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Rockford wins ninth conference championship with fierce momentum
by DENISE WEBB
Shoulder-to-shoulder spectators and fans witnessed a Rockford historical moment as the underdog prevailed on February 25-27 at the Rams’ natatorium at the conclusion of what Head Coach Tom Parks coined a “dog fight season.” Rockford overtook six extremely fast and talented OK Red conference teams to secure its second consecutive conference championship title and its ninth overall since 1997.
Rockford’s swim and dive team wins the OK Red conference championship title. Pictured are seniors Derik Bothma, Andrew Denhof, Alex Devries, Brian Ginebaugh, Tyler Johnson, Andrew Murray, Kyle Peterson, Ian Roslaniec, Connor Thelen; juniors Ben Fredrickson, Jared Martella, LJ McCauley, Tim Newberger, Kurt Plaggemars, Jeff Schmitt, Dominick Sheridan; sophomores Cody Brown, Eric Chisholm, Drew Cornelius, Allyn Kinney, Nathan Napolillo, Daniel Newberger, Ben Pitts, Alex Savage, Jared Seifert, Michael Staley, Josh Travis, Bryan Wasberg, Harrison Webb; freshmen Mike Arend, Trenten Babcock, Corey Fase, Justin Hulsebus, Noah Markel, Nick Willison; and the coaching staff, Head Coach Tom Parks, assistant coaches Dave McWatters and Amanda Gorga, Diving Coach Marc VanDyken, and team managers Jessica Cutler and Erica Cutler.
Rockford won with 368 points, followed by Grandville (338), Holland West Ottawa (317), Jenison (294), East Kentwood (269), Hudsonville (240) and Grand Haven (186).
“Based on the entries going into the preliminaries on Thursday [Feb. 25], Grandville was ahead 32 points,” said Parks.
Also on Mlive.com, The Grand Rapids Press ranked Rockford on February 25 third behind favored West Ottawa and then Grandville.
“I think one of the main reasons why we had so much success this weekend was due to the development of our younger swimmers,” commented swim parent Brian Thelen. “Rockford’s team improved at a greater rate than some of the upperclassmen of the other schools, such as Grandville and West Ottawa. What I am saying is that we were a completely different team than what we were at our first dual meet with Grandville where we lost. Also, Tom Parks and [assistant coach] Dave McWatters did well at determining how to best use our talents in each event.”
Starting the three-day conference championship meet, Rockford was in a three-way tie with Grandville and West Ottawa, each with a 5-1 conference record.
Thursday evening, Feb. 25, was diving preliminaries. Of the 21 contenders, only the top 16 would advance to the finals on February 27. Of Rockford’s five divers, four of them advanced to the finals, with three of them impressively placing in the top eight spots. These divers were Tyler Johnson (top eight), LJ McCauley (top eight), Noah Markel and Kurt Plaggemars (top eight).
“The divers got the momentum going for the team,” said swimmer Connor Thelen.
As the Rams walked onto the pool deck of Rockford’s natatorium Friday, Feb. 26, for the swimming preliminaries, the fans and the competition knew there was something totally different about the Rockford swimmers. as they bellowed their pre-meet pool deck cheer. The intonation had more depth and meaning, almost with an underlying message. Their cheer appeared to be more like an animal’s territorial warning as the Rams’ voices became louder and louder with every breath. The cheer seemed to be sending the message that they weren’t relinquishing their waters, as they did to Grandville early in the regular season losing by nine points, or letting someone else claim their territory as OK Red conference champs.
“We were so hyped Friday night,” said Harrison Webb. “We swam like there were no Saturday finals. We treated Friday night as though it was the finals.”
Webb was right. They swam like there was
no tomorrow.
“With every good swim or win we had, the whole team got more excited and wanted to do their best as well,” said Thelen.
One of the many mind-blowing highlights of the swimming preliminaries occurred when senior Alex Devries broke a 2001 pool record (53.90) in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.83.
“Breaking the pool record in the 100-yard butterfly still seems surreal to me, not trying to sound cliché,” Devries said. “I am so happy to know that swimming year-round for ten years has truly paid off.”
Also at Friday’s preliminaries, three more Rockford swimmers qualified for the state finals on March 12 and 13 in Holland. They were Ben Fredrickson in the 100-yard butterfly (53.67), Jared Martella in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.17), and Josh Travis in the 100-yard backstroke (55.93). In addition to these three impressive state times, an abundance of Rockford swimmers swam personal bests. Some of the most astounding improved times were in the 500-yard freestyle. Many of Rockford’s swimmers took at least five seconds off their seed time up to an amazing 20 seconds by senior Andrew Murray (5:50.90 to 5:30.77). Other improved
500-yard freestyle swimmers were sophomores Michael Staley (5:40.43 to 5:31.43), Alex Savage (5:28.28 to 5:21.46) and Jared Seifert (5:26.84 to 5:19.73), and freshmen Michael Arend (5:25.71 to 5:13.64), Trenten Babcock (5:12.26 to 5:05.00) and Justin Hulsebus (5:42.12 to 5:36.76). Babcock was the only Ram who advanced onto Saturday’s finals in this event to win an 11th-place finish. He again improved his seed time at the finals to 5:04.76.
The results of Thursday’s and Friday’s preliminaries “put us in the right position,” said Parks. Rockford had 16 swimmers and three divers qualify for Saturday’s final meet. Of the 11 swimming events, Rockford had at least one, and sometimes three, in the top eight of the possible 16 swimming positions.
Saturday’s final meet encompassed more notable moments and continued to demonstrate the speed of the swimmers as every individual event had at least the top six finishes with state-qualifying times.
One example of Rockford’s speed was shown right off the block for the first event. The relay team of Derik Bothma, Fredrickson, Brian Ginebaugh and Travis (1:37.06) set three records with one swim. Not only did they crush the existing 2004 pool record by 1.5 seconds (1:38.56), but they also earned All American consideration. Additionally, The Grand Rapids Press on MLive.com (March 4, 2010) placed this talented relay team as number one for its Grand Rapids area leaders.
Bothma stated that this was the first time this group had swum together in a relay. Rockford’s coaching staff definitely found the right recipe for success.
“It was the greatest feeling to see that we broke the record,” said Bothma. “I am very proud of the team. Every one of us had a major role to play, and this was a sweet reward for all the hard work throughout the season.”
“Friday night [at preliminaries] we were discussing what times we had to go individually to beat the pool record,” said Fredrickson. “At that moment, we got really pumped up and realized it would be possible. We swam our hearts out and accomplished our goal.”
“I would give the coach a lot of credit for having the confidence in his team’s ability to change events or put together relay teams that had never swum together,” said B. Thelen.
Another example of Rockford’s speed was displayed in event three, the 200-yard IM. Four Rockford swimmers placed in the top 16 finishes. Bryan Wasberg earned an impressive third with a state time and personal best of 2:00.55, followed by another Rockford state time and personal best by Ginebaugh in sixth (2:03.07). With these strong finishes, both Wasberg and Ginebaugh earned spots on the Grand Rapids area leaders list as seventh and tenth, respectively. Jeff Schmitt and Martella also placed in this event at seventh (2:04.52) and 13th (2:09.68), respectively.
In event five, diving, Johnson placed third for Rockford with 353.35 points, behind Jenison’s Nate Rietberg (432.50 points) and Grand Haven’s Mike Vaandering (397.85). McCauley secured fifth (328.05 points), followed by Plaggemars in seventh (313.10) and Markel in 15th (247.75).
With three of the divers placing in the top seven positions, “Rockford outscored all opponents by 10 points in overall team points,” said Diving Coach Marc VanDyken. “How well the guys placed is an indication of the team’s depth. Our goal for Tyler, Kurt and LJ was to have them place in the top eight, and they did.”
In event six, the 100-yard butterfly, nine out of the top ten finishes were extraordinary state-qualifying times. Of those top 10 finishes, Rockford was responsible for four of them.
Devries placed first in the butterfly with another pool record, breaking his own from the day before (52.79). Fredrickson placed second and improved his existing state time by .38. Both Devries and Fredrickson were placed second and fourth on the Grand Rapids Press list. Swimming more state times, Wasberg placed eighth (57.48), followed by Travis in tenth (55.27).
Another grand first-place finish for Rockford was claimed by Ginebaugh (59.80) in event 11, the 100-yard breaststroke.
“I broke a minute,” exclaimed Ginebaugh. This win was a personal best for Ginebaugh and is his second consecutive year to place first in this event at conference.
Others who also placed in this event were: Martella (1:04.23, seventh), Thelen (1:04.25, 11th), and Ian Rosloniec (1:05.85, 12th).
What an accomplished weekend it was for Rockford. The Rams secured 25 medals (first through eight places) in 10 out of the 12 events.
Other state time qualifiers and medal and point winners not mentioned previously are: Devries (state-qualifying 1:49.63, seventh place), Babcock (1:52.07, 11th), and Nick Willison (1:55.96, 15th) in the 200-yard freestyle; Bothma (state-qualifying 22.06, fourth), Eric Chisholm (state-qualifying 22.62, seventh), and Fredrickson (23.14, 14th) in the 50-yard freestyle; Bothma (state-qualifying 49.21, fourth), Schmitt (50.32, 10th), and Chisholm (50.96, 13th) in the 100-yard freestyle; Babcock (5:04.76, 11th) in the 500-yard freestyle; Bothma, Chisholm, Schmitt and Wasberg (state-qualifying 1:30.37, fifth) in the 200-yard freestyle relay; Travis (state-qualifying 55.56, fourth), Willison (58.18, eighth), Kyle Peterson (1:01.80, 14th), and Tim Newberger (1:02.35, 15th) in the 100-yard backstroke.
“We all had great races,” said Ben Pitts. “It was nice that we finished the season so well.”
This championship meet concludes the season for many, but nine Ram swimmers continue on to compete March 12 and 13 at the state level in Holland. They are swimmers Derik Bothma, Eric Chisholm, Alex Devries, Ben Fredrickson, Brian Ginebaugh, Jared Martella, Jeff Schmitt, Josh Travis and Bryan Wasberg. The divers are determined after Tuesday’s regional meet.
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Rockford Rams skaters end season in Big Rapids
After a tough and injury-plagued regular season, the Rockford Rams varsity hockey team had a great three-game post-season run in district regionals, finally falling to Traverse City West, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon, March 6 at Ferris State University.
Round one, played on Monday, March 1, had the Rams face a very determined Creston City team. The Rams easily got past Creston City 10-0, with the game ending after two periods.
Jon Miller fights for the puck against an East Kentwood player. Photo by MICHELE VANDERVELDE
Round two brought a huge post-season highlight, as the Rams again found themselves facing their archrival, the East Kentwood Falcons, on Wednesday, March 3 at home. Everyone knew this was a big one, especially since the Rams knocked the Falcons down to Tier II next year after beating them in regular season game on February 24, 4-3. In front of a very large and supportive crowd of parents, families, friends and students, the Rams moved on to round three, beating the Falcons in a real thriller, 5-3.
In period one, the Falcons came out skating for revenge as both teams felt each other out. Each team took three total penalties, as it proved to be a back-and-forth battle until senior forward Jake Chaffee scored on the Ram power play at the 1:18 mark, making it 1-0 Rams to end the period.
Jake Chaffee brings the puck into the zone. Photo by MICHELE VANDERVELDE
Period two had the Rams starting on the penalty kill. As both teams continued to be put in the box, the Falcons finally capitalized on the mayhem with a power play score at the 3:46 mark, making it a tie game. However, the Rams roared back and ignited the crowd when senior forward Alex Fox, positioned perfectly at the side of the Falcons’ net, put one in for the Rams at the 2:59 mark, making it 2-1 Rams. Unfortunately, the Falcons struck back and evened the score again less than a minute later, ending the very heated and hectic second period, 2-2.
Alex Fox takes a Traverse City West skater out of the play. Photo by MICHELE VANDERVELDE
Period three was “do or die” and both teams knew it. The losing team was done for the season and it was going to be the last game for their seniors. The Rams scored early at the 13:16 mark when senior defenseman Robert Perry made it 3-2 Rams. After a Falcon penalty barely a minute later, the power play door opened for the Rams. Unfortunately, the Ram unit just couldn’t make it work, as the Falcons actually scored what they thought was a short-handed goal at the 11:42 mark. However, it was waived off by the referees.
Eric Datema skates around a Traverse City West player. Photo by MICHELE VANDERVELDE
Both sides continued to pound hard and fight for every inch of ice until the Rams put another one in at the 10:41 mark, with Perry scoring again. Assists went to senior forward Noah Greco and senior forward Eric Conroy.
What followed was 10 minutes of an outstanding and well-played hockey game from both sides. Although the Rams were again penalized two more times at the 8:46 and 5:31 marks, the Rams’ penalty kill unit stepped up big and did their job successfully. As the Rams smelled a win, the Kentwood crowd lit up with 2:55 left in the game as the Falcons found the back of the Rams’ net, closing the gap to 4-3 with two minutes left to play.
Following, was true heart and determination as the Ram skaters held on and stopped every Falcon advance, even allowing Chaffee an empty netter with :03 seconds left to play, sealing the Falcons’ fate with a 5-3 Ram win, sending the Rams on to round three in Big Rapids.
On Saturday afternoon, March 6, the Rams faced Traverse City West in round three regional action. Unfortunately for the Rams, it was not meant to be, as they fell to the Titans 3-1.
Although the game easily could have went to either team, the Rams’ only score came on a third period power play when Greco found the Titan net at the 14:21 mark, evening the score at 1-1.
However, fate was not on the Rams’ side, as the Titans scored again with 10:40 left to play, going up 2-1 on the Rams. The Ram power play unit did have an opportunity with a Titan penalty at the 5:34 mark. However, it again appeared not to be, as the Rams weren’t able to capitalize. The Titans sealed Ram fate with another score at the 1:27 mark, making it 3-1 Titans and ending the season for the Rockford Rams varsity hockey team 2009-2010. Again, hats off to junior goalie Taylor Newton for outstanding play and keeping the score close.
Senior skaters leaving the ice for the last time as proud Rockford Ram varsity hockey players and deserving recognition for great careers are: Cody Cantu, Jake Chaffee, Eric Conroy, Alex Fox, Geoff Garman, Noah Greco, Jon Miller, Robert Perry, Caleb Przybylski, Christian VanPortfliet and Drake Veitenheimer.
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Hockey now part of Great American Rivalry Series
The U.S. Marine Corps presents Jake Chaffee (#22) with a $500 scholarship during the Great American Rivalry Series game against East Kentwood on February 24. Proud parents are Dave and Kathy Chaffee.
The Great American Rivalry Series is sponsored by United States Marine Corps. They started out nationally highlighting football games, but this year marks the inaugural season of ice hockey in the series.
Select schools from around the nation are invited to participate in the Rivalry Series. These schools have always had “their game”—a traditional rivalry going back many years. Thousands of players have participated in this memorable event, and every year the rivalry creates its own special memories. It is “the game” the whole community looks forward to and talks about all year long.
The Rivalry Series not only celebrates high school football and now hockey, it embraces its excitement, traditions and history. A donation is given to the host team for their football/hockey program as well as two college scholarships awarded to a player from each team in the rivalry.
The Great American Rivalry Series strives to preserve the integrity of amateur sports and to bring “every player” something to remember for the rest of their life.
One of these Rivalry Series ice hockey games was the Rockford Rams versus East Kentwood Falcons on Wednesday, Feb. 24, on Rockford’s home ice. The Rams prevailed, winning 4-3.
The Rams were presented the Great American Rivalry Series cup, and the Rams’ Jake Chaffee was selected to receive the college scholarship for having the highest grade-point average of the team—a 4.02.
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Lady Rams move on to regional basketball competition
The Lady Rams raise the district championship trophy.
Two of the top Class A teams in the area squared off in the MHSAA girls basketball district finals last Friday night, March 5, in Greenville. This game promised to be an exciting contest and was a rematch of last year’s district finals match-up.
Both Rockford and Northview jumped out to a fast and furious start, each trying to stake their claim and set the tone in this all-or-nothing championship game. In the end, the Lady Rams came out victorious with a 50-40 win. After four hard-fought quarters of outstanding basketball, the Rockford Rams hoisted the district championship trophy.
This game featured a strong Ram team defensive effort and a balanced scoring attack. Rockford was led in points by sophomore Kimberly Weston’s 15, followed by senior Megan Kelly (14), senior Al Huyser (11), and sophomore Halle Peterson (6). Huyser also led all players with 11 total rebounds.
“I’m so happy for the these seniors,” said Head Coach Jessica Yonkers. “They’ve worked so hard for so long.”
Rockford senior Megan Kelley sets up the Ram offense.
Rockford’s game plan included shutting down Northview’s two leading scorers, senior guard Danielle Kaputska and Katelyn Joyce. Constant pressure defense and allowing very few open-look three-point opportunities for the Wildcats was key to the Rams’ win.
The Rams’ victory puts them into state regional competition beginning Tuesday, March 9 and concluding Thursday, March 11 at Cedar Springs High School. Joining the Rams will be OK Red teams West Ottawa and Grand Haven, along with the Marquette Redettes. The winner will advance to the state quarterfinals next week.
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Dorulla takes state wrestling championship, four others place
Pox knocks Stefanski from title defense
by TIM COOPER
Tyler VanRooyen works for a takedown on his way to a seventh-place finish. Photo by JIM COOPER
On the verge of defending his individual state championship title at 215 pounds, a childhood illness knocked senior Joe Stefanski out of the competition when he contracted chicken pox, ending his high school wrestling career one week early. Stefanski is bound for the University of Ohio next fall where he intends to play football.
Six other Rockford wrestlers walked the floor of the Palace of Auburn Hills in the grand march on Thursday, March 4.
The state individual high school wrestling tournament begins each year with 896 wrestlers parading their school colors before cheering fans and families. This year over 44,000 wrestling fans attended the three-day event, culminating with the individual championship matches on Saturday night, March 6.
Jake Scholten tilts Chris Bohacek of Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse. Photo by JIM COOPER
Following the opening ceremonies, six Rockford wrestlers participated in the first round of action. Senior Jake Scholten (119) led the Ram attack with a 7-1 victory over Detroit Catholic Central’s Matt Thompson.
The 125-pound match saw senior Jake Byers win a 15-5 major decision over Dan Jaijo of Troy. Byers used numerous takedowns in his dominance of Jaijo, earning his advance to the second round.
Sophomore Austin Scogg faced a tough opponent in Detroit Catholic Central’s Justin Melick, the eventual 135-pound champion. Scogg fell into the consolation bracket when Melick pinned him at the 1:58 mark of the match.
Takedowns and releases seemed to be the order of senior Jake Johnson’s opening match in the 160-pound bracket. Johnson achieved 12 takedowns, building a 24-10 major decision over Matt Schodowski of New Baltimore Anchor Bay. Johnson, the runner-up in last year’s 160-pound tournament, showed he was determined to get back to the finals.
Jake Johnson rides his opponent in the state individual finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Photo by JIM COOPER
Defending state champion at 171 pounds, senior Jake Dorulla dominated his first opponent, Ryan Erps of Pinkney. In this match Dorulla proved why he is the top-ranked wrestler in his weight class in the state of Michigan. This highly recruited wrestler has committed to Eastern Michigan University where he will continue his wrestling career next fall.
First-time state qualifier, sophomore Tyler VanRooyen also found himself dropping into the consolation bracket when he lost a 7-1 decision to Macomb L’Anse Creuse North’s Lucas Banning.
Early Friday morning, the two wrestlers in the consolations were back at work. Austin Scogg (135) took his only win of the weekend with a 3-1 decision over Nick Burt of Millford. In the 103-pound match VanRooyen made short work of Rochester Adams’ John Ko, pinning him in 54 seconds.
Jake Dorulla stands tall as the 171-pound state champion. Photo by JIM COOPER
In the championship bracket, all four Ram wrestlers advanced to the semifinals. Scholten (119) defeated Chris Bohacek of Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse with a 16-1 technical fall. Byers continued on his quest, defeating Jeff Sloney of Clarkston 10-6. In the 160-pound quarterfinal, Johnson downed Keith Zech of Canton 10-4. Dorulla (171) faced a tough Rochester opponent, defeating him 12-4. Dorulla proved to be a master on his feet, taking down his opponent numerous times, building to the final tally.
In the blood round, Scogg fell in a tough 1-0 decision to a Portage Central wrestler, putting a cap on Scogg’s season, falling just short of All State honors.
At 103 pounds, VanRooyen turned around a match that had no scoring in the first two rounds. VanRooyen fell behind early in the third, but tied the score before the period ended. In overtime, both wrestlers were on their feet, trying for sudden victory, when VanRooyen used a double-leg takedown to score two points and end the match victorious.
In semifinal action, Scholten, the number-two-ranked 119-pound wrestler in the state, wrestled Alec Morradian of Detroit Catholic Central. Morradian, a former state champion at 112 pounds, proved to be too tough in this overtime thriller. With the match tied at two after six minutes, both wrestlers were unable to score during the first three overtime periods. In the fourth overtime period, Morradian was able to ride Scholten for the full 30 seconds and win the match.
Byers pinned his semifinal opponent in 1:17, advancing him to the state finals.
Jake Byers wrestles in the individual finals at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Saturday, March 6. Photo by JIM COOPER
At 160 pounds, Johnson wrestled a game opponent in Pontiac’s D’Oneti Polk. Johnson won a tough-fought 6-5 decision, placing him in the finals for the second time.
In anther overtime thriller, Dorulla defeated Mike Andering of Holt 7-5.
On Saturday morning, VanRooyen fell into seventh- and eighth-place matches when he was defeated by Detroit Catholic Central’s DJ Fagan 2-0. VanRooyen went on to win the seventh-place match with a fall in 3:31 over Hudsonville’s Zack Henderson.
Austin Scogg earns a 3-1 victory over Nick Burt of Millford on Friday, March 5. Photo by JIM COOPER
Scholten bounced back from his previous loss, showing the mark of a true champion. He defeated Cameryn Jackson of Lansing Eastern 3-0 and Brendan Papin of Bellview 8-1 to finish in third place.
In the finals, Rockford’s Byers put his 46-0 record on the line against Ben Methieson of Holt. Byers held a 4-3 lead after the first two periods before Methieson took control of the match in the third. Methieson scored six points, escaping from Byers and taking him down, turning him for a near-fall. For the second straight season, the Eastern Michigan-bound Byers finished runner-up.
The 43-7 Johnson faced Lowell’s Jackson Morris, Michigan’s highest-recruited wrestler. This match showed why Morris has this honor as he scored at will. Three of Johnson’s seven losses this season were at the hands of the Lowell wrestler. Johnson escaped twice during the match, but was unable to stop Morris from winning his third state championship 7-2.
Jake Dorulla ties up Ryan Olep of Lowell in the final match of Dorulla’s high school career. Photo by JIM COOPER
The final Rockford wrestler to take to the mat in the 171-pound finals was Dorulla. For the second straight match, Dorulla struggled to score. Against Lowell’s Ryan Olep, Dorulla built a small offense in the second period, taking Olep to the mat after Olep escaped. Olep escaped a second time, tying the score at 2-2. In the third, Dorulla put Olep away with two escapes and a takedown, snatching a 6-4 victory and his second state title.
Coach Brian Richardson said, “Jake Dorulla got a tough win in our last match against Lowell again. I couldn’t be more happy or proud of him. What a fantastic career for Jake. The kids got so much talent and he proved what a great wrestler he is. I am proud of all our kids. We had six of them down here and each one of them took at least one win this weekend.”
While fans congratulate this year’s Ram wrestlers on a strong season and individual accomplishments, a former Ram also won a conference championship. On Sunday, Ben Bennett, now at Central Michigan University, won a Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship when he defeated Keith Witt of Bowling Green with a technical fall at the seven-minute mark of his match.
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