Four area boys teams earn recognition in first AP Poll, movement in girls ranks

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — Area boys basketball teams are picking up the attention of state-wide Associated Press voters, though there’s still work to be done.

The first batch of Michigan Associated Press Boys Basketball Rankings were released earlier this week for all four divisions, with a number of teams out of Northern Michigan recognized, including three from the area in honorable mention and another ranked.

Petoskey, Boyne City and Mackinaw City all earned honorable mention spots in their respective division, while Gaylord St. Mary was also ranked No. 9 in Division 4.

Petoskey’s honorable mention nod came within the Division 1 poll.

The Northmen (8-3) opened the season with a 5-0 start that included wins over both Brighton (9-2) and Grand Ledge (8-1). Grand Ledge was also within the Division 1 honorable mention, though received more votes than the Northmen.

All three of Petoskey’s losses have come on the road and they’ve also all come against teams receiving at least honorable mention spots in Grand Haven (9-1), Cadillac (8-1) and Ludington (12-0).

Grand Haven is ranked No. 4 in Division 1, Ludington holds the No. 3 ranking in Division 2 and Cadillac earned an honorable mention Division 2 spot. The three hold a combined record of 29-2.

The Northmen have been led on the season by 6-foot-7 senior forward Cade Trudeau, who leads the team in scoring, rebounds and assists. Trudeau has averaged 17.6 points a night, to go with 9.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists.

Both junior guard Shane Izzard and junior guard Jimmy Marshall average double figures as well, with Izzard at 11.5 points a night and Marshall, 11.2 points.

Tough games are still ahead for Petoskey in a matchup with St. John’s (6-3) in Cadillac, a trip to Boyne City (9-1), Mount Pleasant (7-3) at home and another meeting with Cadillac at home.

If not for a season-opening overtime loss just across the bridge in St. Ignace (7-2), the Boyne City boys would be off to an unbeaten start to the season.

The Ramblers (9-1) have been flawless since, which includes wins over Sault Ste. Marie (7-2), Elk Rapids (6-3), Marquette (5-5) and Negaunee (10-3).

They’ve picked up balanced scoring with three players averaging double figures, led by senior Alex Calcaterra and his 19.1 points a game. Calcaterra is also averaging 5.6 rebounds a night.

Mason Wilcox has also contributed 12.1 points and night, senior Jacob Johnson has upped his game to give Boyne an inside presence to the tune of 10.5 points a night and senior Jack Neer returned four games into the season from a fall injury and has contributed some solid performances already.

Boyne City still has the thick of the LMC slate ahead, which includes a pair of games against Division 3 No. 9 ranked Traverse City St. Francis (7-1) and a visit from Petoskey to wrap the regular season.

Within Division 4, a host of Northern Michigan teams pulled in recognition, including Mackinaw City within the honorable mention list.

The Comets (9-2) own two losses on the season by a combined four points, though have rolled through the majority of their schedule.

They earned an impressive early-season win over Onaway (6-2) and currently sit atop the Northern Lakes Conference at 5-1, falling to a hot shooting Harbor Light Christian (6-4) by two.

The Comets currently have four players averaging at least 11 points a game, led by Cooper Whipkey’s 18.8 a night. Whipkey has scored 20 or more in five games.

Lars Huffman also averages 11.7 points, Lucas Bergstrom is averaging 11.5 and Noah Valot, 11.1 points.

In the weeks ahead, Mackinaw City will still meet Rudyard (7-2) and Brimley (8-3), along with Harbor Light, Ellsworth (6-3) and Onaway all a second time.

Also in Division 4 was Gaylord St. Mary (8-1), ranked No. 9. The lone loss for the Snowbirds came against No. 8 ranked Hillman (6-1) in the season opener.

Complete boys rankings can be found below:

Movement in girls rankings

The second set of Michigan AP rankings for girls basketball were also released this week, with area teams on the move up.

Harbor Springs (10-1) picked up its first loss just a day after the rankings were released, falling to Elk Rapids, though came in ranked No. 3 in Division 3, a jump up from No. 4 a week ago.

Also moving up was Mackinaw City (10-0) in Division 4, from No. 8 to No. 7, while Gaylord St. Mary (9-2) moved up from No. 7 to No. 5.

Glen Lake (8-1) still held the No. 1 spot in Division 4, while TC St. Francis (9-1) and TC Central (9-1) were both honorable mention in Division 3 and Division 1, respectively.

Michigan AP Boys Basketball Rankings (1/16):

Division 1

School   Record  Total Points

1. Detroit Cass Tech (4)  (10-0)    74

2. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice  (9-1)       65

3. Muskegon (1)               (8-0)       64

4. Grand Haven  (9-0)       58

5. North Farmington        (7-1)       50

6. Grand Rapids Northview          (9-1)       44

7. Detroit U-D Jesuit        (9-1)       38

8. Grand Blanc   (5-2)       35

9. Ann Arbor Huron         (8-0)       30

(tie) Orchard Lake St. Mary's       (5-3)       30

Others receiving votes: Kalamazoo Central 23, Lansing Waverly 20, Detroit Renaissance 11, Grand Ledge 9, Warren De La Salle 9, Hamtramck 8, Port Huron Northern 6, Rockford 6, Battle Creek Central 5, River Rouge 3, Petoskey 3, Okemos 3, Clarkston 2, Mattawan 2, Detroit Catholic Central 1, Temperance Bedford 1.

Division 2

School   Record  Total Points

1. Romulus Summit Academy (3)               (8-1)       72

2. Warren Michigan Collegiate (1)             (8-1)       66

3. Ludington (1) (11-0)    59

4. Chelsea           (9-0)       58

5. Olivet               (9-0)       45

6. Onsted             (8-1)       41

7. Grand Rapids Catholic Central               (5-3)       39

8. Saginaw          (10-2)    36

(tie) Richmond   (8-1)       36

10. Goodrich      (7-0)       28

Others receiving votes: Warren Lincoln 20, Cadillac 13, Grand Rapids Christian 13, Hart 12, Grand Rapids South Christian 11, Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy 9, Bridgeport 8, Big Rapids 8, Standish Sterling Central 7, Ionia 5, Flint Hamady 4, Wyoming Lee 3, Boyne City 2, Otsego 2, Benton Harbor 1, Chesaning 1, Tecumseh 1.

Division 3

School   Record  Total Points

1. Detroit Loyola (6)        (9-0)       90

2. Flint Beecher (8-1)       80

3. Laingsburg      (10-0)    79

4. Iron Mountain              (8-0)       66

5. Bad Axe           (10-0)    59

6. New Haven     (9-1)       53

7. Niles Brandywine         (7-1)       33

(tie) Watervliet  (6-0)       33

9. Traverse City St. Francis            (6-1)       32

10. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central  (7-2)       28

Others receiving votes: Beal City 25, Napoleon 23, Blanchard Montabella 20, Riverview Gabriel Richard 19, Reading 16, Madison Heights Bishop Foley 12, Grandville Calvin Christian 10, Centreville 10, Mason County Central 7, Saginaw Nouvel 6, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 5, Benzonia Benzie Central 5, Ecorse 4, Reese 3, Cass City 1, Vassar 1.

Division 4

School   Record  Total Points

1. Lake Leelanau St Mary (2)        (9-0)       71

2. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (3)            (7-1)       68

3. Powers North Central (7-0)       61

4. Genesee Christian       (7-1)       55

5. Munising         (10-0)    49

(tie) Taylor Trillium Academy       (7-0)       49

7. Baldwin           (8-0)       41

8. Painesdale Jeffers       (7-0)       36

9. Hillman            (5-1)       32

10. Gaylord St. Mary       (8-1)       28

Others receiving votes: Mio Au Sable 23, Bellevue 16, Rudyard 13, Hillsdale Academy 11, Watersmeet 9, Pittsford 7, Kingston 6, Lake Linden-Hubbell 6, Mackinaw City 5, Ironwood 4, Byron Center Zion Christian 3, Litchfield 3, Detroit University Prep Art & Design 2, Ewen-Trout Creek 1, Kalamazoo Phoenix 1.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Four area boys teams earn recognition in first AP Poll, movement in girls ranks