SPORTS

VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL
Elks win two straight NSC games

Allie Schlicker (34) looks toward the basket before going up for a lay-up as Rhielynn Skrocki (5) moves in for a rebound. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

The Elks hosted conference leading Harbor Springs last Thursday and suffered a 39-25 loss, but the 35 points tallied by Harbor was the lowest offensive output by the Rams in a game this season.
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The Elks led 9-8 after one but were outscored by Harbor 15-8 in the second quarter, sending the teams into halftime with the Elks trailing 23-17. The second half was a close contest, the Elks won the third quarter 8-7, trimming the deficit to 30-25 after three quarters of play. The offense wasn’t there for either squad in the final quarter and the Rams escaped with the 39-25 win.

Rhielynn Skrocki had nine points and four rebounds, Natasha Beebe scored six points on a pair of threes, Anna Pray had five points and eight rebounds, Allie Schlicker hauled in eight boards.

The Elks began a four-game road trip on Monday, traveling to Charlevoix for a Northern Shores Conference (NSC) game against the Rayders and came away with a dominating 63-21 victory. The Elks put the game out of reach in the first quarter, taking a 25-3 lead that swelled to a 36-7 halftime advantage and a 49-14 lead after three quarters of play.

Skrocki poured in 20 points, including four buckets from the three points range, to go with five rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Schlicker added 11 points, seven boards and two blocks, Ilah Bryan and Brooke Fluty both had eight points.

The Elks made the long drive to Cheboygan on Tuesday and notched a second straight win edging past the Chiefs 38-35. The game was tied 32-32 midway through the fourth quarter, and both teams went on a three- minute scoring drought. Fluty hit a long two with a minute to play, giving the Elks the 34-32 lead, Schlicker hit two free throws, Pray and Emily Vandergriff both sank a free throw, all in the final 20 seconds to seal the win.

Cheboygan scored on a long toss for a three at the buzzer, setting the score for the Elk win at 38-35. Schlicker had eight points and nine rebounds, Skrocki scored seven points with seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals, Pray added points and six rebounds, and Beebe finished with six points.

The Elks (8-6, 5-3 NSC) have a pair of conference road match-ups coming up, beginning at Grayling on Thursday followed by a make-up game at Kalkaska on Tuesday.

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VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL
Elks undefeated at 10-0 in NSC

Caden Schlicker (24) drives through the entire Rayder defense for a lay-up. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

The Elks won their fourth straight game with a 65-58 defeat of Cheboygan at home on Tuesday to improve to 10-0 and stand alone in first place of the Northern Shores Conference (NSC) standings. The loss dropped the second-place Chiefs to 8-3 in the conference; Harbor Springs sits in third place at 7-4. Cam Kerfoot tossed in 15 points, Tyler Standfest added 12 points with six rebounds, Jake Moore scored 11 with nine rebounds, Caden Schlicker hauled in seven rebounds to go with two blocks.

The Elks headed north on Friday to Harbor Springs and came away with a 62-51 win over the Rams. Kerfoot scored 20 points, Moore had 17 and Standfest tallied seven points with six rebounds.

The Elks hosted Charlevoix last Wednesday in a make-up game and notched a 53-34 win. The Elks led 13-9 after one, then took over the game in the second quarter to build a 30-18 lead at halftime. Kerfoot had 15 points and six steals, Schlicker scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards, Standfest tossed in 12 points, Braden Fluty scored five with seven rebounds. 

Elk Rapids (13-3,10-0 NSC) will play the next three games at home, starting with NSC contests against Grayling on Friday and Kalkaska on Monday followed by a non-conference match-up against visiting Gaylord on Tuesday.

The Elk Rapids Dance Squad will be in action at halftime of the Monday home game against Kalkaska.

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VARSITY BOWLING
Elk bowlers get comeback win over Petoskey

Zach Cadwell was a big factor in the Elks’ comeback win in against Petoskey. Courtesy photo

The Elk varsity bowling team remained undefeated with a crushing win over Grayling and a nailbiter victory against Petoskey. The Elks began the day rolling over Grayling 29-1. The Elks won both Baker games 212-94 and 189-90 for a combined total of 401-184. In regular bowling the Elks won game one 990-548 and game two 925-488.

Cohen Reinhardt rolled the high game with a 244, just ahead of Makai Wyatt with a 243, earning two points was Zach Cadwell.  

Facing Petoskey in the second match the Elks were down 10-0 after losing both Baker games. “It is difficult to come back from that deficit, but they did for the second time this season, allowing only three of the 20 available points. Zach Cadwell again motivated the team with his energy,” said Elk bowling coach Ken Hicks.

The Elks won the regular bowling games 1052-1009 and 920-899 to earn a 17-13 win. Cadwell had the high game with a 237 and high series of 441. Earning two points were Cadwell, Wyatt and Reinhardt, earning one point was Nate Barton. 
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The Elks (9-0-1) will have a big match against second-place Cheboygan (8-1-1) and then face Boyne City next Saturday in Harbor Springs.

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VARSITY HOCKEY
Bay Rep hockey recaps

Carter Denoyer scored his third goal of the season in a tough loss against the Caledonia Scots. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

Bay Rep boys
The Bay Rep boys split a pair of games at the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League (MIHL) Prep Hockey Showcase held at the Kennedy Recreation Center in Trenton last Thursday and Friday. 
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The Reps opened the showcase suffering a 3-2 defeat by Caledonia Scots on Thursday that snapped the Reps’ winning streak. The Scots took the lead with a first period goal and remained ahead 1-0 as the teams took the ice for the third period. Elk Rapids Carter Denoyer tied the game with a goal two minutes into the final period, then the Reps went up 2-1 with a goal scored at the 9:45 mark. The Scots tied the game with a goal four minutes later, and then just 30 seconds later notched the winning goal on a powerplay.

The Reps bounced back with a 3-0 shutout over the Jackson Lumen Christi Titans on Friday. The teams played two scoreless periods before the Reps got on the scoreboard five minutes into the third period and added one final goal for the 3-0 win. 

The Bay Rep boys (11-11) will be on the road this weekend playing Saginaw Heritage on Friday evening (7:30 p.m.) at the Saginaw Bay Ice Arena and then have a Saturday afternoon game (2:30 p.m.) against the Midland Dow Chargers at the Midland Civic Center.


Bay Rep girls
The Bay Rep girls had a 1-1 tie against the Soo Greyhounds last Saturday afternoon at the Gaylord Sports Complex. The game was knotted at 0-0 at the end of the opening period, then the Reps took a 1-0 lead with five minutes to play in the second period. The lead held until late in the third when the Soo avoided the shutout with a goal, tying the game at 1-1 with just 1:36 remaining on the clock.

The Bay Rep girls (13-5-1) have five games remaining in the regular season, beginning with a contest against University Liggett at Centre Ice on Saturday afternoon (1:30 p.m.).

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VARSITY SKIING
Bogard wins Peppi, GNA ready for regionals

Corbin Bogard (left) won the “Peppi” slalom and GNA teammate Benjamin Dyste finished third. Courtesy photo

The Great North Alpine (GNA) ski team competed in the 10th annual Hans ‘Peppi’ Teichner Town Slalom ski race, held at Hickory Hills last Wednesday. The meet was originally scheduled for Friday, January 23, but was postponed due to hazardous weather.

The annual event pairs TC Central, TC West and GNA in a two-run slalom race. The tri-meet is held in honor of Hans “Peppi” Teichner (1908-1957), an international ski pro and local ski legend who was instrumental in developing high school skiing in the Grand Traverse area.

The meet was won by GNA skier and Elk junior Corbin Bogard, turning in a combined first-place time of 1:01.72. Finishing in third place was GNA teammate and Elk sophomore Benjamin Dyste (1:02.13) and Elk freshmen Larsen Dyste ended in tenth place (1:04.44). There were 30 skiers competing in the boys race. Bogard finished second in the Peppi last year and came in fifth place for his freshmen season.
The boys race was won by TC West (21) followed by GNA (25) and TC Central (33).

On the girls’ side TC West finished first (18) and TC Central came in second place (26). The GNA girls had three skiers, but had a solid showing, finishing in fifth, sixth and 12th place individually.

The GNA teams will next take to the slopes for the Division 2 Skiing Regionals, taking place on Monday morning (9:00 a.m.) at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort located in Thompsonville. There are 12 teams scheduled to compete at the regional meet, with the top three finishing teams moving on to the Division 2 Skiing State Finals. The top 10 individual finishers in the slalom and in the giant slalom who are not on a qualifying state finals team will advance to the D2 Individual State Finals.

The Division 2 State Finals will take place at Schuss Mountain in Bellaire on Monday, February 23.

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