Local Sports: Jefferson girls post best finish ever in team state finals
BERRIEN SPRINGS – Jefferson’s track and field team didn’t win Friday, but the girls felt like champions.
The Bears took third place in the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Team State Meet, finishing just 8.5 points behind runner-up Frankenmuth with 1,189.5.
Shepherd ran away with the title at 1,348.
The highest previous finish in the meet for Jefferson was fifth place last year.
“We were pretty well elated,” Jefferson coach Phil Speare said. “It was a great job all around.”
Veronica Fitzgerald won the 800 meters for the Bears in a season-best 2:20.31 and ran with Anna Boggs, Alyssa Masserant, and Alexa Glancy on the second-place 800 relay.
Glancy took second in the 400 meters (:59.96), third in the 200 (personal-best :25.97), and fifth in the 100 (:12.78).
Jenna Pilachowski was runner-up in the 1,600 meters and third in the 3,200, and Layla Tahmouch placed fourth in both the shot-put and discus.
Others cracking the top 10 were Alyssa Masserant (fifth 400), Katie Powell (fifth long jump), Riley Peer (sixth 3,200), Carli Smith (seventh discus), and Madison Duvall 10th (3,200).
Other standouts for Jefferson were Ellie Hintz, Katherine Scroi, Kim Miller, Mia Schroeder, Abby Miller, Austin Williams, Sephena Jordan, Keaton Heinzerling, and Lindsay Masserant.
Dundee’s boys and girls both finished in 14th place.
Isaak Rubley led the Vikings, taking fifth in the boys 3,200 meters and seventh in the 1,600. Jacob Fenbert tied for fourth in the pole vault.
Daniel Kreger, Brayden Ratliff, Logan Johnson, Ruben Rivera, and Noah Nieman also had top 20 finishes for the boys, and Maddie Salenbien, Natalie Swisher, Kaylee Hovey, Briley Bordine, and Lily Ratliff did the same for the girls.
PREP BASEBALL
SMCC explodes in fourth
St. Mary Catholic Central scored 13 runs in the fourth inning to beat Dundee 15-6 in the second game of a doubleheader Friday.
Calvin Bradley sparked the big inning with a run-scoring single and finished with two hits and three RBI. Anthony Caladino and Aiden Burrous also finished with two hits and Braden Puckett drove in four runs.
Trevor Schroeder homered and he and Drew Bolster collected two hits apiece.
Dundee claimed the opener 10-4 as Schroeder and Cooper Buhl both logged three hits and three RBI. Schroeder scored four times and Evan Imo added two hits. Ryan Zanger earned the win.
Drew Bylow, who was the winning pitcher in the second game, led the SMCC offense with three hits with Caladino and Burrous adding two each.
Ida tops Marauders
GIBRALTAR – AJ Schrader and Gavin Borton banged out three hits each as Ida pounded Gibraltar Carlson 13-2 Friday.
Borton drove in a pair of runs and Schrader scored twice. Bradley Samples and Noah Adkins added two hits each.
Dean Thomas threw the first five innings to get the win. Samples finished up with a perfect sixth inning that included a pair of strikeouts.
Huron pitchers sharp
NEW BOSTON – Luke Coll, Gavin O’Hara, Kyle Kantola, and Caiden Siggett all were strong on the mound as New Boston Huron nipped West Bloomfield 2-1 Friday.
Myles Grace and Austin O’Dell notched two hits each and Gavin Moczydlowsky stroked an RBI double for Huron.
Summerfield struggles
PETERSBURG – Summerfield committed five errors and had just three hits in a 9-2 loss to Blissfield Friday.
The Bulldogs dipped to 12-10.
PREP SOFTBALL
Bears salvage split
Jefferson got its offense going to blast Blissfield 15-5 in the second game of a doubleheader Friday after dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker in the opener.
Julia Perry struck out 16 with no walks in the first game to break the school record for strikeouts in a season with 213.
Jefferson collected 17 hits in the five-inning second game, including four each from Perry and Lindsey Gennoe and three from Emmi Liptow.
Gennoe drove in four runs and Liptow scored four times.
Winning pitcher Cam Carter and Rylee Dunn added two hits apiece for the 23-11 Bears.
Huron falls short
WOODHAVEN – A walk-off hit in the bottom of the seventh Friday lifted Woodhaven to a 3-2 win over New Boston Huron, which was playing for the fourth straight night.
“After an extremely long week and a very emotional one with the big wins, we just fell a little short and ran out of gas,” Huron coach Tedi Belisle said.
Jenna Kuzara went 2-for-4 to lead the offense.
PRO HOCKEY
Walleye fall at home
TOLEDO – The Toledo Walleye will need to win three straight games over the Idaho Steelheads or their season will be over.
Toledo fell 4-3 Friday despite two goals by Gordie Green.
Game 5 will be Saturday in Toledo. If the Walleye win that one, they will have to go on the road for Game 6 and 7 Tuesday and Wednesday.
PRO BASEBALL
Hens rally for win
TOLEDO – The Toledo Mud Hens scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to pull out a 3-2 win over Rochester Friday night.
Parker Meadows tied the game with a two-run single, then came home with the winning run on a double by Donny Sands.
Meadows and Sands both had two hits in the game.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Local Sports: Jefferson girls post best finish ever in team state finals
