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Swim/Dive team wins first meet of season 115-61
Rockford sophomore Cody Brown plows through the water. Photo by GORDY PETERSON
by DENISE WEBB
Rockford Head Coach Tom Parks was all smiles at the end of his first swim/dive meet of the season not because Rockford won 115-61 against Byron Center, but because of how well the men performed both as a team and individually.
“We graduated last year some very fast swimmers with impressive state times,” said Parks. “I was concerned as to how those spots would be filled. If the results of this meet are any indication of how the rest of the season plays out, I’ll be very pleased.”
Sophomore Mike Baumgart competes in the 100-yard freestyle. Photo by GORDY PETERSON
During this meet, there were many accomplishments. Rockford took first place in every event. Also, senior Derik Bothma swam a state-qualifying time of 49.99 in the 100-yard freestyle. Moreover, 13 swimmers and two divers fulfilled their varsity letter requirements, including freshmen Mike Arend, Trenten Babcock and Nick Willison.
Diving coach Marc VanDyken was also pleased with the outcome of this first meet. Senior diver Tyler Johnson and junior diver Kurt Plaggemars both scored personal bests, 212.40 and 188.65, respectively.
Ram junior Jared Martella competes in the 200-yard IM, finishing with a varsity letter time of 2:18.18. Photo by GORDY PETERSON
“Kurt and Tyler have both worked very hard, and it has obviously paid off,” said VanDyken. “Tyler placed 14th at state last year and is looking to make his senior year his best.”
The Rams’ next meet will be at Rockford on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. against Grand Haven.
Standing on a bench, Rockford swim team captains (l–r) Tyler Johnson, Derik Bothma, Brian Ginebaugh, Alex Devries, Connor Thelen and Kyle Peterson congratulate their teammates on a job well done. Photo by GORDY PETERSON
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Rockford wrestlers have strong showing in Kent County Classic
Austin Scogg goes for the pin.
Nine Rams bring home medals
The dual meet with Hudsonville scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 9 was postponed due to the blizzard and will be made up at as part of the Dec. 19 Tom Horn Tournament to be held at Holland High School.
The Rams did see action on Saturday, Dec. 12, in the Kent County Classic held at Union High School. In a tournament that is a precursor for many of the area’s top wrestlers qualifying for state, the Rams came up short in the team total but showed why they plan on being a force as the season progresses.
Bruce Carlstrom ties his Byron Center opponent in knots.
Rockford placed nine wrestlers in medals in the day’s competition. Senior Drew Scogg, 135 pounds, showed heart in battling to a sixth-place finish with a 10-5 defeat in his final match of the day. Despite considerable effort, Scogg was bested by conference foe Joe Curley of East Kentwood.
Finishing fourth was Paul Creighton, 189 pounds, by virtue of a close 4-1 decision to Zack Weir of Stevensville Lakeshore.
Jake Johnson, 160 pounds, found himself wrestling for third place after falling in the semi-final round to Greenville’s Adam Bonner, 3-1 in overtime. After suffering his first defeat, Johnson bounced back, finishing third with a 5-4 decision over Jordan Graham of Big Rapids.
Jake Byers attempts to spladle Nick Trimble in the finals of the Kent County Classic.
Sophomore Austin Scogg, 140 pounds, also found himself wrestling for third place, defeating Tiesean Hatchet of Union, 11-6.
The Rams showed power by placing five wrestlers in the finals, wrestling for first place. Tyler VanRooyen, 103 pounds, found himself trailing 1-0 late in the first period after giving up one point for stalling. He made a strong showing, keeping the match close throughout, but eventually fell in a 2-0 decision to Nick Ross of Comstock Park. VanRooyen brought home the silver medal for second place.
At 145 pounds, Bruce Carlstrom also showed tenacity in a match that changed leads many times. Carlstrom was wrestling the number-one-ranked wrestler in Division II at this weight class. Colin Fuller of Greenville outlasted Carlstrom, winning a 13-7 decision in one of the best matches of the day.
Tyler VanRooyen tries to finish off Peter Cook of Greenville.
In the 215-pound weight class, Joe Stefanski showed why he is a contender for the individual state championship. Battling tough competition all day, Stefanski continually outclassed the field with two of his three wins on the day coming by fall.
In the finals, Stefanski faced Drake Renas of Big Rapids. Stefanski jumped out to an early lead, scoring a first lead takedown in two points. Wrestling the full six minutes for the first time this season, Stefanski walked away with a 4-2 decision and the gold.
Jake Byers attempts to spladle Nick Trimble in the finals of the Kent County Classic.
Jake Dorulla, 170 pounds, was one of the three Ram champions for the tournament. He skillfully outwrestled all comers on this, his first day of competition. He won by fall in the second round at 1:19 and technical fall 16-1 to advance to the finals, where he would face Jordan Thomas of Greenville. Dorulla went all three periods to dispatch Thomas with a 5-2 decision.
In what could have been billed as a premier match-up, Jake Byers, 130 pounds, faced Nick Trimble of Sparta in the finals. Trimble is one of the top-ranked wrestlers at 125 pounds in Division II and went up one weight class to wrestle Byers. Byers reached the finals with two falls and a major decision in the preliminaries.
“The Mighty Joe" Stefanski keeps his opponent off balance to finish with a 4-2 decision over Drake Renas of B ig Rapids.
The match was all it promised to be, as each wrestler grappled for takedowns. Byers met the challenge by taking Trimble to the mat midway through the first period. By virtue of a coin toss, Trimble chose the neutral position for the beginning of the second. Byers again took Trimble to the mat, building a 4-0 lead before Trimble escaped with seconds left in the period.
The third period found Byers starting in the down position and escaping from Trimble, building a 5-1 lead. Trimble showed heart in the match by mounting a small comeback, but eventually fell to Byers in a close 7-6 decision.
Next up for the Rams is state-ranked Jenison at Jenison on Wednesday, Dec. 16. On Saturday, Dec. 19, Rams compete at the Tom Horn team tournament at Holland. On Tuesday, Dec. 22, the Rams will travel to Lowell where they will face Division I’s number-two-ranked team, the Red Arrows, and the Division II second-ranked Stevensville at the Lakeshore as well as Main South, a highly-touted team from Chicago, Ill.
Tyler VanRooyen tries to finish off Peter Cook of Greenville.
Coach Richardson said, “This quad will prove to be a major test on the road to achieving our goals for the 2009-2010 season.”
Richardson would like to see his team win the OK Red conference with a 7-0 dual meet record, win the Division I, district, regional and state titles.
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Reader shares eagle photos
Thank you to the reader who took these beautiful pictures of eagles spotted at Bostwick Lake. The photos were taken just before the first big snow of the year. Unlike many birds, raptors such as eagles do not migrate, but stay for the winter. Perhaps more pictures of these majestic birds will show up this winter. Email Squiremail@aol.com. Print This Story
School Beat — December 17, 2009
December 17, 2009 · Filed Under School Beat · CommentThe Good, the bad, the ugly
by MICHAEL S. SHIBLER, Ph.D.
Superintendent of SchoolsThe Good—This fall, Rockford’s marching band took third place in the state in Division I competition. This is the strongest rating our marching band has ever earned in recent history. Congratulations!
Several of our athletic teams won district and regional championships. Congratulations to Rockford’s boys water polo team, who won their seventh state title over the past 10 years. Their achievement was especially gratifying because the team was not considered a threat during tournament play.
New classroom expansions, paid through the 2008 bond issue, at Cannonsburg, Lakes, Roguewood, and Valley View elementary schools are now ready for students. Planning continues for classroom additions to Belmont and Crestwood elementary schools. District-wide technology upgrades along with recreation and athletic field additions continue toward completion and within budget.
Rockford’s academic and fine arts programs continue to exceed the high expectations established by staff, students and community. The successes our students experience in the classroom continue to validate Rockford’s outstanding academic programs.
The Bad—Since the early 2000s, bi-partisan organizations such as the Citizens Research Council and University of Michigan economists, have been predicting that the current system to fund public education would soon be broken. Well, it’s almost 2010, and the system is on life support with barely a pulse.
With the 1994 implementation of Proposal A, school districts currently receive two-thirds of their revenue through state sales and income taxes and one-third from property taxes. With Michigan’s high unemployment rate and significant downsizing of manufacturing, revenues from state sales and income taxes are below expectations, and revenue from property taxes are barely neutral, creating what is called a “structural deficit.”
A structural deficit exists when revenues to fund essential services, such as police, fire and education, are less than required to maintain existing programs. Most experts will tell you that state government cannot “cut their way” out of a structural deficit and that new or expanded revenue resources must be created. Even in a severely stressed economy, Michigan lawmakers have the means to restructure the funding system for essential services. But the question still remains: “Does the will exist?”
If Michigan’s current system to fund public education is broken because of the structural deficit, how is Rockford Public Schools affected? Below is a brief snapshot of how our school system has been adversely impacted:
• June 2009—FREEZE—The Rockford Board of Education adopted the district’s 2009-10 budget based on a freeze in funding from the state of Michigan. The freeze required a reduction of $2.1 million in programs and staff.
• September 2009—CUT—The state legislature presented a school aid budget to the governor with a reduction of $165 per student. This reduction required Rockford Public Schools (RPS) to make an additional $1.7 million in staff and program cuts.
• October 2009—CUT—Governor Granholm determined that the state legislature’s 2009-10 school aid budget was significantly short of revenue and issued an executive order cut of an additional $127 per student, requiring RPS to find an additional $1 million in staff and program cuts.
The state legislature and governor’s inability to agree on the means to reduce these cuts to public schools means RPS must reduce the 2009-10 budget by $292 per student, which equates to $2.7 million in staff and program cuts midway through the school year.
In summary, since June 2009, RPS has been placed in the unfortunate position of having to reduce programs and staff by $4.8 million. In my opinion, this is unacceptable!
However, next summer could get potentially much worse.
The Ugly—Between January and April 2010, if the state legislature and governor are unable to work cooperatively to fix the structural deficit, the 2010-11 School Aid Fund is projected to be under-funded by $500 to $700 per student. For RPS, that equates to an additional $4 to $6 million in program and staff cuts. That number does not take into account variable cost increases such as electricity, heating, fuel, insurance, etc.
This scenario will seriously compound the $4.8 million in program and staff reductions which took place in 2009-10, and it will be impossible for the RPS to continue to provide the exemplary opportunities currently offered to students.
If Michigan lawmakers are unable to do their jobs and fix the structural deficit in the School Aid Fund, the funding crisis in 2010-11 will deteriorate to the point where it will be impossible to attract new businesses and families to Michigan.
Today, realistic solutions to solve the structural deficit exist, and it is the responsibility of our state legislature and governor to work together to determine these solutions. Governor Granholm, Representative Pearce, and Senator Jansen need to hear from YOU. I encourage you to ask them to resolve the structural deficit in the School Aid Fund (contact information for all legislators can be found at www.rockfordschools.org under “Legislative Information”).
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you.
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Mobile pantry project delivers 5,000 pounds of food to Rockford church
Everyone is feeling the pinch of these tough economic times, especially food banks. In an effort to help these charities, the Fifth Third Foundation awarded Feed America West Michigan Food Bank a grant to distribute 50,000 pounds of food to needy people in Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon, Ionia, Allegan, and Montcalm counties.
On Monday, November 16, volunteers from Fifth Third Bank worked in partnership with St Stephen Evangelical Lutheran to deliver 5,000 pounds of food using Feed America’s mobile food pantry. This food will help replenish the church’s resources and reduce food cost for needy families.
“With Fifth Third’s help in providing both funding and volunteers, together we were able to deliver at least 50 pounds of food each to more than 160 families yesterday; families that are our friends and neighbors throughout the Rockford and North Kent County area,” said Jerry Field, Director of Missional Life at St. Stephen Lutheran Church. “At an average family size of three to four people, this means that we were able to positively impact the lives of 500 to 600 persons in need.”Michigan families, especially children, are facing a difficult holiday season. In Michigan, 11.8 percent of Michigan residents we are facing food insecurity, 16.2 percent are children. Food banks like St. Stephen’s offer families an opportunity to augment their growing needs.
St. Stephen Lutheran holds this event the third Monday of each month, year-round. If you are interested in volunteering to help St. Stephen Lutheran’s food pantry, please visit: www.sselc.org, or to learn more about the Feed America, visit: http://feedingamerica.org.
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