Weekly Choice - Section B - January 03, 2014

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  • 8/13/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - January 03, 2014

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    By Mike Dunn

    GAYLORD Choosing a

    top-10 list of sports stories is

    always a subjective process

    and its not easy to do. There

    were many notable team and

    individual achievements in

    2013, as there are every year,

    so picking a handful to recog-

    nize was a real challenge.

    Readers are bound to agree

    with some picks and disagree

    with others. Im not saying

    my picks are the right ones;

    only that these are the onesthat stood out to me as I went

    through the 52 papers the

    Weekly Choice published in

    the calendar year.

    Theres no question that

    the top story related to sports

    in 2013 was the tragedy that

    took the lives of the Grayling

    golf coach Jason Potter and

    Viking athlete Louis Menard

    on April 29. I intentionally

    didnt include that out of

    respect for the families

    involved.

    MY TOP STORY for 2013

    was the remarkable playoff

    run of the St. Mary girls bas-

    ketball team of coach Dan

    Smith. The Snowbirds not

    only repeated as district and

    regional champs in March

    but suffered a narrow two-

    point defeat in the Class D

    quarterfinals for the second

    year in a row.

    The Grayling football team

    of coach Dan Smith exor-

    cised some demons of past

    years with a thrilling home

    playoff victory against peren-

    nial U.P. power Kingsford in

    the Div. 5 playoff opener at

    home. It was the first timethe Vikings have beaten a U.P.

    rival in the playoffs since

    2005 and the first time in

    Coach Tim Sanchezs four

    years as head coach. Thats

    our No. 2 story.

    The No. 3 story is a tribute

    to the grit, guts and determi-

    nation of Mio senior wrestler

    Zach Mack, who posted a 45-

    1 record in the final season of

    his outstanding prep career

    on the mats and placed his

    name prominently in the

    record books by winning the

    125-pound state title with a

    second-period pin over

    rugged Matthew Elliott of

    Fife Lake Forest Area.

    I have included more

    information on the top three

    stories later in this article.

    The rest of the top 10 list

    includes the amazing feat of

    Petoskeys amazing senior

    Louis Lamberti, who repeat-

    ed as the Div. 2 state high

    jump champion, clearing the

    bar at 6-foot-7 to again beat

    out a very tough field under

    the toughest of circum-

    stances; St. Mary junior

    Caylee Lawnchak beating out

    everyone to capture the indi-

    vidual state championship in

    the annual National Archery

    in Schools Program (NASP)

    state tournament with a

    score of 292 out of 300 with

    22 bulls-eyes; the

    Cheboygan baseball team of

    coach Kevin Baller taking a

    school-record 24 wins and

    claiming the Chiefs first-ever

    district title in the sport

    behind the seed-throwing

    efforts of hurlers Damon

    Proctor and Stan Swiderek,

    then advancing to the

    regional finals behind

    Proctors shutout over

    Gladwin and very nearly

    wresting the title from

    defending champ Chippewa

    Hills behind Swidereks two-

    hitter; the Onaway baseball

    team rallying to edge Rogers

    City 7-6 in the district semifi-

    nals before powering past I-

    Lakes to win the schools first

    district title in 13 years as

    lefty Andrew Prow produced

    a school-record 14 strikeouts

    in a complete-game effort;

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    Continued on page 2

    Top Stories of 2013

    ST. MARY GIRLS MAKE RUNSnowbirds of Coach Smithreturn to Class Dhardwood quarterfinals intop story; Grayling homeplayoff victory on gridironand Mio wrestlers state

    title are top 3 stories

    Top Sports Stories

    of 20131St. Mary girls basketball team of coach Dan Smith repeats asdistrict and regional champ, loses narrowly again in Class Dquarterfinals

    2Grayling defeats visiting U.P. rival Kingsford 42-25 in D-5 grid-iron playoff to advance to district finals for third time in fouryears

    3Senior Zach Mack of Mio claims 125-pound state wrestlingtitle, finishing with sparkling 45-1 record

    4Senior Louis Lamberti of Petoskey repeats as state high jumpchamp, clearing 6-foot-7 in Div. 2 state meet

    5St. Mary junior Caylee Lawnichak wins individual state NASParchery title, scoring 292 out of possible 300 with 22bulls-eyes

    6

    Cheboygan baseball makes school history, wins 24 games and

    advances to regional finals

    7Onaway baseball claims district title as lefty Prow sets schoolrecord with 14 Ks

    8Gaylord girls basketball team wins first district title since 1995and first ever for girls competing in Class A

    9Petoskey freshman phenom Tommy Rousch earns All-State inboth discus (168-4) and shot put (52-1.25), taking third andsixth place, respectively

    10Cheboygan junior golfer Andrew Purcell captures individ-ual D-3 district and regional titles

    * See other notable sports achievements for 2013 inside

  • 8/13/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - January 03, 2014

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    Page 2-B Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice January 3, 2014

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    Owners Gary & Mary Ann Stempien

    the Gaylord girls basketball

    team of coach Frank Hamilla

    winning nine of their last 12

    games and peaking at the

    perfect time to generate

    back-to-back-to-back upsetvictories over Alpena, T.C.

    West and T.C. Central to win

    the Blue Devils first district

    title since 1995 and the first-

    ever district title in Class A;

    Petoskeys strong-armed

    freshman Tommy Rousch

    earning All-State in both

    throwing events in the D-2

    state meet, taking third place

    in the discus with Herculean

    heave of 168 feet, 4 inches

    and sixth place in the shot

    put with a distance of 52 feet,

    1.25 inches; and Cheboygans

    stellar junior golfer Andrew

    Purcell winning individual

    D-3 district and regionaltitles, firing a round of 77 at

    the Cheboygan Country Club

    in the district tourney and

    shooting 75 at the Lakeside

    Links in Ludington in the

    regional tourney.

    Heres a review of the top

    three stories:

    THE ST. MARY GIRLS fin-

    ished 18-2 in the regular sea-

    son, losing only at

    Johannesburg-Lewiston and

    Mount Pleasant Sacred

    Heart. The Snowbirds

    stormed through the district

    and regional competition,

    pushing their record to 23-2.They rolled past Leland 60-28

    in the regional semifinals

    before outscoring tall-and-

    tough Bear Lake 39-23 in a

    hard-fought and physically

    intense regional title game

    played at Buckley.

    One of the constants

    throughout the season for St.

    Mary was the scoring punch

    of junior guard Kari

    Borowiak, who was reliable

    as the times tables as she sur-

    passed the 1,000-point

    plateau as a junior. She was-

    nt alone, though. Senior cen-

    ter Mary Spyhalski was a

    blue-collar battler in thepaint who wasnt afraid to

    bang bodies down low; sen-

    ior guard Chrissy Smith was a

    two-way force offensively

    and defensively as well as

    being a super ball handler

    and smart passer; hardwork-

    ing senior Sara Long was a

    dependable physical pres-

    ence inside; freshman Bekah

    Myler brought height andphysical toughness to the

    floor; and Jada Bebble terror-

    ized opposing ball carriers

    and was poison from the

    perimeter.

    St. Mary faced talented

    Climax-Scotts (19-5) in the

    Class D quarterfinals at Reed

    City. The Panthers jumped to

    a quick lead, hitting their first

    eight shots from the floor.

    The Panthers also did a good

    job of keeping Borowiak from

    penetrating or getting any

    kind of open looks at the bas-

    ket.

    Coach Smith switched to a

    1-3-1 zone late in the firstquarter with his team down

    15-4 on the scoreboard and

    that was a pivotal move as

    the Snowbirds surged back to

    pull within a point, 21-20,

    before halftime.

    Borowiak, who kept draw-

    ing defenders like magnets,

    was able to find Spyhalski

    and Myler inside to help

    spark the comeback.

    Chrissy Smith made the

    twine dance from downtown

    at the start of the third quar-

    ter to give St. Mary a 23-21

    advantage. The Panthers ral-

    lied behind the strong play of

    All-Stater Janae Langs later inthe quarter, however, and

    took a 37-29 lead into the

    final period.

    The Snowbirds went down

    with both fists flying. A steal

    and breakaway bucket by

    Borowiak ignited a run that

    eventually brought the

    Snowbirds to within a point,

    38-37, with 2:25 remaining.

    Langs responded with

    another penetrating drive to

    make it 40-37, however, and

    then she hit the two biggest

    points of the game, nailing

    both ends of a one-and-one

    with just 23 seconds left to

    make it a five-point game,42-37.

    Smith drained another

    triple to cut the lead to 42-40

    with 5 seconds left but that

    was as close as the Snowbirds

    would get.

    Myler came off the bench

    to score 14 and lead the way

    for the Snowbirds. Smith

    sank 12, including three

    treys, to go with four

    rebounds and three assists.

    Spyhalski spanked the nets

    for 10 points, including eight

    in the first half, and she also

    hauled in six rebounds. Sara

    Long secured five boards and

    Kari recorded eight assists.

    Langs scored 19 to pace

    the Panthers.

    GRAYLING FINISHED the

    regular season with an 8-1

    record. The Vikings of coach

    Tim Sanchez had faced

    Kingsford the year before in

    the opening round of district

    play and suffered a 36-14 set-

    back. This time around,

    though, the No. 3 seed

    Flivvers had to come to sec-

    ond-seeded Grayling and on

    a sun-soaked autumn after-

    noon the Vikings entertained

    the overflowing home crowd

    with an electrifying win in a

    battle of high-powered

    offenses.

    In the first half, senior sig-

    nal caller Jake Swander

    teamed with fellow first-teamAll-State receiver Tyler

    McClanahan on TD connec-

    tions of 11, 50 and 9 yards as

    Grayling established a 28-13

    lead on the scoreboard.

    The visitors closed the gap

    to 28-19 on their first posses-

    sion of the third quarter but

    the Vikings answered right

    back as Swander fired his

    fourth TD pass of the game, a

    missile that leaping Grayling

    receiver Brandon Latusek,

    who had a phenomen al

    game, wrested away from a

    Kingsford defender in the

    corner of the end zone.

    Kingsford trimmed the

    lead to 35-25 with a long

    scoring pass early in the

    fourth quarter but the

    Vikings sealed the deal with a

    game-clinching 18-play, 80-

    yard march culminating in

    Swanders 3-yard burst up

    the middle behind the escort

    of plowing lineman William

    Rock-a-Bye Romain with

    2:25 left to play.

    Swander, who hit on 18

    passes and finished with 263

    yards through the air to go

    with his four TDs, had key

    hook-ups of 19 yards with

    Danny Schultz, 16 yards to

    McClanahan and 13 yards to

    Latusek on a fourth-and-11

    play in the red zone.

    Grayling amassed nearly

    600 yards of total offense in

    the game, generating oneexplosive play after another

    through the air or on the

    ground. The Vikings top two

    runners, Michael Branch and

    Kevin Harris, both finished

    with more than 150 yards

    rushing as they launched

    their way through the over-

    matched Flivver defense.

    Branch also tallied on a 10-

    yard TD burst around end.

    Sanchez was especially

    pleased with the play of the

    O-line featuring center

    Justice Junttila, guards

    Emmett Helsel and Romain,

    and tackles Noah Kolka and

    Tyler Wyman which formed

    a black wall of defiance

    around Swander on pass

    plays and consistently

    opened canyon-like holes for

    Branch and Harris.

    McClahanan, playing in

    the final game of his brilliant

    prep career, hauled in 10

    aerials for 191 yards and the

    three first-half TDs and he

    also had 10 tackles with an

    interception near the goal-

    line as a safety on defense.

    Branch led the way defen-

    sively with 11 stops from his

    linebacker post and Romain

    racked up nine stops with

    two sacks.

    Harris, in addition to his

    slashing effort running the

    ball, booted all the extra

    points and thundered most

    of his kickoffs into the endzone.

    MIO SENIOR wrestler Zach

    Mack capped his brilliant

    four-year mat career with the

    Thunderbolts in the best way

    possible, capturing the state

    title in the 125-pound weight

    class at The Palace of Auburn

    Hills.

    Mack, a four-year state

    qualifier, barreled through

    the competition in the Div. 4

    state meet like a Mack truck,

    capturing four straight

    matches. Mack whipped

    Matthew Elliott of Fife Lake

    Forest Area via a second-

    period pin in the state finals

    to secure the title.

    After icing Collin Haag of

    Addison in the opener, Mack

    faced two very tough oppo-

    nents en route to the finals,

    edging rugged Hunter

    Malchus of Bronson 2-1 in

    the quarterfinals and then

    outscoring Carter Ballinger

    of Jonesville 11-9 in a wild,

    seesaw semifinal clash.

    Mack finished his out-

    standing senior season with a

    sparkling 45-1 record. He was

    also a district and regional

    champion. In his stellar

    career with the

    Thunderbolts, Zach

    advanced to the state meet

    all four years and earned All-

    State honors three times,

    including a fifth-place finisha year ago at 125. Zach

    earned a whopping 175 vic-

    tories in his four years.

    * Petoskey senior 215-pound grappler

    Jordan Haggerty battles to a fourth-place

    finish in the D-2 state meet to earn All-State

    * Gaylords rugged senior Trent Hunt earns

    eighth place at 152 pounds in the D-2 state

    meet to earn All-State honors

    * Grayling freshman Jon Man Eater

    Martin finishes eighth to earn All-State at

    103 pounds in the D-3 state wrestling finals

    * Johannesburg-Lewiston girls capture

    Class C district hoops title, fall to TCSF in

    regional semifinals to finish with 22-2 record

    * Mio boys go 21-2, capture district title

    before falling to Beal City in regional opener;

    Micah Thomey surpasses 1,000 points, earns

    All-State honors

    * Grayling boys win third straight district

    title, advance to regional finals again in Class

    B, finish with 19-6 record

    * St. Mary archers are runner-up in annu-

    al state tournament, advance again to NASPnational tournament in Kentucky

    * Johannesburg-Lewiston

    baseball falls by one run to

    Atlanta in distric t final as

    crazy bounce hits baserun-

    ner Brandon Huff to short-

    circuit seventh-inning rally

    * Mancelona baseball team

    rallies to win two suspended

    games and share SVC title

    with Onaway; Ironmen also

    capture fifth straight district

    title

    * Mio softball wins third straight district

    title, advances to regional finals before los-

    ing to Ubly

    * Cheboygan girls soccer team posts 15-

    game winning streak, wins third straight dis-

    trict title before losing 5-4 to Muskegon

    Oakridge in regional semifinals

    * J-Ls Shannon Kievit, the only athlete

    from local area to qualify at state in three

    individual events, earns All-State with herfifth-place time of 1:01.88 in the 400 dash

    * Gaylords Trae Hill finishes fifth in 400

    dash in 50.21 seconds in the D-2 state meet

    and teammate Nate Fischer is sixth in the

    800 run (1:56.69) as both earn All-State

    * Defending champs Triebold and LaJoie

    capture Au Sable Canoe Marathon for sixth

    straight year

    * Ben McMurray, 26, rallies in final mile to

    edge out Dave Smith, 29, by a mere 18 sec-

    onds and win 33rd annual Mellon Triathlon

    at Otsego Lake County Park

    * Slippery senior QB Nick Harrington runs

    wild, scores all five TDs as St. Mary rallies

    past Pellston 33-21 to win first game on grid-

    iron in two years

    * Johannesburg-Lewiston football wins

    home playoff opener, battles St. Ignace to

    wire in D-8 district title game under first-

    year head coach Joe Smokevitch

    * Gaylords determined sophomore Alexis

    Smith earns top-10 finish in D-2 state cross

    country finals

    * Onaway volleyball goes undefeated in

    league play, repeats as district champs but

    loses All-Stater Mariah Ehrke to ankle injury

    in finals

    * Pellston volleyball repeats as district

    champ, defeats short-handed Onaway in

    regional semifinals

    * The Celebrate Grayling Recovery event

    raises $7,600 for the Viking golf team in the

    wake of the spring tragedy

    M# ,e#+ 0+e,%e+ Zac" Mac$ caed "#, b+#%%#a +-ea+ +e ca+ee+ b ea+#! a ,ae #%e a 125

    d, # "e D-4 ,ae &ee. Photo byterryGillette

    Other notable sports eents, listed chronologicall!:

  • 8/13/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - January 03, 2014

    3/6

    KINGSLEY Steve Ernst

    isnt one to stand pat.

    Its not his personal style,and it isnt the style he wants

    to see from his Cheboygan

    High School boys basketball

    team.

    The Chiefs fell to Kingsley,

    60-54, in the championship

    game of the Kingsley

    Invitational and stand 3-3.

    Cheboygan returns to the

    court on Tuesday, Jan. 14,

    with a non-league game at

    Gaylord.

    Were trying to develop a

    style of play that can win you

    games around the state ofMichigan, said Ernst, who

    last year led Lansing

    Christian to the Class D state

    semifinals. Weve got a

    choice. We can either adjust

    to how the games are called

    and have an unrealistic ver-

    sion of basketball, or play at a

    fast, exciting pace.

    The dilemma faced by

    Ernst and the Chiefs, who

    opened the tournament with

    a 67-36 semifinal win over

    Kalkaska, is that fast-paced

    style of play is netting anunmanageable number of

    foul calls.

    And the Chiefs dont have a

    deep bench to withstand foul

    trouble. They played last

    weekends tournament with-

    out point guard Eric Sturvist.

    Kingsley went to the free

    throw line 36 times, 18 of

    which came in the fourth

    quarter, in its championship-

    game win over the Chiefs.

    Cheboygan went to the line

    just nine times.

    The Stags made 16 of their

    36 attempts, including 7-of-

    18 in the final period when

    they rallied from a deficit.

    Tyler Cases 3-pointer with

    about two minutes to play

    broke a 52-52 tie and put the

    Stags ahead for good.

    We certainly didnt play

    our best basketball, Ernst

    said. It was a bad loss. Bad

    coaching loss for us at

    Kingsley. It was one (in

    which) I should have done a

    better job and figured out

    how to win it.

    Kingsley has a nice kids

    and they play hard, nothing

    against them, but its one we

    should have won. Youre

    never going to win if the

    other team shoots 18 free

    throws and you shoot one (in

    the fourth quarter). And we

    were trying to go to the bas-

    ket. We werent settling for

    outside shots. Weve got to do

    a better job adjusting to the

    style.

    Stacy Almquist scored 26

    points to lead the Stags (2-2),

    while Luke Harrington had

    21 points and Ben Pearson

    added 13 for the Chiefs.

    Pearson scored 31 points

    and Harrington added 21 in

    Cheboygans semifinal win

    over Kalkaska, and both

    earned a spot on the all-tour-

    nament team.

    Almquist and Tyler Newell

    of Kingsley were also named

    to the all-tournament team

    along with Will Noble of

    Kalkaska and Joe Stiles of

    Houghton Lake.

    Kingsley topped Houghton

    Lake, 52-38, in the other

    semifinal. The Blazers

    defeated Houghton Lake, 78-

    62, in the consolation game.

    January 3, 2014 Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice Page 3-B

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    Chiefs at .500 take a mid-inter breakCheboygan falls in tournament finale to Kingsley

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    CHEBOYGAN The last

    thing Cheboygan High

    School hockey coach Craig

    Coxe needed was the injury

    bug to bite his team.

    Yet thats exactly where

    Coxe and the Chiefs found

    themselves last weekend

    when they hosted theCheboygan Holiday

    Showcase at Ralph G.

    Cantile Arena.

    The Chiefs, playing with-

    out five players because of

    injuries, opened the event

    with a 4-2 loss to the Bay

    Area Thunder, then followed

    with a 6-2 loss to Midland

    Dow.

    Dow is ranked third in the

    Division II state poll, and

    12th overall regardless of

    class.

    We were down to three

    lines and four (defense-

    men), Coxe said. My kids

    competed great. I wasextremely proud of them. It

    was 3-0 going into the third

    period (against) Dow and

    my guys never gave up, kept

    working hard. Theyre (the

    Chargers) are a very good

    hockey club. Youre not

    ranked 12th in the state if

    youre not. I think its impor-

    tant to challenge your play-

    ers and that makes them

    hockey players.

    The Chiefs gave it a valiant

    effort in both games, Coxe

    said, but were simply over-matched by the Chargers.

    The effort but not the

    breaks was there against

    Bay Area as well, he said.

    The game on Friday

    against Bay Area, we defi-

    nitely outplayed them, said

    Coxe, whose team outshot

    the Thunder, 27-20. It was

    one of those games where

    you outplay your opponent

    and unfortunately dont win.

    Both of their coaches came

    up to me, at separate times,

    and said they didnt deserve

    to win, that we outplayed

    them.

    There were times wherewe got the puck in the front

    of the net and the bounces

    didnt go our way, we just

    couldnt get the puck across

    the red line.

    The guys played well. We

    hit a couple of posts.

    Sometimes you work hard

    and it just doesnt go your

    way. Its unfortunate.

    I feel bad for the kids that

    they work that hard and end

    up losing the game. One of

    those things where youve

    just got to keep working hardand good things will come.

    Nate Stempky and Ramsey

    Villarrea l scored for the

    Chiefs in their loss to Bay

    Area. Zack Schley picked up

    an assist. Quaid Brooks

    made 16 saves in goal for the

    Chiefs.

    Parker Beauchamp and

    Dakota Bell scored the

    Chiefs goals against Dow.

    Gavin Armstrong, Stempky,

    Bell and Austin Christie each

    had an assist. Cheboygan

    netminder Kaleb Wood

    made 28 saves.

    The goals for Bell and

    Villarreal were the first oftheir respective varsity

    careers.

    The Chiefs are 5-9 and

    have lost four straight. Coxe

    said they expected to get at

    least two of the injured,

    Adam Jeannotte and DJ

    Sayers, when they go this

    weekend to the New Years

    Tournament at Michigan

    Tech in Houghton. The

    Chiefs are scheduled to play

    Escanaba on Friday, Jan. 3,

    and Painsdale Jeffers on

    Saturday, Jan. 4. Escanaba isranked eighth in Division II.

    Weve lost some games,

    but were playing well, Coxe

    said. Its going to turn

    around. Thats what I tell my

    guys. dont get frustrated. Its

    hard not get frustrated when

    youre playing hard and not

    winning , but itll come

    around. Bad luck or bad

    mojo or whatever you want

    to call is isnt going to last all

    year. Its something youve

    got to work through.

    They keep working hard

    and working hard in practice

    and as far as a coach, I cant

    ask for anything more.Theyre sticking together

    and still working, keeping a

    good a ttitude.

    Long trip to Michigan Tech next for Cheboygan

    Short-handed Chiefs drop twoin challenge

    By Doug Derrer

    TRAVERSE CITY The Bay

    Area Reps participated in the

    Traverse City Central Scott

    Miller Memorial Holiday

    Tournament during their

    Christmas break and went

    toe-to-toe with some of the

    states top-ranked teams.

    In their Dec. 26 match the

    Reps took on Salem, the

    11th-ranked team in Division

    I, and used stellar defense

    and outstanding goal tending

    in taking down the Rocks 1-0.The game was scoreless

    through two periods as the

    Reps managed 13 shots on

    net and Salem just 7, but 31

    seconds into the third period

    Travis Kirk scored a power

    play goal to give the Reps

    their only goal in the 1-0 vic-

    tory. Zack Bargy and Trevor

    Apsey assiste d on what

    proved to be the only goal of

    the well-played contest.

    Salem came to life after the

    Rep goal and fired 13 shots at

    goalie Jay Jones, but he was

    impregnable, keeping them

    all out of the net to earn the

    amazing shutout win.

    Looking to advance to the

    finals, the Reps would have to

    get by Saginaw Heritage,

    ranked No. 17 in Division II,

    in the second round of the

    tournament.

    The Hawks took a two-goal

    lead late in the first period

    before Chase Joppich scored

    for the Reps with 2:19 to go in

    the opener to get the Reps

    within a goal.

    Dangerous Andrew

    Dzierwa, who assisted on the

    Joppich goal, then tied the

    score at 2 when he beat the

    Heritage netminder with a

    sizzling slammer with 3:54

    left in the second period. R.J.

    Deneweth assisted on the

    tying goal.

    After a scoreless third peri-

    od the teams headed to over-

    time and the Hawks scored

    just 1 minute and 31 seconds

    into OT when a shot deflect-

    ed off a skate in front of the

    Reps netminder and foundits way into the goal to give

    Heritage an exciting 3-2 win.

    With their OT win,

    Heritage advanced to the

    tournament finals to take on

    University of Liggett and the

    Hawks would take home the

    tournament championship

    with a 5-4 win.

    Toledo St. Johns Jesuit, the

    third-ranked team from that

    state, would be the Reps

    third-round opponent. After

    taking a 1-0 lead after one

    period, the Titans would

    jump all over the Reps in the

    middle period and score four

    goals on their way to a 5-0

    win.

    Despite their 3-6 record

    the Reps have shown steady

    improvement against some

    of the best teams in the state

    and they start the New Year

    with a pair of home games on

    Friday, Jan. 3, against

    Cadillac and Saturday, Jan. 4,

    versus Grandville.

    Reps shockSalem in Miller

    tourney!Kirks cannon blast is only

    goal as Reps take 1-0 win intourney opener; Jones is

    masterful in nets

    Hockey

    photomichigan.com

    Your photos on the web

    Bob [email protected]

    989-348-5355

    By Mike Dunn

    SAULT STE. MARIE

    Johannesburg-L ewiston

    graduate Stephanie Fisher, a

    red-shirt junior for the Lake

    Superior State womens bas-

    ketball team, found her

    range at the perfect time to

    help the Lakers earn their

    first and only win of the sea-

    son so far.

    On December 12, the

    Lakers traveled to the court

    of Malone University in

    North Canton, Ohio for a

    GLIAC clash and left town

    with a stunning 73-71 victory

    in hand. Lake State went into

    the game with an 0-6 record

    and 0-2 in the conference

    while Malone brought a 4-2

    record to the floor and 0-2 in

    the GLIAC.

    The 5-foot-7 Fisher started

    and played 30 of 40 minutes

    in the contest and drilled the

    nets for a career-high 27

    points to lead all scorers. Not

    only that. She came back

    into the game with 4:29

    remaining and her team

    trailing 64-60 and scored

    nine of her teams final 13

    points.

    Fisher, a former All-State

    Cardinal prep star known for

    her sweet scoring touch and

    electrifying play, was locked

    in like radar from beyond the

    arc, draining two straight 3-

    pointers to tie the score at 66

    with 3:36 left. Her free throw

    with 15 seconds remaining

    put the visiting Lakers on top

    71-68. The Pioneers came

    back to tie the score, howev-

    er, when Selana Reale was

    fouled while scoring a lay-up

    with 5 seconds to go and

    then hit the bonus shot.

    The Lakers brought the

    ball out with 5 seconds left,

    moved it up the floor and got

    it to Fisher, who had the hot

    hand. The junior launched

    her shot at the buzzer and

    found nothing but the bot-

    tom of the net, giving LSSU a

    dramatic road triumph.

    Fisher was on the floor for

    39 minutes in the Lakers

    next game, a tough overtime

    loss to Walsh on December

    14, and she scored 18 points

    with five rebounds, two

    assists and two blocked

    shots.

    Through 10 games, Fisher

    is leading the Lakers with

    11.5 points per game and she

    is averaging 24.4 minutes.

    Two outstanding 2013

    graduates, guard McKenzie

    Edwards of Gaylord and for-

    ward Kelsey Ance of

    Petoskey, are also playing for

    the Lakers. They are making

    the formidable transition

    from high school to the

    speed of the college game as

    true freshmen and both are

    seeing playing time and con-tributing as reserves.

    Lake State, which returned

    recently from a two-game

    tournament in Hawaii, plays

    again on Thursday, Jan. 2,

    against Lake Erie.

    Fisher finds range in LakeState victory

    Stephanie Fisher

  • 8/13/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - January 03, 2014

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    4 WHEEL DRIVE

    2004 # <

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    Page 6-B Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice January 3, 2014

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    Featured HomeOn the Market

    428 Riverside Drive, CheboyganContact; Roger Kopernik, Exit Realty Paramount, Cheboygan, (231) 597-8000

    Spacious custom home onlarge lot features Cheboygan

    River frontage

    Real EstateBuying a Home

    with Resale

    ValueCompliments ofEd Wohlfiel

    Part 1 of 2

    Buying a Home with a ViewHomes with a pleasant view of

    the horizon often sell at a premi-um above similar homes with-out the view. However, if a viewis important to you, buy it most-ly for your own pleasure and notas an investment. Though youmay place a considerable dollarvalue on the view, future buyersmay not be so like-minded. Itmay take you longer to find abuyer when it comes time toresell the house. Or you may endup dropping your price to morenearly match other sales pricesin the neighborhood.

    In short, if you are buying ahouse with a view, try to pay aslittle extra as possible.Otherwise, you might not getyour money back.

    Lot and LandscapingEven though most real estate

    value is usually concentrated inthe building, the lot is impor-tant, too. Obviously, it should beas level as possible. Assuming

    the property is in a typicalneighborhood, the lot should berectangular no odd shaped lotsor oddly situated lots.

    Yard sizes are smaller in mod-ern homes than in older homes,but there should still be adecently sized front and backyard. Do not buy a house wherethe entire back yard is taken upby a swimming pool, for exam-ple.

    Do not purchase an over-landscaped property, either. Youwould normally pay a premiumfor that, which you may not beable to recover when you sell.You will get your best value if thehouse is moderately landscaped

    or under-landscaped for thearea. You can always i mprovethe landscaping during yourownership by improving thegrass and adding bushes andtrees. Just do not spend toomuch.

    House SizeIn each residential neighbor-

    hood, houses will vary in sizeand rooms, but they should notbe too different. If resale value isan important consideration, youshould not buy the largestmodel in the neighborhood.When determining marketvalue, the homes nearest toyours are most important. Ifmost of the nearby houses aresmaller than your house, they

    can act as a drag on apprecia-tion.

    On the other hand, if you buya small or medium house for theneighborhood, the larger homescan help pull up your value. Thisis one of those times wheredetermining your wants versusyour needs can be extremelyimportant. Buying what youneed in a more prestigiousneighborhood may providemore financial reward than get-ting what you want in a lessdesirable neighborhood.