Pictured above is the Galesburg-Augusta varsity volleyball team after winning the championship trophy at the Panther Invite September 12 at C-S Jr./Sr. High School.
(Photo by Paula Reitz)
Varsity volleyball team claims trophy
While the Galesburg-Augusta varsity volleyball team settled for a split against Kalamazoo Premier in the pool play opener at the Panther Invite at Climax-Scotts Jr./Sr. High School September 12, the Lady Rams won a rematch in the championship match to claim the first place trophy.
G-A lost the first set to Premier in pool play 22-25 but rebounded to win the second set 25-18.
The Lady Rams buzzed through pool play with two set wins over Tekonsha (25-19, 25-14) and Will Carlton (25-18, 25-4).
G-A dropped the first set in bracket play to Climax-Scotts 23-25, but rebounded to win the next two games 25-8, 15-6.
That set up the rematch with Premier where the Lady Rams won in three sets, 22-25, 25-21, 15-7.
Lily Gilbert led the team in kills with 52 and added a team high seven blocks and Lexi Coburn piled up 114 assists and 44 digs on the day.
Lily Gilbert, Lexi Coburn, and Kayla Bortolussi were named to the all-tournament team.
G-A lost the first set to Premier in pool play 22-25 but rebounded to win the second set 25-18.
The Lady Rams buzzed through pool play with two set wins over Tekonsha (25-19, 25-14) and Will Carlton (25-18, 25-4).
G-A dropped the first set in bracket play to Climax-Scotts 23-25, but rebounded to win the next two games 25-8, 15-6.
That set up the rematch with Premier where the Lady Rams won in three sets, 22-25, 25-21, 15-7.
Lily Gilbert led the team in kills with 52 and added a team high seven blocks and Lexi Coburn piled up 114 assists and 44 digs on the day.
Lily Gilbert, Lexi Coburn, and Kayla Bortolussi were named to the all-tournament team.
G-A entered play September 15 with a 6-5-1 record.
Panther Invite
At C-S Jr./Sr. High School
Pool Play
G-A vs. Kalamazoo Premier
22-25, 25-18
G-A vs Tekonsha
25-19, 25-14
G-A vs Will Carlton
25-18, 25-4
Bracket Play
G-A vs Climax-Scotts
23-25, 25-8, 15-6
Championship match
G-A vs Kalamazoo Premier
22-25, 25-21, 15-7
G-A Stat Leaders
Kills: Lily Gilbert 52, Kayla Bortolussi 32
Digs: Lexi Coburn 44, Lily Gilbert 43, Audrey Dennis 39, Emily Coleman 34, Ellesa Callender 25
Blocks: Lily Gilbert 7, Kayla Bortolussi 6
Assists: Lexi Coburn 114
Panther Invite
At C-S Jr./Sr. High School
Pool Play
G-A vs. Kalamazoo Premier
22-25, 25-18
G-A vs Tekonsha
25-19, 25-14
G-A vs Will Carlton
25-18, 25-4
Bracket Play
G-A vs Climax-Scotts
23-25, 25-8, 15-6
Championship match
G-A vs Kalamazoo Premier
22-25, 25-21, 15-7
G-A Stat Leaders
Kills: Lily Gilbert 52, Kayla Bortolussi 32
Digs: Lexi Coburn 44, Lily Gilbert 43, Audrey Dennis 39, Emily Coleman 34, Ellesa Callender 25
Blocks: Lily Gilbert 7, Kayla Bortolussi 6
Assists: Lexi Coburn 114
G-A Takes Bridgman in 3 Games
The Galesburg-Augusta varsity volleyball team responded to a three-set loss to Schoolcraft September 3, with a three-set win over Bridgman September 8 on the road (25-22, 25-20, 25-9).
G-A coach Jonica Klimp felt her team looked strong and confident, showing some real determination in the second set by battling back from a 19-14 deficit.
Klimp said Lexi Coburn got on a serving run and G-A outscored the Bees 11-1 to win the second set 25-20.
The comeback win gave the Lady Rams momentum entering the third set that G-A easily won, 25-9.
Lily Gilbert had a strong match with a team leading 13 kills and shared the team lead with 12 digs. Lexi Coburn had 12 digs and 22 assists and Jeni Klimp led the team in aces with six. Kayla Bortolussi added three blocks.
G-A Def. Bridgman 25-22, 25-20, 25-9
G-A Stat Leaders
Aces: Jeni Klimp 6, Audrey Dennis 3
Kills: Lily Gilbert 13, Ellesa Callender 6
Digs: Lily Gilbert 12, Lexi Coburn 12, Jeni Klimp 8
Blocks: Kayla Bortolussi 3
Assists: Lexi Coburn 22
Schoolcraft Def. G-A 25-11, 25-12, 25-18
G-A Stat Leaders
Kills: Lily Gilbert 7, Kayla Bortolussi 5
Digs: Emily Coleman 25, Lily Gilbert 10, Jeni Klimp 8
Assists: Lexi Coburn 16
The Galesburg-Augusta varsity volleyball team responded to a three-set loss to Schoolcraft September 3, with a three-set win over Bridgman September 8 on the road (25-22, 25-20, 25-9).
G-A coach Jonica Klimp felt her team looked strong and confident, showing some real determination in the second set by battling back from a 19-14 deficit.
Klimp said Lexi Coburn got on a serving run and G-A outscored the Bees 11-1 to win the second set 25-20.
The comeback win gave the Lady Rams momentum entering the third set that G-A easily won, 25-9.
Lily Gilbert had a strong match with a team leading 13 kills and shared the team lead with 12 digs. Lexi Coburn had 12 digs and 22 assists and Jeni Klimp led the team in aces with six. Kayla Bortolussi added three blocks.
G-A Def. Bridgman 25-22, 25-20, 25-9
G-A Stat Leaders
Aces: Jeni Klimp 6, Audrey Dennis 3
Kills: Lily Gilbert 13, Ellesa Callender 6
Digs: Lily Gilbert 12, Lexi Coburn 12, Jeni Klimp 8
Blocks: Kayla Bortolussi 3
Assists: Lexi Coburn 22
Schoolcraft Def. G-A 25-11, 25-12, 25-18
G-A Stat Leaders
Kills: Lily Gilbert 7, Kayla Bortolussi 5
Digs: Emily Coleman 25, Lily Gilbert 10, Jeni Klimp 8
Assists: Lexi Coburn 16
G-A men finish 3rd at Homer Invite
The Galesburg-Augusta men’s cross country team had three runners finish in the top 20 at the Homer Invite September 12, helping the team to a third place finish.
Hudson won the event with 39 points. G-A finished with 113 points.
The Lady Rams did not have enough runners to score as a team in the womens’ race, which was won by Adrian Madison (30 points).
Sophomore Segura Lopez was the first Ram to cross the finish line for the men, finishing seventh with a personal best time of 19:14.44.
Sophomore Sophia Dohm finished fifth for the Lady Rams with a time of 23:54.59.
G-A also had some encouraging finishes in the middle school 2,575-meter race.
The middle school boys team finished 6th with 83 points and the girls did not have enough runners to score as a team.
Seventh grader Louie Finedell finished sixth with a time of 10:28.86 to lead the G-A boys and sixth grader Lillian Barton was the first Ram to cross the finish line for the girls with a time of 11:48.36 in 13th place.
Homer Invite
Men
1. Hudson, 39, 2. Adrian Madison, 55, 3. Galesburg-Augusta, 113, 4. Homer, 118, 5. Addison, 128, 6. Jackson Preparatory, 140, 7. Reading, 155, 8. Athens, 165
G-A Results
7. Segura Lopez, 19:14.44 PB, 15. Nick Stevens, 19:43.49, 17. Ashton Dingee, 19:56.27, 37. Cameron Kuhse, 22:11.11 PB, 62. Matthew Chichester, 27:25.30, PB 64. Vincent Finedell, 28:31.57, 66. Aaiden Schroeder, 29:42.98
Women
1. Adrian Madison, 30, 2. Hudson 43, 3. Homer, 53
G-A Results
5. Sophia Dohm, 23:54.59, 27. Grace Allie, 29:22.35 PB
Middle School 2,575 meters
Boys
1. Springport, 36, 2. Hanover Horton MS 56, 3. Reading, 59, 4. Madison, 72, 5. Hudson Area, 76, 6. Galesburg-Augusta, 83, 7. Homer MS, 90, 8. Tekonsha, 111, 9. Jackson Preparatory, 176
G-A Results
Boys
6. Louie Finedell, 10:28.86, 7. Hershel Dohm, 10:30.37, 38. Preston Freldt, 13:25.82, 54. Adrian Butler, 16:26.95, 56. Silas Guenther, 16:49.41
Girls
1. Hudson Area, 16, 2. Madison, 28, 3. Hanover Horton MS, 55, 4. Homer MS, 61, 5. Springport, 83
G-A Results
13. Lillian Barton, 11:48.36, 44. Sylvia Millard, 14:44.15
Men Place 6th, Men 7th At Delton-Kellogg Invite
The Lady Rams placed sixth and the men placed seventh at the Delton-Kellogg Invite September 10 at the Gilmore Car Museum.
Segura Lopez finished 21st out of a field of 64 runners with a time of 19:43.13 for the men.
Sophia Dohm crossed the finish line first for the women, posting a time of 25:30.94 in 18th place out of a field of 57 runners.
Delton-Kellogg (At Gilmore Car Museum)
Men
1. Holland Calvary Christian 26, 2. Paw Paw, 36, 3. Delton-Kellogg, 62, 4. Hastings, 119, 5. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 157, 6. BC Pennfield, 158, 7. Galesburg-Augusta, 178
G-A Results
21. Segura Lopez, 19:43.13, 37. Nick Stevens, 21:26.51, 40. Ashton Dingee, 21:44.30 45. Cameron Kuhse, 22:34.59, 56. Vincent Finedell, 25:37.90, 57. Everett Finedell, 25:51.18 PB, 61. Matthew Chichester, 29:29.86, 63. Aaiden Schroeder, 31:50.81
Women
1. Paw Paw, 21, 2. Hastings, 47, 3. Delton-Kellogg, 92, 4. BC Pennfield, 118, 5. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 129, 6. Galesburg-Augusta, 141
G-A Results
18. Sophia Dohm, 25:30.94, 31. Ellesa Callendar, 27:39.74 PB, 32. Neva Freed, 27:52.67 PB, 49. Kayla Bortolussi, 31:31.13, 50. Grace Allie, 31:37.71, 55. Addison Walden, 37:45.04 PB
Hudson won the event with 39 points. G-A finished with 113 points.
The Lady Rams did not have enough runners to score as a team in the womens’ race, which was won by Adrian Madison (30 points).
Sophomore Segura Lopez was the first Ram to cross the finish line for the men, finishing seventh with a personal best time of 19:14.44.
Sophomore Sophia Dohm finished fifth for the Lady Rams with a time of 23:54.59.
G-A also had some encouraging finishes in the middle school 2,575-meter race.
The middle school boys team finished 6th with 83 points and the girls did not have enough runners to score as a team.
Seventh grader Louie Finedell finished sixth with a time of 10:28.86 to lead the G-A boys and sixth grader Lillian Barton was the first Ram to cross the finish line for the girls with a time of 11:48.36 in 13th place.
Homer Invite
Men
1. Hudson, 39, 2. Adrian Madison, 55, 3. Galesburg-Augusta, 113, 4. Homer, 118, 5. Addison, 128, 6. Jackson Preparatory, 140, 7. Reading, 155, 8. Athens, 165
G-A Results
7. Segura Lopez, 19:14.44 PB, 15. Nick Stevens, 19:43.49, 17. Ashton Dingee, 19:56.27, 37. Cameron Kuhse, 22:11.11 PB, 62. Matthew Chichester, 27:25.30, PB 64. Vincent Finedell, 28:31.57, 66. Aaiden Schroeder, 29:42.98
Women
1. Adrian Madison, 30, 2. Hudson 43, 3. Homer, 53
G-A Results
5. Sophia Dohm, 23:54.59, 27. Grace Allie, 29:22.35 PB
Middle School 2,575 meters
Boys
1. Springport, 36, 2. Hanover Horton MS 56, 3. Reading, 59, 4. Madison, 72, 5. Hudson Area, 76, 6. Galesburg-Augusta, 83, 7. Homer MS, 90, 8. Tekonsha, 111, 9. Jackson Preparatory, 176
G-A Results
Boys
6. Louie Finedell, 10:28.86, 7. Hershel Dohm, 10:30.37, 38. Preston Freldt, 13:25.82, 54. Adrian Butler, 16:26.95, 56. Silas Guenther, 16:49.41
Girls
1. Hudson Area, 16, 2. Madison, 28, 3. Hanover Horton MS, 55, 4. Homer MS, 61, 5. Springport, 83
G-A Results
13. Lillian Barton, 11:48.36, 44. Sylvia Millard, 14:44.15
Men Place 6th, Men 7th At Delton-Kellogg Invite
The Lady Rams placed sixth and the men placed seventh at the Delton-Kellogg Invite September 10 at the Gilmore Car Museum.
Segura Lopez finished 21st out of a field of 64 runners with a time of 19:43.13 for the men.
Sophia Dohm crossed the finish line first for the women, posting a time of 25:30.94 in 18th place out of a field of 57 runners.
Delton-Kellogg (At Gilmore Car Museum)
Men
1. Holland Calvary Christian 26, 2. Paw Paw, 36, 3. Delton-Kellogg, 62, 4. Hastings, 119, 5. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 157, 6. BC Pennfield, 158, 7. Galesburg-Augusta, 178
G-A Results
21. Segura Lopez, 19:43.13, 37. Nick Stevens, 21:26.51, 40. Ashton Dingee, 21:44.30 45. Cameron Kuhse, 22:34.59, 56. Vincent Finedell, 25:37.90, 57. Everett Finedell, 25:51.18 PB, 61. Matthew Chichester, 29:29.86, 63. Aaiden Schroeder, 31:50.81
Women
1. Paw Paw, 21, 2. Hastings, 47, 3. Delton-Kellogg, 92, 4. BC Pennfield, 118, 5. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 129, 6. Galesburg-Augusta, 141
G-A Results
18. Sophia Dohm, 25:30.94, 31. Ellesa Callendar, 27:39.74 PB, 32. Neva Freed, 27:52.67 PB, 49. Kayla Bortolussi, 31:31.13, 50. Grace Allie, 31:37.71, 55. Addison Walden, 37:45.04 PB
Rams win battle of the unbeatens
By Dale Martin
On September 11th Galesburg-Augusta traveled to Hartford to take on the Huskies of Hartford. It was the third straight long distance trip for the Rams with a 3-0 start, the first since the 1995 season, on the line.
The Rams came through with a 40-21 win.
The game did not have a good start for the Rams. After holding Hartford to a three and out G-A started its first possession at its own 33 yard line. Two negative yardage plays and an incomplete pass forced them to punt.
A bad snap from center resulted in the punter being tackled at the G-A 15 yard line. From there it took the Huskies just three plays to score the game’s first touchdown with senior quarterback Mason Mireles plunging the final two yards for the score. Sebastian Bali-Resendez added the first of three point after try kicks and the Huskies had a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game.
G-A’s second possession faired no better than the first. On third down Patrick Armock’s pass was tipped and then intercepted at the Ram 31 yard line. The defense forced a three and out and the Huskie punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback.
The Rams offense finally got on track and drove 80 yards in 9 plays for their first score, a 16 yard run by senior Giovanni Evans. The two-point attempt on a pass failed and the Rams now trailed 7-6 with a minute to play in the first quarter.
Hartford responded with an 81 yard, 6 play drive, to extend its lead to 14-6 early In the second quarter. The score came on a 52 yard pass from Mireles to Mason Whitman.
A short kickoff gave the Rams the ball at the G-A 48 yard line. Twelve plays later Armock scored on a 6 yard run and Evans added the p.a.t. on a run to tie the game at 14 all going into halftime.
Donavan Tiffany returned the second half kickoff to the Rams 27 yard line. Armock connected with Evans in the right flat for a 17 yard gain and Evans evaded several would be tacklers racing down the side line 56 more yards for the go ahead touchdown, the play covering 73 yards in total. The p.a.t. pass failed but the Rams now held their first lead at 20-14 just 21 seconds into the second half.
Hartford’s first drive of the second half stalled at the Ram 33 yard line. Evans ran for 37 yards, Greg Buckner for 15 and Ronald Kasten for 15 more including a 5 yard run for a G-A touchdown. Evans’ p.a.t. run extended the Ram lead to 28-14 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Ram defense stopped the next Hartford drive giving the ball back to G-A at the Huskies 40 yard line. It took just one play, a 40 yard run by Evans, for the Rams to increase their lead to 34-14, with eleven minutes remaining in the game. G-A’s 28 unanswered points had turned a close game into a blowout.
The Huskies next possession was aided by two 15 yard penalties and eventually resulted in a Hartford touchdown on a 4 yard run by J.T. Littlefield.
Hartford’s attempt at an onside kick failed and G-A took possession at the Rams 49 yard line. Buckner ran for 16 yards, Armock 29 on a quarterback option around left end and Evans collected his fourth touchdown on a 5 yard run completing the scoring in a convincing 40-21 win.
Evans accounted for 166 of the Rams 285 rushing yards. Buckner added 52 hard fought yards and Armock 50. Evans caught 2 passes for 80 yards and Alex Krugh caught one for 45 yards. Armock completed 4 of 13 passes for 101 yards. Evans finished with 312 all-purpose yards.
Dominic Corsi led the defense with 15 tackles and Colton Robertson finished with 12. Duylan Bergeon and Cayden Allie each made 8 tackles and Kasten contributed 7 stops.
G-A will host Comstock September 18th at 7 p.m. for their home opener at Maskill Field.
On September 11th Galesburg-Augusta traveled to Hartford to take on the Huskies of Hartford. It was the third straight long distance trip for the Rams with a 3-0 start, the first since the 1995 season, on the line.
The Rams came through with a 40-21 win.
The game did not have a good start for the Rams. After holding Hartford to a three and out G-A started its first possession at its own 33 yard line. Two negative yardage plays and an incomplete pass forced them to punt.
A bad snap from center resulted in the punter being tackled at the G-A 15 yard line. From there it took the Huskies just three plays to score the game’s first touchdown with senior quarterback Mason Mireles plunging the final two yards for the score. Sebastian Bali-Resendez added the first of three point after try kicks and the Huskies had a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game.
G-A’s second possession faired no better than the first. On third down Patrick Armock’s pass was tipped and then intercepted at the Ram 31 yard line. The defense forced a three and out and the Huskie punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback.
The Rams offense finally got on track and drove 80 yards in 9 plays for their first score, a 16 yard run by senior Giovanni Evans. The two-point attempt on a pass failed and the Rams now trailed 7-6 with a minute to play in the first quarter.
Hartford responded with an 81 yard, 6 play drive, to extend its lead to 14-6 early In the second quarter. The score came on a 52 yard pass from Mireles to Mason Whitman.
A short kickoff gave the Rams the ball at the G-A 48 yard line. Twelve plays later Armock scored on a 6 yard run and Evans added the p.a.t. on a run to tie the game at 14 all going into halftime.
Donavan Tiffany returned the second half kickoff to the Rams 27 yard line. Armock connected with Evans in the right flat for a 17 yard gain and Evans evaded several would be tacklers racing down the side line 56 more yards for the go ahead touchdown, the play covering 73 yards in total. The p.a.t. pass failed but the Rams now held their first lead at 20-14 just 21 seconds into the second half.
Hartford’s first drive of the second half stalled at the Ram 33 yard line. Evans ran for 37 yards, Greg Buckner for 15 and Ronald Kasten for 15 more including a 5 yard run for a G-A touchdown. Evans’ p.a.t. run extended the Ram lead to 28-14 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Ram defense stopped the next Hartford drive giving the ball back to G-A at the Huskies 40 yard line. It took just one play, a 40 yard run by Evans, for the Rams to increase their lead to 34-14, with eleven minutes remaining in the game. G-A’s 28 unanswered points had turned a close game into a blowout.
The Huskies next possession was aided by two 15 yard penalties and eventually resulted in a Hartford touchdown on a 4 yard run by J.T. Littlefield.
Hartford’s attempt at an onside kick failed and G-A took possession at the Rams 49 yard line. Buckner ran for 16 yards, Armock 29 on a quarterback option around left end and Evans collected his fourth touchdown on a 5 yard run completing the scoring in a convincing 40-21 win.
Evans accounted for 166 of the Rams 285 rushing yards. Buckner added 52 hard fought yards and Armock 50. Evans caught 2 passes for 80 yards and Alex Krugh caught one for 45 yards. Armock completed 4 of 13 passes for 101 yards. Evans finished with 312 all-purpose yards.
Dominic Corsi led the defense with 15 tackles and Colton Robertson finished with 12. Duylan Bergeon and Cayden Allie each made 8 tackles and Kasten contributed 7 stops.
G-A will host Comstock September 18th at 7 p.m. for their home opener at Maskill Field.
G-A JVs have open week
The 1-1 Galesburg-Augusta JV football team did not play September 10, but resumed action September 17 at Saugatuck.
