Eastern Upper Peninsula players competing in the All-Star Classic are (from left) Travis Lynn of Brimley, Cory Wellnitz of Cedarville, Pia Hoge of DeTour, Garrett Becker of St. Ignace, and Travis Romatz of Pickford. Cedarville hosted the 21st Annual Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame All-Star Classic weekend. For the first time held in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, the event was a huge success. The teams of seniors only are selected by the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association during the girls and boys All-U.P. meetings.

The athletes arrived Friday, June 9, and were assigned host families, followed by a bus ride to St. Ignace and a ferry line cruise under the Mackinac Bridge and to Mackinac Island.

One hundred twenty players, coaches, parents, and guests were onboard and enjoyed the trip and a pizza meal before the players and coaches returned to Cedarville for practice.

The Trojan Booster Club hosted breakfast in the high school commons and each player was introduced and presented a certificate for being selected to this prestigious weekend event.

The South Boys All-Star Team includes (front, from left) Jordan Phillippo of Stephenson, Garrett Becker of St. Ignace, Joey Duncan-manager of Cedarville, Andrew Frazer of North Central, Patrick O'Connell of Escanaba, Carl Branstrom of Mid Peninsula; (back) Travis Lynn of Brimley, Cory Wellnitz of Cedarville, Josh Theobald of Iron Mountain, Coach Ben Leiker of Norway, Coach Dave Duncan of Cedarville, Matt Romatz, Justin Bloniarz of Bark River-Harris, and Joe Pontbriand of Norway. Special event contests were held, with the girls competing in free throw shooting and a threepoint shootout and the boys in slam dunk and a three-point shootout.

Four area referees, Joe Baker, Tony Hakola, and Mike Amarose of Cedarville and Joel Peffers of Pickford, volunteered their time to officiate the girls and boys games.

"I was very pleased with everything and look forward to hosting the event in 2007," said Dave Duncan, athletic director at Cedarville. "It takes plenty of volunteer help to put on this event and I appreciate all the people who helped out."

Five Players Represent EUP

The South Girls All-Star Team includes (front, from left) Maureen Burke of Forest Park, Sarah Lepisto of Mid Peninsula, Jillian Dolkey of Munising, Jenn Forvilly of Escanaba; (back) Pia Hoge of DeTour, Shelle Rochon of North Central, Angie Leckson of Big Bay de Noc, Coach Jon Miller of Rapid River, Coach Sharon Ducat of Iron Mountain, Ashley Folcik of Carney-Nadeau, and Jill Tollefson of L'Anse. Five players, Pia Hoge of DeTour, Cory Wellnitz of Cedarville, Garrett Becker of St. Ignace, Matt Romatz of Pickford, and Travis Lynn of Brimley, represented the Eastern Upper Peninsula in the All-Star Classic.

Hoge scored six points for the South girls team, while Romatz notched 15, Wellnitz chipped in 11, Lynn tallied nine, and Becker charted two for the South boys squad.

Pia Hoge First Exchange

Student To Play in

All-Star Classic

Pia Hoge of Buchholz, Germany, a senior at DeTour High School, became the first foreign exchange student to play in the Upper Peninsula Sport Hall of Fame All-Star Classic.

Cory Wellnitz of Cedarville (above left photograph) and Matt Romatz of Pickford (above right photograph) competed in the slam dunk contest, won by Josh Theobald of Iron Mountain. Hoge led the Raiders with 266 points for a 13.3 average in 20 games, 202 rebounds (10.1 average), and dished out 41 assists for Coach Dave Miller and the Raiders.

"Pia was a very unselfish player that could have shot the ball more," said Coach Miller. "She liked the game of basketball even though having played for just three years prior to coming to the United States."

Pia has enjoyed her school year in DeTour and will return home on June 26. Her host parents were Sas and Dave Miller.

Koski, Jandron Lead North

To Win in Boys Contest

The scoring duo of Craig Koski of Baraga and Tony Jandron of Negaunee combined for 56 points to lead the North team to a 102-94 win over the South during the 21st Annual Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame All-Star Classic Saturday, June 10, in Cedarville.

Koski, who was named the Most Valuable Player, scored 29 points that included four in the first quarter, 13 in the second, 10 in the third, and two in the fourth, while Jandron tallied five in the first and second quarters, seven in the third, and 10 in fourth.

The South squad held a 30-20 lead after the first 10 minutes and increased the margin to 40-26 at the 6:34 mark of the second quarter before Jandron sparked the North comeback with a trey and two-point field goal to slice the deficit to 4031 with 5:24 remaining in the first half.

The North defense held the South to three points for the remainder of the half, while Koski scored 13 points that spearheaded the North on an 18-3 offensive run for a 49-43 halftime advantage.

Jandron opened the second half with seven points as the North extended their lead to 59-47, but the South cut the margin to 68-64 with 1:38 left in the third quarter. Koski answered with two triples in the closing 30 seconds for a 74-66 North lead.

Matt Romatz of Pickford scored 15 points in the combined third and fourth quarters for the South, but that wasn't enough as Kyle Robinson of Watersmeet and Jandron notched 10 points each in the final period to ice the eight-point win for the North.

Pia Hoge, DeTour Justin Bloniarz of Bark RiverHarris led the South with 17 points. Romatz added 15, Carl Branstrom of Mid Peninsula and Cory Wellnitz of Cedarville chipped in 11, Travis Lynn of Brimley charted nine, and Garrett Becker of St. Ignace marked two.

Dustin Brancheau of Ishpeming won the three-point shootout and Josh Theobald of Iron Mountain the slam-dunk contest. Balanced Scoring Lifts

North Over South in

Girls All-Star Game

Four players scored in double figures to lead the North team to a 79-63 win over the South in the girls All-Star Classic.

Nicole Grengs of Marquette scored 17 points that included four triples to lead the North. Shannon Helminen of Calumet, who was voted Most Valuable Player, added 16 points, Kasey Willis of Calumet chipped in 12, and Angela Guisfredi of Lake Linden-Hubbell notched 11.

Shelle Rochon of North Central led the South with 16 points, Angela Leckson of Big Bay de Noc chipped in 10, and Pia Hoge of DeTour the lone area player counted six.

Above photograph: Cedarville Coach Dave Duncan and his wife, Sonja Duncan, with the north tower of the Mackinac Bridge in the background, enjoying the cruise that was part of the All-Star weekend. Lower photograph: Players enjoy pizza and water during the cruise. The South led 19-12 after the first quarter before the North took the lead for good at 27-24 with 4:45 left in the second quarter, and held a 41-31 halftime lead after the Calumet connection of Helminen and Willis combined for the final eight points for the North.

The North increased their lead to 58-41 after three quarters with a 1710 advantage before the South closed out the contest with a 22-19 scoring edge.

Angela Guisfredi of Lake Linden-Hubbell won the free throw shooting contest and three-point shootout.