This is Week 6 of the CatchMark Catch-Up for the 2023 spring sports season in the West Michigan Conference.
It’s Monday, May 15, and we’re hitting some of the highlights from last week.
Before we get into those things, please read these notes:
- Coaches: It’s very important that you submit your game scores and recaps/details/stats to us. We use that info in a variety of content at CatchMark SportsNet, including but not limited to our Scoreboard, Player of the Week fan polls, and the Catch-Up that you’re reading now. We are not receiving scores and info from a number of coaches across the league. Please help us out, which in turn will help your athletes get exposure.
- Coaches: Please email those game scores, recaps/details/stats in a timely fashion. We are asking you submit them the day/night of the game or event. And that info should be emailed to sports@catchmarkit.com. Multiple people at CatchMark SportsNet have access to the sports@catchmarkit.com email address as we all produce varying content from it.
GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
Addi Hovey shatters high jump record, ranks fifth nationally
Addi Hovey outdid herself — again. The Hart sophomore shattered her own school record in high jump with an amazing leap of 5 feet, 11 inches, during the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division track and field championships at Holton’s Red Devil Stadium.
The mark ties Hovey for fifth nationally in girls high school high jump in the 2023 season, according to Athletic.net.
The leap easily cleared her previous school record of 5-5.5 established last season.
CLICK HERE to read more about Hovey’s feat. Watch the video above.
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
Whitehall’s David Conrad breaks own pole-vault record
Whitehall senior David Conrad struggled in the early part of the season to reach lofty marks established last season as a standout pole vaulter.
He’s really starting to take off now.
In Friday’s WMC Lakes Division championships at Whitehall, Conrad eclipsed his personal record in pole vault with an effort of 15 feet, 9.5 inches. That breaks his own school record of 15-7 set last year in the West Michigan All-Star Invitational at Reeths-Puffer.
Watch the video above to hear from Conrad.
TRACK AND FIELD
Whitehall boys, Manistee girls capture WMC Lakes titles
Whitehall’s boys track and field team ran away with the WMC Lakes Division championship Friday in the Vikings’ home stadium. Whitehall amassed 222 points to clear the competition by 135 or more points.
In the girls meet, Manistee totaled 136 points to edge host Whitehall (129) and capture the title.
Whitehall junior Malcolm Earvin took first place in the 100-meter dash (11.16) and 200 dash (22.68), plus he ran legs on the Vikings’ winning 4×100 and 4×200 relays. He was named the CatchMark SportsNet Game of the Week Player of the Game.
CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the meet.
Watch a TikTok on Earvin below, and check out a livestream replay of the WMC Lakes meet above.
Hart boys and girls dominate at WMC Rivers meet
Highlighted of course by Addi Hovey’s record-setting leap in high jump, Hart’s girls track and field team cruised to the title in the WMC Rivers Division championships Friday at Holton. The Pirates totaled 240 points to win going away.
Hart’s boys team also dominated the WMC Rivers meet, piling up 240 points to beat the rest of the field by 139 points.
CLICK HERE for complete coverage from the meet.
Record-setting siblings for North Muskegon
During the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association meet May 5 at Mona Shores’ Sailor Stadium, North Muskegon junior Abbie Wiegers broke a school record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.16 seconds.
One week later, in the WMC Rivers Division championships at Holton’s Red Devil Stadium, it was her brother’s turn. Her triplet, Norsemen junior Jerry Wiegers, broke the boys school record in the 400 with a time of 50.07 seconds.
GIRLS SOCCER
Red-hot North Muskegon wraps up big week
North Muskegon’s girls soccer team stayed red-hot by winning three key matches last week.
The Norse rolled past Manistee on Monday (7-1) and defeated Fremont Wednesday (3-1) in key West Michigan Conference matches, then they capped the week with a 3-0 home win over Royal Oak Shrine in a battle of top five-ranked squads in Division 4.
In the win over Shrine — a rematch of the 2022 state championship game, won 5-0 by the Norse — Natalie Pannucci netted a pair of goals and Sam Johnson tallied the other one.
North Muskegon carries a seven-game winning streak into this week. During those seven matches, the Norse have outscored opponents by a combined 36-3 tally.
North Muskegon visits Shelby today (Monday, May 15), hosts Ludington on Thursday (May 18) in the CatchMark SportsNet WMC Game of the Week and welcomes Orchard View in a makeup game Friday (May 19). The match against Ludington will be livestreamed for free on our CatchMark SportsNet YouTube channel. Here is the direct link:
BASEBALL
North Muskegon adds another tourney title to collection
North Muskegon’s baseball team continues to stay hot and keeps adding tournament title to the collection this season.
The Norsemen picked up a pair of impressive wins Saturday in the Hamilton Invite. They defeated Otsego in the first game, 8-2, before knocking off Hamilton in the second game, 9-4.
North Muskegon’s Ben Meyers remained on his offensive tear by going 1-for-2 with a triple, two RBIs and two walks in the first game and going 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI in the second game. Troy McManus picked up the pitching win in the first game, while Sam Gallo earned the victory in the second game.
SOFTBALL
Emma Gillard, Ravenna softball continue to tear it up
It wasn’t a perfect Saturday for Ravenna’s dominant softball team, but it sure was a productive one in the Grand Haven Invite.
The Division 3 Bulldogs opened with a 10-3 time-shortened victory over Division 2 Imlay City and capped their day with a 16-1 rout of Division 1 Westland John Glenn. In between, Ravenna let one get away in a 5-4 walk-off loss to Division 1 Grand Haven in which the Bulldogs led 4-1 but saw errors jump up and bite them.
Senior Emma Gillard had a monster day for the Bulldogs (26-3). She earned the pitching win and went 2-for-2 with a double in the first game; 2-for-3 in the second game; and 2-for-2 with a grand slam and triple in the third game. Entering this week, Gillard is batting .688 with nine home runs and 50 RBIs, while also sporting a 10-1 pitching record and 1.50 ERA.
Photo by Billy Mann | CatchMark
GIRLS TENNIS
North Muskegon runner-up in GMAA tourney
The Greater Muskegon Athletic Association girls tennis tournament wrapped up on Wednesday at Mona Shores after it had been suspended because of rain the previous Saturday.
In the end, North Muskegon’s bid for a fourth-straight GMAA title fell just short. Mona Shores captured the team championship with 47 points, followed by North Muskegon with 43 and Reeths-Puffer 42. Whitehall took fifth with 29 points.
North Muskegon’s Fia Lindsey captured an individual title at No. 2 singles.
CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the event.
The Coastal Conference tournament, which began Saturday but was suspended because of inclement weather, will resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday (May 16) at Whitehall and Reeths-Puffer. Ludington and North Muskegon are considered the frontrunners to take the team title in the conference tourney.
BOYS GOLF
WMC Lakes jamboree featured as “Game of the Week”
As has been the case for most of the WMC Lakes Division boys golf season, Manistee took first place in last Wednesday’s jamboree at Ludington with Whitehall and Fremont giving chase.
Those teams and more will be teeing it up at 3 p.m. today (Monday, May 15) in a nine-hole WMC Lakes jamboree hosted by Whitehall at White Lake Golf Club. It is the CatchMark SportsNet WMC “Game of the Week,” meaning we’ll be producing a free livestream on our YouTube channel.
See the direct link here:
In case you missed it, Whitehall senior golfer Landon Griffin was featured in the CatchMark SportsNet Profile of the Week. CLICK HERE to watch the video and read the accompanying story.
Lead writer for CatchMark SportsNet and Web Services leader for CatchMark Technologies.
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