The Hastings Banner — Thursday, June 10, 2021 — Page 13Pape finally gets a measurement, wins state title
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Cole Pape scratched on his first four throws
in the discus competition at the Division 3
State Finals – three times his sophomore sea-
son and on the first throw of his senior year.
“I hopped in the ring and my first throw felt
so good coming off my hand and then all of a
sudden it dinged. It hit the pole,” Pape said of
his opening attempt at the Division 3 Lower
Peninsula State Track and Field Finals hosted
by Jenison High School Saturday.
His fifth throw won him a state champion-
ship.
Pape unleashed a personal record throw of
150 feet 7 inches on his second throw
Saturday. Through the rest of the prelim’s and
then the finals only two other guys, Pewamo-
Westphalia freshman Gavin Nurenberg and
Leslie freshman Brogan Dodge, managed
throws of over 140 feet. Nurenberg finished
as the state runner-up with a mark of 142-
and Dodge was third at 141-8.
“I got a little nervous [after the first throw],
but I was like, ‘I got two more throws,’” Pape
said. “I went out there for my second throw
and it ended up going smoothly. When they
measured out the tape I looked down and they
said, ‘150’, I thought something must be
wrong.”
It wasn’t. Things went pretty well at the
shot put pit too for the DK senior. Pape was a
two-time state medalist, also placing fifth in
the shot put with a personal record mark of
48-4.Pape only surpassed the 100-foot mark
three times as a freshman in the discus. His
sophomore year he won a regional champion-
ship with a throw of 141-3.5, which was a
personal best at the time. He was consistently
between 120 feet and 140 feet throughout that
sophomore season. He of course missed out
on the chance to compete as a junior in 2020.
Pape threw better than 130 feet at every
meet but the first one in his senior season this
spring. He hit 136-7 in the Panthers’ second
competition to earn the right to use a new
special carbon fiber disc that coach Dale
Grimes got for the program in 2020. Pape said
coach Grimes told his throwers that 136 feet
was the distance they need to hit to compete
with the new disc.
Pape said the new disc’s higher rim weight
just fit with his throw, and once he got his
footwork back into rhythm after the year off
he was ready to chase a state championship.
He set a marker up in practice 150 feet out
from the ring, a spot he figured he’d have to
hit if he was going to reach a goal of a top
three state finish.
With the help of coach Grimes and DK
assistant coach Jason Fleser, Pape said he
stepped up state prep in the discus two weeks
before the finals - doubling the amount of
time he spent on the event.
Pape is already prepping for his freshman
football season at Davenport University, and
said he would consider throwing for the DUMen’s Track and Field team should the oppor-
tunity present itself and if doing so would not
interfere with football.
Pape’s two throws put the Delton Kellogg
boys’ track and field team in 13th place at the
state finals, with 14 points.
DK freshman Torren Mapes placed 11th in
the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. His time
of 43.28 seconds, a new personal record, was
only about a half a second behind the last of
the eight state medalists in the race.
Like Pape, Maple Valley senior Ashlyn
Wilkes closed her time as a multi-sport varsity
athlete on the track and field state medal
stand. Wilkes cleared the bar at 5-2 to place
third in the girls’ high jump. She was one of
four girls to clear 5-2 and only Kent City
junior Mickenzie Brancheau went higher,
clearing 5-3 to win the Division 3 state cham-
pionship in the event.
Lawton freshman Heidi Newhouse was the
girls’ high jump runner-up, clearing 5-2 in
fewer attempts than Wilkes or Manchester
junior Morgan Lutton who placed fourth.
It was the fifth time this spring that Wilkes
cleared the bar at 5-2, her personal best mark.
Grass Lake took the Division 3 boys’ team
state championship Saturday in Jenison, fin-
ishing the meet with 68 points, ahead of
Benzie Central 34, Pewamo-Westphalia 30,
Sanford-Meridian 26, Homer 23, Dansville
22.5, Chesaning 22, Traverse City St. Francis
20, Clare 18, Sand Creek 16 and Monroe St.Mary Catholic Central 16 in the top ten.
Grass Lake was led by senior sprinter
Brennen Bargesser who won the 100-meter
dash, the 200-meter dash, the 400-meter dash
and teamed with Trenton Holden, Andrew
Stockton and Josh Sherwood to win the
4x100-meter relay. Sherwood, another Grass
Lake senior, was a medalist in the 100 and the
200 behind Bargesser.
Pewamo-Westphalia and Grass Lake tied
for the girls’ championship with 41 points
apiece. Byron was third with 34, ahead of
Shepherd 32, Hart 30, St. Louis 26, Ithaca 24,
Montague 23, Jackson Lumen Christi 22,
Mason County Central 20 and St. Charles 20
in the top ten.
Grass Lake’s girls were powered by a
speedy Bargesser as well, with Brennen’s
junior sister Lexus Bargesser winning the
100, the 200 and the 400 as well. Lexus set a
new Division 3 Finals record with her win-
ning 400-meter dash time of 55.54 seconds.
Byron senior thrower Sarah Marvin set a
couple of new records as well. She set a new
all-time MHSAA Finals record with her mark
of 50-9.5 in the shot put and set a new
Division 3 Finals record in the discus with a
throw of 160-0. She bettered not only Pape’s
discus throw, but also the winning shot put
mark from Erie Mason senior Tyler Bates who
took the boys’ title in the event at 54-7.Delton Kellogg senior Cole Pape
celebrates on the infield at Jenison High
School after winning the state
championship in the discus at the Division
3 Lower Peninsula Track and Field Finals.The Delton Kellogg varsity softball team gathers with its district championship trophy after winning the Division 3 District
Tournament hosted by Climax-Scotts Saturday, the third district title for the Panthers in the last three seasons. The DK girls bested
host Climax-Scotts 13-9 in eight innings in the district final after a 17-1 win over Union City in the district semifinals.Saxon softball scores
big wins over Ottawa Hills
Val Slaughter
Contributing Writer
The lady Saxons bats were alive on
Wednesday, as the Hastings varsity softball
team team took both games in a home double-
header against Ottawa Hills to wrap up its
regular season. The Saxons finished the sea-
son with just three wins, but will look for their
young team to make a strong return next year.
In game one, the Saxons defeated Ottawa
Hills 26-4. Cassidee Easey started in the cir-
cle for the Saxon team. Easey pitched two
innings and gave up only one run and one hit,
while striking out four. The Saxon fielders
had zero errors for the game.
In the batter’s box, the Saxons finished
with two home runs off the bats of AnnaEnglish and Emma Alexander in the fourth
inning. The Saxons racked up 26 hits for the
game. Isabelle Storm and Carly Warner had
five hits each, Morgan Deal had three hits and
Alexander and Phoebe Schantz had two hits a
piece. Alexander drove home four RBI, while
English, Warner and Schantz had three RBI
each.
In the second game, Hastings defeated
Ottawa Hills 29-10. The Saxon fielders again
played error free softball. Saxon freshman
pitcher Aubree English started in the circle
and had eight strike outs and allowed 14 hits
and ten runs. Ottawa Hills managed to score
eight runs in the first inning, but the Saxon
batters rallied in the second inning with nine
runs of their own. Alexander homered in thesecond, driving in three of those nine runs.
In the third inning, the Saxons drove in
another 14 runs, with Tandra McKinstry hit-
ting a home run, and Anna English hitting a
grand slam. Deal led the bats in game two
with five hits, English, McKinstry, Warner
and Storm each had four hits for the game,
and Kaeli Jo West and Alexander had three
hits each. English, with the help of her grand
slam, led the team in RBI with seven for the
game, followed by Warner and Alexander
who had four each.
Hastings opened the state postseason in the
Division 2 District Semifinals in Middleville
Saturday. The Thornapple Kellogg Trojans
took a 21-0 win in that ballgame to end the
Saxons’ season.Cassidee Easey pitches for the Saxons during their sweep of visiting Ottawa Hills in
a non-conference doubleheader at Hastings High School Wednesday (June 2). (Photo
by Valerie Slaughter)The Saxons’ Kaeli Jo West beats a
throw in to home to score from third on a
wild pitch during her team’s doubleheader
sweep of Ottawa Hills at Hastings High
School Wednesday. (Photo by Valerie
Slaughter)Eagles bested in playoff
for Great Lakes Six title
Sacred Heart Academy won a one-game
playoff for the Great Lakes Six Championship
over Barry County Christian’s varsity base-
ball team at Belknap Park in Grand Rapids
Tuesday.
The Sacred Heart boys took an 8-3 win
after the two teams split their four regular
season contests against each other.
Barry County Christian head coach
Brandon Strong said having a week between
ballgames killed some of his team’s momen-
tum, and dealing with an hour and a half rain
delay didn’t help things Tuesday.
The Sacred Heart team took an 8-1 lead at
the end of the fourth inning.
“We just couldn’t string enough together to
get through it,” Strong said. “Good season.”DK girls win
third straight
district trophy
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There will forever be a hole on the champi-
onship banner inside the Delton Kellogg High
School gymnasium where the Panthers can
ponder what might have been, but holes in the
trophy case are getting fewer and further
between.
The Delton Kellogg varsity softball team
won a Division 3 District championship for
the third consecutive season Saturday at
Climax-Scotts High School. The maroon and
white Panthers of Delton Kellogg bested the
blue and gold Panthers of Climax-Scotts 13-
in eight innings in the district final.
The Delton Kellogg girls won district
championships in 2018 and 2019 and had
high hopes for 2020 before that season was
postponed and then canceled by the pandem-
ic. The DK program picked up right where it
left off under head coach Duane Knight in
2021 though, adding more numbers to the
banner.
Delton Kellogg will face Southwestern
Athletic Conference Valley Division foe
Schoolcraft in the regional semifinals at
Centreville High School Saturday (June 12).
The Eagles took two from the DK girls in the
final SAC Valley doubleheader of the season,
preventing the Panthers from snagging a share
of the Valley Division championship.
The Delton Kellogg girls slugged 18 hits in
the win over Climax-Scotts, but had to rally in
the end to advance in the state tournament.
Climax-Scotts scored three runs in the bottom
of the third inning to tie the district final at
4-4, and then built a 9-4 lead with two runs in
the bottom of the fifth and three runs in the
bottom of the sixth. The DK girls were left
needing to score five runs in the top of the
seventh to extend their season, and they
pulled it off before scoring four more in the
top of the eighth to win it.
Delton’s Mya Brickley delivered a clutch
two-out double into left field in the top of the
seventh inning that scored Chloe Colwell
from first to tie the game at 9-9 and eventual-
ly send it into extra innings.
Abby Fichtner started the DK Panthers’
seventh inning rally with a bunt single to the
left side. Josie Lyons walked to put runners on
first and second. Aubrey Aukerman plated the
first run of the inning for the Panthers with a
line drive, RBI single into center field that
scored Fichtner from second.
Allison Brandli scored Lyons, with a one-
out double through the right side, and sent
Aukerman to third. Paige Thomas followed
with a bunt single to the left side that scored
Aukerman and moved Brandli to third, but
Brandli was eventually caught trying to steal
home for the second out of the inning. Thomas
managed to advance to third as Brandli was
picked off on the base paths though, and she
scored on a ground ball single by Allie
Trantham that pulled her team within 9-8.
Chloe Colwell came in to run for Trantham
at first and scored on Brickley’s blast.
Fichtner struck out two Climax-Scotts bat-
ters and hit two in the bottom of the seventh,
but got a ground out to end the threat and
move the game into the eighth inning.
Fichtner led off the top of the eighth with a
double into left and scored the go-ahead run
on ground-out by teammate Josie Lyons. DK
put together doubles by Lizzy Fichtner,
Brandli, Thomas and Trantham with a Climax-
Scotts error to score three more times in the
inning.
It was a bit of a shaky eighth, as the
Climax-Scotts girls put two on with one out,
but Abby Fichtner got a pop out to Thomas in
centerfield and then struck out the final blue
and gold Panther to clinch the win.
Abby Fichtner and Trantham were both
3-for-5 at the plate in the win. Fichtner drove
in two runs and scored three times out of the
lead-off spot. Trantham had the one RBI.
Lyons, Aukerman and Thomas had two RBI
each. Lyons, Aukerman, Thomas and Colwell
scored two runs apiece, and Brandli and
Brickley both scored once. Lizzy Fichtner,
Brandli, Thomas, Brickley and Colwell had
tow hits each.
Climax-Scotts managed 12 hits off of DK
pitcher Abby Fichtner. She struck out 13,
walked five and allowed just six earned runs
in the eight-inning win.
Jenna Haynes took the loss for Climax-
Scotts. She struck out five, walked one and
gave up 18 hits. Just nine of the 13 runs
charged to her were earned.
Jennifer Ritchie led the Climax-Scotts
attack going 4-for-5 with four RBI. Jenna
Haynes was 2-for-3 with three runs and three
RBI. Haynes snapped a 4-4 tie in the bottom
of the fifth with a two-run home run to center
field.
The Delton Kellogg girls opened the 2021
postseason with a 17-1 win over Union City
in four innings in the district semifinals
Saturday.
Lizzy Fichtner powered the Panthers in the
opener, going 3-for-4 with a triple, six RBI
and a run scored. Josie Lyons and Paige
Thomas both singled twice. Thomas drove in
two runs and scored twice. Lyons also walked
twice, scored four runs and drove in one.
Brickley doubled and scored twice. DK also
got a single from Trantham. Brandli walked
twice and scored three runs.
Brickley pitched and earned the win for
DK. She struck out six and walked seven in
the four-inning ballgame. The one run against
her was unearned. She only allowed one
Unity City hit.
Climax-Scotts won its district semifinal
ballgame 8-2 over Galesburg-Augusta.