Guest Contributor: Brad McCormack, Athletic Director
From a trip to the cross country state finals to big plays and wins in football and volleyball, the fall sports season in Whitmore Lake was an exciting one. Our student-athletes played their tails off to do some amazing things. What I am most proud of is how well the players and coaches consistently represented themselves, our school, and the community.
Cross Country:
Cross country had a bit of a different look this year. With the tireless effort of a number of volunteers (insert Brian LaMont name drop), we were able to develop a NEW course right on our campus! It wasn’t just cutting the grass. We had to cut a path through the woods north of the football field, add drainage and build our very own “Mt. Trojan” with 3,500 yards of donated dirt. Anyone interested in going for a run?
As for the season, it was a successful one indeed. The boys won their second conference championship in three years with Kevin LaMont winning the overall title! The girls’ team placed 6th. And there were plenty of proud moments throughout the season. They include:
- Kevin LaMont finished in the top 14 at the South Lyon Invitational
- The boys team won the Springport Invitational
- Jordan Craven placed 14th (of 97) at the Holly Invitational
- The boys won the Madison Invitational with five runners finishing in the top 11
- The boys placed 3rd at the 34th Annual Gabriel Richard Invite (Kevin LaMont, Clay Rinna, and Jordan Craven all medaled)
- The boys won the home Larry Steeb Invitational and the girls placed 3rd
- At Regionals Jordan Craven (5th), Kevin LaMont (7th) and Clay Rinna (11th) all qualified for the State meet.
Individual honors: Kevin LaMont, Clay Rinna, and Jordan Craven were named 1st team all-conference. Matt Schwennesen was named 2nd team and Bailey Adams, Cole Rinna, and Maggie Lustig were honorable mention. Kevin, Matt, Jordan, Dillin Kowalewski, Quinlan Kelly, Eve Taylor, Hannah Smith, and Rylee Phillips were all named scholar-athletes.
Football:
The coaches had high expectations for the team this fall and had their sights set on a playoff spot. The players and coaches worked tirelessly in the off-season to build the team both mentally and physically. The boys opened up the season 2-0 after defeating Royal Oak Shrine Catholic (34-19) and Star International Academy (54-19). The wins marked the team’s first 2-0 start since 2009. Due to few injuries and the gauntlet known as the TCC, we dropped the next four games to Clinton, Whiteford, Summerfield, and Madison.
Next up was a battle with Morenci, a team we haven’t beaten since 2013. If you weren’t there, you missed one heck of a football game. The Trojans trailed throughout most of the contest but punched in a late score with 20 seconds remaining to spoil Morenci’s homecoming. During the game, Izaak Angel managed to tie a league record with 32 tackles. No, I didn’t add a number; he had 32 tackles in one game! The following week the Trojans returned home to take on Britton-Deerfield with their playoff hopes still alive. The game was an exciting back and forth battle. Once again the Trojans mounted a drive and scored the winning touchdown with under two minutes left in the game. The season finale was a trip to Sand Creek with a chance to “win and get in” the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Unfortunately, the Trojans turned the ball over too many times to overcome a rain-soaked contest, and the season ended with a 4-5 record.
There were many tremendous performances throughout the season. Izaak Angel and Alex Williams were recognized as First Team All-Conference players. Izaak Angel finished the season with 136 carries for 772 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Logan Kurth stepped up for the injured Evan Romeo and rushed for 568 yards on 110 carries and six touchdowns. Evan (All -TCC 2018) finished his shortened season with 448 yards and six touchdowns. Zach Brady, in his first year at the controls, quarterbacked the Trojans to four wins while passing for 292 yards and four touchdowns.
All of the success this season was directly attributed to the hard work of the Trojan lineman. They were led by All TCC player and senior Alex Williams, junior Zach Kobeck, senior captain Aiden Peltier, sophomore Michael Corrie, and freshmen Josh Fraga and Alex Tanner.
Academically the football team placed eight players on the All-Academic TCC Team: Cole Henning, Logan Kurth, Nelson Bartram, Izaak Angel, Aiden Peltier, Michael Corrie, Simeon Seachrist and Evan Romeo.
While the Trojans will miss Simeon Seachrist and Tommy Nottoli, two first-year senior transfers, the future looks bright for Trojan football in 2019. Coach Boron is EXTREMELY proud of this year’s team and is looking forward to the 2019 season.
Volleyball:
Led by senior captains Claire Curts and Valparaiso signee Rachel Speck, the Trojans looked to keep the momentum rolling after coming off of one of the best seasons in school history. On September 14th, the girls hosted conference foe Britton Deerfield at University of Michigan’s Cliff Keen Arena. The team came out motivated and dominated with a quick and convincing 3-0 victory. The Trojans finished conference play at 9-5 and an overall record of 28-15-2. Tournament places included a silver division title at the Jonesville and Hudson tournaments, followed up with a second place finish at the home invitational.
Whitmore Lake was selected to host both the District and Regional tournaments keeping the girls at home. Due to a favorable district draw, the Trojans advanced to the championship game to defend their title against the #10 Sentinels of Charyl Stockwell. Unfortunately, our girls came up short on their quest to repeat as they fell to a very talented Sentinels team.
Our JV team battled injuries all season long and finished with a 7-25-4 record and 7-6 in conference play.
Individual honors: Rachel Speck was 1st team all-conference, Claire Curts was 2nd team all-conference. Rachel was all named All-Region (All-State vote pending). Rachel also recorded 1129 kills in her career at Whitmore Lake. Speck, Amy Mayo, Paige Everard, Catherine Romine, Kiara Johnson, Olivia Price, Bella Tetreau, and Linsey Hula were all named TCC scholar-athletes.
The fall season was one with both team and individual accomplishments (both academic and athletic). I can’t wait to see what the winter season brings!
Go Trojans!