Tecumseh Herald Sports

By MICKEY ALVARADO

Only seven fallen pins separated Tecumseh’s varsity girls bowling team from the runner-up of the Division 2 state bowling finals on Friday, March 5, but they were more than enough to hand the Indians their third championship in as many years.

The three-peat is an unprecedented accomplishment in the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s girls finals. The only other team that had a chance to go three in a row was Division 3’s Wyoming Kelloggsville, but the Rockets were eliminated this year in the quarterfinals. Coldwater had an opportunity in 2008 but the Indians won their first Division 2 title that year. None of the boys divisions have back-to-back titles listed in MHSAA’s online records.

In 2006 the Indians advanced to the state quarters but lost to Livonia Clarenciville. The next season, the Indians made it to the semifinals but lost to Bangor John Glenn.

Tecumseh has claimed the division 2 titles every year since, defeating Coldwater in ‘08, Bay City John Glenn in ‘09 and Flint Kearsley this year.

The Indians had to fend off the late charging Flint Kearsley and used the experience of seniors Kara Richard and last year state champ Tawni Vollmer to do so.

“It was the best match I’ve ever been involved in, personally, coaching, anything,” said Tecumseh head coach Ken Richard.

“It was,” agreed assistant coach Doug McKowen. “It went right down to the wire. You can’t describe it. You just have to be here and go through that. It came right down to the very last shots. It was awesome.”

Tecumseh started out slow but managed to place second in the qualifying round. The coaches made some adjustments and it was just what the Indians needed to pick up their third straight championship.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

The best wrestlers in the state gathered at the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s individual state finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday, March 6, and while some basked in the light with a win, some were handed heart-wrenching sorrow.

Kyle Connors of Tecumseh had only recorded two losses all season and looked to be peaking for his Division 2 heavyweight match, despite sporting a black eye and puffy lip. He’d taken his share of hurt on the mats in order to get to the final but nothing was as painful as losing his final high school bout. Connors (56-3) lost to Quean Smith (26-0) of Highland Park by pin in 1:32. Smith also defeated Connors in the regional finals.

To advance to the final, the Tecumseh senior defeated Garrett Woods of Marshall (5-3) in the semifinals and Elbert Butler (5-3) of Flint Beecher in the quarterfinals.

The Indians also had Jeff Jenkins (57-3) place third and Ronnie Bechtol (46-14) fourth in the 130-pound weight division. Jenkins defeated Bechtol in the consolation finals to claim third place.

Clinton senior Jesse Sexton (22-5) placed third in Division 4 at 160 pounds while senior Henry Kokenakes (48-16) placed sixth at 140 pounds. Also finishing sixth was senior Connor Koester at 135 pounds. Also competing for Clinton were freshman Michael Sexton (103) and seniors Rob Stamats (171) and Drew Porter (189).

Adrian had Rafael Rodriguez also finish as runner up at 160 pounds in Division 2 with a 5-1 loss to Greenville’s Jordan Thomas.

Blissfield’s Eric Ford (189) had a perfect season (63-1) snatched out from under him with a close 3-2 loss against Pine River’s Luke Jones in Division 4 at 189 pounds.

Onsted’s Joe Stark (189) also finished as runner-up for the Wildcats with a 5-3 loss against Dundee’s Justin Heisermann.

This year both Tecumseh High School’s varsity boys and girls teams won their respective regional competitions to advance to the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Division 2 state finals.

Tecumseh’s boys scored 3,743 for first place at Parkway Lanes Trenton while South Lyon totaled 3,697 for second place. Carleton Airport placed third with 3,677.

The top 10 placers qualified to advance to individual state competition. Tecumseh’s Andrew Sokal made the cut with a third place score of 1,256. The top two were Justin Hazel, (Ann Arbor Skyline-1,273) and John Bandy (South Lyon-1,259).

The Indians’ girls scored 3,437 for first place while Riverview totaled 3,338 for second. Adrian placed third with 3,203.

Kara Richard placed first as a singles qualifier with a score of 1,201 while Tawni Vollmer finished second with 1,121. Also advancing will be Stephanie Oldeck with a 10th place score of 994.

Tecumseh’s boys and girls teams compete this Friday at Superbowl lanes in Canton for the team event. The singles bowl on Saturday.

After falling behind in the opening quarter of its Thursday, Feb. 25, varsity girls basketball game against visiting Erie Mason, Clinton came from behind and defeated the Eagles 60-40 to finish the regular season schedule at 19-1 overall.

Clinton trailed by one point, 15-14, at the end of the opening quarter but outscored the Eagles 46-25 over the next three quarters to seal the deal.  In the second half, Erie-Mason was held to single digit scoring while the Redskins produced 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters.

The Redskins were led in scoring by senior Kelsey Karapas with a season high 17 points and three assists.  Clinton junior Hannah Payne finished with 16 points, six steals and eight rebounds while sophomore Haley Mercy chipped in 12 points and dished out four assists.  Senior Emily Sell grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points.

"The seniors came in with a win and they go out with a win," said Clinton coach Bart Bartels.

Clinton finished Tri-County Conference play undefeated at 14-0 with a 54-34 victory on the road against a winless Whitmore Lake squad on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

After a sluggish first half, the Redskins came out solid in the third quarter and outscored the Trojans 20-7 to put the game out of reach. Brooke Chouquette fueled the fire by scoring all seven of her points in the quarter.

Sell led all scorers with 17 points, while dishing out three assists and grabbing five rebounds. Payne had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, in addition to six steals. Karapas led the team in assists with four and she also added six steals.

The next scheduled competition for Clinton was for Wednesday, March 3, at Napoleon, for the district semi-final. Results will be posted in next week’s Herald.

Tecumseh’s varsity boys basketball team lost 69-33 at home against Dexter on Tuesday and fell to 2-17 overall and 0-14 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Ann Arbor Huron controlled the hardwood at Tecumseh on Monday night in a makeup SEC contest and easily defeated the hosting Indians 60-36.

A solid defensive press disrupted Tecumseh’s offensive flow, however, the River Rats also got off to a slow start and finished the first quarter up by just four points at 13-9.

The contest was aggressive in the second quarter with both teams going over their 10 foul limit in the first half. The Indians scored just six points in the second quarter after dishing out numerous offensive turnovers while Ann Arbor Huron dumped in 17 and finished the first half ahead 30-15.

The River Rats controlled the second half as well, outscoring Tecumseh 30-21.

Mike Evans led the Indians with 11 points and seven rebounds while Travis Hyder added eight points.

Evans also led Tecumseh against Dexter, scoring a team-high seven points.

A 60-44 victory in its final regular season varsity boys basketball contest on Friday, Feb. 19, has Clinton’s Redskins holding a one game lead in the Tri-County Conference.

The ‘Skins defeated visiting Morenci to improve to 10-1 in the TCC and 12-4 overall.

Clinton gained an 18-13 lead by the end of the opening quarter and gradually increased its lead to 10 points, finishing the first half up 33-23.

While defensively stifling the Bulldogs in the third quarter, Clinton hit the hoop for 13 points to increase its lead to 16 (46-30) before going into the final quarter.

Both teams scored 14 points to finish the game.

It was the last time on the home court for three Clinton seniors, Rick Smith, Cameron Clark and Rylie Robinson.

Smith attacked the net for 15 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots in his final home game while Robinson added five points, three steals and five assists.

Nic Greenwood led the Redskins with 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Thomas Barkel had eight points and four rebounds while Nate Dreslinski added seven boards. Hayden Craig (4 assists) and Cam Clark each chipped in three points while Casey Wert and Mike Ford each added two points.