The Hastings Banner — Thursday, March 7, 2024 — Page 11Hawks was just about the only thing for the
Trojans to feel any kind of disappointment
in all day long.
The only other thing to feel bittersweet
about was the meet being the last for a group
of Trojan seniors who have been a part of a
few of the best competitive cheer seasons, if
not the best, ever at TK.
“They are so ruthless, in a good way,” Lula
said of her seniors. “They are ruthless, andthey are gritty, and they have been so dedicat-
ed from the very beginning ... I almost feel
like they created mini next generations of
themselves. They have totally, 100 percent
taken them under their wing and not only
athletically. They know how to lead kids and
what is expected of our program. My seniors
are exceptional.”
The Trojan senior group includes Kenady
Smith, Holland, Ana Jo Smith, Ava Jahnke
and Emilie Landry, as well as exchange stu-
dents Madita Boppel, Martine Christensen,
Nina Durikova and Aurora Sisto.
With a big sophomore group and some
talented juniors, coach Lula sees her program
remaining strong for years to come.
The state champs will likely be strong for
years to come too. Allen Park had scores of
238.40 in round one and 232.54 in round two.
Those were the top scores in each of those
rounds. They finished off with the top round
three tally too at 322.40.
The runner-up Carleton Airport team had
scores of 235.00 in round one, 229.82 in
round two and 315.10 in round two.
The Cedar Springs girls added scores of
229.70 in round one and 310.70 to their big
round two score. The TK girls will have to
find a new conference rival next winter as the
Red Hawks are exiting the OK Conference
for the River City Alliance.TOWNSHIP OF HOPE
Notice of
Budget Public HearingThe Hope Township Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed township
budget for fiscal year 2024-25 on Monday March 18,2024 at 6:30 p.m., at the
Hope Township Hall 5463 S M-43 Hwy Hastings MI 49058, the Regular Board
meeting to follow.THE PROPERTY TAX MILLAGE RATE PROPOSED TO BE LEVIED TO
SUPPORT THE PROPOSED BUDGET WILL BE A SUBJECT OF
THIS HEARING.
A copy of the budget is available for public inspection at the Township hall. This
notice is posted in compliance with PA267 of 1976 as amended (Open
Meetings Act), MCLA 41.72a (2) (3) and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(ADA)The Hope Township Board will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and
services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audio tapes of printed
materials being considered at the meeting, to individuals with disabilities at the
meeting upon seven days notice to the Hope Township Board. Individuals with
disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the Hope
Township Board by writing, calling or via email the following:
Deborah Jackson
Hope Township Clerk
5463 S M-43 Hwy.
Hastings, MI 49058
(269) 948-
clerk@hopetownship,comTROJANS, continued from page 9 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––^213152
omore point guard Tyler Howland who was
injured in the regular season finale. Mapes is
back, if still somewhat less than full strength,
for the postseason run.
“This team just fills me with so much pride
in how they have rallied around each other
and full embraced the work necessary to have
this moment,” Delton Kellogg head coach
Jim Hogoboom said Friday. “It really was a
hard-fought game with a bit of back and
forth. We won tow games this week playing
defense we haven’t played all year.”
The Panthers turned to a triangle-and-two
to score a 67-60 win over Holland Black
River in the district semifinals last Wednes-
day, a team that beat the Panthers by 12 in
Holland in a SAC Central ballgame at the
start of February. The Panthers and River
Rats split their SAC Central series this sea-
son.
In the district final, the Panthers turned to
their rarely used man-to-man defense to slow
down the Trailblazers and hold them to their
fewest points in a ballgame since the opening
week of the season.
Neither team did much scoring early. Sau-
gatuck led 9-3 after one quarter. Delton Kel-
logg fought back to lead 14-13 at the half and
then kept pushing to lead 27-15 at the end of
three quarters.
The Trailblazers opened the fourth quarter
on a 12-3 run to get within 27-24.
DK held a slim lead throughout most of the
fourth quarter. A free throw by Mapes moved
the DK advantage to 34-31 with 50 seconds
remaining in the ballgame.
Trailblazer senior guard Elijah Janowiak
attacked down the lane for a bucket that got
his team within 34-33 and then a steal at mid-
court by Vanderpoel turned into another
chance for Saugatuck. Vanderpoel went right
on the attack. He spun around one defender
along the lane and then crashed into Mapes as
he put a shot up and in. Mapes was whistledfor a block and Vanderpoel hit his free throw
to make it a 36-34 Saugatuck lead with 27
seconds remaining.
Hill was big on both sides of the floor,
seeing a big boost in his ball-handling duties
with Howland out and also tasked with trying
to contain Vanderpoel. He succeeded for the
most part. Vanderpoel only had one point
through the first three quarters.
“The community response has been awe-
some, obviously,” Hogoboom said. “The kids
did fantastic work. A coach from Kalamazoo
Valley came down to compliment our kids on
their poise, behavior and attitude – which is
really what concerns me even more than wins
and losses.”
Hogoboom said after his team’s 51-37 loss
to Saugatuck Feb. 16 he told his guys that he
could see a rematch brewing if they got the
work done they needed to in the final two
regular season contests and the district semi-
final that followed.The Panthers spent a little time in practice
each of the next couple weeks with a focus on
Saugatuck, in particular tweaking the way
they would try and get through the Trailblaz-
ers’ full-court defense.
They were ready for Black River in the
district semifinals too in Bloomingdale last
Wednesday – taking a 67-60 win.
Hill just took over the point guard duties
from the injured Howland in that ballgame.
“Keegan played by far the best game I
have seen him play. He handled their pres-
sure and was a lock down defender in our
gimmick we played,” Hogoboom said. “I
was really impressed with him.”
Stopher and exchange student Hugo Marti-
no were the offensive spark. Stopher had nine
points and Martino had six, including a mon-
ster dunk, in the opening quarter. DK still
trailed 24-19 at the end of one though and
32-30 at the half.
Matteson and Mapes both hit twothree-pointers in the third quarter to push the
Panthers back into things after the River Rats
stretched their lead to 42-32 early in the sec-
ond half. Matteson had 15 points in a six-min-
ute span in the second half and finished with
a game-high 20 points.
Stopher had 17 points and Martino 11 in
the ballgame.
Black River got 19 points from Jonah Van-
dermeer and 13 from Josiah Thomas.
“Those are the two guys we chased in our
triangle-and-two gimmick,” Hogoboom said.
“I really didn’t feel like their other guys
would hurt us over time.”
The River Rats did enough to lead 53-
with seven minutes to play, but DK went
on a 10-0 run over the next couple minutes
to take control. They led by seven with
4:32 to play in the game. The River Rats
closed within three points, but free throws
by Stopher, Matteson and Martino closed
things out.Friddle fifth Saxon with three state medals
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
It is an impressive list Hastings junior Isaac
Friddle joined over the weekend at Ford Field
in downtown Detroit, winning his third state
medal in three varsity seasons for the Saxons
at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals.
He is just the fifth Saxon wrestler to be a
three-time state placer, and if he ends his
senior season on the state finals medal stand
in the same way he ended his freshman, soph-
omore and junior campaigns he would be the
Hastings program’s first ever four-time state
wrestling medalist.
Friddle joins Jack Woltjer (class of 1978), RJ
Morgan (2006), Matt Watson (2208) and his
head coach Jason Slaughter (2015) on the list of
three-time Saxon state medalists. Coach Slaugh-
ter said that Watson is the only four-time state
qualifier he knows off in the program’s history.
Friddle clinched his third state medal with
an 8-2 win over Lakeland’s Andrew Neu-
mann in the blood round of Division 1’s 215-
pound weight class and then finished eighth
as he fell in his two Saturday matches during
the medal rounds.
He was one of three juniors competing in
the Division 1 State Finals this season for the
Saxons. Keegan Sutfin placed fifth in the
144-pound weight class to secure his first
state medal. Junior Troy Hokanson went 1-
Friday, falling 8-3 to Conner Haslett from
Lapeer in the blood round (the second round
of consolation where the winners are guaran-
teed a state medal and their opponents’ see
their season come to an end.)
Detroit Catholic Central’s Connor Ber-
cume made it back-to-back individual state
title’s in Division 1’s 215-pound weight class.
Friddle started his tournament with a pin of
Traverse City West’s Brady Vaughn, but then
ran into Bercume in the quarterfinals. Ber-
cume pinned him in 42 seconds.
“It’s always just wrestling with Isaac,”
coach Slaughter said. “He never seems to
make a big deal out of things such as wrestling
in the blood rounds where a lot of wrestlers do.
He just goes out does his thing and wrestles.
He didn’t quite have the day he wanted [Satur-
day] and some matches just didn’t go his way,
but still a huge accomplishment being able to
repeat [as a medalist] for the third time.”
Sutfin had to win two consolation round
matches to get his state medal. He was bested
by Temperance Bedford’s Noah Benore in the
opening round of the the 144-pound weight
class, 6-3. Sutfin put together pins of Fern-
dale’s Daniel Gonzalez and Flushing’s Pey-
ton Ingram to clinch his spot in the top eight.
Back on the mat Saturday in the medal
rounds, Sutfin pinned Holt’s Ayden Mosher,
but was pinned himself by Westland John
Glenn’s Franklin Hernandez in the consolation
semifinals. In the match for fifth place, Sutfin
stuck Grand Blanc’s Nik Lemons in 1:40.
“Keegan has really come alive in the post-
season,” Slaughter said. “From what I have
seen is he has just been more relaxed in his
wrestling. He has a plan when he goes out and
just continues to wrestle. He has always been
a good wrestle,r but I think all the pieces are
falling in place for him. He really had a great
tournament getting all of his wins by fall.”
Nobody in Division 1 had more pins over
the weekend than Sutfin, who finished with
four. Nobody in D1 had a faster pin thank
Hokanson. He opened consolation matches
Friday by sticking Utica Ford’s Nathaniel
Barry in 15 seconds to earn a spot in the blood
round. Hokanson’s season came to an end
though with an 8-3 loss to Lapeer’s Conner
Haslett in their 106-pound blood round match.
“Overall it was a really great tournament
for us,” Slaughter said. “Even though we
always want more, two placers for guys and
four overall [with two girls earning medals
too] is pretty great. Also, all seven of our
qualifiers are returning next year.”
Bercume was one of five guys to win individ-
ual state championships for the Detroit Catholic
Central team that also won the MHSAA Divi-
sion 1 Team Wrestling State Championship the
weekend before in Kalamazoo. Mason Stewart
at 150-pounds, Darius Marines at 157, Wyatt
Lees at 113and Grayson Fuchs at 126 pounds all
won individual state titles too.
In all, Detroit Catholic Central sent 14
wrestlers to the MHSAA Division 1 Individ-
ual State Finals and 13 of them finished their
weekend on the medal stand.DISTRICT, continued from page 9 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thornapple Kellogg's Claira Kovich and Kenady Smith perform a kick with their
teammates during round one of the MHSAA Division 2 Competitive Cheer Finals
inside Central Michigan University's McGuirk Arena in Mt. Pleasant Saturday, March
- (Photo by Brett Bremer)
Hastings junior Isaac Friddle scores nearfall points during his 8-2 win over Lakeland's Andrew Neumann in the blood round of
Division 1's 215-pound weight class at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals hosted by Ford Field in downtown Detroit Friday,
March 2. Friddle placed eighth over the weekend earning his third state medal in three seasons. (Photo by Brett Bremer)(Hastings junior Keegan Sutfin celebrates his pin of Flushing's Peyton Ingram in the
blood round of Division 1's 144-pound weight class Friday, March 2, at the MHSAA
Individual Wrestling Finals hosted by Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Sutfin went on
to place fifth during the medal rounds Saturday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)Saxon junior Troy Hokanson fights to try and score a take down during his 8-3 loss
to Lapeer's Conner Haslett in the blood round of Division 1's 106-pound weight class
at the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals hosted by Ford Field in downtown Detroit
Friday, March 2. (Photo by Brett Bremer)