After the week we all had, it’s the understatement of the century to say we’re all ready for spring to speed things up a bit.
A once in a century ice storm can do that to you.
Unfortunately, more snow early this week has delayed some starts even more so, but there is hope on the horizon.
We will indeed have spring sports very soon.
Some have already started with some smart out of area scheduling, while others will have their start come later this week and into the weekend.
As we get underway, I began to think about the main storylines I’ll be following. The athletes, teams and scenarios I’m most looking forward to.
They’re in no particular order, but there is a top spot (if that makes sense), so I’ll start with them.
Northmen baseball follow-up
I’ve always got an eye on Petoskey baseball and Shawn Racignol’s teams. But that’s even more true this season. It’s hard not to when they’ve collected five consecutive district championships.
Last season also came with the first regional championship since 2000 for PHS and a trip into the Division 2 quarterfinals.
Know what’s scary? This PHS team might be even better.
They lost a few pieces from a year ago, but with what’s back and what’s new, expect another run.
The Northmen are a team already underway, opening over the weekend with a 2-0 day against Kingsley.
Charlevoix transfer AJ Speigl already has a double, triple and three-hit game to his credit, varsity newcomer Jonah Mattingly has a seven-strikeout, one-hit win on the mound and returnee Barrett Elliott has a three-inning no-hitter victory.
It should be an exciting season of PHS baseball ahead.
Harbor softball’s next step
It’s been a gradual progression for the Harbor Springs softball team.
They went from not having a team, to a program with a brand new field and still not enough to fill out a roster. Then they went from a team filled with freshmen and sophomores playing a JV schedule, to district champions last season.
The next step for the Rams is here: a full varsity schedule and eye on another district title ahead.
Harbor achieved its first district title in 25 years (1999) last season, but now it’s the real test. Can they show up and compete with the Northern Shores varsity squads each and every week?
It’s a roster again filled with many of the same names, from Kaylin Samyn and Marlie Richardson, to Callie Keiser, Avery Hoffman, Madi Gorney and more.
“New” Northern Shores
Speaking of the Northern Shores Conference, it’s the first spring season for the league ahead.
After fall and winter seasons, it’s hard to call the conference new, but it’ll be the first time the likes of Cheboygan and Kingsley will regularly meet the Lake Michigan Conference holdovers in baseball, softball and other sports.
What will really be interesting will be the league’s baseball standings, with Traverse City St. Francis and East Jordan – two of the LMC’s best – now out of the league setup. Will it be Cheboygan stepping in to compete with Charlevoix this season?
From soccer, to softball and baseball, there’s new conference titles up for grabs.
Full speed ahead on the track
Shifting gears now, let’s head to the track.
Speed, speed and more speed. That’s what you’ll find this season.
While the area will have some good distance runners as always, along with some throwers to keep an eye on, it’s all about speed once again for area teams.
Nowhere is that more prevalent than at Petoskey and you can’t talk about speed without starting with Sam Mitas.
The individual record holder for the 100 and 200 at Petoskey, he’s aiming for state records this season, with eyes on 10.5 and 21 seconds, respectively.
Mitas isn’t the only one, though. He’s joined by teammates Seth Marek, Logan Beer, Mason Fralick and Mitch Eberhart.
On the girls side, there’s the likes of Nevaeh Leonard, Madeline Loe, Emma Mitas, Alison Bailey and Alexandra Petok all back after running the state finals last season.
Around the area, speed can be found from East Jordan’s Logan Shooks, Coen Burks and Freddie Thompson, Harbor’s Anthony Atkinson and Henry Kruzel and Charlevoix’s Logan Wadkins and Vitale Collins.
Boyne softball follow-up
We’re running out of ink here, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the Boyne City softball team this season.
Once a regular to be advancing on to regionals, there were some down seasons of late for the Ramblers, but Boyne returned with a district title last season in a 20-win campaign.
While they’ve lost some key pieces, Area Player of the Year Sidney Bush returns with the ability to pitch and swing a hot bat. There’s also Katelyn Dittmar, who brings a huge bat to the plate, along with Morgan Erickson, Natalie Grobaski and a talented younger group coming up.
Petoskey’s soccer revenge
Speaking of follow-ups, I’ll leave you with one last storyline to watch for on the pitch.
Petoskey soccer returns a loaded squad of players up and down the field, while coming off a Big North Conference title last season.
But, last year also came with a sour ending.
Petoskey fell to rival Gaylord in a shootout in the district championship at Northmen Stadium.
There’s nothing like seeing your biggest rival hoist a trophy on your home field to put a little motivation into your offseason prep.
So, what will Petoskey do to make sure that doesn’t happen again? We’ll soon get a look ahead.
Expect the likes of Sadie Corey, Annika Gandhi, Brynn Jonker, Madi Smith, Abby Wonnacott, Lily Premo, Haidyn Wegmann and others to really have this team humming.
Northmen lacrosse
Alright, I lied. Last one. I promise.
But I did say there was a lot I was looking forward to following.
The Petoskey lacrosse team is one of the squads that should be fun to keep an eye on.
They head into the season with three players – Charlie Thomas, Austin Klingelsmith and Griffin Riccinto – that have already signed to play at the collegiate level.
It’s still relatively a new sport around the area, so that’s impressive.
They also finished with a 14-3 record a year ago and earned an 18-9 regional win over Lansing Catholic. It was only the second regional win since becoming an MHSAA team.
The likely next step is finding a way past a Traverse City team.
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
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