The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
WINTER GLORY
Wrestling team's state title chase among top local stories of winter
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 20, 2008
For Manchester sports fans, the 2007-08 winter season had no shortage of storylines. With championship runs and challenges, there was plenty of intrigue surrounding Manchester's teams.
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The wrestling team continued making history, capturing its first league championship in 35 years, advancing to the state championship dual for the first time ever and sending a school-record nine wrestlers to the Individual State Tournament. The boys basketball team faced several kinds of adversity, yet made a surprising run to the Class C district tournament. The girls basketball team began its first season as a winter sport, having moved over from the fall and the competitive cheerleading team found success with a first-year head coach.
Here is a look back at some of the highlights of the Manchester winter sports campaign:
Boys Basketball
The season commenced for the Manchester varsity boys basketball team with struggles and the absence of key players, but concluded with a surprising run in the playoffs.
After opening the year with three straight losses, the Dutchmen picked up their first victory Dec. 14 as Justin Welton scored 21 points to spark a 61-60 victory over Michigan Center. A month later, junior Randy Kleinschmidt torched Grass Lake for 28 points in a 55-45 Manchester victory Jan. 18.
The injury bug returned the following week as Kleinschmidt suffered a foot injury, which kept him sidelined until the final week of the regular season. At the time, the junior was Manchester's leading scorer.
The Dutchmen engaged in a thrilling game against Napoleon at home Jan. 31. A back-and-forth game in front of a spirited crowd saw the Pirates, ranked No. 7 in the Class C state polls at the time, escape with a 42-37 overtime victory.
A timely hot streak helped the Dutchmen make some noise in the playoffs. After winning the final two regular season games, Manchester opened the Class C district tournament with a victory over host Jonesville. A 51-39 victory over Hudson in the semifinals sent the Dutchmen to the district final, where they were stopped by perennial Cascades Conference power Hanover-Horton. The Dutchmen finished the season 10-13.
Welton was named to the All-Cascades Conference Team, while fellow senior Jarod Sawyer received All-Cascades honorable mention.
"All the seniors contributed a lot to the team," Manchester coach Bryan Barnard said. "Justin was a captain and a strong leader. Jarod covered the post and the perimeter, which is not common. Sam Brown has a good work ethic and always practiced hard."
Girls Basketball
The season began and ended with a loss at Clinton, but Manchester varsity girls basketball coach Cori Kastel said the team that finished the season was different from the one that started the campaign.
The Flying Dutch opened the season Nov. 27 with a 54-30 loss at Clinton. The game marked Kastel's return to Clinton, where she coached prior to taking over the Manchester job two years ago.
Manchester would be competitive against several Cascades Conference powers throughout the season, most notably in a Dec. 21 home game against Addison. The Dutch hung with star senior Dana Cook and the Panthers throughout the first half, but Addison came away with a 52-41 victory.
The Dutch ended a long stretch of frustration Jan. 18 when they outlasted defending Cascades champion Michigan Center for a 43-39 victory at home.
In that game, sophomore Tracy Schaible made school history by hitting four three-pointers, setting a school record for most triples made in a contest. That was later equaled by senior Laura Coltre in the Class C district tournament.
The Dutch were stopped by Clinton in the first round of districts. Manchester hung with the Redskins most of the night, but Clinton pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 63-53 victory. The Dutch finished the season with an 8-13 overall record.
Senior Amanda Mutchler was named to the All-Cascades Conference Team. She and fellow senior Julie Fielder were named to the All-Cascades Academic Team. The Dutch were a success in the classroom, as the entire team received the Cascades Conference Scholar-Athlete Award.
Wrestling
Coming off a season that saw it advance to the state semifinals for the first time in history, the Manchester varsity wrestling team had a tough act to follow.
But the Flying Dutchmen didn't just follow up that performance. Instead, they took the next step and made more school history.
Manchester was only 4-3 in early December, but plowed through the rest of the season to finish 32-6, garnering two more wins than it did the year before. The ball got rolling Dec. 15 when the Dutchmen defeated Springport 44-34 to win the Michigan Center Team Tournament.
After returning from the Christmas break Jan. 5, the Dutchmen placed second behind Division 2 power Tecumseh in the Dave Elliott Memorial Tournament. A week later, Manchester crowned four champions and placed seven more in the top five as it won the Napoleon Invitational, an event that featured several state-ranked Division 1 and 2 schools.
The Dutchmen sent their biggest message of the regular season Jan. 23 when they posted a 38-30 over reigning Cascades Conference and three-time defending Division 4 state champion Addison. The win, Manchester's first over the Panthers since 1973, helped the Dutchmen overtake the top spot in the league title race. They finished the job Feb. 8 by winning the Cascades Conference Tournament at home, clinching the outright league title. It was Manchester's first conference crown since it won the Lenawee County Athletic Association title in 1973.
Manchester roared through the early rounds of the playoffs, blasting No. 4 Clinton 48-14 to win the district title, then routing Harper Woods and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central for the regional crown and a return trip to Battle Creek.
After a 34-26 victory over Leroy Pine River in the Division 4 state quarterfinals, the Dutchmen advanced to the state championship dual for the first time in school history with a 45-25 thumping of Springport in the semifinals.
Manchester hung with No. 1 Hesperia in the finals, but four straight victories lifted the Panthers to the state crown.
Individually, the Dutchmen crowned six conference champions, six district champions and three regional champions. They set school records by qualifying 13 wrestlers for regionals and sent nine wrestlers to the Individual State Tournament.
Senior Kyler Ritter swept through the 215-pound weight class at The Palace of Auburn Hills to win a state championship for Manchester. Jimmy Hamilton (112) earned a second-place medal, while Jason Alber (160) placed third. Scott Conway (125), Bill Cloke (152), Cevin Walker (119) and Ryan Abrigo (103) also earned state medals for the Dutchmen.
Competitive Cheerleading
Under first-year coach Darcy Ketelaar, the Manchester competitive cheerleading team enjoyed a breakout season, culminating with a seventh-place finish at the Division 4 regional meet March 1 at Michigan Center.
Throughout the season, the Dutch finished in the top three at seven meets and topped the 600-point mark three times. Manchester captured first place at the Vandercook Lake quad meet and earned a high placing at the Cascades Conference meet.
"We became a team, and it's a different team than last year," Ketelaar said. "We were 16 cheerleaders and a coach at the start of the season, but we came together as a team and were there for each other."
Individually, Maicie Fruge earned All-Regional Second Team honors and Ciara Kukalis was named All-Regional honorable mention.
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