The Hastings Banner — Thursday, April 22, 2021 — Page 13DK girls finally get on the turf, fall to Hackett
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Panthers weren’t just playing their first
ballgame of the season Monday, they were
really doing their first full-field action of the
season.
The Delton Kellogg varsity girls’ soccer
team had its first couple ballgames of the sea-
son postponed or canceled and finally got to
open on the new turf at Delton Kellogg High
School Monday against Southwestern Athletic
Conference foe Hackett Catholic Prep. The
Fighting Irish pulled out a 4-0 win over the
DK girls, scoring three times in the second
half to pull away.
Hackett controlled the play for much of the
evening, but the Delton Kellogg defense was
solid in front of new varsity keeper Taylor
Carter, a junior who hasn’t played in goal
since being a part of the Delton middle school
team.
Delton Kellogg head coach Alan Mabie
was happy with the saves he saw Carter make,
seeing improvement from early season prac-
tices.
Mabie said he has only had his full team
together once so far this season, a total of 14
girls, and Monday wasn’t the night. DK had
just two subs on the bench throughout the
match. He said staying healthy and getting in
better condition will be key to success this
season. He could see his girls wearing down a
bit as the game progressed on a cold night in
Delton. Having only a handful of girls at prac-
tice during spring break and the first couple
weeks of the preseason kept the Panthers from
doing much full-field play. Mabie said much
of the time was spent working on skills.
“I am pleasantly surprised with how far
we’ve come since we started practicing on the
22nd [of March],” Mabie said.
Carter got some help from senior Evelyn
Zettelmaier in the middle of the Delton
Kellogg defense, and Caitlin O’Meara in the
middle in front of Zettelmaier. The two have
been varsity players at DK since their fresh-
man year.
Coach Mabie was also pleased with what
he saw from defender Samantha Higgins on
the outside. She is a converted softball catcher
who the DK coach thought would do well
dealing with onrushing attackers because of
that softball experience.
The Irish did manage to give the DK back
line some trouble. Catherine McMahon scored
twice for the Irish, and Lauren Wild and
Layne Ridderman added goals as well.
Centering passes from the right into the DK
box led to the two goals for the Irish in the
first half, the one for Wild, which was assistedby Ridderman, and the first of McMahon’s
two goals.
Hackett stretched its lead to 3-0 with 25:
to go in the second half as Carter was unable
to hold a ball flying into her box and McMahon
was there to body in the bobble.
Ridderman scored with 1:42 to play on awell-struck free kick from about 30 yards out.
“I know [Hackett] is not the strongest
they’ve been, but I can’t say I am not pleased
with the result,” Mabie said. “I think we have
a lot we can move forward on if I can get them
all at practice.”
The DK girls were scheduled to visitWatervliet last night. They will be at home
against Schoolcraft Monday for another SAC
ballgame.Scots take two at TK with
big offensive performance
The bats were a bit ahead of the pitchers on
a cold, windy April Wednesday in Middleville.
The Caledonia varsity softball team cap-
tured a pair of non-conference wins to open its
season against the Thornapple Kellogg
Trojans last week week. The Fighting Scots
scored 21-8 and 15-9 wins over the TK ladies.
The Fighting Scots pounded 18 hits in the
five-inning opener, and were helped by nine
TK errors.
Mo Sprague led the TK attack, going 2-for-
3 with three runs and two Rbi. Paige VanStee
had two singles and scored twice.
Game two was more of a back and forth
affair. TK gook a 2-0 lead in the top of the first
inning. The Scots answered with five runs in
the bottom of the third. Caledonia clung to a
7-6 lead after TK scored two runs in the top of
the fourth inning, but warmed up for seven
runs in the bottom half to push their lead to
14-8.
The Scots outhit the Trojans 14-8 in game
two. The two teams combined for 13 errors.
The big blow for TK was a two-run home
run over the left field fence by Sprague. She
was 3-for-5 with the two RBI. Elaina O’Riley
had two singles for TK and scored two runs
too.
Avery Hallo had the big bat for the Scots in
game two. She was 3-for-4 with four RBI and
two runs scored. Barbie DeGood went 2-for-
with a double and added four RBI as well.
The Thornapple Kellogg girls are now 3-
overall this season after splitting their two
ballgames Saturday at the Barry County
Invitational in Hastings. The Trojans are
scheduled to return to action at home Friday
with a doubleheader against Stevensville
Lakeshore.
TK is currently 2-0 in the OK Gold
Conference. The Trojans return to conference
play with a doubleheader at Grand Rapids
Catholic Central Tuesday.13
Delton Kellogg goalkeeper Taylor Carter secures a Hackett shot in front of her net
during the Panthers’ season opener at DKHS Monday evening. (Photo by Brett
Bremer)
Delton Kellogg’s Lauren Stoetzel goes
up to keep the ball from a Hackett attacker
during their SAC contest at Delton Kellogg
High School Monday. (Photo by Brett
Bremer)Delton Kellogg’s Samantha O’Meara (1) looks to get by Hackett Catholic Prep’s
Kennedy Smucker in the midfield during the first half of their Southwestern Athletic
Conference ballgame in Delton Monday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Thornapple Kellogg senior catcher Mo Sprague checks runners after scooping up a
ball in front of the plate during her team’s non-conference doubleheader with visiting
Caledonia Wednesday (April 14) in Middleville. (Photo by Brett Bremer)
Trojans beat Catholic Central in
Ada for first OK Gold victories
The Thornapple Kellogg varsity boys’ and
girls’ track and field teams each went 1-1 in
their OK Gold Conference tri hosted by
Forest Hills Eastern Tuesday.
The TK ladies moved their conference
record to 1-2 with a 109-27 win over the
Grand Rapids Catholic Central girls and an
84-53 loss to the host Hawks.
The TK boys bested Catholic Central
98.33-38.66, but were edged 75-62 by the
Forest Hills Eastern boys.
There were many competitive events, but
the FHE boys really dominated the distance
races to take the wins over the Trojans and
Cougars. Forest Hills Eastern’s Kyle McKee,
Ben Clason and Aiden Sullivan went 1-2-3 in
the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run,
and Clason won the 3200 with Sullivan sec-
ond and teammate Caleb Peterson third.
Those four guys also won the 3200-meter
relay for the Hawks in 8:58.18.
Trojan senior Cameron Gavette had a great
day in the hurdles. He set a personal record in
winning the 110-meter high hurdles in 17.
seconds and took the 300-meter intermediate
hurdles in 44.81 seconds.
TK inched closer at the end of the meet
with the team of Brennan Lutz, Jaxon Sias,
Gabe LaJoye and Gavette winning the 1600-
meter relay in 3 minutes 45.25 seconds.
It wasn’t just distance runners that did it for
FHE. The Hawks also ah the three fastest
times in the boys’ 100-meter dash, led by
Nasier Harris’ time of 11.89.
Catholic Central sophomore Joseph Mullett
won the boys’ 200-meter dash in 23.38 sec-
onds, but TK had the next two finishers with
senior Wyatt Helzer second in 23.51 and Sias
third in 24.44. Those were new personal
record times for the two TK guys.
LaJoye, a sophomore, won the 400-meter
dash for TK in a personal record time of 56.
seconds.
In the field, TK had senior Austin VanElst
win the high jump at 5 feet 10 inches and
place second in the long jump at 17-8. Helzer
took the long jump at 18-1.
The hurdles and relays were some of the
best events for the TK ladies. Freshman hur-
dler Kristen Offringa ran her fastest 100-hur-
dle time yet, 17.61, to win that event. Junior
Trysta Hilton took the 300-meter low hurdles
in a personal record time of 51.24.
Offringa also teamed with Anna Benedict,
Paige Zellmer and Addison Satterfield to win
the 400-meter relay in 57.96. Offringa,
Benedict, Zellmer and Hilton won the 800-
meter relay in 1:59.46.
Zellmer added a win for TK in the pole
vault by clearing 7-6, and had two teammates
set new personal records in the event. Junior
Leah Luyk was third at 6-6 and freshman
Sydeny Robertson fourth at 6-0. FHE senior
Eva Korte took the runner-up spot with a per-sonal record leap of 7-0.
Freshman Addison Washler won the sprints
for the Hawks, taking the 100-meter dash in
13.22 and the 200 in 28.57. TK sophomore
Lindsey Velting was the runner-up in the 100
and Offringa placed second in the 200.
Catholic Central freshman Emily Tomes
won the 400-meter run in 1:07.01 and the
1600 in 5:49.77, while adding a runner-up
finish in the 800 behind FHE’s Kate Laidlaw.
FHE junior Sophie Parker won the girls’
discus and shot put, with TK sophomore
Alana Compton second in both events.
Compton upped her PR in the discus to 94-
and put the shot 28-10.
The TK ladies went into the meet fresh off
a win at the Wayland Invitational last Friday
where they finished tied in the final standings
of the seven-team meet with Jenison. Both
teams closed the day with 698 points.
“The support and team work is just amaz-
ing on this team,” TK head coach Maggie
Wilkinson said. “We are so young and the
upperclassman are really showing a lot of
leadership and love for one another.”
The TK ladies only won two events.
Zellmer took the pole vault at 9-0 and the
team of Hilton, Velting, Benedict and Smith
won the 800-meter relay in 1:56.11.
Lucy VanDemark, Madison Nagel, Aubrey
Martin and Jessica Durkee added a runner-upfinish in the 3200-meter relay for the TK girls.
Senior Dalace Jousma was the runner-up in
the discus at 85-11.5 and placed third in the
shot put with a personal record mark of 31-7.
Hilton and Kenady Smith were second and
third in the high jump with Hilton clearing 4-
and Smith 4-4. Benedict led TK in the long
jump with a mark of 14-.5 that put her in
fourth place, a quarter of an inch ahead of her
teammate Kylie Smith who was fifth.
The top individual finish on the track for
TK came in the 100-meter dash where Velting
was second with a personal record time of
13.84.
The TK boys were seventh on the day.
Helzer had the team’s top individual finish on
the track with a second-place time of 23.79 in
the 200. The TK team of Gilberto Tejada III,
Helzer, VanElst and Sias won the 800-meter
relay in 1:37.15.
TK senior Blake Monroe won the discus
with a personal record throw of 188-.25 and
placed fourth in the shot put with a new PR
of 36-9. VanElst won the high jump clearing
5-10 with Sias fourth in that event at 5-8.
Helzer added a runner-up mark of 19-7 in the
long jump and Matthew Smith led TK in the
pole vault with a personal record leap of 10-
that put him in fourth place.TK girls a point better than
Saxons at Lakewood Invite
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Hastings won the top two singles flights
and the top doubles flight, but Thornapple
Kellogg won everything else Saturday at the
four-team Lakewood Invitational.
The Trojan varsity girls’ tennis team out-
scored the Saxons 20-19 at the top of the
standings. Lakewood was third with 6 points
and Ionia finished with two.
Thornapple Kellogg got flight champion-
ships from Sophia Beckering at third singles
and Christel Hoskins at number four. Tylor
Buxton and Jamie DeVries teamed up for the
second doubles win for TK, with teammates
Ellie Essenberg and Heidi Church winning at
third doubles and Madeline Coe and Trinity
Simons taking the fourth doubles victory.
One point here or there was the difference
in the final standings. Nowhere was that more
evident than in the second doubles match-up
between the Trojans’ Buxton and DeVries and
Hastings’ Ella Carroll and Skylar Grego.
Buxton and DeVries took the opening set 6-4,
but the Saxon pair rallied to win the second
7-5. A ten-point super tiebreaker wasn’t near-
ly enough to decide the match as the two sidesbattled until the Trojan team finally pulled out
an 18-16 win.
Buxton and DeVries started their day with
a 6-0, 6-4 win over Ionia and closed out their
flight championship by beating the Lakewood
second doubles team 6-1, 6-1.
The Saxons’ Brooklyn Youngs took the
first singles championship and teammate
Abby Beemer won at number two. Youngs
bested Lakewood’s Kristen Finsaas 7-5, 6-
in the day’s opener and then defeated Nancy
Hoogwerf from Thornapple Kellogg 6-3, 6-0.
Youngs closed her day with a 6-1, 6-1 win
over Ionia’s Jessa Swineheart.
Bailey Cook and Brinna Cobb teamed up
to win the first doubles title for the Saxons.
The defeated the top team from Lakewood
6-4, 6-0, the top team from TK 6-1, 6-3 and
the top team from ionia 6-1, 6-0.
Thornapple Kellogg placed second at sec-
ond singles and first doubles, and third at
second singles where Charlotte Nelson had to
make an early exit from the tournament after
defeating Ionia’s Kate Brown to start the day.
Lakewood’s Izzy Wheeler earned the run-
ner-up spot at second singles.See us for color copies, one-hour photo processing,
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