Title Town Tuesday
Boys Soccer
Jackson Christian 5, Lenawee Christian 2: The Royals claimed a share of the Independent Soccer League title with a victory over Lenawee Christian. Jackson Christian tied for the championship with Hillsdale Academy after a tie against them earlier in the season and a win over Lenawee Christian Tuesday night. Both teams had beaten them like a drum the past seven seasons. It looked like the Cougars were going to run away and hide again with two goals in the first 15 minutes of action. But Jackson Christian responded with a pair of goals by Walelign Bizenigaw and a game-winning-goal by Drew Barney to end the first half. Barney also tallied two assists giving him 25 for the season – two away from the school record. JCHS tacked on goals by Jayden Schnitkey and Christian Guerrero in the second half. Aaden Breton earned the win in goal for the Royals. The ISL title is the first for the Royals since 2015, according to Coach Nick Barney. The Royals are 9-3-3 on the season with the victory.
Marshall 6, Northwest 0: The Mounties were shut out at home Tuesday night in Interstate-8 Conference action.
Parma 2, Coldwater 1: The Panthers earned a hard-fought conference win at home Tuesday night against Coldwater. The win gives the Panthers back-to-back Interstate-8 Conference championships. Christian Roza tied the game in the second half on a penalty kick for Western. Sam Heydenburg scored the game-winning-goal later in the second half for Western.
Volleyball
Columbia Central 3, Leslie 1: The Golden Eagles earned a four-set win over Leslie on the road Tuesday. Columbia Central won 25-20, 13-25, 25-11, and 25-18. Alison Richardson finished with five aces at the service line, Berlynn Like dished 15 assists, and Kenzie Duncan recorded 14 digs for CCHS.
Manchester 3, Hanover-Horton 2: The loss tightens up the Cascades Conference halfway through the conference season.
Grass Lake 3, Addison 0: The Warriors stayed in the Cascades Conference title hunt with a win over Addison on the road Tuesday. Grass Lake won 25-17, 25-15, and 25-17. Monique Diel scored 11 kills to lead the Warriors. Hanna Alvarez finished with 19 digs, Reese Lape blocked six shots, and Mia Buttigieg finished with 31 assists for Grass Lake (21-5-1 overall, 6-1 conference).
North Adams-Jerome 3, Jackson Christian 2: The Royals lost 15-9 in the fifth set at home Tuesday. Madi Conrad finished with eight kills and 14 assists, Kyana Herendeen tallied six digs, and Rennie Huff added three aces from the service line for Jackson Christian.
Royal Oak Shrine 3, Lumen Christi 0: The Titans lost in straight sets on the road Tuesday.
Napoleon 3, East Jackson 0: The Pirates won 25-9, 25-15, and 25-17 on the road Tuesday. Maggie Beer finished with nine kills, Kate Fall dished 10 assists, and Audrey Chapman and Sydney Gallagher combined for 20 digs for the Pirates.
Union City 3, Springport 1: The Spartans lost in four tough sets including a 29-27 game.
Girls Cross Country
Vandercook Lake at Columbia Central – no score: Columbia Central only posted two times and Vandercook Lake zero in the event at Columbia Central High School. Melyssa McJennett ran 26:01 for the Golden Eagles.
Big Eight Conference a Maple Valley: Concord High School won the jamboree with 45 points and Springport was seventh scoring 194. CHS freshman Haley Stimer was second individual at 20:28 and sophomore Cieara Barrett placed fifth in 21:38.
Hanover-Horton 18, Homer 45: The Comets dominated the meet by taking eight-of-nine top spots. Olivia Perrine won the meet in 20:44 and Julianna Debozy-Crawford was second with a time of 22:58.
Grass Lake 15, Napoleon 50: The Warriors swept the top five places to earn the win. Grace Bullock edged teammate Ava Viegelahn in a near dead heat with a time of 21:39. Napoleon was led by sophomore Makenzy Lindemann in 24:06.
Michigan Center 15, East Jackson 35: Priya Mericle of East Jackson finished first in 24:18 and Kate Paterson of Michigan Center placed second in 26:09 at East Jackson.
Western Jamboree: The Panthers won the second Interstate-8 Conference jamboree with 43 points and Northwest placed fifth with 110 points. Chloe Khon of Northwest finished third in 20:37 and Raquel Curey of Western finished fifth with a time of 21:29.
Boys Cross Country
Columbia Central 17, Vandercook Lake 44: Columbia Central took five of the top six place in winning the home meet. Jack Gorton (19:04), Wyatt Vowell (19:28), and Nate Ostrosky (19:38) finished first through third respectively. Dallas Swaenepoel broke the CCHS stranglehold with a fourth-place finish in 20:01.
Big Eight Conference a Maple Valley: Concord finished third (108) and Springport sixth (152) at the second Big Eight Conference jamboree. Union City and Bronson dominated the meet taking 11-of-12 top spots. Maddox Hutchinson finished 18th (20:25), teammate Keaton Smith was right behind him (20:29), and Aidan Bradley of Springport was 21st (21:14).
Hanover-Horton 18, Homer 41: Hanover-Horton High School took five of the top six places in the meet at Homer. Landen Boulis was first in 17:26 and teammate Evan Shepherd was second in 17:35.
Grass Lake 25, Napoleon 34: Kyler Pequet of Napoleon won the event in 18:43 but Grass Lake took six of the next seven spots to pull out the win. The Warriors were led by Zack Buttigieg in 18:58 and Alex Holda with a time of 19:07.
East Jackson 18, Michigan Center 41: Michael Allen (17:48), Javin Mericle (18:09), and William Kennedy (19:06) finished first through third respectively for the Trojans. Nathan Paddock was fourth for Michigan Center with a time of 19:23.
Western Jamboree: Western High School finished second (48 points) and Northwest was sixth (169) at Western High School. Cooper Singleton finished third (16:39) and teammate Edison Lopeman placed fifth (16:48) for the Panthers. Northwest runner Hudson Cooper was 14th in 18:08.
Girls Golf
Cascades Conference Final: The Columbia Central High School varsity golf team has won a number of league titles over the years. Tuesday CCHS won its first Cascades Conference title since 1976 leading wire-to-wire in the conference. Columbia Central won the conference final with a four-person total of 339 at Sharp Park Golf Course. East Jackson finished second (414), Michigan Center was third (418), Grass Lake placed fourth (466), and Napoleon was fifth (472). Logan Bentley of CCHS earned medalist honors with a 75 and finished the season as the top player with 2.4 shots over par per nine holes. Teammates Kelsey Fausz (84), Iliana Fowle (85), Ashley Yang (95) and Marrissa Berro (95) all earned first-team all-conference honors by finishing in the top eight in the conference determined by scoring averages. Kylie McKee shot a 92 for Michigan Center placing fourth, Jessica Swihart of MCHS and Rylie Raehtz of Grass Lake tied for seventh with 96s, Ann McCubbins was ninth with a 97, and Mariah Kerley of East Jackson was 10th scoring a 101. McKee, Raehtz, and McCubbins finished in the top eight earning first-team all-conference honors and Swihart was named to the second team.
Boys Tennis
Interstate-8 Conference Final: Western High School finished first (56 points) and Northwest was second (40) in the tournament concluded Monday. Western swept all eight flights earning the outright title in the conference.
Girls Swimming
Adrian 111, Jackson 75: Isabelle Ortiz won the 100-yard backstroke for the Vikings in 1:05.06 and Grace Dawson won the diving competition with a score of 209.5.
College Athletic Events
Women’s Tennis
Spring Arbor University 4, Grace 3
Men’s Tennis
Huntington 7, Spring Arbor University 0
On Deck for Oct. 4, 2023
Volleyball
East Jackson at Michigan Center 7 p.m.
Northwest at Coldwater 5:45 p.m.
Hastings at Western 6:30 p.m.
Boys Soccer
Michigan Center at Jackson Christian 5 p.m.
Lumen Christi at Cardinal Championship 5 p.m.
Northwest at Tecumseh 5:30 p.m.
Girls Golf
Jackson at Ann Arbor Huron 9 a.m.
Boys Tennis
ITL at Columbia Central 9 a.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Western 4:30 p.m.
College Sports Activities
Volleyball
Taylor at Spring Arbor University 7 p.m.
Jackson College at Henry Ford College 7 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
Jackson College at Grand Rapids CC 2 p.m.
Men’s Soccer
Jackson College at Grand Rapids CC 4 p.m.