The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Saline Sports: Year-in-review
PUBLISHED: January 4, 2007
January
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12- The Hornet boys' basketball team remained unblemished with a 53-47 win over Ann Arbor Huron, overcoming a four-point River Rat lead in the final stanza. The win boosted Saline's season mark to a spotless 8-0.
February
9- Vince Helmuth has verbally committed to play fullback for the University of Michigan. He will be Saline's first Big 10 recruit since his half-brother, Chris Baker, signed with Michigan State in the late 1990s. One factor contributing to his decision to play at U of M was the fact that he would be allowed to compete in track and field. "That was one reason I made my commitment so early," Helmuth said.
23- The Saline hockey team defeated Dexter 7-1 to go undefeated in SEC play and win the league title for the first time in the program's five-year history.
March
2- Senior captain Tommy Coleman and junior Joey Everett each qualified for the state wrestling finals after finishing as runner-up and winning their regional competition, respectively. Luke O'Brien, Joe Armstrong, and Jimmy Zak each also competed for Saline at regionals.
2- The possibility of running at college became a reality this week for Eileen Creutz, who committed to compete for the University of Michigan's cross country and track teams. Creutz was the top running prospect in the state, having won the last two state cross country championships.
9- After beating Lincoln 10-0, Bedford 5-3, and Hartland 3-2 to win their third straight regional title, the Saline hockey team defeated Novi 3-2 Tuesday night in state quarterfinal competition. Goalie Brandon Stephenson was the difference in the game, while Josh Nummerdor scored twice and Keith Marsh once for the Hornets.
9- The Hornet volleyball team was bounced from district competition by Adrian in their playoff opener, falling 23-25, 25-23, 26-24 and 25-16. The loss left Saline with a 28-27-1 mark on the season. "We played really well in the first game and had the upper hand in the second, but we couldn't put them away," said Hornet coach Jamie Collins. "That has been the story of our season, unfortunately."
9- Saline's gymnastics team fell short of qualifying for state at this week's regional meet after completing an impressive undefeated dual meet season. Sophomore Paige Cederna qualified for the individual state meet in the floor routine and on the balance beam.
16- The Hornet hockey team served notice that it is ready to play the big boys and win. Although Saline came up short in the state Division 2 title game Saturday, falling 2-1 to Traverse City Central, the big story was how they got there. The Hornets met perennial powerhouse and top-ranked Trenton in the semifinals Thursday night. With a raucous pro-Saline crowd cheering their every move, the Hornets won 3-2 in a dramatic four-overtime thriller. Brad Kerch scored the winner on an assist from Rodney Rutkowski.
16- Saline's boys' basketball team finished the 2005-2005 campaign on a three-game losing skid, falling to SEC rival Dexter 50-41 in the district tournament. The loss dropped Saline's final record to 15-6 after a 15-3 start. Senior guard David Stasiak paced Saline with 14 points, three assists and no turnovers.
16- Saline senior Tommy Coleman finished seventh in the 152-pound weight class at the state tournament last week to earn All-State honors. Coleman was the only Hornet wrestler to compete after Joey Everett was ruled out with a torn meniscus suffered during practice.
16- Despite having only three relay teams and two individuals advance to the second day of competition, the Saline swim team finished 12th at last weekend's state meet with 69 points. Kyle Begley, Connor Christie, Noah Whitener, and Justin Duong's time of 1:37.88 in the 200 medley relay was good enough for All-American honors.
April
6- So the Saline girls' soccer team is 0-3 and hasn't scored a goal yet. So what. Coach Dave Tapping knows his team will start clicking sooner rather than later. "We'll get there," he said, after Saline fell 1-0 to Chelsea.
20- Saline's baseball team has recovered from a season-opening doubleheader sweep against Ann Arbor Huron by winning its last six games. Josh Lancaster and Nick Sheridan got wins as the Hornets swept Canton Tuesday.
May
11- Many of the finest track and field performers in the Midwest were in Dayton last weekend for the Roosevelt Memorial Invitational, and Saline's athletes proved they belonged right there with them. The Hornet medley distance relay team of Amy Luke, Joanne Gabl, Meagan Creutz and Eileen Creutz pulled out an exciting victory in 12:27. On the boys' side, Vince Helmuth won the discus and finished as runner-up in the shot put, earning recognition as the top boy in the field.
25- With state powerhouses Ann Arbor Huron and Pioneer competing in the same regional, the only way for Saline's boys' tennis team to advance to state was to earn 18 points. But every Saline flight won its first match and Zach Geiger advanced to the finals as the Hornets did just that.
25- With senior Hadley Dobbs's 80 leading the way, the Saline girls' golf team shot a 368 at Thursday's regionals. The score was good for third place and a berth at the state tournament. Melissa Merritt shot 91, Sarah Hoffman 93 and Katherine Stewart 104 for the Hornets. This will be Saline's first appearance at state since 2003.
25- The host team Saline Hornets finished second behind Pioneer at last weekend's track regionals in both boys' and girls' competition. Branden Post, Sam Burchyett, Chris King and Eric Williams combined to win the 400-meter relay and finish second in the 800 relay while all four girls' relays qualified for state.
25- As they have for several seasons at the regional level, Okemos prevented Saline from advancing to the state tournament in girls' water polo by defeating the Hornets 11-4. Saline had advanced by defeating Holt-East Lansing 9-4 in district play.
June
1- After winning the SEC Red division championship and defeating West Bloomfield 4-0, the Saline baseball team heads into Saturday's district competition with a 21-9 record.
1- The Hornet softball team will enter the district playoffs on a three-game winning streak after sweeping a doubleheader from Dexter and defeating Wyandotte Roosevelt. Saline finishes with a regular-season record of 14-17.
8- It was midway through last Saturday's state track meet that the idea of a state title began to creep into the mind of Saline boys' track coach Brian Boze. "We felt going in that we had a realistic chance to get second place and lay claim to a trophy," he said. "As the day progressed and it became apparent that (favorite) Pioneer was struggling, we began to get different ideas." That idea became reality when the team won the MHSAA Division 1 state championship, finishing with 39.5 points, nine ahead of runner-up Portage Central. Vince Helmuth led the way by winning state titles in both the discus (his second straight state title) and the shot put.
8- The Saline girls' track team set three school records and tied another en route to an 11th-place finish at Saturday's state meet. Among Saline's All-State relay teams were Mary Rzepka, Taylor Franz, Corrie Castro and Stefanie Gallardo, who finished sixth in the 400-meter relay.
8- It was senior defender Dani Martin's first goal all season. It might be the most important of her high school career. With her team down 1-0 to Dearborn in the Division 1 regional semifinal, Martin lofted a 40-yard free kick into the net to turn the match in the Hornets' favor. Saline would go on to win 5-1 for its first regional victory. Saline has now won eight straight.
8- The Hornet baseball team collected just four hits in a 1-0 loss to Bedford in the team's district opener, ending the team's season. "To lose in the opener of the district was not the way we wanted to remember the end of the season, especially for a great group of seniors," said coach Scott Thiesen.
8- The Saline softball team defeated Bedford 5-3 in the first round of the district playoffs last week — the same team that had swept Saline a month ago. Petra Jones earned the win. But Saline fell 2-0 to Monroe in the district final to end their season. "I can't be disappointed," said head coach Dawn Whitford. "We played outstanding softball."
8- The Saline girls' golf team finished in the state's top 10 by carding a 706 at the two-day state tournament at Forest Akers East Golf Course. The points were good enough for ninth place. Hadley Dobbs paced the Hornets with rounds of 82 and 79.
15- Saline's girls' soccer team finished its 2006 season with a 10-5-3 record after a 4-0 regional final loss to third-ranked Northville.
22- Hornets Andrew Tillman, Brian Bourne and Grant Phillips were awarded All-State honors after Saline lacrosse finished with a 17-2 record on the year and advanced to the regional finals.
August
31- For the second straight year, the Saline football team used the Big Day Prep Showdown to kick its season off with a big win, pounding out a 31-21 victory over Flint Carman-Ainsworth.
September
21- Junior point guard Monica Mezger led the Saline girls' basketball team with 15 points as the Hornets defeated Tecumseh 53-49 in overtime for the team's first win of the season. Saline had started 0-5.
28- The top-ranked Saline boys' golf team broke the all-time school record for a nine-hole competition Thursday in a tri-meet against Ann Arbor Huron and Tecumseh, shooting 139 at its home course of Brookside. The 2006 team now owns both the nine- and 18-hole marks after breaking the latter earlier in the year. By easily defeating Huron and Tecumseh, Saline remained undefeated on the season.
October
5- The Saline Hornets are going to the football playoffs after grabbing their sixth win in dramatic fashion. A late touchdown drive helped the home team turn away previously undefeated Chelsea 37-28. The playoff berth is Saline's third in four years.
5- Asked if he has ever coached a pair of freshmen as talented as the Saline cross country team's Alex Leptich and Kate Carter, coach Mike Smith doesn't take long to answer. "No," he said. "We feel pretty lucky." Both have run well under the 20-miunte mark, helping lead Saline to a state No. 5 ranking.
12- Only a week after going toe-to-toe with No. 2 Huron, the seventh-ranked Saline girls' tennis team nearly dethroned top-ranked Pioneer as SEC champs, falling by a score of 21-19. Only a single set separated the two teams in the closest league meet in SEC history.
19- The Saline football team responded to its first loss of the season in a big way against Dexter Friday, winning 44-6 to clinch the 2006 SEC title. Vince Helmuth ran for a season-high 279 yards in the win.
19- Two postseason steps down, one — the biggest one — to go for the Saline golf team, which won its fifth consecutive regional title Thursday. The Hornets qualified for state in the face of biting winds, icy temperatures, and even an occasional flurry that created conditions coach Carol Melcher called the toughest her teams have ever faced.
19- Thanks to 105 minutes of resolute defending and a bit of good fortune, the Saline boys' soccer team held South Lyon to a scoreless draw through regulation and 14 minutes of overtime before Hornet forward Jay Birko broke free to score a "golden goal," giving his side a thrilling 1-0 victory. With the win, Saline advances to face Canton in Wednesday's district semifinal.
19- For the first time in program history, the Saline girls' tennis team has qualified for the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state finals. Despite the presence of Ann Arbor powers Pioneer and Huron, the Hornets claimed 20 points at Saturday's regionals (they needed only 18) to advance to state.
26- Saline's boys' golf team blew away the field on Day 2 of last weekend's MHSAA Division 1 state tournament, winning the program's first state championship by a whopping 23 strokes. Spencer Slade's 153 was the Hornets' low score. Saline won every event —every tournament, every dual meet — in which they competed in 2006. "We had a perfect season," said junior Matt Paterini, "and this was the perfect ending."
26- The Salem Rocks eliminated Saline's boys' soccer team from the 2006 playoffs Saturday, winning 1-0 in the district finals. The Hornets had advanced to their fourth straight district championship with a penalty-kick shootout upset of No. 5 Canton, but could not get past Salem and finished their up-and-down season at 10-7-4 overall.
November
2- The Hornet boys' cross country team ended a two-year absence from the state finals by comfortably claiming third place at Saturday's regionals, beating fourth-place Bedford 80-115. Not surprisingly, Saline will be joined at state by the Hornet girls, who won their fifth consecutive regional title. Saline's Alex Leptich, Kate Carter and Lindsey Cummings finished 1-2-3.
9- The Saline football team took a step it had never taken before Friday night, defeating rival Ann Arbor Pioneer 27-14 in the District 2 final to advance to a regional final for the first time in program history. The Hornet offense racked up 459 yards, while the Saline defense held Pioneer scoreless for nearly three quarters. "We came out and did what we intended to do," said coach Mike Glennie. "It was an emotional win for us."
9- Led as usual by freshmen Alex Leptich, who finished eighth, and Kate Carter, who placed 22nd, the Saline girls' cross country team finished fourth at the MHSAA Division 1 meet last Saturday, the program's highest Division 1 finish ever. The Saline boys impressed as well, with sophomore Tommy Hunt leading the way to a sixth-place finish.
16- Saline quarterback Kyle Brown threw for a school-record 349 yards as the Hornets desperately tried to erase an early 28-0 deficit, but No. 2 Canton held on for a 56-36 win in Friday's regional final. The Hornets finished the season with a 9-3 record.
16- The Saline girls' basketball team saved its best for last. Monica Mezger hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Saline a thrilling 44-43 home win over Adrian in the team's final regular season game. The Hornets finish the regular season with five wins.
23- More individual swimmers qualified for the state meet than before and there were high hopes for the relays, but the Saline girls' swim team was unable to advance a swimmer or relay to the second day of competition at the 2006 state meet. The 200 freestyle relay team of Ashley Mulder, Sammy Haller, Amanda Casper and Julie Lalonde came closest, finishing 18th.
December
7- Vince Helmuth made his decision to seek early enrollment at the University of Michigan official last week. Helmuth, who will play fullback for Michigan's football team, will begin taking classes at Michigan in January. It will mean giving up his final season of eligibility in track and most of the Hornets' basketball season. "It was hard," Helmuth said. "In the end, it was a decision I needed to make for my career."
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