Girls Lacrosse Advances in Playoffs With Win

GIRLS LACROSSE — Hartland defeated Huron Valley 13-9 Friday to advance to Round 2 of the district playoffs, according to HartlandLacrosse.com.

The Eagles (12-3) now play 7 p.m. Tuesday vs. the winner of Midland and Grand Blanc at Lake Orion High School, the site said.

Thursday

BOYS LACROSSE — Hartland lost 18-7 to Ada Forest Hills Eastern on Thursday in a pre-regional matchup.

"I'm very proud of the way the kids played," Hartland coach Mike Holka said. "FHE is a very good team and very well-coached, that's why they are No. 2 in the state. We asked the kids for their best effort at the beginning of the game, and everyone stepped it up."

Contributing for Hartland were: Austin MacDonald with three goals; Jack Bontekoe had one goal and three assists; Nick Lipon had one goal and one assist; CJ Reuschlein and Andrew Skowyra added one goal each; and Jordan Martin had seven takeaways on defense.

The loss ends the season for the Eagles, who finished with a 10-8 overall record.

BASEBALL — Hartland will face Livonia Stevenson at 2 p.m. Saturday at Stevenson for the Kensington Lakes Activities Association title.

The game has been postponed twice because of inclement weather. It was originally scheduled for Wednesday and then rescheduled for Thursday.

Stevenson (23-8) defeated Canton, 3-2, on Tuesday evening to win the Kensington Conference title. 

BOYS GOLF — The Eagles lost 129-131 in a rain-shortened, seven-hole match Thursday against Milford.

"Some of the greens got so wet, they were pretty much unplayable," Hartland coach Nathan Oake said. 

The Eagles (5-5) drop to third in the KLAA West. Pinckney is the West champ at 8-2. Grand Blanc and Brighton are tied for second at 5-4, and each have one more match to play.

Next up is the KLAA Lakes Conference Tournament at Tyrone Hills in Tyrone Township on Tuesday.

Tuesday

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT NEWS — Seventeen collegebound student athletes were honored Tuesday at Hartland High School. For our story, click here.

ALUMNI NEWS — Hartland graduate Ben Gawronski, now a freshman at Oakland Community College, placed 13th overall at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Golf Nationals.

The Raiders finished fifth overall out of 19 teams at the tournament, held at Goose Pond Colony in Scottsboro, Ala., on May 17-20.

Monday

BASEBALL — Hartland won the KLAA Lakes Conference title with a 5-2 win over Walled Lake Central on Monday.

"This is our first title in the new league," Hartland coach Brian Morrison said. "We won the league title in the old (Kensington Valley Conference) in 2007 and 2008."

The Eagles (25-2) won the KLAA West Division title on Saturday and they'll play for the association title on Wednesday against the winner of Canton-Livonia Stevenson, who play Tuesday. The KLAA title game will be at either Canton or Stevenson, beginning at 4 p.m.

"Everybody seems to be focused," Morrison said. "That's what we need and we'll see where it takes us."

Walled Lake Central gave the Eagles one of their two losses earlier in the season. Morrison said the difference this time was his team came up with the big two-out hits and shut down Central's chances.

"We enjoyed it, but we've got more games coming up," Morrison said. "I'd say it was business as usual, really."

Hartland scored all five of its funs in the fourth inning. Ryan Sharpe led off with a single and the rest of the damage was done with two outs. Kyle Garner singled, Shane Felix reached on an error, Anthony Villar singled home a run, Jake Jessen tripled home three runs and Al Wachsmuth doubled home a run.

GIRLS SOFTBALL — Hartland lost in the Kesington Lakes Activities Association Lakes Conference championship game 3-0 Monday to Walled Lake Northern, according to the KLAA website.

The loss was a "heart breaker" in eight innings, tweeted Hartland Athletic Director Jason Reck.

The team, 26-4, is scheduled to play in a consolation away game Wednesday.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK — Soccer's Hailey Pleshakov, golf's Austin Rivet and softball Kayla Gustitus are the latest Fenton State Bank Athletes of the Week for Hartland High School, according to the school's athletic department.

Pleshakov was nominated by coach Andrew Kartsounes, who said: “The Hartland senior central midfielder and co-captain led the Eagles to two KLAA wins last week over Milford and Howell by scoring three goals and adding three assists.”

Rivet was mominated by coach Nathan Oake, who said: “Freshman Austin Rivet had a breakout week for the Eagles. Austin shot 74 at Indianwood Country Club on Monday to finish second out of 110 player at the Birmingham Seaholm Invitational. Austin also helped his team to a third place finish out of 22 teams.  

"Austin followed his best 18 hole score of the year up with his best 9 hole score with a 37 on Tuesday at Dunham Hills vs. Grand Blanc. He also shot 40 on Wednesday on a wet and tough Timber Trace vs. Pinckney and 37 at Oak Point Country Club vs. Brighton on Thursday. On Friday, Austin shot 79 on Forest Akers West at Michigan State University for the East Lansing Spring Classic. He has been one of the most consistent and reliable Hartland Golfers all season long.”

Gustitus was nominated by coach Carl Gabrielson, who said: “This past week Hartland won the KLAA Lakes West division title. Kayla Gustitus played a big role in this success.”

She hit .429 and knocked in five while scoring five runs, according to Gabrielson. She also made 11 plays in the field without an error.

BOYS GOLF — The Eagles placed 12th out of 30 teams at the Forest Hills Central Invite in a one-day, 36-hole tournament at Egypt Valley Country Club in Grand Rapids.

Hartland shot 324 and 334 for a total of 658. Forest Hills Central won the tournament, shooting 292 and 308 for a total of 600.

"It was a great tournament," Hartland coach Nathan Oake said. "It's a fantastic golf venue. It hosted the U.S. Junior Amateur last year and has hosted several PGA Senior Tour events over the years. It was a real treat for the guys and it was a great trip."

In the opening round, played on The Ridge, Grant Klopfenstein shot 78, Adam Firavich shot 80, Craig Stoddard shot 82 and Chris Pentescu shot an 84. In the second round, played on The Valley, Stoddard shot an 81, Firavich shot 82, Chris McRae shot an 84 and Austin Rivet shot an 87.

GIRLS SOCCER — Hartland lost for the first time within its conference this season 1-0 to Walled Lake Northern on a penalty kick.

The Eagles (7-1-2 KLAA, 12-2-3 overall) play one more game 7 p.m. Wednesday at Northville before starting the district tournament next week.