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Storylines abound in soccer, golf, lacrosse and tennis as spring sports season approaches

brendan quealy, the record-eagle, traverse city, mich.
·6 min read

Mar. 30—TRAVERSE CITY — The spring sports season will get underway in earnest next week — if the weather in northern Michigan cooperates that is.

Even if Mother Nature is not all that generous, there is still much to look forward to in upcoming soccer, golf, tennis and lacrosse seasons.

GIRLS SOCCER

The landscape on the pitch will look rather different this spring as just two members of the 2023 Dream Team — Elk Rapids' Kendall Standfest and McBain Northern Michigan Christian's Jada VanNoord — return for their senior seasons. But there will be plenty of other players to watch in what will be an intriguing and likely successful 2024.

Standfest, the multi-sport standout for the Elks, helped Elk Rapids to its second straight regional championship before bowing out in the state semifinals. She finished the season with All-District, All-Region and All-State First-Team honors. VanNoord, the Comets' midfielder, scored 37 goals with 15 assists last season and led McBain NMC to a district title to also earn All-District, All-Region and All-State First-Team honors.

Aside from the duo of Dream Teamers, other players to look out for include Traverse City St. Francis' Paisleigh Upshaw and Lilianna David, Traverse City Central's Tessa Petty, Boyne City's Braydin Noble, Kingsley's Bailey Charter, Elk Rapids' Ally Plum and Pipre Meteer, Suttons Bay's Megan U'Ren, Gaylord's Claire Gorno and Charlevoix's Addison Boo to name just a few.

Buckley will be an interesting team to watch after the controversial departure of longtime head coach John Vermilya and assistant coach Ryan Jones, but Avalon Valentine, Maddie Chilson and Taylor Yuresko could be big contributors for the Bears if they decide to play.

Just three area teams — Elk Rapids, McBain NMC and Harbor Springs — won district championships last season. District play begins May 22 and runs through June first with regionals to follow June 4-8. The state semifinals take place June 11-12 with the finals at Michigan State University's DeMartin Soccer Complex on June 14-15.

BOYS GOLF

The Traverse City Central Trojans come into 2024 looking to build off an ultra-successful season last year, and they return Record-Eagle Co-Golfer of the Year Cameron Mansfied for his senior season.

During the 2023 campaign, the Trojans won 15 meets, including sweeping the Big North Conference tournaments and winning a regional championship. They finished in sixth place at the Division 1 state finals.

Both Traverse City Christian and Grand Traverse Academy will have their own programs this season with former softball coach Doug Mirabelli leading the Sabres' program. Aside from the Trojans, Sabres and Mustangs, Traverse City St. Francis has David Ansley and Josh Slocum hitting the links for their penultimate season as juniors after a 14th-place team effort at state last season, and Traverse City West's Winslow Robinson looks for a repeat performance in his junior campaign.

Manistee should be a legitimate contender in Division 3 after the Mariners' eighth-place finish at the state finals last year. They return their top two golfers as brothers Jacob and Max Scharp return for their senior and sophomore seasons, respectively.

Glen Lake, led by 2022 Co-Golfer of the Year Michael Houtteman, and Charlevoix, led by senior Hudson Vollmer, will also be in the conversation among early-season contenders. The Lakers took third at the state finals last season, and the Rayders finished right behind in fourth place in Division 4. Keep an eye on Suttons Bay as well with junior Nathan Schaub looking to take the Norsemen to the next level.

Regionals take place May 27 through June 1 with the state finals getting underway June 7-8 at Bedford Valley (Division 1), Forest Akers West (Division 2), Ferris State (Division 3) and Grand Valley State (Division 4).

GIRLS TENNIS

Traverse City St. Francis and tennis have gone hand in hand for the past many years, and that likely won't change in 2024 as state championship semifinalist Mary Kate Ansley returns to the Gladiators for her sophomore season and after the Gladiators' fourth-place finish at states.

The Glads can also lean on the skills of Lily Lurvey, Caroline Knox and Elly March as they seek to maintain that perennial contender status.

But it won't just be the Glads looking for supremacy on the courts as Traverse City Central returns a plethora of talent in Player of the Year Natalie Bourdo, Wren Walker, Audrey Parker, Carly Galsterer, Annie Goldkuhle and Abby Pfannenstiel.

Elk Rapids will look to make some noise as well with Ayva Johnstone and Haleigh Yomom, although Yocom may need a new doubles partner after older sister Ryleigh graduated. It's possible Yocom makes the jump to singles after a strong sophomore season.

The Elks still feature the doubles team of Jaida Schulte and Brynne Schulte in their senior seasons after their run to the state quarterfinals in 2023. Senior Morgan Bergquist, a talented three-sport athlete, should provide some leadership for the Elks

Regional action gets underway May 15-18 followed by the state championship tournament May 31 and June 1 at Midland (Division 1), Grand Rapids (Division 2), Kalamazoo (Division 3) and Ann Arbor (Division 4).

LACROSSE

The 2024 season will signal the first for one TC United team and the last for another TC United team.

Traverse City will field a girls varsity lacrosse team for the first time, becoming the 93rd such program in Michigan. The boys team, which is a co-op between Traverse City Central and Traverse City West, will split into two teams in 2025.

The United girls team will be led by head coach Rich Axtell, whose resume includes six state championships as head coach at East Grand Rapids and appearing in the state finals three other times. The inaugural team includes players from Central, West and Elk Rapids.

Girls lacrosse differs from boys in several ways. The girls game employs 12 players on the field instead of 10 — five offensive players, six defenders and a goalie.

The sport is not full-contact like the boys, so the girls don't wear as much protective equipment as the boys. Girls aren't required to wear helmets or gloves, but goalie gear is primarily the same. Girls can check the stick, but not the body.

Regional play is set for May 16 through June 1 with the state semifinals slated for June 5 and the finals for June 7.

The TC United boys squad fell in the regional semifinals last season, but they will return a good chunk of their players after graduating 23 players after the 2022 season. They lost just 11 players to graduation last season.

The United, under head coach Liberty Provost, finished 13-5. Provost said after the semis loss that last season was a "learning process." This year should see a lot of potential realized.

"I love the direction we're headed in," Provost said last year. "We've got a lot of good guys coming up, and I know we'll do our best."

Boys regionals run May 16-29 with the state quarterfinals May 31 and June 1. The state semis are June 5 followed by the championship finals June 8.