Remembering a Year of East Lansing Athletics Unlike Any Other

Amid a year of high school sports unlike any other, with altered schedules and empty(ish) arenas due to Covid-19, one thing remained constant: East Lansing High School sports excelled.

From the football team making a regional playoff game to both the girls and boys track teams sending a bevy of runners to states and everything in between, the Trojans found ways to thrive in a year of uncertainty and changing protocols due to the pandemic.

And it made what the Trojans achieved in 2020-21 that much more impressive — through all the ups and downs, starts and stops and roadblocks — everyone persevered to make it as memorable a year as any.

Here’s a look back at what the Trojans achieved during the 2020-21 seasons.

Fall 2020

Headlining the fall slate of sports for East Lansing was the football team.

With two NCAA Division I commits in offensive tackle Ethan Boyd and wideout Andrel Anthony Jr, both seniors, the Trojans romped through the regular season and through the early rounds of the state playoffs — after a Covid pause in the middle that meant the Fall 2020 season actually ended in 2021.

In districts, they bashed Portage Central, 49-6, then bulldozed Portage Northern, 42-14, setting up a regional matchup with Muskegon Mona Shores, played at Lynn C. Adams Stadium in front of East Lansing High School.

They also took a social stand, when the team decided themselves to take a knee during the national anthem.

After breaking out to an early lead against Mona Shores, the Trojans fell behind and couldn’t pull off a comeback, losing 24-21 to the eventual state champion.

“I’m not smart enough to tell you what points in your lives that this experience, this year, is going to make you stronger and move forward when adversity hits…From the bottom of my heart, it was an honor to be associated with all of you,” football Head Coach Bill Feraco told his team on the field after their final game.

Along with the football team, the boys tennis team toppled Dexter for the district championship before losing at states. The girls golf team finished fourth in the region, just seven strokes short of finishing third and qualifying for states.

The boys soccer team reached district semifinals with a 3-0 win against Swartz Creek before getting pipped by Grand Blanc, 2-1. The volleyball team faced Grand Ledge in the district quarterfinal, falling 3-0.

Along with the teams, several individuals stood out in the fall, too.

Sophomore diver Gwen Petrie finished 10th in the state, one year after placing 18th as a freshman. She improved during the pandemic by using her trampoline at home among other things.

And on the cross country course, Abbie Draheim and Nathan Faust placed well at the state meet. Draheim finished 11th overall in the state (out of 246 runners who competed), and Faust finished 27th (out of 250 runners).

Winter 2021

The main feature in the winter was the parallel runs the boys and girls basketball teams made through the state tournament. Both teams reached the state quarterfinals before they were beaten in postseason play.

The path to states for the girls started with district wins against DeWitt and then Haslett before they moved on to regional finals via a forfeit by their regional semifinal opponent. In the regional final, with a spot in states on the line, the Trojans dominated Kalamazoo Central, 62-38.

The boys rattled off three-straight victories to win their district, beating St. Johns, outlasting DeWitt in overtime, and finishing the deal against host school Waverly. At regionals, the Trojans topped Holt, then outdueled Coldwater to win a regional crown and join the girls in state quarterfinals.

“We talked a lot this year about doing it for last year’s team, and doing it for ourselves because we didn’t get to finish out our season last year,” senior Annelise Lebeda said about the run to states after beating Kalamazoo Central.

In state quarterfinals, the girls lost to Hudsonville, and the boys were beaten by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.

Besides the runs from the hoops teams, the boys swim and dive team shone in 2021. They finished second in the Capital Area Activities Conference (CAAC) blue division, beating out rival Okemos for that spot.

“We lost to them during the regular season and then beat them at the championship meet,” swim and dive Head Coach Madi Zink said about Okemos. “It was nice to come back and to be able to do that.”

Further, two individuals for the boys — senior swimmer Josh Bergdolt and freshman diver JJ Van Dyke — made it to the state meet.

The girls gymnastics team placed seventh at regionals, and the boys and girls bowling teams finished 14th and 11th at their regionals, respectively.

And one wrestler — junior Emilio Cabrera — returned to state finals after making it his freshman year: a dose of redemption after missing out his sophomore season.

Spring 2021

It was a strong finish to a strong year for East Lansing.

The boys and girls track teams dominated the local competition, winning their respective CAAC meets by a comfortable margin, before sending a group of runners to states.

At the state finals, the boys snagged five points overall, with the 4×200 relay team of Dorijan Jackson, Conner Long, Pierre Butler, and Alex Hosey finishing fourth overall.

The girls did even better as a team at states, snagging 19 points to finish ninth overall. Senior sprinter Comari Hawkins was third fastest in the state in the 100 meters with a time of 12.10, finishing .01 of a second behind the second-place finisher. And in the 1,600 meter, Draheim finished seventh, and sophomore teammate Anna Delgado finished 10th.

Also making their state finals was freshman golfer Drew Miller, who placed 22nd in the state.

The boys lacrosse team made a regional final game for the first time in more than a decade to cap off a renaissance of a season. They lost to the defending state champions, but found value even in that loss.

“To have the opportunity to play against the defending state champions and to see what that level of lacrosse is like, especially for our team, because we’re still a relatively young team right now — that was just great for our guys,” boys lacrosse Head Coach Will Wismer said.

The girls lacrosse team nearly matched them — and dominated some CAAC competition along the way — but fell in the regional semifinal to eventual regional champion DeWitt.

The girls tennis team had one of their best seasons this century, winning the CAAC blue division for the first time since their coach was a high schooler playing on the team. They finished second at regionals and sent several doubles pairings plus some singles players to states.

“We saw that we definitely had a lot of potential as a team to do something special this year,” Head Coach Cosette Buckberry said. “And then we went on to win the CAAC (Blue) itself.”

In girls soccer, the Trojans made some progress this year despite a roster reset — picking up their first tie against Okemos in years. They fell to host Hartland in district quarterfinals.

And on the diamonds, the baseball and softball teams both fell in close, competitive fashion in their districts. The softball team lost a heartbreaking district semifinal to host DeWitt in extra innings, 5-4. That game took 14 innings — usually high school games are seven innings.

The baseball team was topped by powerhouse Grand Ledge, 5-1, but made the Diamond Classic — a local invitational tournament — where they topped St. Johns before losing a pitchers duel, 1-0, to eventual runner-up DeWitt.

“It’s a lot more than just that last game,” baseball Head Coach Mark Pendred said. “It’s the whole four years of being together and doing things together as a team.”

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