The spring rains brought the greenest and most beautiful grass…however, it also provided us unplayable fields for baseball and softball and extremely cold and wet conditions for golf and track. Regardless of the weather, there was plenty to be proud of for the Spring season in Trojan territory.
BASEBALL:
When interviewing new head coach Scott Pickens, I realized very early on that his understanding of baseball was out of this world. As he attempted to explain how the angles of a player’s stance in the batter’s box affect a number of things, he clearly saw how confused I was. “Maybe it’s better if I show you,” he said. He quickly stood me up and started to give me batting 101 in the conference room. I knew right then, this was our guy.
In addition to our stellar new coach, our senior leadership was going to guide us to one of the best seasons we have had in a long time. Little did we know, mother nature would rain, and rain, and rain, and rain, and rain, and rain and…well, I think you see the pattern. Of the scheduled 38 scheduled games, the boys played 25. With all of the rain, only three of the 25 games were played on our home field. However, our team didn’t sulk or complain; they went to work. They listened and learned from Coach Pickens and simply applied what they learned to the field.
Two main highlights from the season were the two games played at the University of Michigan. Once early in the year vs. North-Adams Jerome and senior night vs. Morenci. Baseball went 18-7 on the season finishing second in the conference with an 11-3 record (one game away from first place). Unfortunately, the team fell to Ann Arbor Greenhills in the district semi-final cutting their season short.
Seniors Elijah Grit and Kevin LaMont were named 1st Team All-Conference pitchers (.53 and .75 ERA’s respectively). Junior Gareth Romine was named 1st Team All-Conference as an infielder. Senior Todd Cloutier was given the conference sportsmanship award. Grit, LaMont and Carter Stefanovski were all selected to the All-District team as well.
GOLF:
The golf team entered this season with two things: 1) a new head coach in Rick Munir and 2) a mixture of experience (five seniors) and youth (six freshmen). Regardless, we have come to always count on the team to be competitive.
In non-league play, the team showed very very well. In the Ida Sixes Tournament, the team finished second to the host (Ida) after defeating Dundee by 20 strokes and Summerfield by 13. At the Blissfield 3 Club Invitational, the team placed first, and senior Ezra Dreffs was the overall champion. In conference play, we placed second in all three jamborees and second in the championship to Clinton. The team placed fourth in the Regional falling just short of qualifying for states. However, Dreffs won a 1-hole playoff to qualify as an individual. He will compete in Grand Rapids on June 7th and 8th at the State Finals.
Dreffs and freshman Alex Tanner were named All-Conference players and Tanner was also given the conference sportsmanship award.
Though we lose five seniors, given the strength of the six freshmen, our team looks very promising for the next several years.
SOFTBALL:
The softball team had to deal with the same elements as the baseball team. Soggy field conditions forced the team to play the majority of the season on the road and have most of their practices inside. Nevertheless, they made the best of a bad situation.
Coach Patti Kobeck relied on her seasoned leadership heading into the season. Players like Amy Mayo, Kylie Wilson, Alaina DiDio and Kiara Johnson played integral roles. Wilson and DiDio hit over .400 on the season and Paige Everard, Johnson, Mayo and Delaney Peters all hit over the .300 mark, making this a successful hitting season.
After a shortened season (14 games canceled due to unplayable field conditions), the girls finished the season 12-12, 4-9 in conference play and dropped the district championship 2-5 to Wixom St. Catherine. The lack of any consistency impacted the team as they would have a whole week between games and in the home stretch weren’t able to find their groove.
Senior Kylie Wilson and Junior Alaina DiDio were All-Conference Honorable Mention, and Senior Amy Mayo received the conference sportsmanship award.
Wilson, Mayo, Johnson as well as DiDio received All-District awards. The team earned the District Sportsmanship award as well.
TRACK:
With WLHS Cross Country Head Coach, Casey Livingston, hired to lead our boys and girls track teams, the season kicked off with new leadership. The teams became accustomed to running in the rain as it was a cold and wet season. The dreadful conditions didn’t stop the Trojans from putting up some impressive performances. Their honors are listed below.
TCC Champion:
Kevin LaMont – 3200m Run
Boys ALL-REGION recognition:
Rune Sillinger – 400m Dash, 4×200 Relay, 4×400 Relay
Kevin LaMont – 1600m Run, 3200m Run, 4×800 Relay
Clay Rinna – 1600m Run, 4×400 Relay,4×800 Relay
Travis Wilson – 110H
Cole Henning – 4×200 Relay, 4×400 Relay, Long Jump
Izaak Angel – 4×200 Relay
Logan Kurth – 4×200 Relay, 4×400 Relay
Bailey Adams – 4×800 Relay
Matt Schwennesen- 4×800 Relay
Girls ALL-REGION recognition:
Lilly Wilson – Pole Vault
Jordan Craven – High Jump, 4×800 Relay, 3200m Run, 1600m Run
Lauren Price – 4×800 Relay, 3200m Run, 1600m Run
Maggie Lustig – 4×800 Relay
Jamie Meadows – 4×800 Relay
Alaini Dines – 100H
Abbie Kurtz – 100H
Three Sport Athletes:
This year, we recognized athletes who participated in at least three sports (we had a couple that exceeded that number). Multi-sport athletes gain different types of skills that they can apply from one sport to the next. This helps enhance eye-coordination, balance, endurance, explosiveness and overall athletic ability. We encourage all WLPS student-athletes to become multi-sport athletes.
Below, are the name of the 27 student-athletes that made the list:
| COLE RINNA | EVELIINA TAYLOR |
| JACK STEWART | LAUREN PRICE |
| MICHAEL CORRIE | ABBY TRACEY |
| JACKSON ELLINGER | ABBI FRAGA |
| KEVIN LAMONT | JAMIE MEADOWS |
| DYLAN LAMONT | JORDAN CRAVEN |
| CARTER STEFANOVSKI | ABBY KURTZ |
| ISAIAH SEAL | PAIGE EVERARD |
| JUSTIN HOLLISTER | KIARA JOHNSON |
| ALEX TANNER | LINDSAY FRANCIS |
| IZAAK ANGEL | JAMIE MEADOWS |
| SIMEON SECHRIST | NELSON BARTRAM |
| BRENDAN ELY | LOGAN KURTH |
| COLE HENNING |
Athleticism and Intelligence:
The following student-athletes were recognized by the league (TCC) as scholar-athletes. Recognized scholar-athletes must be in grades 10-12 and have a GPA of 3.5 or higher:
| Kevin LaMont |
| Carter Stefanovski |
| Gareth Romine |
| Trenton McCarty |
| Alaina DiDio |
| Carissa Stanley |
| Delaney Peters |
| Kiara Johnson |
| Kylie Wilson |
| Paige Everard |
| Nelson Bartram |
| Michael Corrie |
| Logan Kurth |
| Kevin LaMont |
| Matt Schwennesen |
| Evan Romeo |
| Carter Stefanovski |
| Izaak Angel |
| Averey Davis |
| John Esper |
| Mackenzie Klein |
| Abbigail Fraga |
| Eveliina Taylor |
| Linsey Hula |
| Jordan Craven |
| Simeon Sechrest |
| Ezra Dreffs |
| Aiden Peltier |
With spring coming to a conclusion, we now prepare to depart the TCC and enter the new Michigan Independent Athletic Conference (MIAC) in the fall. New experiences and challenges await us in our new athletic conference. I can’t wait!
Go Trojans!