Welcome to Episode 5 of the CatchMark Catch-Up for the 2022-23 winter sports season in the West Michigan Conference.
It’s Monday, Feb. 6, and we’re recapping conference highlights from Jan. 30-Feb. 4, 2023.
WRESTLING
Orchard View hosted the West Michigan Conference wrestling tournament on Saturday. It featured all 14 teams in the expanded conference.
Being that the conference is split into two divisions, the format of the wrestling tourney was a little different than others.
Team champions in each division were crowned: Whitehall in the Lakes and Hart in the Rivers.
In each of the 14 weight classes, Lakes Division wrestlers were placed in the top half of the bracket and Rivers Division wrestlers in the bottom half. Champions were decided in each division, or each half of the bracket, with those wrestlers squaring off in a crossover title match pitting Lakes vs. Rivers.
CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the tourney, including photos, video and top-six placers in each weight class.
The state tournament begins this week, as wrestlers embark on the march to the state finals. Team districts are Wednesday and Thursday with individual districts are on Saturday.
In case you missed it, Sunday’s Profile of the Week focused on Montague’s wrestling program and the family dynamic surrounding it. Go check out the video on the Winkleblack siblings and the accompanying story on the Wildcats’ family feel.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Perhaps one of the more surprising outcomes of the week, if not the most surprising, was Montague’s 28-21 home victory over WMC Lakes-leading Ludington last Thursday in the CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Game of the Week.
The Wildcats avenged a 49-18 road loss to the Orioles, which happened back in December when injuries and illnesses really played a factor.
Montague countered Ludington’s height with athleticism and active hands operating out of a 2-3 zone defense. The Wildcats held the Orioles to 20.8 percent shooting from the floor (10-of-48), including 8.7 percent from 3-point range (2-of-23).
It was the first WMC Lakes loss for Ludington, which is still in the driver’s seat for the divisional title.
CLICK HERE for complete coverage from the Montague-Ludington game.
BOYS BASKETBALL
A number of West Michigan Conference boys basketball teams are riding winning streaks or recently saw their streaks snapped.
Hart leads the way as the lone unbeaten at 15-0 after picking up two more victories last week. Senior Parker Hovey continued his huge season, including another triple-double in the Pirates’ 63-38 win at rival Shelby on Friday.
Last Monday, Ludington fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 66-35 home defeat against Cadillac. The Orioles bounced back on Friday with a 64-48 road victory over Fremont in WMC Lakes Division action. Ludington enters this week with a 14-1 record.
North Muskegon continues to be one of the hottest teams in the league. The Norsemen (12-2 overall) are riding a seven-game winning streak after a 43-40 victory at Oakridge last Monday and 58-40 win at Mason County Central on Friday.
Montague, meanwhile, hasn’t lost since a Jan. 12 setback at North Muskegon. The Wildcats are on a five-game winning streak after a 63-60 road victory over Mason County Central last Tuesday and 57-39 home win over Orchard View Friday.
Whitehall was on a seven-game winning streak, but that was snapped in Friday’s 75-72 nonleague road loss to a tough Grand Rapids Covenant Christian squad.
Montague and Whitehall square off this Thursday at Montague in the Game of the Week. Look for a free livestream of the game on the CatchMark SportsNet YouTube channel.
PLEASE REPORT YOUR RESULTS
This has been repeated for a few weeks now, but we need help from bowling and competitive cheer coaches. Please email your scores, results, highlights and notables to sports@catchmarkit.com on the day or night of your event.
We’re seeing some bowling scores roll in, but nothing from competitive cheer all season. We really do want to be inclusive of all West Michigan Conference sports, but we need your help.
