Leelanau Sports Guy’s World at sportspig.com

Although he’s most famous for being a great college basketball player, I’ll always remember Jeff Tropf as my biology teacher and freshmen basketball coach at Suttons Bay. He also knows how to catch great tasting fish! Along with teaching at Suttons Bay, Tropf now coaches varsity basketball at Northport.

His college career got off to an interesting start to say the least, but it ended up being quite successful after his transfer to Central Michigan.

Tropf, who played 2 1/2 seasons for the Chippewas, was a first-team all-Mid American Conference (MAC) selection in 1978, finishing second in the Player of the Year voting. He averaged 17.3 points — shooting 60 percent from the field — and a MAC-high 11.1 rebounds per game that season.

Congrats to Mr. Tropf and his family!

Read Tropf to be inducted into CMU Hall of Fame in the Record Eagle

where people are making resolutions (Big Al isn’t going to like #8!) and putting together best of lists for 2007, so it’s a perfect time to add a link to the Record Eagle’s Top 10 Sports Stories of 2007.

One of their stories is about former Leland volleyball star Alisha Glass helping Penn State win the 2007 NCAA Volleyball Championship.

Updated!
Here is the Leelanau Enterprise’s 2007 Year in Review!

Each Tuesday and Friday (no promises), I am going to take a quick peek into the world of Leelanau County prep sports.

Boys Soccer
Suttons Bay topped Northport 4-2 and Glen Lake defeated T.C. Christian 5-2 in Monday’s soccer action. Suttons Bay is now 3-1 on the young season, while the Lakers improved to 3-2.

On Saturday Suttons Bay captured the Harbor Springs Soccer Cup with a 2-0-1 record. The Norsemen tied Harbor Springs 1-1, defeated Glen Lake 3-2 and Sault Ste. Marie 6-0. Glen Lake beat Sault Ste. Marie 2-1 to finish the tourney 1-2.

Last week Suttons Bay couldn’t keep up with Elk Rapids as the Norsemen fell to the Elks 6-2.

Boys Football
Suttons Bay wasn’t the only county school with a big win in it’s football opener, Glen Lake defeated East Jordan 27-12 behind two big plays by Ryan Dyksterhouse, a 35-yard touchdown catch and a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Norsemen and Lakers meet in less then two weeks in what is shaping up to be a great game, with both teams showing big play capability in their opening games.

Girls Volleyball
Suttons Bay and Glen Lake welcome Leland to the Northwest Conference as county volleyball just got a little more interesting. You can check out the conference preview in the Leelanau Enterprise and the area preview in the Record Eagle.

The Lady Norsemen have gotten off to a fast start by winning the Pellston Volleyball Invitational. Suttons Bay defeated Charlevoix 25-18, 27-25 to capture the title after posting wins over Kingsley in the quarterfinals and Boyne City in the semifinals.

Leland has a new coach, but found some similar results with a strong second place finish at the Traverse City Central Invitational. The Lady Comets, led by head coach Angie Shinos, fell to the Lady Trojans 25-12, 25-12 in the finals. Leland topped St. Francis (25-13, 25-22), Glen Lake (25-8, 25-12), ElK Rapids (25-13, 25-14), and lost to T.C. Christian 26-24, 25-15 in pool play. Leland responded to it’s lone loss by topping the Sabres 25-20, 25-23 to reach the finals.

Have scores or game details to report, don’t hesitate to email them to me at leelanausportsguy@sportspig.com.

Dennis Chase of the Record Eagle takes a quick look at the final week of the boys basketball regular season. Only one team really stand out in the county and that’s Leland. The Comets clinched the Cherryland Conference title on Friday. Suttons Bay, with a little help, could still clinch a share of the Northwest title with a win over Frankfort and a Kingsley loss at Glen Lake.

Read Parity in preps makes for wild league races in the Record Eagle

Nick Edson of the Leelanau Enterprise is asking for your votes and opinions on the top 10 boys and girls basketball players in the history of Leelanau County. You can also vote for the Top 5 county coaches of All-Time as well.

The ballot is available in the January 25th edition of the Leelanau Enterprise or you can send Nick an email with your choices. Please include the players/coaches names and schools. Ballots are due by Friday, February 9th.

Now I have to start compiling my list, but here’s my #1 for each team…

Boys Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Sander Scott – Northport

Girls Basketball All-Time Top 10
1. Julie Polakowski – Leland

Coach All-Time Top 5
1. Larry Glass – Leland

Let the debating begin…

Mitchell becomes 8th Wildcat to reach milestone
Senior Drew Mitchell scored 31 points to pass the 1,000 career point mark in a 66-53 win over Boyne Falls. Mitchell also pulled down 13 rebounds, grabbed 4 steals, and made 2 blocks. He now has 1,002 career points. Cody Brown added 17 points and Nathan Scherrer 10 as Northport evened it’s record at 5-5. Congrats Drew!

Photo by Anne Marie Mitchell

In other games…

Leland improves to 9-3
Marcus Whittaker led Leland with 21 points to help lift the Comets to a 72-57 win over Manistee Catholic in a non-conference matchup. Matt Lichty scored 16 and Jordan Gibson added 10.

Lakers fall to Elks
Glen Lake fell below .500 with a 46-39 loss to Elk Rapids. Ryan Dyksterhouse led the Lakers with 14 points as Glen Lake’s record falls to 5-6.

Read Prep Roundup in the Record Eagle

Leland tops Northport, Eagles fall to Sabres
Erica Breen scored 21 points to lead Leland to a 55-30 win over Northport in the Class D District Semifinals at T.C. Christian. Christian eliminated Lake Leelanau St. Mary 68-33 to advance to the District Final. Sarah Schaub led the Eagles with 15 points.

The District Final is set for Thursday (11/16) at T.C. Christian. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM.

Read Sabres, Comets advance to district final in the Record Eagle

Norsemen top Lakers to advance

From the Leelanau News Blog…

Glen Lake & Suttons Bay squared off in Class C action at Kalkaska Monday night, and the Lady Norseman emerged with a 46-32 victory. They will face Fife Lake-Forest Area tonight (Wednesday, Nov 15) at 8 PM in Kalkaska with the final Friday night at 7.

Read Kingsley topples Blazers in the Record Eagle
Read Girls Basketball District Tournaments in the Leelanau News Blog

Boys Football: A preview of Suttons Bay’s matchup with Calumet
Mark Urban of the Record Eagle breaks down the matchup in the Division VI Regional Final between Suttons Bay and Calumet. Kickoff is set for 9pm on Friday at the Superior Dome in Marquette.

Read Defensive test for Norse in the Record Eagle

Boys Soccer: Suttons Bay’s Darling, Northport’s Brown named first team All-State
Suttons Bay defensemen Ben Darling and Nortport forward Cody Brown were named to the Division IV All-State first team in boys soccer. Leland’s Eric Larsen, and Suttons Bay’s Alex Dingrando earned third team honors. Honorable mention went to Leland’s Brad Dunklow, Northport’s Ryan Blessing, and Suttons Bay’s Jesse Wright, Kent Eikey and Matt Ness.

Congrats to all!

Read Townsend is the tops in the Record Eagle

Girls Basketball: Frankfort tops Leland, Suttons Bay slips by St. Mary
Erin Sneed scored 26 but it wasn’t enough as Leland lost to Frankfort 66-39.

Crystal Dittrich scored 16 points to lead Suttons Bay to a 38-32 win over Lake Leelanau St. Mary. Suttons Bay improves to 3-2. The Eagles were led by Alyssa Korson’s 14 as they fall to 2-4.

Boys Soccer: Northport, Leland get high-scoring wins
Northport found the back of the net eight times to defeat Cadillac Heritage 8-1. Cody Brown and Drew Mitchell each scored 2 as Northport improved to 7-2.

Brad Dunklow’s hat trick helped Leland to a 7-2 Cherryland Conference win over Buckley. Leland is now 8-3, and 2-3 in the conference.

Read Manistee CC tops TC Christian in the Record Eagle

Boys Golf: St. Mary’s wins, Glen Lake falls
Freshman Tyler Shaffran shot a 42 to lead Lake Leelanau St. Mary (180) to victory over Kingsley (195) and Frankfort (230).

Glen Lake got a 50 from Austin Novak but it wasn’t enough as they fell to Traverse City Christian 205-244.

Read St. Mary’s takes golf match in the Record Eagle

Boys Soccer: Season Overview
Check out the article below from the Record Eagle with a complete look at the area soccer season.

Read Elk Rapids, West aiming for titles in the Record Eagle.

Girls Basketball: Rough night for Leelanau County teams
Suttons Bay and Glen Lake both had rough games against the top two teams in the Northwest Conference. Undefeated Frankfort topped the Norsemen 54-12 and 5-1 Kingsley stopped the Lakers 63-18.

In non-conference action, Lake Leelanau St. Mary got 18 points from Alyssa Korson, but it wasn’t enough as Elk Rapids earned a 66-60 win. Leland lost by 10 to Manistee Catholic 38-28 as they fell to 1-2.

Boys Soccer: T.C. Christian earns shutout of Northport, SB tops Leland
Traverse City Christian defeated Northport 2-0 to improve to 6-0 in the Cherryland Conference.

Suttons Bay used a goal by Ben Darling late in the first half to earn a 1-0 Cherryland Conference win over Leland to improve to 2-1 in the conference and 6-2 overall.

Boys Golf: Norsemen once again dominate Northwest Jamboree
Nate Kelly shot a 37, and Josh Schaub and Chris Wanroy each a 40 to lead Suttons Bay over Kingsley, Mesick, Manton, Glen Lake and Frankfort. Dusty Popa led the Lakers with a 46.

Cross-Country: Glen Lake, Suttons Bay have strong showings at McBain
Glen Lake’s Marissa Treece was the overall girls winner in 18:41, and Suttons Bay came in 5th as a team behind Elizabeth Adams 10th place finish in 23:22. Glen Lake’s John Lee captured the boys race.

Read Blazers top St. Francis in the Record Eagle

Girls Basketball: Northport falls to TC Home School
Cecilia Kohler scored 7 points to lead Northport, but they couldn’t overcome the balance of the Traverse City Home School in a 61-24 loss.

Read Central opens up BNC with a victory in the Record Eagle

Boys Soccer: Suttons Bay blanks Buckley
Shane MacDonald, Alex Dingrando, Pat Crego and Niel Bell each scored a goal to lead Suttons Bay over Buckley 4-0 in a Cherryland Conference matchup. The Norsemen are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Read TC Central shuts out Petoskey, 2-0 in the Record Eagle

Boys Golf: Norsemen capture Conference Jamboree
Suttons Bay captured the title, but all everyone was talking about was Glen Lake’s Austin Novak and Kingsley’s John Bodjack who both knocked in hole-in-one’s on the 139-yard 15th hole at the Leelanau Club.

“I’ve been coaching 10 years and I don’t even remember one hole-in-one in a Northwest match, let alone two,” said Suttons Bay coach Todd Hursey. “That’s pretty amazing.”

Suttons Bay carded a 159 easily ahead of second place Kingsley’s 193. Nate Kelly led the way with a 38, Charlie Olson & Drew Palmer scored 40’s, and Josh Schaub & David Tropf 41’s.

Novak finished with a 47. Glen Lake didn’t have enough golfers to qualify in the team competition.

Boys Soccer: Northport gets comeback win over Benzie Central
Northport scored three second-half goals to overcome a 1-0 halftime deficit and earn a 3-2 win over Benzie Central. Basil Stowe scored all three goals to earn the hat trick. Northport is now 6-1 overall, 3-0 in the Cherryland.

Boys Soccer: Comets fall to Sabres
Mike Rudolph scored with 2.6 seconds left to give Traverse City Christian a 2-1 Cherryland Conference win over Leland. Eric Jarsen scored for Leland.

Read Golfers card pair of aces in the Record Eagle

Boys Soccer: Northport scores late goal in comeback win
Glen Lake scored first, but Northport scored late to capture a 2-1 win as Ryan Blessing scored with 2:13 left. Northport is now 5-1 on the season.

Girls Basketball: Glen Lakes falls to Frankfort
Frankfort stayed undefeated with a 62-25 win over Glen Lake. The Lady Lakers were led by Amanda Lautner’s 6 points.

Girls Basketball: Lady Norsemen win
Suttons Bay defeated Mesick 37-33 behind Maggie Walters 12 points in the Northwest Conference opener for both teams.

Read Townsend sparks Titans in the Record Eagle

The Record Eagle has their annual preview out for the girls basketball season including the Northwest and Cherryland Conferences.

Read Prep Basketball Preview in the Record Eagle

Boys Golf: Suttons Bay 3rd at TC Labor Day Invite

In a 22-team field featuring mostly Division 1 and 2 teams, Suttons Bay shot a 311 to place third in the Traverse City Labor Day Invitational. Ludington (10th in Div. 2) fired a 302 and Detroit Jesuit (#6 in Div. 1) a 310. The Norsemen are ranked 4th in Division IV.

“Its a good score,” Norsemen coach Todd Hursey said. “This is always a good measuring stick for us, to see how we play against some of the better teams in the state, and today we were respectable.”

Nate Kelly tied for second overall with a 73, Charlie Olson shot a 77, David Tropf 80, and Josh Schaub 81.

Read Ludington starts out at the top in the Record Eagle

Girls Basketball: Northport falls in final of Alba Tourney
Alba defeated Northport 34-32 to capture their own tournament. Cecilia Kohler scored 12 in the championship game. Northport advance to the final with a 38-36 win over Alanson.

Read Bellaire prevails in the Record Eagle

Boys Football: Lakers comeback short in loss to Class B Coloma
Jason Kemp threw for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns but it wasn’t enough as Coloma quarterback Alex Garrod accounted for 4 touchdowns in a 28-21 win over the Lakers.

“I’m disappointed in the score, but I’m not disappointed in our effort,” Lakers coach Bill Hollenbeck said. “They’re a real good football team, a very good football team. Last week they beat (Watervliet) 52-14. It was 44-0 at half. I didn’t sleep all week.

Glen Lake is 1-1 on the season.

Read Coloma holds off Glen Lake, 28-21 in the Record Eagle

Boys Football: Suttons Bay rolls over Harbor Springs 49-0
Suttons Bay improved to 2-0 with a 49-0 shutout of Harbor Springs. The Norsemen rushed for 352 yards with Cal Forton leading the way with 96. Jordan Peplinski scored two touchdowns on the ground and Colin Korson ran back a punt 56 yards for a score.

Read Elk Rapids, Mesick off to 2-0 beginnings in the Record Eagle

Girls Basketball: Eagles top Lakers in consolation game
Alyssa Korson scored 25 points and Susan Herman added 17 as Lake Leelanau St. Mary defeated Glen Lake 59-53 to capture 3rd place in the Katie Heinz “We Believe” Tip-Off Clasic. T.C. Christian topped St. Francis 42-30 to win the title.

Girls Basketball: Leland falls to Bellaire
Erin Sneed, Erika Green and Whitney Grant scored 10 points each, but it wasn’t enough as the Comets lost their opener to Bellaire 41-34.

Boys Soccer: Northport gives Leland first loss of season
Ryan Blessing scored the go-ahead goal with 1:52 left as Northport topped Leland 2-1 in a Cherryland Conference matchup.

Read Marquette adds another road victory in the Record Eagle