Week in Review: Jonesville Cheer wins Invite; Hillsdale wrestles Reading and Jonesville
HILLSDALE COUNTY — The first official full week of Hillsdale County winter sports is coming to a close.
We recap some of the early game highlights from Monday through Wednesday of prep basketball and look at some of the other big moments from the start of the 2023 winter sports calendar.
More: Hillsdale boys hoops plays through foul trouble to take down Comets 50-40
More: Boys Hoops: Hillsdale Academy survives Concord battle with gritty victory
Monday night saw a few prep hoops teams lose to their non conference opponents. Hillsdale lost a battle to Springport at home. Jonesville lost a league game to Cascades foe Michigan Center (non division).
Tuesday night saw the start of the prep girls basketball season for many County teams. Litchfield, North Adams-Jerome and Pittsford managed to impress with early season victories. Many of these teams were back in action on Thursday night for their second games of the season.
More: Girls Basketball: Reading, Litchfield and North Adams-Jerome dominate their season openers
On Wednesday, Hillsdale Academy survived a test at home against a strong Concord team. Litchfield breezed through the second half of their Will Carleton Academy matchup to earn their third win of the season.
Thursday Night Prep Hoops Finals
Girls Basketball
Hillsdale 37, Union City 29
Hornets improve to 1-1
Litchfield 32, Jackson Christian 24
Terriers are now 2-0
Abby Bills: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals; Jenna Miller: 8 points, 13 rebounds
Coach's Quote: "It was such a gritty team win," coach Alvarez said. "It was a great team win against an opponent that - at least in my tenure - we had never beat in the regular season (only in the postseason), so it was a huge program win."
Pittsford 45, North Adams-Jerome 11
Pittsford defense holds Rams to 0 first-half points
Wildcats improve to 2-0; Rams drop to 1-1
Pittsford - Ava Mallar: 28 points, 6 3-pointers; Riley McCumber: 8 points
North Adams - Lydia Little: 4 points
Reading 46, Homer 38
Rangers outscored the Trojans 34-13 in the second half
Rangers hit four second-half 3-pointers
Rangers improve to 2-0
Aubree Ervans: Double-double 20 points, 11 rebounds; Elizabeth Hamilton: 8 points, 2 3-pointers; Abby Affholter: 7 points, 11 rebounds
Waldron 47, Tekonsha 16
Spartans improve to 2-0
Morgan Burk: 20 points; Kailee Kurtz: 10 points
Spartans play Litchfield (2-0) on Dec. 19
Bowling and Cheer Results
Jonesville competitive cheer won their first invitational of the season. A total of 11 teams competed against the Comets and they would finish one point ahead of Hanover-Horton to win.
The event was held at Spring Arbor University and hosted by Homer. The Comets had a round 1 score of 198, a round 2 score of 178.34, a round 3 score of 258.6 and 634.94 total score.
"It’s a great start to our season and I am very excited to see the team continue to grow," coach Christie Campbell said. "We have big aspirations as a team, and this definitely helped us start in the right direction. We have 5 seniors leading our team of 17 and they will be a great help to lead our team this season and help our underclassmen to grow."
The Hillsdale varsity bowling team started their season against Clinton. The boys team lost 16-14, with senior Nolan Grant bowling a 416 series. The girls team won 26-4, with Chloe Manifold bowling a 426 series.
Against Blissfield, the boys team lost 16-14, with Grant bowling a 471 through two games. For the girls team, they beat the Royals 30-0. The sweep included Shalee Van Heerde bowling a 329 series through two games. The teams are back at home on Dec. 16 at Hillsdale Lanes.
The Jonesville Comet bowling teams started their first Cascades season. The girls team looks to contend again for state medals. They start their season with a 3-0 record with wins over Grass Lake and Addison. The boys team lost to defending state champions Grass Lake in a 26-4 final. The boys team was without four varsity bowlers due to illness. The Comets played three J.V. members in the match.
Reading hosts Hillsdale, Homer and Jonesville for wrestling opener
The Reading Rangers hosted Homer, Jonesville and Hillsdale to open the 2023 season.
2022-23 Reading Wrestling Recap: Eathan Westfall ends career with state title, 13 seniors leave legacy for Ranger Wrestling
Jonesville wrestling got a win on criteria against Homer. Tyler Milks (pinfall), Ben Colbart (pinfall), Issac Shively (pinfall), Cooper Stevens (pinfall), Harrison Packer, Cody Nichols (MD) and Max Smith (pinfall) all earned wins. They won the match after a first points scored tiebreaker rule. The Comets won 41-41.
Against Hillsdale, Comet wrestlers Carson Playford (pinfall), Ben Colbart (pinfall), Carter Farrell (pinfall), Evan McColley (pinfall), Cooper Stevens, Harrison Packer (pinfall), Blake Ryan (pinfall), Cody Nichols (pinfall), Max Smith, and Tyler Milks (pinfall) all earned wins. The Comets would win the match.
For the Hornet wrestling club, they won 40-31 over the Rangers. Hornet wrestlers earning wins included Ethan Wolf (pinfall), Miles Brown (pinfall), Joshua Herring (pinfall), Stephen Petersen (MD), Oliver Heckel, Devon Carver (pinfall) and Colton Wolf (pinfall).
Hornet wrestlers earning wins against Jonesville include Brody Arnold, Robert Garcia (pinfall), Stephen Petersen (MD) and Colton Wolf.
In an exhibition match, Hornet girls wrestler Charis Winn picked up the first girls victory for the Hornets in nearly 15 years. Coach Nate Spieth was proud of the Hornet wrestlers in their first dual.
"The first duals of the season are all about finding out where we are as a team," Spieth said. "I think we're in a great spot."
For the Ranger wrestling team, the team lost 40-31 to Hillsdale and 42-31 to Homer. Earning wins against Hillsdale was Jeremiah Bedford (MD), Connar Rudy, Caiden Baker (pinfall), Austin Neely (pinfall), Cayleb Vanalst and Reid Westfall (pinfall) earned wins.
Rangers earning victories against Homer were Jeremiah Bedford (MD), Caiden Baker (pinfall), Isaac Westfall (pinfall), Reid Westfall, Aiden Aemisegger (pinfall) and Domanick Magowan (pinfall).
Results and stats are subject to change (updated as of 12/08/2023). Friday night hoops and weekend events are to be featured in every Tuesday print edition.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Week in Review: Jonesville Cheer wins Invite; Hillsdale wrestles Reading and Jonesville
