By Bruce Rolfe

The Climax-Scotts boys and girls track teams will be sending 11 student-athletes to the Division 4 State Finals June 1 at Baldwin Middle School, competing in 12 events.

Panther coach Dave Lodes said the 11 student-athletes is the largest contingent of C-S athletes he has seen qualify for the State Finals.

The top eight finishers in each event earn All-State medals.

The C-S boys qualified in eight events with five athletes competing while the girls will send six athletes competing in four events.

Miles Shannon qualified for the State Finals in four events at the regionals. The Panther senior will join Luke Lawrence, Ryan DeHaan, and Chase VanMiddlesworth in the 4x100-meter relay the quartet finished first in at the regionals; he qualified as a member of the regional champion 4x200-meter relay team that also includes Jordan Grove, Luke Lawrence and Chase VanMiddlesworth; he qualified in the high jump after he placed first in at the regionals; and he qualified in the long jump.

Shannon’s jump of 6’3” at the regionals in the high jump places him third in school history. He will be the sixth seed out of a field of 28 at the state finals. His jump of 19’10.75” in the long jump at the regionals puts him as the 17th seed out of 25 competing at the state finals. His distance in the long jump also places the senior in the top five all time at C-S.

VanMiddlesworth will also compete in the 200-meter dash. His fastest time has him in second place in school history behind Alex Lodes. His regional time places him as the 11th seed among the 28 state finals qualifiers.

Lawrence will also compete in the 110-meter, 39” hurdle competition he won at the regionals. Lawrence’s time of 15.8 seconds is the second fastest time in C-S history, about two-tenths of a second behind Scott Bogard’s school record time. He will be the ninth seed out of a field of 28.

The 4x100-meter relay teams’ qualifying time of 44.53 is the second fastest in C-S history and is second only to Gobles (44.32) out of the field of 31 state finals qualifying teams.

The 4x200-meter relay team will be seeded seventh out of a field of 26.

Ryan Pejakovich is the other State Finals qualifier for the boys after finishing second at the regionals. His throw of 41’,2.5” at the regionals places him in the top ten list all time in C-S history and he will be the 28th seed out of a field of 33 at the state finals.

Braithwaite’s time of 13.43 at the regionals lands her in the No. 3 spot in C-S history behind Janae Langs and Bonica Brown. She will be the 34th seed out of a field of 38 state qualifiers in the event.

The 54.83 time the 4x100-meter relay team made up of Paige Amos, Braithwaite, Lillie Edwards and Paige Fraley, posted at the regionals is the 8th best in C-S history and puts C-S in the 27th seed out of 32 teams that qualified for the state finals.

The 4x200-meter relay team composed of Amos, Braithwaite, Annabelle Edwards and Lillie Edwards will be seeded 27th out of 40 teams with a qualifying time of 1:55.31 at the regionals.

Addy Reeves’ 15’7.5” distance in the long jump at the regionals places her second in C-S history behind Cherie Swarthout. She will be the 20th seed out of 30 state qualifiers.

While some athletes may have enjoyed better times, distances or heights, regional times, distances and heights were used for seeding at the state finals.

C-S wins 1st cross river rivalry against G-A

By Bruce Rolfe

Climax-Scotts varsity baseball coach Kevin Langs has to feel good if he chooses to pitch Gavin Eyre in the district tournaments based on what he saw in a 2-0 win over Galesburg-Augusta May 22 and his last three outings entering the regular season finales May 28  against SCAA East Division leaders Camden-Frontier.

Eyre continued a recent impressive run, allowing just a sixth inning single, no runs, and one walk with 11 strikeouts in the win over G-A.

“Stuff was going good, especially my fastball. The curve ball was a little off,” said Eyre.

The dominating performance and a recent impressive stretch has elevated the C-S juniors’ confidence levels. In his last three outings, Eyre has allowed no runs, just one hit and one walk, with 29 strikeouts over 14 and one-third innings pitched.

“This helps a lot. It shows I can go out and strike guys out,” said Eyre.

After dropping the first four outings of the Cross River Rivalry game, the 19-5 Panthers finally secured a win, not with just good pitching but by taking advantage of the few opportunities the team had.

After Eyre set down the first three Rams in order in the top of the first inning, including two with strikeouts, C-S scored its two runs in the bottom of the frame.

Logan Gilbert and Tyler Smith both drew walks. Both players moved up a base on stolen bases. The next two Panthers struck out, however Carter Dzwik delivered a line drive single that scored Gilbert and Smith.

Dzwik finished with two hits and Gilbert had four stolen bases for C-S.

Galesburg-Augusta 000 000 0 - 0-1-1
Climax-Scotts          200 000 x - 2-4-2
C-S hits: Logan Gilbert 1, Carter Dzwik 2 (2 RBI), Josh Walman 1
C-S stolen bases: Logan Gilbert 4, Josh Walman 1, Tyler Smith 1
Winning pitcher: Gavin Eyre - 7 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 11 strikeouts

C-S JV/Varsity Baseball
A Look Ahead

District Tourn. at C-S
6/1 Jonesville Vs. Quincy-Bronson winner, 11 a.m.
6/1 C-S Vs. Union City, 1:30 p.m.
6/1 Championship game, 4 p.m.
Winner to Parchment Regional June 5, 4 p.m. Vs. Parchment District winner
6/8 Regional Championship, at Adrian College, 12:30 p.m.

JV baseball team ends season on strong note

Two wins to end the season gave the Climax-Scotts JV baseball team a 3-2 record for the season.

C-S finished one game above .500 with a 14-7 win over Galesburg-Augusta May 24 at G-A after handing Union City a 10-5 setback May 16 at C-S Jr./Sr. High School.

Kasey Carman had a big game at the plate against G-A, banging out three hits, including two doubles while driving in four runs. Lincoln Dzwik added two hits including a double and drove in two runs and Ben Nelson knocked in three runs.

Nelson benefitted from the 14-run explosion to earn the win on the mound. He gave up three hits, three earned runs and one walk to go with three strikeouts in two innings pitched.

Climax-Scotts         350 300 3 - 14-8-5
Galesburg-Augusta 105 100 0 -  7- 7- 2
C-S hits: Jackson Bagwell, Jackson Knickerbocker 1 (1 RBI), Kasey Carman 3 (2 doubles, 4 RBI), Ben Nelson 1 (3 RBI), Lincoln Dzwik 2 (double, 2 RBI)
Other C-S RBI: Cooper Dinse 1
C-S stolen bases: Kasey Carman 1, Lincoln Dzwik 1, Jackson Bagwell 1
Winning pitcher: Ben Nelson - 2 IP, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Carter Dzwik - 5 IP, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts
C-S holds off Chargers

The Panthers answered a Union City rally in the top of the fifth inning with a big inning of their own and held on for a 10-5 victory over the Chargers May 16 at C-S Jr./Sr. High School.

C-S pulled out to a 7-1 lead after three innings, however Union City pulled to within 7-5 with a four-run fifth inning.

The Panthers answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning and held on for the win.

Starting pitcher Kasey Carman threw the first one and two-thirds innings and allowed no hits, one earned run, five walks and struck out two batters to earn the win.

Hunter Piper had a double and drove in three runs for C-S.
Union City      010 040 0 -  5-3-2
Climax-Scotts 322 030 x - 10-3-2
C-S hits: Jackson Knickerbocker 1 (1 RBI), Hunter Piper 1 (double, 3 RBI), Carter Dzwik 1
Other C-S RBI: Kasey Carman 2, Cooper Dinse 1
C-S stolen bases: Justin Knickerbocker 2, Carter Dzwik 1, Hunter Piper 1, Josh Walman 1
Winning pitcher: Kasey Carman - 1.2 IP, 0 hits, 1 earned run, 5 walks, 2 strikeouts
Ben Nelson - 2.1 IP, 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts
Hunter Piper - 0 IP, 1 hit, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts
Tyler Smith - 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts
Josh Walman - 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts

Track teams continue to enjoy
strong performances

The Climax-Scotts boys and girls track teams ended the regular season with some noteworthy performances at the SCAA Championships at Hillsdale College May 21.

The Panther boys finished fourth in the 13-team event with 76.5 points and the Lady Panthers finished sixth in the 10-team girls event with 39.5 points.

The C-S boys set eight personal records and one season record, while the Lady Panthers had two personal record performances.

Chase VanMiddlesworth settled for second place finishes in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes just behind Mendon’s Jack McCaw, posting a time of 11.79 in the 100-meter dash (.10 seconds behind McCaw) and a personal record time of 23.26 in the 200-meter dash (.02 seconds behind McCaw).

Sophie Braithwaite finished just .47 seconds behind the first place finisher in the 100-meter dash in third place and .43 behind the second place finisher, for the Lady Panthers’ highest finish.

SCAA Championships At Hillsdale College

Women’s
1. Hillsdale Academy, 234.5, 2. Pittsford, 130, 3. Athens, 75.5, 4. Colon, 48.5, 5. Mendon, 45, 6. Climax-Scotts, 39.5, 7. St Philip Catholic Central, 22, 7. Bellevue, 22, 9. Camden-Frontier, 20, 10. Tekonsha, 17
C-S Results
100 Meters - Finals: 3. Sophie Braithwaite, 13.87a, 6. Paige Amos, 14.10a, 10. Lillie Edwards, 14.94a; 200 Meters - Finals: 4. Paige Amos, 28.81a, 9. Sophie Braithwaite, 29.51a, 13. Lillie Edwards, 30.30a; 400 Meters - Finals: 19. Fanni Zauner, 1:21.80a, 20. Ona Hagedorn, 1:27.27aPR, Addy Reeves,  DNS; 800 Meters - Finals: 15. Ona Hagedorn, 3:52.07a; 100m Hurdles - 33” - Finals: 12. Alexis Brown, 24.17a; 300m Hurdles - 30” - Finals: 18. Alexis Brown, 1:17.67aPR; 4x100 Relay Varsity - Finals: 4. Climax-Scotts (Paige Amos, Sophie Braithwaite, Lillie Edwards, Paige Fraley), 56.35a; 4x200 Relay - Finals: 2. Climax-Scotts (Paige Amos, Sophie Braithwaite, Lillie Edwards, Annabelle Edwards), 1:57.09a; 4x400 Relay - Finals: 4. Climax-Scotts (Lylah Parrish, Annabelle Edwards, Addy Reeves, Fanni Zauner), 5:05.34a; High Jump - Finals: 7. Annabelle Edwards, 4-06.00, 3. Addy Reeves, 15-04.50, 14. Lylah Parrish, 11-08.00, Chloe Czuk, FOUL

Men’s
1. Hillsdale Academy, 199, 2. Mendon, 87, 3. Athens, 78, 4. Climax-Scotts, 76.5, 5. Pittsford, 52.5, 6. St Philip Catholic Central, 49, 7. Camden-Frontier, 45, 8. Hillsdale Will Carleton, 37, 9. Bellevue, 13, 10. Tekonsha, 8, 11. Waldron, 7.5, 12. Colon, 5.5, 13. Burr Oak, 5
C-S results
100 Meters - Finals: 2. Chase VanMiddlesworth, 11.79a, 10. Josh Walman, 12.43a, 13. Ben Crocker, 12.76a; 200 Meters- Finals: 2. Chase VanMiddlesworth, 23.16aPR, 11. Josh Walman, 25.33a, 14. Logan Gilbert, 25.64aPR; 400 Meters - Finals: 7. Miles Shannon, 57.13aPR, 17. Liam Lasala, 1:00.33a, 19. Jose Espino, 1:01.41aSR; 800 Meter - Finals: 15. Ryan Dehaan, 2:28.39a, 21. Ethan Seage, 2:57.00a; 1600 Meters - Finals: 14. Jackson Bagwell, 5:57.94a, 20. Zack Roebuck, 7:10.14aPR, 21. Leo Bagwell, 7:23.02aPR; 3200 Meters - Finals: 8. Dean Parks,12:42.34aPR; 110m Hurdles - 39” - Finals: 4. Luke Lawrence, 17.70, 9. Blake Buddemeier, 19.80, 12. Eli DeWaal, 21.30a; 300m Hurdles - 36” - Finals: 8. Blake Buddemeier, 49.02aPR., 10. Eli DeWaal, 51.74aPR, Luke Lawrence, DNS; 4x100 Relay - Finals: 1. Climax-Scotts (Ryan Dehaan, Luke Lawrence, Miles Shannon, Chase VanMiddlesworth), 45.30a; 4x200 Relay - Finals: 2. Climax-Scotts (Jordan Grove, Luke Lawrence, Chase VanMiddlesworth, Josh Walman), 1:37.49a; 4x400 Relay - Finals: 8. Climax-Scotts (Jackson Bagwell, Ryan Dehaan, Liam Lasala, Jordan Grove), 4:15.79a; 4x800 Relay - Finals: 5. Climax-Scotts (Jackson Bagwell, Maddox Wyman, Ryan Dehaan, Logan Gilbert), 9:58.58a; Shot Put - 12lb - Finals: 3. Ryan Pejakovich, 42-02.50, 7. Sam Bleeker, 38-00.50, 15. Brayan Simbron, 33-07.50, 20. Gabe Walliczeck, 30-05.00; Discus - 1.6kg - Finals: 5. Gabe Walliczeck, 122-06, 13. Ryan Pejakovich, 91-11, 15.  Max Bleeker, 89-09; High Jump - Finals: 3. Miles Shannon, 5-08.00, 6. Rosendo Garcia, 5-06.00; Long Jump - Finals: 2. Miles Shannon, 19-08.50, 17. Rosendo Garcia, 15-01.00, 18.  Carter Pio, 14-06.50

Galesburg-Augusta struck first, but the Climax-Scotts varsity softball team responded in a big way over the next three innings to record a 17-2, three-inning win over the Rams in the Cross River Rivalry game between the two schools at C-S Jr./Sr. High School May 22.

C-S, now 11-12, fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning when G-A’s  Rhyann Wilson and Maureen McBride were hit by pitches, Wilson scored on a pass ball and McBride scored on a ground out.

C-S, behind seven walks and a two-run single by Rylie Altman, responded with a seven-run first inning.

C-S tacked on two more runs in the second inning and pushed eight runs across in the third inning.

Altman had three hits and drove in five runs and Hailey Talbert had two hits and four RBI to lead C-S at the plate.

Addy Reeves did not allow a hit across three innings to earn the win. She struck out five, did not allow a walk and gave up one earned run.

Galesburg-Augusta 200 - 2-0-3
Climax-Scotts       728 - 17-8-2
C-S hits: Rylie Altman 3 (5 RBI), Holly Talbert 1, Hailey Talbert 2 (4 RBI), Ashlynn Gilbert 1, Jaise Lane 1 (2 RBI)
Other C-S RBI: Makenzee Grimm 1
C-S stolen bases: Addi Dzwik 1, Holly Talbert 1
Winning pitcher: Addy Reeves - 3 IP, 0 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts

C-S Varsity Softball
A Look Ahead

District Tourn. At Gobles
6/1 Gobles Vs. Kalamazoo Hackett, 10 a.m.
6/1 C-S Vs. Martin, noon
6/1 Championship game, 2 p.m.
Winner to Mendon regional June 8 vs. Centreville district winner, 1p.m. Decatur district winner vs. Colon district winner, 11 a.m. Regional championship game June 8, 3 p.m.

headlines The Climax Crescent

• Climax Township clerk, deputy clerk recognized
• People Helping People: Event to help Climax resident facing new cancer challenge
• Return trip to Climax for 1994-1995 foreign exchange student and his son is memorable
• Military box packing December 4
• Caroling on the Corner is December 8

headlines National

• Professional success is not achieved through participation trophies
• ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
• ‘Jailbreak: Love on the Run’ misses chance to examine staff sexual misconduct at detention centers
• Utah considers allowing law grads to choose apprenticeship rather than bar exam
• Can lawyers hold doctors accountable for wasting our time?
• Lawyer suspended after arguing cocaine enhanced his cognition