mason county central and hart winter sports 2015-2016

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CENTRALAND HART

Your guide to the upcoming sports season, featuring stories, team photos and schedules

Ludington Daily NewsFRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015

2 | Ludington daiLy newS/SPoRtS taB | FRiday, deCeMBeR 4, 2015

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By ED PAPESdaiLy newS SPoRtS wRiteR

SCOTTVILLE After a six-year respite from the high school hardcourt cam-paigns, Mason County Cen-tral veteran boys basketball coach Tim Genson returns to the bench this season to guide a Spartan team that re-turns just one starter from last winter, but has mem-bers from a strong junior varsity stepping up.

Genson replaces Jeff Tuka, who spent six seasons lead-ing the Spartans boys hoops program. Tuka now has a new position at Central as the middle school principal.

It has been going well, said Genson, who served for 16 seasons as the top Spartan before stepping down. I find myself looking forward to the practice and to see how the team is progressing.

Last season, Central post-ed a strong 15-7 record over-all and were 9-5 in the West Michigan Conference. But nine seniors have graduated off that team, including all-conference selections Coltyn Tyndall at guard and Sean Kelley at forward.

We will be young this sea-son with just one returning starter, said Genson. But this is an intense group. One thing I know for sure, they like to compete.

The Spartans one return-ing starter is 6-foot-1 senior guard Mitch Lange, who Gen-son hopes can find the sharp-shooting he displayed as a sophomore on the junior var-sity. But 6-foot-3 senior for-ward Blake Bladzik will also play an integral part in Cen-trals fortunes this winter.

Bladzik played a few games with the varsity as a sophomore, but missed last season after suffering severe leg injuries in a Thanksgiv-

ing day auto accident prior to the 2014-15 season.

Blake played football this fall, but just recently had one of the screws in his hip removed, added Genson. We hope he will be able to play pretty early in the sea-son.

Bladzik will provide a rug-ged inside presence.

Two other seniors, 6-foot-4 forward Trevor Carrier, who saw a good amount of floor time last season, and 6-foot-1 guard/forward No-lan Asiala should see solid playing time this winter.

Five juniors from last sea-

sons very good junior varsi-ty are expected to give Cen-tral a big lift.

Leading that group is 6-foot-4 forward Ryan Mount, who did play in a handful of games with the varsity at the end of last sea-son. Also playing big roles should be 6-foot-0 guard Austin Tyndall, 6-foot-3 for-ward Ethan Rybicki, 5-foot-9 guard Travis Tyndall and 6-foot-1 forward Trenton Strejcek.

Rounding out the squad is 5-foot-9 guard Ty Sniegows-ki.

Mitch (Lange), Austin (Tyn-

dall), Travis (Tyndall) and Ty Sniegowski will have to carry the load handling the ball on the perimeter, said Genson. We will need good post play from Blake (Bladzik) and Ryan (Mount), but Trevor (Carrier), Ethan (Rybicki) and Nolan (Asiala) will have to help out in there, too.

Genson feels that the Spar-tans should be quick in tran-sition this season and looks forward to getting some easy baskets from the fast-break.

We should shoot the ball pretty well, added Genson. And we have some good

length around the basket.Genson feels that the Spar-

tans can be competitive in every game this season.

Some of our younger players, however, will have to learn to play at the varsity level, said Genson. There are ups and downs that they will go through.

The 2015-16 Mason Coun-ty Central boys basketball roster:

SeniorS: Nolan Asiala, Blake Bladzik, Trevor Carrier, Mitch Lange.JuniorS: Ryan Mount, Ethan Rybicki, Trenton Strejcek, Aus-

tin Tyndall, Travis Tyndall.Sophomore: Ty Sniegowski.

Assisting Genson this win-ter with the varsity will be former Central star Dean Ra-ven.

Dean has been a great help, said Genson.

At the junior varsity, head coach Steve Rybicki returns with help from Randy Hodg-es.

In the West Michigan Con-ference, Genson feels that the top contenders for the league title will be Shelby, Whitehall, North Muskegon and Montague.

Mason County Central boys basketball

Genson nears return to MCC bench

ruSS millEr PhotoMembers of the Mason County Central varsity boys basketball team are, front row, from left, Travis Tyndall, Trenton Strejcek, Cameron Wagner, Austin Tyndall and Ty Sniegowski; back row, coach Tim Genson, assistant Steve Rybicki, Blake Bladzik, Mitchell Lange, Trevor Carrier, Ryan Mount, Ethan Rybicki, Nolan Asiala, assistant Randy Hodges and assistant Dean Raven.

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SCOTTVILLE For the past few seasons, Mason County Central girls varsity basketball coach Mike Wein-ert and his assistant coach Lindy Papes have tried to build up the Spartan pro-gram by coaching the mid-dle school teams in the fall. Their work just may pay off some dividends at the varsi-ty level this season.

The Spartan girls will have a new look this season as four tall freshmen will be brought to the varsity to join forces with a pair of seniors and a junior who return from last years 5-15 squad.

One player, forward Maki-la Hodges, has graduated off the team from last winter, but two players who would have been seniors this sea-son also have not returned.

This might be the most athletic group Ive had, said Weinert, now entering his sixth season as the leader of the Spartans. But it might also be the most inexperi-enced.

It will be fun to watch this team grow, added Weinert.

Leading the Spartans ef-forts on the court this fall should be seniors Kylie Mount and Dria Striker.

Mount, a 5-foot-9 guard/

forward, was the Spartans leading scorer last season and a West Michigan Con-ference all-conference pick. Striker, a 5-foot-10 center, was the teams top rebound-er and an all-conference honorable mention.

We do have good senior leadership, said Weinert.

Also being counted on is 5-foot-10 junior forward Hunter Wiese.

Hunter, Dria and Kylee have all improved over last season, noted their coach.

The Spartans roster will be composed of four seniors, one junior and four fresh-men.

Probably the most signifi-cant freshman addition will be 5-foot-9 point guard Mad-dy Bladzik, who gives the Spartans a reliable ball-han-dler at the point.

But also expected to con-tribute are 5-foot-9 guard Rachel Allen, 5-foot-10 guard/forward Kelsey Kosi-boski and 6-foot-0 forward

Madisen Bennett.Kelsey is a transfer from

Onekama, said Weinert. She just sort of fell in our laps.

This group is tall, long, athletic and smart, added the Spartans head coach. And the seniors have ac-cepted them very well.

Rounding out the team are 5-foot-6 senior guard Savan-nah Keefer and 5-foot-4 se-nior guard Jacy Larson.

The keys for Central this season will be just how sol-id the upperclassmen can be on the court and how quickly the freshmen can contribute to the teams performance.

We like to run. We should be able to get up and down the court well, said Weinert. I think we should be able to score more easily this sea-son.

The 2015-16 Mason Coun-ty Central girls basketball roster:

SeniorS: Savannah Keefer, Jacy Larson, Kylie Mount, Dria Striker.Junior: Hunter Wiese.FreShmen: Rachel Allen, Ma-disen Bennett, Maddy Bladzik, Kelsey Kosiboski.

Assisting Weinert with the varsity will be Papes. At the junior varsity level, Brent Lyon takes over for Karl Sha-fer, who is now teaching at

another school.In the West Michigan Con-

ference, Weinert sees Mon-tague as the team to beat.

They have a senior-junior group that went 20-0 when they were at the junior var-sity level, said Weinert.

Behind Montague, Wein-ert feels Muskegon Oakridge will be the next team to watch.

They have a returning all-stater and a freshman, who may be the best player in the league, noted the Spartan

leader.Next in line are an im-

proved Shelby team and Hart.

Our league was young overall last season, said Weinert. It will be stronger this fall.

Mason County Central girls basketball

Spartans undergo youth movement

ruSS millEr PhotoMembers of the Mason County Central varsity girls basketball team are, front row, from left, Jacy Larson, Kylie Mount, Dria Striker and Savannah Keefer; back row, assistant Lindy Papes, Maddy Bladzik, Kelsey Kosiboski, Hunter Wiese, Madisen Bennett, Rachel Allen and coach Mike Weinert.

Hunter, dria and Kylee have all improved over last season.

mike WeinertMason County Centralgirls basketball coach



SCOTTVILLE We have five girls out, just enough for one team. And we have 12 boys ready to bowl, so we will have two teams for the boys, said Laura Wolcott recently as she enters her eighth season as the coach of the Mason County Central bowling program.

Last season, the girls team, behind now-graduat-ed Lindsie Koch and Kristina Trim, won the North Central Michigan Bowling League. The boys, meanwhile, took second in the league.

This year, the league will have four teams once again, Baldwin, Mason County Eastern, Big Rapids Cross-roads and us, said Wol-cott. But the girls will have

just two teams, Baldwin and us.

The boys squad this year will have six returnees and all of them will comprise the Spartans A team. Those bowlers are senior Matthew Dilliner along with juniors Zach Jensoen, Evan Robison, Cody Soberalski, Connor Willick and sophomore Ty-ron Keefer.

The Central B squad will have senior newcomers Jake Martin and Aaron White in combination with freshmen Austin Cole, Brian Lafata, Brandon Kelly and Garrett Krolcyzk.

The girls squad should be paced by two returnees, ju-nior Kaitlyn Seiter and soph-omore Melissa Roller.

This season our region-al tournament will be in Traverse City and the state

meet will be in Lansing, as it was last year, added Wolcott.

Last, season Koch placed eighth in the regional meet and advanced to the state meet. Trim took 12th at the regionals, but just missed qualifying for the final tour-nament.

The 2015-16 Mason Coun-ty Central boys bowling ros-ter:

SeniorS: Matthew Dilliner, Jake Martin and Aaron White.JuniorS: Zach Jensen, Evan Robison, Cody Soberalski and Connor Willick.Sophomore: Tyron Keefer.FreShmen: Austin Cole, Bran-don Kelley, Garrett Krolcyzk and Brian Lafata.

See BoWling, 5


SCOTTVILLE When Ma-son County Centrals com-petitive cheer coach Cheri Rozell found out that two of her top all-around cheer-ath-letes were not coming out this winter, she was feeling down about her teams chances for the upcoming season.

I was discouraged at first, said Rozell, who starts her seventh season as Centrals cheer team coach. But after seeing the girls we have on the team working at practice, I am very confident that we can overcome that obstacle.

Last season, the Spartans competitive cheer team, now in its seventh season, placed fourth in the West Michigan Conference, which has six

teams competing in the rela-tively new sport.

Central has graduated three performers from that squad, Andrea Lambrix, Kat-lyn Weber and Hope Bur-meister.

Our league is very good in competitive cheer. The top three teams in our state dis-trict tournament were from WMC, said Rozell. It cer-tainly keeps us sharp, com-peting in our league.

The Spartans expect co-captains senior Serena Kuhn and junior Suzi Astrauskas the lead way this season.

But also playing big roles will be juniors Morgan Cook, Amari Rivera and Hannah Pettis.

Those girls should be in all three rounds of the com-petition, said Rozell.

Others who could pitch in include junior Hanna Gib-son, a transfer from Lud-ington High; junior Mykayla Coleman, back to the sport after one season away; ju-nior Kaylyn Soberalski and junior Abby Parker, a former volleyball player.

Two sophomores trans-fers from Ludington High, Felicity Flores and Makayla Snyder, are hoping to make a mark also.

Also, Rozell is excited with the potential of two incom-ing freshmen, Adeline Van-Noller and Sydnie Thomas.

Adeline could be a start-er, added Rozell.

The 2015-16 Mason Coun-ty Central competitive cheer roster:

See chEEr, 5

ruSS millEr PhotoMembers of the Mason County Central bowling teams are, front row, from left, Spencer Bowman, Allison Linenfelser, Kaitlyn Seiter, Melissa Roller and Jamie Malburg; middle row, Connor Willick, Tyron Keefer, Cody Soberalski, Matthew Dilliner, Zach Jensen and Evan Robison; second row, coach Steve Slimmen, coach Rob Dilliner, Austin Cole, Jake Martin, Garrett Krolczyk, coach Laura Wolcott and coach Dan Koch. Not pictured: Brian Lafata.

Mason County Central bowlingBoys flock to bowling

ruSS millEr PhotoMembers of the Mason County Central competitive cheerleading team are, front row, from left, Suzi Astrauskas, Serena Kuhn and Hannah Pettis; second row, Mykayla Coleman and Kaylyn Sober-alski; third row, Makayla Snyder, Adeline VanNoller and Abigail Parker; fourth row, Morgan Cook, Amari Rivera and Hanna Gibson; back row, Felicity Flores, coach Cheri Rozell and Sydnie Thomas.

Mason County Central competitive cheerNew faces enter team

5 FRiday, deCeMBeR 4, 2015 | Ludington daiLy newS/SPoRtS taB | 5


SCOTTVILLE Three main factors have a strong Mason County Central wres-tling team eyeing an MHSAA Division 4 state title this sea-son.

First of all, the Spartans are coming off a strong showing last winter at the MHSAA Di-vision 3 state tournament in Battle Creek. Secondly, Cen-tral has a strong nucleus re-turning from that squad. And finally, this Spartans will drop to Division 4 for this season.

The drop to Division 4 could be big, said the Spar-tans head coach Jim Allen, now in his eighth season. But we know that there are some tough wrestlers and tough teams in D4. We can not overlook the likes of Hart, Pine River and Hespe-ria. They are always tough.

Hart and Hesperia both are in Centrals team district.

From last years team, Central has graduated five wrestlers, Caleb Wood, Jor-dan Steiger, Jarod Alvestef-fer, Josh Quinn and Micah Wood.

The Spartan roster cur-rently has 19 athletes. That includes five seniors, five ju-niors, two sophomores and seven freshmen.

Leading the Spartan ef-forts on the mat this season should be four tough and seasoned wrestlers. Those are seniors Logan Merrick and Spencer Knizacky, along with juniors Jacob Shoop and Matt Quinn.

Merrick, who should wres-tle at 145- or 152- pounds this season, was state run-ner-up last season. Knizacky (171-189), meanwhile, was a state-meet placer.

Shoop (145-152) also me-daled at state, while Quinn

(215) was a state qualifier.Also filling big roles in

the lineup should be senior Cody Cooper (160), a re-gional qualifier; junior Ce-sareo Puente (285); junior Jon Zoscsak (285); junior Eldon McCabe (171), soph-omore Alec Trent (112). senior Brad Johnson (140) and sophomore Alex Trim (215).

Several freshmen should give Central the opportu-nity to fill the entire line-up card. They are Tate Hirschfeld (119), Cameron Gee (135), Dylan Hill (125), Alex Fricke (103), Frankie Vasquez (103), Anthony Thompson (130) and Hunt-er Kurchner (145).

All of these boys have a good deal of wrestling ex-perience, said Allen. Being able to fill out the entire card is big.

One other thing that should help us this sea-son is that the state meet will be held in Mount Pleas-ant at Central Michigan Uni-versity, said Allen. When the meet was held at Battle Creek, it was hard for teams from the north to get a good seeding. I think that should be different this season.

The 2015-16 Mason Coun-ty Central wrestling team roster:

SeniorS: Cody Cooper, Manny Fintikis, Brad Johnson, Spencer Knizacky, Logan Merrick.JuniorS: Eldon McCabe, Cesareo Puente, Matt Quinn, Jacob Shoop, Jon Zoscsak.SophomoreS: Alec Trent, Alex Trim.FreShmen: Alex Fricke, Camer-on Gee, Tate Hirschfeld, Dylan Hill, Hunter Kirchmer, Anthony Thompson, Frankie Vasquez.

Assisting Allen this season will be coaches Chris Carr, Jim Sanford, Dave Quinn

and Kendal Trim.Coach Allen sees White-

hall as the team to beat in the West Michigan Confer-ence.

Whitehall is always stacked, noted Allen. They have a lot of boys who have been through the youth pro-grams.

Allen also expects Shelby, Hart and Montague to have strong teams this winter.

Our whole league is built up this season, added Al-len.

Mason County Central wrestling

Spartans prepare for Division 4

ruSS millEr PhotoMembers of the Mason County Central wrestling team are, front row, from left, manager Carlie Claire, Anthony Thomsen, Alex Fricke, Tate Hircshfeld, Cameron Gee, Dylan Hill and manager Brooke Thurow; second row, manager Hunter Sanford, Hunter Kirchmer, Cody Cooper, Spencer Knizacky, Alec Trent, Brad Johnson and assistant Chris Carr; third row, assistant Jim Sanford, Francisco Vasquez, Emmanuil Fintikis, Logan Merrick, Eldon McCabe, Jacob Shoop and coach Jim Allen; assistant Dave Quinn, Cesareo Puente, Matt Quinn, Alexander Trim, Johnathan Zoscsak and assistant Kendel Trim.

bowlinGfrom PAgE 4

The 2015 Mason County Central girls bowling team roster:

JuniorS: Kaitlyn Seiter and Al-lison Linenfelser.Sophomore: Melissa Roller.FreShmen: Spencer Bowman and Jamie Malburg.

Cheerfrom PAgE 4

Senior: Serena Kuhn.JuniorS: Suzi Astrauskas, Morgan Cook, Mykayla Coleman, Hanna Gibson, Abby Parker, Hannah Pettis, Amari Rivera and Kaylyn Soberalski.SophomoreS: Felicity Flores and Makayla .

FreShmen: Sydnie Thomas and Adeline VanNoller.

In the conference, Rozell sees two teams two beat for the top spot.

Hart has a new coach this season, said Rozell. But they should still be a powerhouse. And Mon-tague, I feel, is really ready to step up. I know they have put in a lot of off-sea-son work on their skills.

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hart competitive cheerMembers of the Hart competitive cheer team are, kneeling, from left, Delaney Moul, Maia Jonassen, Lexie King, Jaden Hanks, Mirella Barco and Kassidy Baum; standing, Jasmin Escamilla, Lexi Hammerle, Jennifer Guadarrama, Ashley Castro, Devon Castro and coach Becky Putnam. Not pictured is Mareya Perez.

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MCC winter SCheDuleS |FoR tHe 2015-16 SeaSongirlS BASkEtBAllNov. 30 ManisteeDec. 4 at RavennaDec. 10 WhitehallDec. 15 North MuskegonDec. 18 at HartJan. 5 at Fruitport CalvaryJan. 7 MontagueJan. 12 OakridgeJan. 15 ShelbyJan. 18 at Manistee CatholicJan. 21 RavennaFeb. 9 at MontagueFeb. 12 at OakridgeFeb. 16 LeRoy Pine RiverFeb. 18 at ShelbyFeb. 23 LudingtonFeb. 26 at Newaygo

BoyS BASkEtBAllDec. 8 NewaygoDec. 11 at RavennaDec. 15 at White CloudDec. 17 WhitehallJan. 5 at North MuskegonJan. 8 at HartJan. 11 at CadillacJan. 14 MontagueJan. 19 at OakridgeJan. 22 ShelbyJan. 28 RavennaFeb. 2 at WhitehallFeb. 5 North MuskegonFeb. 11 HartFeb. 16 at Montague

Feb. 19 OakridgeFeb. 23 LudingtonFeb. 26 at ShelbyMarch 1 Benzie CentralMarch 3 Manistee

comPEtitivE chEErJan. 6 at MontagueJan. 9 at Comstock Park InviteJan. 13 at RavennaJan. 16 at Shelby InviteJan. 20 at WhitehallJan. 23 at Sparta InviteJan. 27 at ShelbyJan. 30 at Mount Pleasant InviteFeb. 3 WMC jamboreeFeb. 6 at Fruitport Invite

WrEStlingDec. 9 at ManisteeDec. 12 Scottville Optimist InvitationalDec. 16 at Orchard ViewDec. 19 at Richland Gull LakeDec. 30 at Freeland Jan. 6 WMC/Lakes 8 quadJan. 9 at Holton Jan. 13 at Spring LakeJan. 16 at Ithaca Jan. 20 at MontagueJan. 23 at LakeviewJan. 27 at Muskegon Catholic Jan. 30 at ShelbyFeb. 5 at WMC tournament at Ravenna

WrEStlingDec. 9 at Grand HavenDec. 12 at Kraai Memorial Dec. 16 at WMC/Lakes 8 crossoverDec. 19 Bosse InvitationalJan. 2 at Falcon InvitationalJan. 6 at WMC/Lakes 8 crossoverJan. 9 at HoltonJan. 13 at WMC/Lakes 8 crossoverJan. 16 at Super DualsJan. 20 WMC/Lakes 8 crossoverJan. 23 at ManisteeJan. 27 at WMC/Lakes 8 crossoverJan. 30 at Shelby Super DualsFeb. 5 at WMC tournament at Ravenna

comPEtitivE chEErDec. 12 at CCAM InvitationalDec. 16 at Mona Shores

Jan. 6 at MontagueJan. 9 at Comstock Park Jan. 13 at RavennaJan. 16 at Shelby InvitationalJan. 20 at WhitehallJan. 27 at ShelbyJan. 30 at UP Cheer ClassicFeb. 3 at Mason County CentralFeb. 13 at Pine RiverFeb. 17 at Mason County Central

BoyS BASkEtBAllDec. 8 White CloudDec. 11 at North MuskegonDec. 15 at PentwaterDec. 17 MontagueDec. 29-30 at Walkerville Winter ShowcaseJan. 2 at Fruitport CalvaryJan. 5 at OakridgeJan. 8 Mason County Central

Jan. 14 RavennaJan. 19 ShelbyJan. 22 at WhitehallJan. 28 North MuskegonFeb. 2 at MontagueFeb. 5 OakridgeFeb. 11 at Mason County CentralFeb. 16 at RavennaFeb. 19 at ShelbyFeb. 26 WhitehallMarch 3 Mason County Eastern

girlS BASkEtBAllDec. 4 at North MuskegonDec. 10 MontagueDec. 14 PentwaterDec. 15 at OakridgeDec. 18 Mason County CentralDec. 29-30 at Walkerville Winter ShowcaseJan. 2 at Fruitport Calvary

Jan. 5 White CloudJan. 7 RavennaJan. 12 at ShelbyJan. 15 at WhitehallJan. 21 North MuskegonJan. 26 at MontagueJan. 29 OakridgeFeb. 4 at Mason County CentralFeb. 9 at RavennaFeb. 12 ShelbyFeb. 18 WhitehallFeb. 23 Mason County Eastern

hart winter SCheDuleS |FoR tHe 2015-16 SeaSon

jEff kiESSEl | daiLy newS FiLeMason County Centrals Ryan Mount puts up a shot against Holton in last years MHSAA Class C district at Hesperia. Mount returns for the Spartans this season.

7 FRiday, deCeMBeR 4, 2015 | Ludington daiLy newS/SPoRtS taB | 7

By AnDy roBErtSSHoReLine Media

HART New Hart boys basketball coach Adam Jer-ry inherits an experienced squad from last year, but the Pirates enter the season lack-ing in size, so hell be looking for guys to play big.

The only two senior de-partures for Hart, Matt Wil-son and Travis Hall, were also the teams tallest play-ers, leaving the remaining Pi-rates with big shoes to fill.

Despite the lack of grad-uation losses, Hart is still young, with only a few se-niors leading the way. Jerry

said hell count on leader-ship from Austin Boundy and Dylan VanderZwaag to make the team better. Fellow senior Brett Bonstell is ath-letic and quick and will pro-vide a spark to the lineup.

Juniors Alex Dodson and Garrett Eisenlohr have tak-en huge leaps forward, Jerry said, with hard off-season work. The two juniors are in position to take on increased roles this winter.

They have put in many, many hours in the gym and I look for them to be big con-tributors this year, Jerry

See BoyS, 8


HART Hart girls basket-ball has a good deal to build on heading into the 2015-16 season, and the Pirates will be doing it with a new coach: Staci Hovey, a veteran of the Hart recreational sports scene.

Hovey enters a good situ-ation, with plentiful talent back from the Pirates team last year, whose season was highlighted by a sweep of archrival Shelby.

Hart is well-stocked both inside and outside. In the paint, the Pirates expect a lot from Baylee Draper. Draper has been a force in-side during her varsity ca-reer and should continue to cause headaches for oppo-nents.

She will be a strong force

in the center, Hovey said of Draper. Blocking shots, re-bounding, and scoring.

On the outside, Hart has a pair of strong guards in Yasmine Colon and Faith Ramirez. Colon made a big impression on Hart fans as a freshman last year with her scoring ability, and Ramirezs tenacious defense and ability to distribute will be a big factor. Her senior leadership will also be im-portant.

She can shoot from out-side and also drive to the basket, Hovey said of Co-lon. She is a versatile play-er who does a little bit of ev-erything. Faith Ramirez will be leading the team on the court.

Madison Hegedus is also back and is capable of doing a little bit of everything, Hovey said. This ability will

help Hegedus fill in gaps wherever they present them-selves. Aubrey Hertzler is another Pirate that should have an impact. She is versa-tile, a good ballhandler and can shoot, Hovey said.

The team has been show-ing good effort in practice, a good sign of wins once De-cember hits if it continues.

The team has been prac-ticing hard, showing effort and discipline with all as-pects, Hovey said. I ex-pect their hard work they are showing in practice to carry over into the games, making us successful.

In the West Michigan Con-ference, the matchups with Shelby are always circled on the Hart calendar, but the Pirates will also have their eyes on Oakridge, the con-sistent power of the league.

See girlS, 8

AnDy roBErtS | SHoReLine MediaMembers of Harts boys basketball team are, kneeling, from left, manager Hollis Rockwell IV, Brendan Reid, Austin VanderLaan, Angel Salgado, Michael McCulley, Jaxon Tate and manager Kolton Rockwell; second row, assistant Hollis Rockwell III, Brandon Mc-Culley, Alex Dodson, Garrett Eisenlohr, Austin Boundy, Benny Escamilla, Dylan VanderZwaag and coach Adam Jerry. Not pictured: Brett Bonstell.

Hart boys basketballJerry wants Hart

to play big

AnDy roBErtS | SHoReLine MediaMembers of Harts girls basketball team are, sitting, from left, Faith Ramirez and Haley Mast; kneel-ing, Yasmine Colon, Haley Alvesteffer, Kari Merten and Ali Altland; standing, assistant Tim Hertzler, Hannah Brown, Baylee Draper, Mariah Foster, Anna Homminga and coach Staci Hovey. Not pic-tured: Madison Hegedus and Aubrey Hertzler.

Hart girls basketballHovey takes on Harts program



HART Hart has posi-tioned itself well in recent years on the wrestling mat, behind the power programs of Whitehall, Shelby and Ma-son County Central in West Michigan Conference action but often leading the next tier.

The Pirates appear to be in good shape entering this season as well. Although Hart loses regional qualifiers Shawn Wulff and Scott Pan-kow in the middle weights, it returns several top grap-plers that will lead the team this year.

Jacob Bosley, who was a state placer last season at 103 pounds, is back to an-chor the lighter weights again this year. The Pirates also have successful and ex-perienced guys in regional qualifier Arturo Perez and a trio of wrestlers who won 30-plus matches last year: Brady Tate, Devin Whitney and Carlos Garza.

The even better news for Hart is that Whitney is the only senior on the team, so the Pirates have great young talent to lead the way. Coach Brad Altland said Whitney will likely be in the teams leadership role, with Tate

and Perez also slated to help guide a young team through the rigors of a wrestling sea-son.

Hart will face a tough WMC again, with the top three pro-grams unlikely to go any-

where and Montague and Ravenna on the rise.

Hart also has a tough dis-trict lined up, as the Pirates will battle Hesperia and Ma-son County Central for the title at Hesperia. Hart and

the Panthers wrestled in a very tight district match last year, and Altland would love a chance to reverse the close Hesperia win that resulted.

Hesperia is still the team we have got to beat at dis-

tricts, Altland said. If our kids keep working hard and we get the right matchups we could be competitive.

Altland is optimistic that if his team can fill all 14 weights, they will be a team

few want to face.We have a good group

of kids, Altland said. If we work hard, we will put a competitive team on the mat.

Hart wrestling

Pirates return several key wrestlers

AnDy roBErtS | SHoReLine MediaMembers of the Hart wrestling team are, kneeling, from left, Jayden VanderZwaag, Robert Altland, Jacob Bosley, Brady Tate, Jordan Zuniga, Noah Cantu, Jose Ro-driguez and Alyssa Bronkema; standing, assistant Rocky Smith, Andrew Whitney, Kaleb Wiegand, Devin Whitney, Carlos Garza, Jacob Hoebeke, Omar Ruiz, Logan Wells, Alex Holladay and coach Brad Altland. Not pictured are Arturo Perez and John Guadarrama.

said. I am excited to see how their hard work pays off for them.

Without brute force or size, Jerry said he expects his team to earn victories by outhustling the competition.

We arent as big or strong as the majority of the teams on our schedule, Jerry said. That means we cant afford

to take plays off.In the West Michigan

Conference, Hart is look-ing to shake off a 57-game league losing streak. The Pi-rates have consistently been tough outs for opponents in the league over the last couple of seasons, but have run out of gas at the end of some games. Jerry said a

key for his team will be bat-tling through those rough stretches.

Our conference has a lot of quality opponents, Jer-ry said. It is always a grind the entire season working your way through this con-ference. We just need to put ourselves in a position to win some of those games.

GirlSfrom PAgE 7

All teams in the league have poten-tial to give you a loss any night, so we arent going to overlook any team, Hov-ey said.

Hart also will face a tough test out of conference, against Calvary Christian, one of the top small-school programs in the state. Other non-conference bat-tles include county foe Pentwater, White Cloud, and Mason County Eastern.

boyS: Jerry takes on varsity hoops team

DAviD BoSSick | daiLy newS FiLeHarts Yasmine Colon brings the ball up the floor against Pentwater last season. Colon returns to the Pirates this season.

mason county central and hart winter sports 2015-2016

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