Petoskey boys XC take second in BNC; Boyne, Charlevoix and NCMC earn volleyball wins

TRAVERSE CITY — Tuesday night was a change for the Petoskey cross country teams.

Not a bad one, just a different course than they’ve been on throughout the 2023 season.

For the most part, the Northmen cross country teams have stuck to weekend races, leaving the week to train.

That changed with a weekend off and the Big North Conference Championship races held on Tuesday in Traverse City.

And, the change up worked out fairly well for Petoskey, especially on the boys side.

The Northmen boys earned a narrow runner-up finish within the league, trailing only TC Central in a 37-41 finish.

On the girls side, Petoskey placed fourth behind Cadillac by only a single point.

With a second place finish and the PHS girls still competing well with two runners missing with injury, Petoskey coach Dave Farley was happy with where his teams ended up.

“On the boys varsity, we knew we had a shot at being close to TC Central,” he said. “We thought it would be a three-team race, but we ended up handling West pretty well. I am really proud of how both squads ran. Of our varsity athletes, the worst we had was an athlete 16 seconds off their PR. I feel they are really well set up for the end of the season.”

West came in third on the boys side with 70 points and West and Central then went one and two on the girls side with 38 and 58 points, respectively.

Petoskey’s boys were led by Shane Izzard’s third place finish in 16 minutes, 8.51 seconds, then Tommy Farley placed sixth in 16:26.

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Also for Petoskey, Brady Odenbach was ninth (16:44), Dylan Odenbach placed 11th (16:46); Jack Lindwall, 12th  (16:47); Zahar Rush, 15th (16:55); and Parker Fettig, 20th (17:16).

For the Petoskey girls, who raced without CamBrie Corey and Fiona Scott due to minor injuries, Nora O’Leary placed second in the conference with a time of 18:49.9, trailing only Gaylord’s Katie Berkshire (18:17.08).

“Katie Berkshire from Gaylord went off like a shot from the start and no one threatened her the whole race,” added Farley. “The course had a hairpin turn about 150 meters out from the finish line and Nora, like most of our kids, attacked the corner and really got some momentum going, beating all the TC girls. Really impressive.”

Petoskey sophomore Ava Pawlick placed eighth (19:32), Sydney Hoffman ran a season-best time for 25th (21:39); Lauren Cole, 30th (22:02); Greta Meisel, 33rd (22:40); Madeline Pacola, 36th (23:19); and Mya Malkowski, 37th (23:20).

Petoskey returns to the course on Saturday, Oct. 21 in a Charlevoix two-mile race, then heads to their Division 2 regional race at Chippewa Hills on Friday, Oct. 27.

VOLLEYBALL 

Boyne City 3, Grayling 0 

GRAYLING — The Boyne City volleyball team put together a three-set sweep win over Grayling on the road Tuesday.

The Ramblers earned wins of 25-10, 25-17 and 25-14, closing the night with only five missed serves through all three sets.

“I was a little nervous for tonight, not going to lie,” Boyne City coach Tyla Coates said. “I felt we didn’t get as much practice time and film time as I wanted, but I was very impressed with how our serves were going and adjusting our hits and defense when needed. Our first set the girls didn’t miss a single serve.”

Coates credited Sawyer Cadarette with a strong and aggressive night, with the senior finishing with four kills.

Ava Tarsi also added 28 assists, three kills and four aces, Elly Wilcox had 10 kills, Josie Wilson had five kills and Ameilia Dunstan added four kills.

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In the back, Aubrey Burns had 12 digs and two aces, Eliana Michael had four aces and two digs and Brianna Ager had an ace and four digs.

Boyne next hosts a tri match on Thursday, Oct. 19 against Johannesburg-Lewiston and Gaylord St. Mary.

Charlevoix 3, Harbor Springs 1 

HARBOR SPRINGS — Conference play wrapped up with a four-set match win over Harbor Springs for the Charlevoix volleyball team Tuesday.

The Rayders earned wins of 25-18, 25-14 and 25-13, while falling in a 25-22 third set.

Addison Boop led the way for the Rayders with a season-best 20 kills, then added 12 digs and an ace.

“Our offense is starting to see really good results and we’re attacking the ball more confidently,” Charlevoix coach Audra Randall said. “The girls are having fun, while working different looks at the net and getting prepared for important weeks happening in the weeks ahead, while meeting Harbor Springs for the opening of districts.”

Abbey Wright added 16 kills and 20 digs, Ava Boss had 24 assists and 11 digs, Kylee Rice had five aces, 14 digs and 25 assists, then Aeryn Larson also had 11 kills.

Karlee Eaton was then 15 of 16 serving with 14 digs, Anna Kemp had eight digs, Ayla Kemp had nine digs and Dana Brown had four digs.

Charlevoix next heads to a McBain tournament on Saturday, Oct. 21.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 

North Central 3, Alpena CC 1 

PETOSKEY — The North Central Michigan College women’s volleyball team closed home play on a victory Tuesday night in Petoskey, while celebrating its sophomores.

North Central (10-17) earned a 3-1 win over Alpena Community College to close their 2023 home schedule with a 6-3 record.

The Timberwolves earned a 25-15 win in the opener Tuesday, then fell in a 25-20 set. They then earned wins of 25-20 and 25-17 to secure the victory.

Sophomores for NCMC included Makenzie Castle (Grayling), Olivia DeGroot (Petoskey), Jordyn Daily (Pellston), Alana VanderMeer (Brimley), Brooklynn Besteman (Rudyard), Ila Bisson (Rogers City) and Maggie Nelson (Wolverine).

Analiese Fredin (McBain) led with 34 assists, 11 digs, six kills and five aces for the Timberwolves, Ava Wendel (Traverse City) had 13 kills, Grace Baragrey (Johannesburg) had 10 kills and Besteman had eight kills.

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DeGroot had four aces and eight digs, Castle had 13 digs and an ace, Daily had seven digs and two kills, McKenna Hall had nine digs and an ace and Bisson had six digs and five aces. Mya Collino (Cheboygan) also had five kills.

NCMC had 15 aces overall on the night, keeping them at the top of the league in the category.

North Central will next wrap the 2023 season at Muskegon Community College on Thursday, Oct. 19.

Contact Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey boys impress in BNC cross country finals; Boyne, Charlevoix volleyball win