LSJ Blogs: Get Prepped

Prep sports: Weekend's Best Feb. 25-26

The first mid-Michigan state champion has been awarded. And if the weekend was a reliable indication, there are plenty more to come. Here are five of the brightest non-basketball highlights from the weekend that was Feb. 25-26. 

5. Ithaca girls bowling -- The Yellowjackets won a Division 4 regional ahead of two more local teams, then took the top three places at the next day's individual event. Raelynn Lindsey rolled an 1,142 as the area's top individual qualifier, regardless of division. 

4. Pewamo-Westphalia cheer -- The No. 1 Pirates added a Division 4 regional win to their district victory, and just like in the district finished ahead of No. 2 Michigan Center. P-W is averaging 10 more points than anyone else in D4 heading into this weekend's finals. 

3. Charlotte girls bowling -- The Orioles won their Division 2 regional with 3,615 pins, and then placed six of the top seven at the individual regional. Allie Neal finished first Saturday with 1,118 pins. 

2. Perry girls bowling -- The Ramblers rolled the area's highest girls regional score of 3,640 to win their Division 3 tournament, then took three of the top eight in the individual competition. Jessica Cords and Taner Grennell took the top two spots, respectively, with 1,135 and 1,090 pins, respectively. 

1. St. Johns wrestling -- Who else? The Redwings capped arguably the most dominant team wrestling season by marching through the final three rounds of Division 2 by an average of 47 points per win. That makes two state titles in a row. St. Johns will finish up with 12 state qualifiers at this weekend's individual tournament. 

Honorable mention: Mason's Kyle Owens and Travis Valentine finished first and second with 1,238 and 1,202 pins, respectively, at their Division 2 regional. 

Basketball: Final Buzzer -- 2/25/11

Whoa. Pick your cliche: Just when we thought we knew everything, we didn't. Or, it ain't over until it's over. Or maybe, that's why they play the games. Whichever says it best, Friday's results, especially on the boys side, proved them all true as championships continued to be celebrated -- some by unexpected winners.

THREE POINTER:

1. Boys: Waverly 75, Sexton 70 -- Yep, it's tough to go 20-0. And Waverly has indeed won 14 straight. But it's fair to say the Class B No. 2 Big Reds were heavy favorites in this CAAC Red decider that resulted in a shared title for the two teams for the second-straight season -- and Sexton's first loss this winter.

2. Boys: Jackson 60, East Lansing 56 -- A week after upsetting Eastern, Jackson handed a loss to East Lansing that also handed a share of the CAAC Blue title to Okemos. 

3. Girls: Portland 47, Lansing Catholic 37 -- This is the way a regular season should end, with the final game for an outright league title. And the CAAC White belongs to the Raiders again. 

Game ball: East Lansing, Okemos, Eastern, Sexton, Lansing Catholic, Williamston ... has anyone talked about Waverly's boys this season? Not nearly as much as those other teams. So this one goes to Warriors coach Craig Fields, who for the second-straight season has shared the CAAC Red title and gotten the most out of his lineup. The Warriors are 16-3, and they deserve plenty of pub on this night. 

WOW factor: I didn't forget the Okemos boys, who finished a sweep of Eastern with a 78-62 win. The Chieftains have been battling injuries to their best players, but got 31 points from Chris Harrison-Docks and 11 from Mack McKearney, who both have been hobbled of late. But the battle on this night was worth a championship. 

Upset alert: They were everywhere -- Eaton Rapids girls beat Haslett 59-35, Stockbridge's beat Lansing Christian 32-29, Potterville's boys beat Dansville 52-46, Mason's beat Owosso 57-48, and don't forget the Jackson win over East Lansing mentioned above. The point is made, right?

Three more that caught my eye: 

1. Boys: Fulton 63, Bath 57 -- This, along with P-W's win over Portland St. Patrick, puts the two sets of Pirates atop the CMAC with a week to play. Bath was part of a three-way tie heading into the game. 

2. Girls: Lakewood 58, Williamston 41 -- The Vikings have won 10 straight and cruise into district play with as much momentum as any area team. 

3. Girls: DeWitt 42, Ionia 36 -- The Panthers are survivors to say the least, finishing a 10-0 run in the CAAC Gold minus all-stater Dena Droste and all-area pick Stephanie Twait. 

Final Five from the game I covered: I didn't. But check out Sunday's paper and online for capsules on every area girls district and some additional coverage on a couple of our area's top hopefuls. 

LSJ rankings

GIRLS

Class A-B: 1. East Lansing (17-3), 2. Waverly (18-2), 3. DeWitt (17-2), 4. Olivet (19-1), 5. St. Johns (15-5), 6. Portland (15-5), 7. Lakewood (15-5), 8. Williamston (15-5), 9. Lansing Catholic (13-7), 10. (tie) Okemos (13-7), Holt (13-7). 

Class C-D: 1. Pewamo-Westphalia (19-1), 2. Laingsburg (16-4), 3. Bath (16-4), 4. Lansing Christian (15-5), 5. Morrice (12-8), 6. Portland St. Patrick (13-7), 7. Dansville (11-8), 8. Leslie (9-10), 9. Webberville (7-13), 10. Ithaca (6-14). 

BOYS

Class A-B: 1. Sexton (17-1), 2. East Lansing (15-3), 3. Okemos (16-3), 4 6. Lansing Catholic (15-3), 5. Eastern (14-5), 6. Waverly (16-3), 7. Williamston (17-2), 8. Haslett (13-4), 9. St. Johns (13-6), 10. Olivet (12-6).

Class C-D: 1. Fulton (16-2), 2. P-W (15-3), 3. Bath (14-4), 4. Ithaca (12-6), 5. Laingsburg (12-6), 6. Morrice (11-8), 7. Ashley (8-10), 8. Portland St. Patrick (10-8), 9. Maple Valley (8-10), 10. Dansville (8-10).  

Prep wrestling: Remember the 1958 Quakers

As we head into this weekend's state wrestling finals, and discuss St. Johns' place among the state's top teams of all-time, here's a little reminder of another great one: The 1958 Eastern team recently inducted into its school's Hall of Fame.

This one came near the end of a streak during which Lansing Eastern or Sexton won nine of the final 10 state championships in the "open" class before the tournament was broken down into Classes A-B beginning in 1960, and later four classes, now divisions. 

The 1958 Quakers were coached by Vito Perrone, who took over that season after a long run by the legendary Don Johnson. Ten of Perrone's wrestlers placed among the top four at the state finals that season, when the team championship was still determined by individual results:

95 pounds – Gary Gogarn – champion
112 – Ted Hartman – third
127 – Bill Brown – third
133 – Bill Portt – fourth
138 – Rod Rapp – third
145 – Ron Parkinson – champion
154 – Alex Valcanoff – champion
165 – Lance Lynch – second
175 – Larry Boettcher – third
Heavyweight – Bob Weaver – third

High School Sports: Prep Rally 2/21-27

In this week's video, Prep Editor Geoff Kimmerly and reporter Sean Merriman discuss Okemos college football prospect Taylor Moton, this weekend's mid-Michigan state wrestling hopefuls, the career of DeWitt hoops standout Dena Droste, and which East Lansing basketball team will go farther in next month's state tournaments.

 

Basketball: Final Buzzer -- 2/22/11

The "Buzzer" is back, and just in time for East Lansing to post its biggest win in three years while other area teams push for strong finishes with March just a few days away. 

THREE POINTER

1. Boys: East Lansing 82, Eastern 75 -- The Trojans avenged an earlier-February loss to claim an unexpected share of the CAAC Blue title. 

2. Boys: Lansing Catholic 73, Haslett 44 -- The Cougars are trying to hang on to a share of the CAAC White title, and did some heavy damage on the CAAC Gold champ. 

3. Girls: Pewamo-Westphalia 62, Bath 39 -- The Pirates are one game away from a perfect 18-0 run through the CMAC after knocking off the talented Bees for the second time. 

Tonight's basketball schedule and results

Check out the scores and stats from mid-Michigan's basketball games real-time as we get them by clicking on the links below. And come back late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning for analysis of the most significant performances, our game ball honoree, and some additional notes from the Eastern/East Lansing boys games.

Boys: http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Lansing/Scores/Basketball/Varsity/Boys/latest/All/

Girls: http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Lansing/Scores/Basketball/Varsity/Girls/latest/All/

Prep sports -- Weekend's Best -- Feb. 18-19

As the winter sports season begins drawing to an end, the best performances get even more significant. Here are the area's top five non-basketball headliners from this weekend.

5. Ovid-Elsie girls bowling -- The Marauders, ranked No. 1 in the Division 3 state poll, won the all-division Tri-Valley Conference tournament ahead of a field that included five more ranked teams.

4. Ithaca cheer -- The Yellowjackets posted the highest district score in Division 4 in winning their meet.

3. St. Johns wrestling -- The dominance continued at the Division 2 individual regional, where the Redwings qualified 12 for the state finals including eight regional champions.

2. Ovid-Elsie cheer -- The Marauders posted the highest area score of the district round by winning their Division 3 meet with 771.0264 points.

1. Grand Ledge gymnastics -- The Comets continued their annual surge with another CAAC Meet championship, by 11 points. Alexis Byington swept the individual events to win the all-around with a score of 35.850.

Click these links for this week's prep basketball results real-time

Check out the links below for scores and stats as we get them into the office every night this week. "Get Prepped" including "Final Buzzer" will return Feb. 21. 

Click here for boys basketball:http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Lansing/Scores/Basketball/Varsity/Boys/latest/All/

Click here for girls basketball:http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Lansing/Scores/Basketball/Varsity/Girls/latest/All

 

Basketball: Final Buzzer -- 2/11/11

We are the Champions. Two mid-Michigan teams earned that boast Friday night, while a handful more got a step or two closer to everyone's annual goal. Check out the best of the best from one of the most significant nights of area basketball this season.

Tonight's mid-Michigan high school basketball scores and stats

Check out the links below for scores and stats as we get them into the office tonight. And come back to "Get Prepped" late tonight or Saturday morning for analysis of the night's most significant action.

Click here for boys basketball: http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Lansing/Scores/Basketball/Varsity/Boys/latest/All/

Click here for girls basketball: http://www.highschoolsports.net/local/Lansing/Scores/Basketball/Varsity/Girls/latest/All