Petoskey XC competes in Portage, Northmen soccer takes on DeWitt homecoming

PORTAGE — Outside of the regional race ahead, there may not be a better race in the state of Michigan to prepare a team for the state finals than a trip to Portage.

With more than 40 Division 2 programs alone and equally the same amount in the other three division races, there’s no shortage of competition to put your runners up against.

So, Petoskey’s cross country teams made the trip down.

The Northmen boys earned a ninth place finish overall within the Division 2 race, while the girls placed 14th and had three runners inside the top 40, impressive considering more than 295 runners took part.

“We had a pretty good run at Portage yesterday,” Petoskey coach Dave Farley said. “It is the best simulation we see of a championship meet all season. We got to see eight or nine of the top teams in the state in our division, as well as almost everyone in our region. So it was a good test.

“Conditions were pretty good, if anything a little dry, making the course a little dusty. The course is not what I would call a PR course. There is some loose, sandy footing and some hills.”

In the girls race, Petoskey’s CamBrie Corey finished just outside the top 10, taking an 11th place finish in 18 minutes, 57.1 seconds.

Petoskey’s Madeline Loe then placed 19th in 19:21.8, Nora O’Leary placed 37th in 19:48.3; Lauren Cole, 158th (22:18); Madeline Pacola, 191st (22:52); Kate Farley, 207th (23:10); and Sydney Hoffman, 242nd (24:09).

For the Northmen boys’ team, Shane Izzard’s 23rd place finish led the way in 16:11.1.

Tommy Farley then placed 73rd in 17:10.4, Jack Lindwall was 76th in 17:13.6; Parker Fettig, 94th (17:21); Gavin Towner, 112th (17:41); Simon Licata, 131st (17:51); and Dylan Odenbach, 139th (17:56).

With a race so far away and with so many teams in attendance, Petoskey’s Farley wanted to take the time to thank his assistant coaches, Mike Atchison, Kayla Stout and Kim Block, for helping everything go smooth.

“Portage was a long trip – an overnight – away,” said Farley. “We could not have gone without Kim to stay back and keep the home-fire burning with the JV crew. Also, thank you to parent Amy Corey, who shuttled athletes down to the meet.”

He also thanked head soccer coach Zach Jonker, as the boys cross country team and soccer share athletes. Cross country took a pair out of Jonker’s lineup for a Friday night game in DeWitt.

“We share athletes and we had part of his defensive backfield with us,” added Farley. “We share again on the District opener night, when we host the BNC Championships. Thankfully, we share well.”

SOCCER

DeWitt 2, Petoskey 0

DEWITT — The Petoskey boys’ soccer team picked up a late add non-conference matchup with DeWitt Friday, though took a 2-0 loss from one of the top squads in Division 2.

It came as DeWitt’s homecoming night in front of a large crowd that was supposed to be watching some Friday night football, though a cancellation then brought the Northmen south.

“DeWitt was maybe the best team we have matched up with all season and featured a Ukrainian refugee who was possibly the smoothest player we have had to try to contain this year,” Petoskey head coach Zach Jonker said. “It was a fantastic experience for our kids. DeWitt had 2,000-plus fans there since it was originally scheduled as a football game versus Okemos. The atmosphere was electric and it was unlike any other high school soccer game I've been part of.”

Petoskey had close chances in both halves against DeWitt, including a hard shot from Sawyer Webster in the first half and direct free kick from Aidan Norton that clanked off the crossbar in the second half.

Petoskey (13-7-1) next closes the regular season on Monday, Oct. 10 against Gaylord at home, before awaiting their district opponent.

VOLLEYBALL

Petoskey at St. Johns

ST. JOHNS — The Petoskey volleyball team continued its busy weekend schedule with a trip to St. Johns over the weekend, where they fell just out of pool play.

Within pool play, Petoskey earned a win over Laingsburg (25-21, 25-22), tied East Lansing (25-11, 23-25) and then defeated Lansing Christian (25-23, 25-13).

Placing first in their pool, Petoskey then met up with Ionia within the gold bracket, where they earned a win to start, the dropped the next two (25-15, 23-25, 8-15).

Caitlyn Matelski finished with 20 kills on the day, Lucy Tarachas had 50 digs, Brynn Jonker had 16 kills and Reagan Walsh had 13 kills.

Jonker also added eight aces and seven blocks and Katie Parker had 54 assists and 11 kills.

Petoskey will next head to Alpena for a Big North Conference match on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey XC competes in Portage, Northmen soccer takes on DeWitt homecoming