error by Calvary ended the match. After the victory, Pentwater’s bench celebrated briefly but seemed to move quickly into exhale mode, glad to have survived a huge chal-
FALCONS GUT OUT REGIONAL WIN continued on 2b
THURSDAY, NOV. 10
TUESDAY, NOV. 15
Pentwater vs. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, Regional Finals, at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, 6:30 p.m. Shelby vs. Morley-Stanwood, Regional Finals, at Beal City, 7 p.m.
Shelby @ Quarterfinals, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic, 7 p.m. (if necessary) Pentwater @ Quarterfinals, Buckley, 7 p.m. (if necessary)
Volleyball
Volleyball
Smith carries Tigers to win
By Andy Roberts Herald-Journal Writer
BEAL CITY — Shelby and Saginaw Valley Lutheran would probably have been evenly matched on a normal night for each team. Luckily for the Tigers, Tuesday was far from a normal night for junior Jaren Smith. Despite tweaking her knee during game two, Smith dominated Tuesday’s regional semifinal match against the Chargers, ripping off 22 kills as the Tigers picked up the win, 2521, 17-25, 25-20, 25-17. Smith also had 18 digs, second on the team, in an overwhelming performance. “Just from my perspective on the bench, Jaren Smith took over the whole match,” Shelby coach Tom Weirich said after Shelby advanced to its first regional final under his leadership. “I don’t think they were quite ready for that. Jaren, I always say, is just a freak of nature. She does things that, it’s not coaching, I’ll tell you that right now. She shows up with an ability no one else in this
Andy Roberts • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Shelby junior McKenna Peters (right) lofts the ball against defense from Saginaw Valley Lutheran’s Katie Engelhardt (5) and Alisha Schuman during Tuesday’s regional semifinal match at Beal City. Shelby won in four games.
gym tonight has.” on Lutheran errors. The night got off to a slow “It was just the bigness of the start for Shelby, which fell game,” Weirich said. “We had behind 7-2 and looked out of a long bus ride over, and we’d sync offensively. At one point TIGERS ADVANCE TO the Tigers were down 11-5 and REGIONAL FINALS had scored three of their points continued on 2b
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• November 10, 2016 • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Tigers advance to regional finals been thinking about it since last Friday.” That’s when Smith took over, almost single-handedly spearheading a Shelby rally. The Tigers finally took their first lead of the night at 17-16 and took a 24-19 lead before holding off the Chargers. Even after a game-two loss, Weirich said his team’s confidence did not waver once it had proven its mettle with the game-one rally. “I told the girls, they’ve been in big situations, whether in athletics or in the classroom,” Weirich said. “They know how to be gamers. They figured it out. You could sense the nerves, but after we caught back up, you had that feeling like we could score on these guys a lot.” The Tigers seized a 10-4 lead early in game three and while Lutheran kept it close from
Falcons gut out regional win
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there, they maintained the lead throughout the game. McKenna Peters delivered a key kill late in the game to put Shelby up 22-20, and a pair of Brooke James kills closed out the third game. Peters had a solid match in her own right, posting 12 kills and 19 digs to go with a pair of blocks. James also had two blocks. Lutheran took a 5-1 lead early in game four, but Shelby ripped off the next eight points and took a commanding 17-9 lead, never allowing the Chargers to seriously threaten from there. Again it was Smith leading the way. For a long period of play it seemed Smith was hitting perfectly placed rockets every time the ball was set to her. “She’s just a flat-out athlete,” Weirich said. “It’s fun to watch. She does some things where
you feel bad for the other team sometimes. I played some college ball, and I wouldn’t want to play defense on her.” Kasey Morse delivered 36 assists for Shelby and led the team in aces, with four. Amy England chipped in 16 digs. The Tigers advanced to face Morley-Stanwood, 3-2 winners over Coleman, in Thursday’s regional final. The Mohawks, of course, were the team that knocked Shelby off in its previous trip to the regional. It will be the first regional final appearance for everyone on the Tigers’ team, but their closeknit bond, with perhaps some help from Smith’s and Peters’ brilliance, will have them confident. “They’ve been around each other enough now,” Weirich said. “They have each other’s backs.”
lenge on a night that could have easily swung the other way. “We survived tonight,” Newberg said. “That was a good team. They were digging everything out. They were tough at the net. We had to put the ball down to beat them. “It’s funny, I saw (Sacred Heart’s) coach scouting, and I kind of love that I didn’t show her our A game tonight. She saw my kids battle it out, but they didn’t play the best they could play. We need to get back in the gym tomorrow and talk about the weaknesses we had tonight. It’s not their skill level, but they let the game get in their head and made mistakes they don’t usually make.” Newberg said Sacred Heart Andy Roberts • Oceana’s Herald-Journal was the matchup she wanted, Pentwater’s volleyball team celebrates a 3-2 win over Calvary eager to hopefully avenge the Christian in Tuesday night’s regional semifinal match at Mt. Pleaslosses of the past three seasons. ant Sacred Heart. But the Irish are a powerhouse, dle, Sophie Ruggles,” New- presence. She’s someone we and they won’t go quietly. “They have that good mid- berg said. “She’s a really strong have to watch out for.”
Falcons make it 4 in a row at Tigers beat Holton in road districts, sweep Walkerville match, earn district title By David Bossick Shoreline Media
By Andy Roberts Herald-Journal Writer
HOLTON — Shelby fought off a game effort from the host Holton Red Devils and their racuous crowd Friday night to secure its second district championship in three years, earning a 25-21, 25-19, 25-13 win. Holton held leads in each of the first two games before Shelby stormed back to win them, and the Tigers wasted little time putting things away in the third game to earn a trophy. “We thought we had the edge coming in, having played them early in the season, but they played us tough, in game one and game two for sure,” Shelby coach Tom Weirich said. “They came out and played better than I thought they would, so kudos to them.” Shelby held an early 10-4 lead in game one, but the Red Devils battled back and took a 16-15 lead at one point, forcing Weirich to call timeout. That pause was well-timed, as the Tigers surged ahead 21-17 out of the break on the way to a close win. In game two, it was Holton that had the quick start, leading 7-2 early on. It was Shelby’s turn to rally this time, and the Tigers did, ripping off a 6-1 run and tying the game at 13 later on. They took their first lead of
Andy Roberts • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Shelby’s Jaren Smith (center) follows through on a kill against Holton’s Karlee Bates (15) and Alicia Dykman during Friday’s district championship match. Smith had 19 kills in the Tigers’ 3-0 win.
game two at 16-15 and slowly pulled away from there. Weirich said he felt the Shelby crowd, which was just as sizable as the Holton contingent, helped spark the Tigers later in the game. “Our student body following tonight was our best of the season,” Weirich said. “Later they were able to use it as a tool. It’s fun to see the kids show up and get excited.” Jaren Smith was the star of the day for Shelby, and showed off some remarkable effort when she leapt over a chair on the bench at one point to try to get to a ball. She posted a team-
high 19 kills and hit for an impressive .378 average. “She is just a dynamic player that can take over at the net,” Weirich said. “She’s one of the best athletes that’s ever walked through Shelby’s hallways for sure.” McKenna Peters, who starred last Wednesday in the semis, was no slouch either, posting 25 digs and 11 kills. The Tigers served very well, with 13 aces as a team, led by four each from Kasey Morse and Amy England.
D-4 state runners
finish, up three spots from his all-state run of 2015. Kirwin’s time was 17:02.2, just four seconds off his time from a season ago. Two more Wildcats, Shane Achterhof and Tyler Sheehy, finished in the top 100. Achterhof, a freshman, took 63rd place and had a time of 17:40.9. He was the third freshman across the line in the D-4 race. The junior Sheehy placed 93rd and had a time of 18:04.8. Dillon Brown (147th, 18:53.2) and Diego Rivera (235th, 22:03.3) also scored for the Wildcats. Alex Sheehy (236th, 22:04.3) and Parker Kirwin (242nd, 23:33.0) were the Wildcats’ sixth and seventh finishers respectively. “It was a great ending to an outstanding year,” Walkerville coach Michelle Sweet said. “We finished ahead of many schools several times our size. 17th place was a success and it has geared the boys up and made them hungry for next year. “Perrin’s finish was icing on the cake. He sets his mind to do something, and he always manages to do it. When he stood on that stage and accepted his medal, he did it for his team as much as himself.” Hesperia was not fortunate enough to have an all-state runner, but bested Walkerville on the strength of its depth. Collin Nielsen paced the Panthers in his final career run, placing 44th. His time was 17:29.2. He was the first of three Hesperia athletes to place in the top 100. Kyle Venne came in 64th and had a time of 17:41.2, and Zach Young took 96th place with a time of 18:06.8. Jeremiah Hasty and Connor Baird also
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David Bossick • Shoreline Media
Above, Walkerville’s Shane Achterhof (left) and Hesperia’s Kyle Venne head for the finish during Saturday’s Division 4 state crosscountry finals. Below, the Wildcats’ Emily Merten (center) runs in a pack with Harbor Springs’ Alyssa Kihnke (1791) and Deckerville’s Kylee Colesa.
scored for the Panthers, with Hasty placing 158th (19:03.7) and Baird coming in 168th (19:11.4). The Panthers’ sixth and seventh finishers were Luke Kruppe (177th, 19:22.6) and Chris Stapel (202nd, 19:45.5). In the D-4 girls’ race, Walker-
ville senior Emily Merten narrowly missed what would have been her fourth all-state run. In her last run as a Wildcat, Merten clocked in with a time of 20:42.1, placing 33rd, three spots and 14.3 seconds behind the last all-state position.
PENTWATER — Pentwater’s volleyball team collected another district championship, its fourth in a row, Friday night in front of its hometown crowd, taking an MHSAA Class D title against Walkerville, 25-14, 257, 25-10. Friday was like another West Michigan D League match. The Falcons took on league rival Walkerville. Pentwater didn’t allow the Wildcats to get much going, capitalizing on Walkerville’s errors and using them to go on extended runs. “We talked about controlling the game right from the start with our offense and our serving,” Newberg said. “(Walkerville has) a hard time digging up things that hard. Their serve receive is pretty good, but when you hit at them, they have a hard time.” “We couldn’t get our serves over. Our serves killed us tonight. I don’t know why. Normally, they’re a very strongserving team,” Walkerville coach Kami Wightman said. Walkerville was without a key player, senior setter Emily Merten, who ran in Saturday’s state cross-country finals and
David Bossick • Shoreline Media
Walkerville’s Kylie Masta (right) hits the ball at Pentwater defenders Desirae Coronado (20) and Linnea McDonough during Friday’s district title match at Pentwater. The Falcons won, 3-0.
was unavailable to play. Without Merten, the Wildcats were out of sorts. “We had two (junior varsity) players that we had to pull up for our district finals, which is rough,” Wightman said. It was the final match for another Walkerville senior, Kami Wightman’s daughter, Jordan. Three of Kami’s daughters were on the Wildcats’ roster, including junior Morgan and freshman Haley.
“I think that’s why the other two were so emotional about it. They wanted to push so hard. It’s a pretty emotional thing,” Kami Wightman said. “I’m proud of all of the girls on the team. They really proved to me that they want it.” The Wildcats should return much of their roster for next season with six underclassmen on the roster.
Ackley wins it all
bright sunny skies and a warmer-than-normal late morning with a time of 17:40.6. She was also faster than Bullough’s time from last season by 1.2 seconds. Having Theis in the race with her was big, Ackley said. “It’s huge because I (normally) don’t have someone to push me,” she said. “It’s really helpful to have someone ahead of me and just stick with them until the end.” And with that victory, it brought the relief because of the pressure she was under. “I felt like I had a lot of pressure,” she said. “Everyone was kind of expecting me to beat (Theis). I wasn’t sure because I beat her once, and she beat me once. I just felt (a lot of pressure) because I wanted to win, too.” Ackley’s time was thirdfastest for the day. Division 1 champion Maggie Farrell, a senior from Battle Creek Lakeview (17:25.6), and Division 1 runner-up Anny Forsyth, a junior from Ann Arbor Pioneer (17:35.0), were the only girls faster than Ackley on Saturday. Ackley and her older sister, junior Alayna Ackley, were both All-State this season as Alayna finished in seventh place, making a return to AllState status after an injuryplagued 2015. “Good, especially after not getting one last year because I was injured,” Alayna Ackley said of her feeling. “I was definitely motivated to do better than last time.” Ackley’s time this year was 19:12.4, a far better time than last year by nearly two minutes. Her freshman year she ran a time of 19:44.2 to finish 28th overall. She had a lot of fun with her team this season, and looks forward to next year. “This has been one of the best seasons I’ve ever had.
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Jim Cherry • For the Herald-Journal
Above, Hart’s Adelyn Ackley (center) leads the pack from the start of Saturday’s Division 3 state cross-country finals. Below, the Pirates’ Alayna Ackley (right) and Clare’s Jasmine Harper race through a straightaway. Adelyn won the state title, while her sister Alayna earned all-state status by taking seventh place.
I’ve had a lot of fun,” Alayna Ackley said. “Just like before meets, we get along and we go to the mall. It’s fun.” Hart finished seventh as a team with 168 points, the last of a close four-team pack. Saugatuck was fourth with 152 points, followed by Shepherd with 160 and Clare with 166. Pirates’ senior Sierra Albus ran a time of 20:41.3 and finished in 69th place. Freshman Brenna Aerts ran a time of 20:56.2 to take 81st. The
team score was rounded out by Alison Altland with a time of 21:20.6 and a 108th-place finish. Hart freshman Jade Self ran to a time of 22:17.1 (175th) and junior Cassidy Owens ran to a time of 23:13.6 (202nd). In the boys’ race, Hart freshman Hunter Tubbs made his state finals debut, and it was a strong one as he finished in 113th place out of 242 runners. His time was 17:44.1. Tubbs was eighth among freshmen in the race.