By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
The Division I girls state lacrosse championship could be determined in the semifinal game prior to the finals on June 9.
That's the word from Erin Stewart, the coach of defending Division I champion Grosse Pointe South, which figures on having a decent shot at returning to the Final Four.
GPS, located near Detroit, was 14-7-1 last season in winning the state title. Stewart is in her first season of coaching the team, which has an 8-4-1 record, but still is expecting to make a move on the state title.
"I think we have a good shot at it again," Stewart said. "In years past, they were fortunate to go all the way. If we get to the state semifinals, we'll probably see one of two teams from Birmingham. That's not saying we'll get out of our region for sure. We're not guaranteed anything. In our division, Birmingham Marion and Birmingham United - they are the other top two teams in the state. We'll have to face one of them to make it to the championship game.
"The competition is stiff. We'll have to fight hard for it. Our defense plays as a unit. They're very good."
Ashley Thiboebau is leading GPS in scoring along with Liz McCaughey. Midfielder Kelly Breen, another senior, is also having a strong season.
Boys Track
Potterville will enter the Division 4 state track finals as defending champions and coach Dan Brunk has the confidence his team can have another impressive performance.
"We had a huge senior class that we graduated last year," Brunk said. "The key was middle distances for us. Ninety percent of our scoring came from our seniors, mainly in the middle distances. We took first, third and fifth in the 800 dash at the state finals."
But winning the title again won't be easy, Brunk acknowledged.
"We have one of the toughest Division 4 conferences in the state. We were third in that," Brunk said, referring to the Central Michigan Athletic Conference. "We finished behind Pewamo-Westphalia and Fowler.
"Looking at the state finals, we can be a top five team again. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores who have stepped up and have contributed. Pewamo and Fowler have good programs. I think we can make some noise at the state finals. Fulton, another league team, could be in the top five at the state finals."
Top performers for Potterville include 400-meter runner Tim Slocum and 800-meter runner Collin Ward.
Girls Softball
Nate Dzwik is off to a good start as varsity coach for Beal City's softball team after moving up from the JV squad prior to this season.
The Aggies are 29-1 but have struggled to advance deep into the postseason in past years, a trend Dzwik is hoping to change.
"Coming into the season, I thought we'd be good," Dzwik said. "I didn't think we'd be something like 29-1."
A third-year varsity player, Lauren Theisen, a junior this season, handles the pitching for the Aggies. She's also batting .523.
"I think we have a chance to go to the state finals," Dzwik said. "But we're in a tough district that also includes Coleman and Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, two very good teams."
Breckenridge handed Beal City - located 65 miles north of Lansing - its only loss, 2-1.
Girls Track
Clarkston was the state runner-up to Ann Arbor Pioneer in the Division I state finals last season, and head coach John Yorke would like to take the next step this spring.
"Our league in Oakland County is pretty tough for Division I teams," Yorke said. "We had a good group of girls last year and the field events were very tough. We had the Morgan sisters, Jenny and Stephanie, who are very strong in the 800 and 3,200 meters. We had three other Division I distance runners, but they've graduated."
Clarkston will compete in the Division I state finals at East Kentwood June 2.
"I don't know if we can be in the top three but we can place pretty high this year," Yorke said. "We were strong enough to win our regional. The state finals will be a little tougher for us."
Standouts for the Clarkston team include Autumn Touchstone, who has a season's best of 14.7 seconds in the 100 hurdles and 46.3 seconds in the 300 hurdles; Stephanie Thorstad with a 5-6 in the high jump and 17-2 in the long jump; Kristen Smith with a 5:12 in the 1,600-meter run and 11:20 in the 3,200-meter run; Stephanie Carlson with a 117-0 in the discus; Jena Manilla and Alisa Swindlehurst with a 5-4 and 5-2 in the high jump; and Dana Johns with 10-0 in the pole vault.
Girls Golf
The state golf finals are June 1-2 and Greenville's girls team figures on at least finishing in the top five in Division 2, and possibly at No. 1.
The girls golf finals are played for divisions 1 and 2 at Michigan State University.
Greenville, under the direction of Nancy Johnson, has won two-straight regional titles.
Kayla Petersen and Katrina Templar both shot 87's to pace the Jackets at the regionals while Katie Saladin was right behind with an 89 and Jessie Marshall shot a 96.
"There's a lot of good players at our regionals," Johnson said. "The state meet will be tough, too.
"We'll work hard to contend. We're ranked fourth in the statewide poll right now and we hope to be in the top five at the state finals."
