sun and news 4-17-2021

Page 10/The Sun and News, Saturday, April 17, 2021

Caledonia freshmen will get to

see how they stack up in OK Red

Brett Bremer

Sports Editor

How tough is the OK Red

Conference typically?

The Caledonia varsity

girls’ track and field team

closed out the 2019 confer-

ence tied for sixth in the

seven-team conference. They

were then eighth out of 18

Division 1 teams at their

regional meet to close out the

season. The OK Red

Conference is really tough.

Caledonia head coach Ben

Howell said he’s going to

head into the season with the

expectation that Rockford

and East Kentwood continue

to be among the two best

teams in the state, and hence

the conference. Rockford

already showed the Scots its

might in the season opening

dual Wednesday in Caledonia

scoring a 90-47 win.

The Caledonia girls man-

aged four individual victories

in the dual. Lindsey Peters

took the 1600-meter run in 5

minutes 1.3 seconds. The

Scots’ other three wins came

in the field. Morgan Babb

took the discus with a mark

of 86 feet 11 inches. Harlei

Mansfield won the shot put

with a mark of 30-7.5. Teresa

Abraham won the high jump

for Caledonia by clearing the

bar at 4-10.

Peters and Mansfield are

two of six returning point

scorers from the 2019

Caledonia team. They are

joined back on the varsity by

senior sprinter Ella Mealey,

junior distance runner

Savanna Coulter, junior pole

vaulter Laura Robotham and

senior sprinter Bre Lewis.

Coach Howell said he is

excited to add a big group of

freshmen and sophomores to

the program. There are 40

girls on the varsity roster and

17 of them are freshmen.

“Many will be thrust into

the spotlight early which will

be fun for them,” Howell

said.

That overall number of 40

marks one of the smallest

rosters for the Scots in quite

a few years.

“There are really bunch of

question marks heading into

the season,” Howell said.

“With our small team size,

we don’t have much depth

currently, but I am hopeful

that girls will step up and fill

in many of the roles needed.”

He expects an interesting

year.

“I know that our current

lack of team depth will be a

challenge for us to stay com-

petitive in our league, but I

feel confident that we have a

team that is committed and

passionate towards working

hard and making each other

better. Having a year off

from the sport helps many of

these athletes reshape their

perspectives. They are really

excited to get out and com-

pete.”

Caledonia is hosting its

annual Soderman Relays

today (April 17) and will

take part in two more OK

Red Conference duals in the

week ahead. The Scots visit

Hudsonville Monday and

then will host Grandville

Wednesday.

Good Luck

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Good Luck

Athletes

Lindsey Peters

Josie Zomer

New Scots in top spots for

varsity girls’ tennis team

Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There is going to be a lot
of ladder climbing going on
in varsity girls’ tennis line-
ups this spring.
With a year off since the
last varsity girls’ tennis con-
tests and a year of seniors
gone girls like Caledonia
senior Emma Andrulis may
be looking at big steps up in
competition since their last
varsity matches.
Andrulis is moving up to
first singles this spring after
holding down a spot on the
Caledonia third doubles team
in 2019. That Caledonia team
placed fourth in the OK Red
Conference and fifth at its
regional tournament at the
end of the season. Andrulis
had a pretty great year in
2019, taking part in 22 victo-
ries in her 30 doubles match-
es.
Junior Josie Zomer and

senior Tanner Pizzuti are

going to team up at first dou-

bles for the Fighting Scots

this spring. Pizzuti played

fourth singles in 2019 and

Zomer was at fourth doubles

as a freshman in 2019.

Caledonia head coach

Mike Wilson who is in his

20th season leading the pro-

gram said most of his girls

will have to play at flights

higher than they would like

this spring.

“Our seniors will provide

us with strong leadership,

and we have a group of girls

that come to practice every-

day to work hard and

improve,” Wilson said. “They

also enjoy be around each

other and encouraging their

teammates to be their best.”

Juniors Payton Lee and

Lydia Sowerby are stepping

into the second and third sin-

gles spots in their first varsity

campaigns, and Wilson has

the sophomore duo of Allyson

Abraham and Grace Geer

teamed up at second doubles

early on.

He thinks his team should

be competitive in the OK Red

Conference if it keeps work-

ing like it has been this pre-

season.

The Caledonia girls are

slated to be a part of the East

Kentwood Invitational today

(April 17) and will host East

Kentwood for the first OK

Red Conference dual of the

season Monday. The Scots

will be at home there times in

the week ahead, also hosting

Grandville Wednesday and

the Caledonia Invitational

with Byron Center,

Thornapple Kellogg and

Mona Shores April 24.

Wilson said he expects

Rockford, West Ottawa and

Hudsonville to once again be

the top challengers for an OK

Red Conference title.