Two G-A wrestlers look forward to
first trip to individual state finals
By Bruce Rolfe
While the season ended as a team for the Galesburg-Augusta wrestling team February 18 in the team regional semifinal match, two members of the team are focusing on individual goals as qualifiers for the Division 4 Individual State Finals.
Sophomore Owen Cowles (120-pound weight class) and freshman Jaxsen Kasten (106) both placed fourth at the Division 4 Individual Regionals at Martin to qualify for the Individual State Finals March 6 & 7 at Ford Field.
Cowles went 2-2 at the individual regionals, while Kasten was 1-2.
Both wrestlers will be experiencing their first Individual State Finals.
While the season ended as a team for the Galesburg-Augusta wrestling team February 18 in the team regional semifinal match, two members of the team are focusing on individual goals as qualifiers for the Division 4 Individual State Finals.
Sophomore Owen Cowles (120-pound weight class) and freshman Jaxsen Kasten (106) both placed fourth at the Division 4 Individual Regionals at Martin to qualify for the Individual State Finals March 6 & 7 at Ford Field.
Cowles went 2-2 at the individual regionals, while Kasten was 1-2.
Both wrestlers will be experiencing their first Individual State Finals.
Galesburg-Augusta wrestling coach Sam Blyveis (middle) is pictured with G-A Individual State Finals wrestling qualifiers Owen Cowles (left) and Jaxsen Kasten.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)The top eight finishers in each weight class earn all-state medals.
“It’s pretty awesome to be able to compete at Ford Field as a freshman,” said Kasten.
“I’m not so focused on just making it there, I would like to place. Placing is my goal,” said Cowles.
The entire environment, starting with the parade of champions to the wrestling in front of thousands of fans at Ford Field will likely create some moments of nervousness.
“One of the things that we talk about on a regular basis is, it’s kind of like the old Hoosiers movie. That circle is the same size, six minutes is six minutes. I remind them, you’ve wrestled at big tournaments where maybe the building wasn’t as big but there were more people in the stands. You’ve got Division 1, 2, 3 and 4, plus the girls (state finals) are there. Just because there’s 10 or 20 thousand people in the stands, it doesn’t mean they’re all watching you. You just worry about what you can handle in that 30 foot circle in that six minutes. We just try to keep it very, very real,” said first year G-A coach Sam Blyveis.
Both wrestlers said they plan to stay focused on each match.
“That’s my plan is to take it one match at a time,” said Cowles.
Cowles will bring a 32-7 record into the individual state finals. The No. 4 seed in his region, Cowles will face Hudson freshman Liam McClain. McClain, the No. 1 seed in his region. McClain sports a 38-7 record.
Cowles feels it will be important to start the tournament with a win.
“He’s going to probably be one of the toughest kids there. If I beat him, I think it’s going to be a lot of momentum going forward,” said Cowles.
Kasten will bring a 26-21 record into the state finals. The No. 4 seed in his region, Kasten will face Roscommon sophomore Kasen Spencer in the opening round. Spencer, who has a 43-4 record, is the No. 1 seed in his region.
Kasten said experiencing the team district championship G-A won earlier and earning top four finishes at the individual district and regional tournaments has been very satisfying in his first year of wrestling.
“It means a lot to come in as a freshman with a new coach and have so much success,” said Kasten.
Blyveis said he’s enjoyed watching both wrestlers develop and grow into wrestlers who qualified for the individual state finals.
“With Owen, from when I met him last fall to where he is now, the growth, not just on the mat but off the mat is spectacular. His leadership qualities have really blossomed. He’s now a kid I can take and say listen, this kid is hurt or he’s struggling. Take him and go talk to him and focus on these points. And he can take him under his wing and kind of help bring him back,” said Blyveis.
“And then you’ve got a kid like Jaxsen, who started out wrestling matches at 120, 113. We taught him how to maintain his weight and how to diet properly and he makes 106 with ease now. There’s a lot of growth there as far as just that personal responsibility. I’ve had the fortune, even in the last 10 days of watching the way he drills in the room and he’s turned the corner. If he had understood or had figured out how to drill earlier in the season the way he is now, he would probably have 10 more wins then he does. Seeing that growth out of him and how he’s preparing for matches differently, he’s learned a lot about himself and I’m real proud of that,”adds the first year Ram wrestling coach.
G-A JV boys basketball team
defeats Constantine
The Climax Crescent was unable to get the Galesburg-Augusta JV boys basketball teams’ result in time for the February 27 paper, but we have secured the score and highlights for the March 6 issue.
G-A defeated Constantine 52-13 February 17 at G-A in the second to last game of the season on the way to a 20-1 finish for the season.
Jerome Bailey finished with 17 points, Michael Friar scored 13 points and Vincent Finedell had 10 points for G-A.
G-A defeated Constantine 52-13 February 17 at G-A in the second to last game of the season on the way to a 20-1 finish for the season.
Jerome Bailey finished with 17 points, Michael Friar scored 13 points and Vincent Finedell had 10 points for G-A.
Girls basketball team drops final
two regular season games
Losses in the two final regular season games sent the Galesburg-Augusta girls varsity basketball team into the district tournament with a 12-9 record.
G-A played the Parchment-Maple Valley winner March 4 at Saranac in the district tournament. The District Championship game is scheduled for March 6 at 7 p.m. at Saranac.
Battle Creek Pennfield got off to a strong start, however the pesky Rams remained close only to fall short, 35-29 at G-A High School February 26.
Pennfield used an 8-0 run in the first quarter, followed by another 5-0 run that helped the visitors to a 16-7 lead after one quarter.
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, however the Rams trailed 21-13 at halftime.
Rayonna Alexander scored five of G-A’s nine points in the third quarter when the Rams outscored Pennfield 9-5 to pull to within 26-22 at the end of three quarters.
The Rams scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to whittle the Pennfield lead to two points, 26-24.
Two straight G-A turnovers led to five Pennfield points and the Rams trailed by a 31-24 margin midway through the final quarter.
Two baskets by Jeni Klimp cut the Pennfield lead to 33-29, but G-A could not get any closer.
Poor shooting from the floor (19%) and 19 turnovers were too much to overcome for G-A. Pennfield also held a 5-3 advantage from the three-point line.
Rayonna Alexander, who knocked down two three-point baskets, led G-A in scoring with 14 points.
Grace Gibson, who averages over 15 points a game, was held to seven points.
Battle Creek Pennfield 16 5 5 9 - 35
Galesburg-Augusta 7 6 9 7 - 29
Grace Gibson 7, Jeni Klimp 4, Lexi Coburn 1, Brooklyn James 2, Kayla Bortolussi 1, Rayonna Alexander 14
Free throws: G-A 8-20/Pennfield 4-6
3-point baskets: G-A 3 (Rayonna Alexander 2, Grace Gibson 1)/Pennfield 5 (M. Hensel 2, H. Tenbrink 1, M. Wells 1, J. Schwartz 1)
G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: Brooklyn James 10, Kayla Bortolussi 7, Emily Coleman 6, Grace Gibson 4, Jeni Klimp 3
Assists: Emily Coleman 2
Steals: Grace Gibson 5, Emily Coleman 2, Brooklyn James 2
Blocked shots: Grace Gibson 1
G-A Suffers 2nd Loss to Saugatuck in Five Days
Five days after suffering a 59-43 loss to Saugatuck February 19, the Galesburg-Augusta girls varsity basketball team absorbed another setback to the Trailblazers February 24 at G-A High School, this time by a 63-37 margin.
G-A struggled through a cold night shooting most of the game, making 27 percent (10-37) of its two point attempts and 22 percent (4-18) of its three point tries for an overall shooting percentage of 25.4 percent (14-55).
G-A jumped out to a 5-0 lead only to have Saugatuck go on a 10 point run with the first quarter ending at 13-7 in favor of Saugatuck.
A seven point run by Saugatuck in the second quarter helped the visitors to a 30-18 halftime lead.
The first and second quarter runs by Saugatuck were aided by four three-point baskets.
The Blazers added five three-pointers in the second half. The Rams committed 18 turnovers, with many of them being converted into scores by the Trailblazers, who took a 48-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
Brooklyn James, who knocked down three triples, led G-A in scoring with 13 points.
Grace Gibson, who scored 25 points in the earlier game at Saugatuck, was held to six points.
Dale Martin contributed to this report.
Saugatuck 13 17 18 15 - 63
Galesburg-Augusta 7 11 13 6 - 37
Grace Gibson 6, Rayonna Alexander 7, Lexi Coburn 2, Jeni Klimp 7, Brooklyn James 13, Kayla Bortolussi 2
Free throws: G-A 5-12/Saugatuck 6-6
3-point baskets: G-A 4 (Brooklyn James 3, Rayonna Alexander 1/Saugatuck 9 (T. Laskawski 3, A. Roth 2, M. Simpson 1
G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: Grace Gibson 8, Brooklyn James 8, Jeni Klimp 5, Rayonna Alexander 3, Lexi Coburn 3, Emily Coleman 3, Kayla Botolussi 3
Assists: Emily Coleman 3
Steals: Kayla Bortolussi 2
Blocked shots: Brooklyn James 3
G-A played the Parchment-Maple Valley winner March 4 at Saranac in the district tournament. The District Championship game is scheduled for March 6 at 7 p.m. at Saranac.
Battle Creek Pennfield got off to a strong start, however the pesky Rams remained close only to fall short, 35-29 at G-A High School February 26.
Pennfield used an 8-0 run in the first quarter, followed by another 5-0 run that helped the visitors to a 16-7 lead after one quarter.
Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, however the Rams trailed 21-13 at halftime.
Rayonna Alexander scored five of G-A’s nine points in the third quarter when the Rams outscored Pennfield 9-5 to pull to within 26-22 at the end of three quarters.
The Rams scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to whittle the Pennfield lead to two points, 26-24.
Two straight G-A turnovers led to five Pennfield points and the Rams trailed by a 31-24 margin midway through the final quarter.
Two baskets by Jeni Klimp cut the Pennfield lead to 33-29, but G-A could not get any closer.
Poor shooting from the floor (19%) and 19 turnovers were too much to overcome for G-A. Pennfield also held a 5-3 advantage from the three-point line.
Rayonna Alexander, who knocked down two three-point baskets, led G-A in scoring with 14 points.
Grace Gibson, who averages over 15 points a game, was held to seven points.
Battle Creek Pennfield 16 5 5 9 - 35
Galesburg-Augusta 7 6 9 7 - 29
Grace Gibson 7, Jeni Klimp 4, Lexi Coburn 1, Brooklyn James 2, Kayla Bortolussi 1, Rayonna Alexander 14
Free throws: G-A 8-20/Pennfield 4-6
3-point baskets: G-A 3 (Rayonna Alexander 2, Grace Gibson 1)/Pennfield 5 (M. Hensel 2, H. Tenbrink 1, M. Wells 1, J. Schwartz 1)
G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: Brooklyn James 10, Kayla Bortolussi 7, Emily Coleman 6, Grace Gibson 4, Jeni Klimp 3
Assists: Emily Coleman 2
Steals: Grace Gibson 5, Emily Coleman 2, Brooklyn James 2
Blocked shots: Grace Gibson 1
G-A Suffers 2nd Loss to Saugatuck in Five Days
Five days after suffering a 59-43 loss to Saugatuck February 19, the Galesburg-Augusta girls varsity basketball team absorbed another setback to the Trailblazers February 24 at G-A High School, this time by a 63-37 margin.
G-A struggled through a cold night shooting most of the game, making 27 percent (10-37) of its two point attempts and 22 percent (4-18) of its three point tries for an overall shooting percentage of 25.4 percent (14-55).
G-A jumped out to a 5-0 lead only to have Saugatuck go on a 10 point run with the first quarter ending at 13-7 in favor of Saugatuck.
A seven point run by Saugatuck in the second quarter helped the visitors to a 30-18 halftime lead.
The first and second quarter runs by Saugatuck were aided by four three-point baskets.
The Blazers added five three-pointers in the second half. The Rams committed 18 turnovers, with many of them being converted into scores by the Trailblazers, who took a 48-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
Brooklyn James, who knocked down three triples, led G-A in scoring with 13 points.
Grace Gibson, who scored 25 points in the earlier game at Saugatuck, was held to six points.
Dale Martin contributed to this report.
Saugatuck 13 17 18 15 - 63
Galesburg-Augusta 7 11 13 6 - 37
Grace Gibson 6, Rayonna Alexander 7, Lexi Coburn 2, Jeni Klimp 7, Brooklyn James 13, Kayla Bortolussi 2
Free throws: G-A 5-12/Saugatuck 6-6
3-point baskets: G-A 4 (Brooklyn James 3, Rayonna Alexander 1/Saugatuck 9 (T. Laskawski 3, A. Roth 2, M. Simpson 1
G-A Stat Leaders
Rebounds: Grace Gibson 8, Brooklyn James 8, Jeni Klimp 5, Rayonna Alexander 3, Lexi Coburn 3, Emily Coleman 3, Kayla Botolussi 3
Assists: Emily Coleman 3
Steals: Kayla Bortolussi 2
Blocked shots: Brooklyn James 3
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