The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
2007 Year in Sports: January-June: FLASHBACK TO SUCCESS
Wrestling and track dominant winter and spring seasons in '07
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 3, 2008
From league championships to individual accomplishments, Manchester and area sports teams provided excitement for everyone throughout 2007. Here is a look at some of the top sports stories from the first half of the year:
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January
After opening the season with eight straight losses, the Manchester varsity boys' basketball team breaks through Jan. 16 with an 86-53 victory at Brooklyn Columbia Central. Greg Schaible leads the way with 18 points, while Zach Benedict (12 points) and Randy Kleinschmidt (11 points, 11 rebounds) also hit double figures.
Manchester has 13 wrestlers earn medals as the Flying Dutchmen capture the Napoleon Invitational Jan. 13. Both Dan Lobbestael (215) and Mike Garrison (119) win their respective weight classes by going undefeated on the day.
With Julie Fielder leading the front row and Ally Way setting up the offense, the Manchester varsity volleyball team wins five of seven matches during the month to get back into the Cascades Conference race.
Hosting a meet for the only time during the season, the Manchester competitive cheerleading team earns a second-place finish Jan. 20.
Greg Schaible buries a three-pointer at the buzzer Jan. 26 to lift the Manchester varsity boys' basketball team to a 47-45 victory over East Jackson at home. Schaible finishes with 21 points and five steals, while Jake LaCross adds 15 points for the Dutchmen.
Led by Logan Zigila, the Manchester freshmen boys' basketball team wins 10 of its first 12 games.
February
While preparing to leave for the Springport Tournament, Manchester varsity volleyball coach Mike Mininger is rushed to the hospital Feb. 3. He has emergency heart surgery two days later. Mininger makes a full recovery by the end of the month, but doesn't return to the bench for the remainder of the season.
The Manchester varsity boys' basketball team wins nine of its final 13 games after starting the year 0-8. The biggest win in the stretch comes Feb. 13 when the Dutchmen defeated reigning Cascades Conference champion Napoleon 42-41 on the road.
A record-setting postseason run kicks off for the Manchester varsity wrestling team. After winning the Division 4 team district tournament at home Feb. 14, the Dutchmen upset No. 4 Springport in the team regional final and advanced to Battle Creek for the first time since 1991. Individually, the team crowns seven Cascades champions, five district champions, 11 regional qualifiers and sends eight to the state meet. All are Manchester school records.
Facing a two-game deficit and elimination, the Manchester varsity volleyball team keeps its hopes alive by pushing Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard to a fifth game in the Class C district tournament Feb. 28. However, the Dutch fall short of the win, as the Irish escape with a 25-23, 26-24, 16-25, 21-25, 15-7 victory.
March
With a 47-16 victory over Bangor, the Manchester varsity wrestling team advances to the Division 4 state semifinals for the first time in school history. The Dutchmen are stopped there by New Lathrop.
With a 6-4 victory over Addison's Corey Kratzer, Manchester's Bill Cloke wins the state wrestling championship in the 152-pound weight class Mar. 10 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
A back-and-forth game sees the Clinton Redskins eliminate the Manchester varsity boys' basketball team in the Class C district semifinals with a 49-44 victory Mar. 7. In his final prep game, Greg Schaible scores a game-high 25 points for the Dutchmen.
The Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association selects Manchester Athletic Director Wes Gall as one of 14 regional Athletic Directors of the Year. He was recognized for the award March 19 at the MIAAA Mid-Winter Conference in Traverse City.
With a court ruling on Michigan's sports schedules on the horizon, Manchester coaches, including girls' basketball coach Cori Kastel and volleyball coach Mike Mininger are opposed to a switch.
April
A nine-year court battle ends when the U.S. Supreme Court refuses the Michigan High School Athletic Association an appeal regarding the sports schedule lawsuit Apr. 2. As a result, eight sports switch seasons.
Greg Schaible is named to the All-Cascades Conference First Team for boys' basketball, while Julie Fielder represents the Manchester varsity volleyball team on the All-Cascades First Team. Crystal Poertner is named All-Cascades honorable mention for volleyball.
The varsity baseball and softball seasons kick off Apr. 10. Manchester wins the baseball opener with a 7-6 extra-innings victory over Adrian Madison. The varsity softball team drops its opener to Madison 7-4.
With a parade and celebrity appearances highlighting the day, Manchester Area Youth Sports kicks off its Little League baseball and softball season Apr. 28 at Carr Park.
May
With Zach Greca leading the charge, the Manchester varsity boys' track team wins the Division 3 regional championship. Greca wins the 100 and 200-yard dashes with times of 10.8 and 22.53 respectively. He falls just short of the Manchester school record held by Nick Davis (10.7 in the 100 dash, 22.0 in the 200 dash).
The 1,600-meter relay team of Zach Greca, Jake LaCross, Greg Schaible and Andrew Tindall go undefeated for the year, helping the Manchester varsity boys' cross country team to its third straight Cascades Conference title and second straight regional championship.
After winning one meet the previous year, the Manchester varsity girls' track team goes undefeated in league meets during the regular season and earns a share of the Cascades title with East Jackson.
June
The Manchester boys' track team finishes ninth in the Division 3 state meet June 1 at Comstock Park. Jarod Sawyer (high jump) and Greg Schaible (400-meter dash) earn individual medals, while the 1,600-meter relay team of Schaible, Jake LaCross, Andrew Tindall and Brian Fargher (subbing for an injured Zach Greca) earn a third-place medal.
The Manchester softball team routs Whitmore Lake 9-0 in the Division 3 district semifinals, but are then shutout by Clinton in the finals. The Dutch finish the season 12-21.
Three runs in the bottom of the seventh give the Manchester baseball team a 9-8 victory over Whitmore Lake in the Division 3 district semifinals. The Dutchmen are eliminated with a 13-5 loss to Grass Lake in the district final and finish 11-15.
Jon Schaible of Manchester and Jeff Tervo of Clinton help the Spring Arbor University baseball team to a second-place finish in the NAIA World Series. The Cougars finish 48-5 and had a school-record 36-game winning streak during the season.
The first NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway goes to Carl Edwards, who wins the Citizens Bank 400. Roush Racing also takes the checkered flag at the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series races at MIS, giving the Livonia-based company a weekend sweep on its "home track."
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