The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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2006: Top 5 stories
Big Red teams on the move in '06
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 4, 2007
1. Girls rule the fall
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In some ways, the 2006 Milan girls' swimming and diving team and girls' cross country team had some big similarities.
Both were led by senior record-breakers. Both featured surprising depth. Both claimed Huron League crowns.
And, most importantly in the end, both finished among the very best teams in the state –– the Milan swimmers fourth at the Division 2 state meet at Eastern Michigan University Nov. 18, the cross country team sixth at their Division 2 state meet Nov. 4.
But there were differences, too. The Milan swimmers' performance was, in some ways, expected. The Big Reds returned all eight swimmers that advanced to the state meet in 2005, were ranked in the top 5 throughout the season, and broke a string of varsity and pool records on their way to state.
Nonetheless, Milan lived up to those expectations at EMU. Senior Courtney Roberts capped her career by winning a state title in the 100-yard breaststroke in All-American time. Sophomore Maura Donahue finished runner-up behind only Dexter's Texas-bound Adrienne Woods in both the 100 and 200 freestyles, the first in All-American time. All three Milan relays finished with All-State honors and the Big Reds finished with their highest point total yet at state — 191 —under coach Dan Heikka.
For Steve Porter's cross country team, however, those kinds of expectations weren't a problem. After losing several key runners from 2005 and joining a new, much more difficult region, the Big Reds weren't even a lock to qualify for state. Despite their conference title, entering the post-season Milan had yet to crack the coaches' Division 2 top 10 rankings.
The Big Reds quickly proved those rankings wrong. First they not only qualified for state, but did so as region runners-up, ahead of No. 6 Chelsea, 67 points to 75.
They would go on to top themselves at state, with all five scorers finishing in the top 90 and senior Emily Wilson finishing 11th. Milan finished only nine points —249 to 258 — behind fifth-place Dexter. Wilson's time of 18:37.9 was not only a personal best, but broke an 18-year-old Milan varsity record. And the sixth-place finish was the program's best since Porter guided the team to a state championship in 1988.
2. Soccer rising
It still might be early to say that Milan soccer has arrived.
But 2006 proved that, without a doubt, the Big Reds are on their way.
It started with the girls' team, which gained momentum as the season progressed and entered their final game before district tournament play riding a four-game winning streak. That game, however, would come against undefeated conference power Grosse Ile, who Milan had never defeated.
But behind a Sarah Towler goal and stout defense, Milan did just that, winning 1-0 and building momentum for a 5-0 thrashing of Albion in the first round of the district tournament.
Jackson Lumen Christi ended Milan's season in the next round, but by then the Big Reds had already racked up 14 wins, a program record.
The program high for wins became an accomplishment shared by the boys' teams, as well. Led by All-State honorees Mike Billau and Sam Rowe and a host of All-League players, including part-time football placekicker Chris Duval, the Big Reds notched 12 wins and came within a game of winning a share of the Huron League title with an 8-2-2 league record.
Like the girls, the boys won their first district game, ripping Monroe-Jefferson 4-0 before falling to New Boston Huron, who Milan had defeated once during the regular season, 2-1.
But for both teams, the future looks brighter than ever.
3. Milestone year for wrestling
Last year was a hallmark season for the Milan varsity wrestling team as the Big Reds recorded more than 20 wins for the first time in 37 years.
Their 25-15 record was the best since 1985, when the team went 19-5.
It was coach Gary Jonseck's second year as head coach and the program's second winning season in a row.
It didn't start out promising to be a banner year, as in early January, the Big Reds had only a 10-10 dual record. But over a span of 20 days, they went on a 13-3 tear, dismantling league opponents, to climb above 20 wins for the first time in almost four decades.
The Big Reds fell to the powerhouse Tecumseh Indians 56-6 in the first round of team districts. But in the individual districts, two Milan wrestlers advanced to regionals: seniors Anthony Pegouskie (160) and Richard Cosme (125). Cosme alone advanced to the state tournament, gunning for a top two spot. He placed sixth, capping a successful high school wrestling career with a season record of 30-6 and a career 88 wins.
The team was led by a senior squad consisting of Cosme, Pegouskie, Miles Cooper (171), Gary Polenz (189), Jeff Sanderson (135), Robert Wilhelm (145) and Bill Jones (130). But last year also introduced a bevy of promising young freshman wrestlers, including Alex Laskie (103), David Box (275), Jacob Nelson (140) and Dan Vivian (119). Vivian received the Most Promising award at the team's end-of-season banquet.
4. Boys' track grabs conference title
Coming into the 2006 season, the last time Milan had won a league title in boys' track was 1989.
Coming into 2007, the last time will be 2006.
The Big Reds put together an undefeated Huron League regular season, qualified for the state meet in six different events at the regional meet May 20, and then hosted the conference meet May 23. On their home track, Milan grabbed top-two finishes in 10 different events to fend off Airport and Riverview and claim the Huron League title.
"You could not write a better script or paint a better picture," said coach Rich Pellegrini.
Milan was led by sprinter Richard Cosme, who set a school record at the Huron meet by clocking 21.98 in the 200 meters. Will Cranford won both the 100 and 300 hurdles. Cosme, Chad Swank, Anthony Marshall and Chris Duval teamed up to win the 800-meter relay.
But even after the big win, Milan wasn't done. Cosme finished second at state in the 400 meters and Cranford sixth in the 300 hurdles to tie Milan for 12th at the state meet.
5. Football misses playoffs
A year after putting together an 8-1 regular season and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2000 in 2005, the Milan football team came back to Earth a bit in 2006.
The season started brightly with a win over Lincoln and a wild 47-35 Week 3 victory over Grosse Ile in which running back Ron Spears ran for a remarkable 383 yards.
But a decisive Sep. 29 loss to St. Mary's Catholic Central left Milan at 3-3 and needing to win their final three games to advance to the postseason. A disappointing 14-7 Homecoming loss to Riverview followed the next week and the Big Reds were forced to miss the postseason.
An 11-3 win against Flat Rock and a spirited effort in a 33-29 loss to top 10 Chelsea gave Milan a final record of 4-5 and some hope that 2007 will see the Big Reds get back to that all-important six-win mark.
Also in 2006…
nBoys' swimming finishes 12th at state meet.
nThe baseball team posted a strong season but fell in the first round of the playoffs.
nThe softball team scored a surprising district tourney win after a difficult regular season.
nOn the court, both boys' and girls' basketball doubled their win total from the previous season while volleyball made strides.
nThe equestrian team placed sixth at state.
nMilan football coach Steve Robb was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
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