Page 18 — Thursday, October 7, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Saxons take title at Ottawa Hills Invitational
Valerie Slaughter
Contributing Writer
The Hastings varsity volleyball team trav-
eled to Ottawa Hills on Saturday and took
first place on the day winning all six matches
and giving up only one set.
The Hastings team was missing all but one
senior for the day, but Hastings’s head coach,
Tiffany Hendershot, noted “we moved up
three freshman from the JV team, and they all
played well. It was a fun day and a great con-
fidence boost for the girls.”
The Saxons met Union City in the finals,
where they dropped their only set of the day,
losing the first set 23-25, and then coming
back to take the next two sets 25-16 and 15-11.
In pool play, the lady Saxons defeated
Godwin Heights, Benton Harbor and Ottawa
Hills before moving into the bracket round.
In the first round Hastings defeated Muskegon
Heights 25-10 and 25-12. In the semifinals,
the Saxons quickly took care of Godwin
Heights 25-13 and 25-13.
As a team, the Saxons scored 113 kills and
82 aces for the day, Racheal Hewitt who was
one of the freshmen moved up for the tourna-
ment, led the team with 25 kills. Audrey
Vertalka added 24 kills and Abby Beemer had- Vertalka and Beemer also led the team in
assists from their setting positions. Isabella
Hendershot led the team in aces with 25 and
Vertalka added another 20, along with 14
blocks. Bailey Cook added another 12 blocks
and senior, Madison Pettengill had 11 blocks
on the day.
In Interstate-8 Athletic Conference action,
the Saxons dropped a hard-fought match to
Jackson Northwest at home last Wednesday
night. Hastings won the first set 25-19 but
couldn’t keep pace with a tough Northwest
team who won the next three sets 18-25,
23-25 and 13-25.
Cook and Carly Warner both had 6 kills on
the night. Vertalka had 11 blocks, Beemer had
11 assists and Cook added 3 aces for the
match.
Thousands visit Hastings for rescheduled Barry-Roubaix
Benjamin Simon
Staff Writer
“Thank you for coming back out after that 2
½-year hiatus,” the DJ announced as a crowd
of bike riders rolled up to the starting line on
Green Street. “Thank you. Thank you.”
The event, which normally takes place in
the spring, was canceled in 2020 because of
the COVID-19 pandemic, which also led to it
being moved back later in the calendar. It
returned Saturday, with 3,200 riders packing
into the city of Hastings for Barry-Roubaix,
the largest gravel race in the world.
Riders competed in 100-mile, 62-mile,
36-mile and 18-mile races throughout the
morning. Following the ride, bikers convened
in the Barry Community Foundation and
Green Street United Methodist Church park-
ing lots for the after-party, where they drank
craft beer, ate, mingled with friends and
watched the award show.
Mayor David Tossava said he was
impressed with the number of people in town.
“A lot of those people came Thursday,” he
said. “You know, I see the hotel out there was
full, all the restaurants were full, every park-
ing lot in the city – any place you could park
a car had a car parked in it.”
Riders and their families visited Hastings
from all across the state and country.
James Schmidt, 8, traveled with his sib-
lings and parents from Evanston, Ill., to
cheer on his dad.
Jessica and Matt Bradford woke their 4-
and 6-year-old kids at 5:45 a.m. to drive the
two hours from Lake Orion to Hastings. Matt
is a mountain bike rider, but he specifically
bought a gravel bike to compete in the
36-mile race at the Barry-Roubaix.
Dave DeLano, who goes by “Dirt Dave,”
doesn’t usually like to race. Instead, he calls
himself a “Strava hero,” referring to the
cycling tracking app where he has nearly 700
followers. But he makes the effort to travel
from Pinckney to the Barry-Roubaix every
year and, this time around, he rode at 20 miles
per hour and finished third in his age group.
“It ain’t about looking cool ...,” he said.
“It’s a good tool to judge where you’re at in
your fitness.”The Hastings varsity volleyball team celebrates its championship Saturday at the
Ottawa Hills Invitational after knocking off Union City in the championship match in
Grand Rapids.
Hastings setter Abby Beemer puts a pass up during her team's I-8 contest with
visiting Jackson Northwest Wednesday at Hastings High School. (Photo by Valerie
Slaughter)Scott Daigle of Mt. Pleasant sinks to the ground after finishing the 36-mile
race. Daigle has competed in every Barry-Roubaix race but the first. And
every year, he finishes in just over two hours. He’s been trying to break two
hours since he started. This year he rode fast – but not fast enough. He
crossed the finish line at 2 hours and 50 seconds, and he couldn’t believe
Riders cross the Barry-Roubaix finish line Saturday. it. “It’s my white whale,” he said. (Photos by Benjamin Simon)For as long as the Barry-Roubaix has taken place, Aubri Brandt has been ringing cowbells. Brandt, a Hastings
Nate York, of Grand Rapids, greets his daughter, Maleah, after he finished the 36-mile race. native, stood in front of her house Saturday morning, cheering on the riders.