The final four boys and girls basketball banners hang in the John Duncan Gymnasium at Cedarville High School. Three of the banners are for boys basketball from the 2005-06 season to 2007-08 season and one banner is for girls basketball for the 2006-07 season. As a new year begins, reflection of area athletic accomplishments in 2008 revealed many accolades on the team level. The following is a year-end review of team championships that highlighted the year from seven schools in The St. Ignace News coverage area.

Schools include Cedarville, St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Engadine, Mackinaw City, Rudyard, and Brimley.

Cedarville Trojans: The Trojans boys basketball team, coached by Dave Duncan, and the girls squad, with Sonja Duncan, reached the state final four during 2008, and along the way won the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference (EUPC), Class D district and regional titles, and captured the quarterfinals before falling in Class D state semifinals.

The Cedarville boys track team, coached by Ryan Wilson, won the EUPC crown and Division 3 regional title. The volleyball team, coached by Kathy Trevarrow, earned the district championship, while the football team, headed by Scott Barr, won the Mid-Eastern Football League title and qualified for the playoffs.

The St. Ignace Saints girls cross country team of (front, from left) Sara Tafelski, Kayla Gustin, Stacy Goldthorpe; (back) Page Paul, Nicole Elmblad, Kristen Olsen, and Grace Wheeler earned academic allstate honors as the top team in Division II. (Photograph courtesy of Betsy Wheeler) St. Ignace Saints: The Saints girls track team, coached by Diane Huskey, won the regional track crown and the Upper Peninsula state championship.

St. Ignace wrestlers, with Coach Harvey Bentley, won the district title after recording a school record 30 victories. Derek Marshall, Brandon Garries, and Rob Robinson were the first wrestlers from LaSalle High School to qualify for the individual state finals.

Coach Marty Spencer and his Saints football team qualified for the playoffs and won the district championship with victories over Bark River-Harris and Cedarville.

Colleen Colegrove, a school teacher at Maui, Hawaii, attended the LaSalle High School Hall of Fame induction with sons Roman, 7, and Gabe, 12, Sunday, December 28. The Saints girls cross country team, coached by Emily Fullerton, was the top team in Division 2, receiving academic all-state honors. The team included Nicole Elmblad, Kayla Gustin, Stacy Goldthorpe, Page Paul, Kristen Olsen, Grace Wheeler, and Sara Tafelski.

Mackinac Island Lakers: The Lakers boys' basketball team, coached by Jim Fisher, won the Northern Lights League championship and the league tournament crown for the third consecutive season. The Mackinac Island co-ed soccer team headed by Mary Patay won the conference title.

Engadine Eagles: The Eagles volleyball team, coached by Kathy Miller, won the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference and district championship. Elisa Hobbs was named league player of the year.

Mackinaw City Comets: The Comets boys basketball team, under Coach Garth Law, won the Northern Lakes Conference and Class D district championship.

Barb LaTour, a firefighter in Chicago, attended LaSalle High School's Hall of Fame induction Sunday, December 28, with her daughter, Naomi Smith, a junior at Michigan State University. Rudyard Bulldogs: The Bulldogs baseball team (25-8-1), coached by Ron VanSloten, won the district and regional titles before falling to Frankfort in the quarterfinals.

Brimley Bays: The Bays girls track team, coached by Joyel Hyvarinen, won the EUPC crown and the Upper Peninsula state Division 3 title.

Additional 2008 Highlights

Mackinaw City High School named its gymnasium in honor of Coach Mac McMahon.

Anthony Lester set a new LaSalle High School three-point field goal record with nine triples against Newberry, January 31.

After 54 years, Jim Lamoreaux of St. Ignace retired as a Michigan High School Athletic Association referee for football and basketball.

Sonja Duncan of Cedarville and Dan Rambo of Pickford were inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame.

The Saints girls and boys won the St. Ignace Kiwanis track and field championships.

Jaimee Bloxsom set a new LaSalle High School record in the pole vault with a height of 9'6."

Tyler Mapes of St. Ignace won the Division II golf Upper Peninsula state individual finals at Norway. Michael Gamble of Mackinac Island won the Division III Upper Peninsula state crown at Newberry.

Derek Marshall and Marcie Rickley of St. Ignace and Jason Duncan and Caitlin Wright of Cedarville were named top athletes of their respective schools during the 2007-08 school year.

Jason and Jordan Duncan and Kevin Thompson of Cedarville, James Peterson of St. Ignace, and Amber Aikens of Brimley were selected to play in the Upper Peninsula Basketball All-Star Game in Escanaba.

Nine players from the area were selected to play in the first Upper Peninsula All-Star Football Game at the Superior Dome in Marquette

Players included Nick Montie, James Peterson, and Derek Marshall of St. Ignace; Sheldon Tassier of Cedarville; John Troyer of Engadine; Peter Lawlor of Rudyard; Jordan Potter, Richard Gibson, and Joe Jenkins of Pickford.

Craig Wallis of Rudyard was named most valuable player during the Michigan Baseball All- Star Game.

Nicole Elmblad of St. Ignace placed fifth in Division II and Brandi Kopitz of Pickford fifth in Division III, and both were the top two female runners from the area at the Upper Peninsula state finals in Sault Ste. Marie Also, Erin Currie finished eighth and Jessica Duncan placed ninth for Cedarville.

The top two male runners were for the event were Teryn Miller with a third place finish and Tyler Anderson, who placed sixth for DeTour in Division III, while the Rudyard boys team finished third overall in Division II.

Engadine and Cedarville competed in the first "Dig Pink" volleyball fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness in October at Engadine.

St. Ignace and Cedarville battled on the gridiron in the playoffs, meeting for the first time since the 1950s. The Saints defeated Bark River-Harris and the Trojans downed Gaylord St. Mary in the district semifinals to meet in the district finals, with the Saints edging the Trojans 18-7. St. Ignace then fell to Crystal Falls-Forest Park 30-26 in the regional finals at Marquette.

Gerrit Mortensen of St. Ignace was named Straits Area Conference Football Player of the Year. He also received the Dream Team All-Upper Peninsula award.

C.J. Paquin of Cedarville received Mid-Eastern Football League (MEFL) Player of the Year honors, Dream Team All-Upper Peninsula, and All-State awards.

Luke Murray of Cedarville received Dream Team Upper Peninsula and MEFL football honors.

LaSalle High School inducted 10 members into the first Athletic Hall of Fame. Inductees were Herbert Hamel, Tom Hamel, James R. "Mr. Mac" MacDonald, Bud Vecellio, Leroy "Jumbo" Soeltner, Colleen Colegrove, Barb LaTour, Wade Huskey, Barry Pierson, and Ed Lester Sr.