Glen Lake High School senior Danielle Noonan and her Laker softball teammates enjoyed the warmth and sunshine while spending spring break near Charleston, S.C.

“It was the warmest weather we’ve had since we started going south for spring break three years ago. We had highs in the upper 80s, lots of sunshine. We got to spend a lot of time at the beach and had good practice weather,” she said.

The feeling was short-lived. On the last day the team was in South Carolina, the temperatures starting dropping, but it was nothing compared to the conditions when the girls returned to Leelanau County.

“It was 50 degrees when we left Friday. By the time we got to North Carolina, it was starting to snow, then the snow got real heavy when we got into Tennessee,” coach Gary Galla said.

“We were all laying on the floor trying to catch some sleep. You could feel the bus fishtailing as it went down the road. That was a very weird feeling,” Noonan said.

Galla said after awakening from a nap he saw cars in the ditch as they were traveling through Tennessee. “The bus driver said he had counted over a 100 cars in the ditch as we were heading north,” he said.

Even hardened veterans of early spring weather wars were taken aback by how much snow Leelanau County received over three days last week. The snow resulted in all of the county’s schools canceling sporting events.

Suttons Bay canceled its baseball and softball games scheduled for yesterday at Benzie Central and have rescheduled them for April 23. Norsemen athletic director Cody Inglis said a track meet at Kingsley was moved indoors Tuesday, but he opted to not have Suttons Bay compete at the event. The Tuesday girls’ soccer game on the road against the Traverse City Liberty was canceled and may be rescheduled. But, the Norse’s home opener against Benzie Central is canceled and won’t be rescheduled.
With more snow forecasted for yesterday through today, Glen Lake athletic director Paul Christiansen said he was ready for the weather to change.

“Jan Novak’s out there right now building a dome over our outdoor facilities,” Christiansen joked. “That’d be nice if that were the case.”

Laker softball games at Traverse City West slated for Tuesday were canceled, but today’s doubleheader at Lake City was still being played as of yesterday morning.

“Lake City said they didn’t have much snow on their field and were pretty sure it would be ready to go,” Galla said.

Christiansen, Inglis, and athletic directors Ryan Knudsen of Leland and Cathy Herman of St. Mary said the situation is dire because they were already looking at a compressed season. “With spring break coming a week later this year than last, losing these games effectively eliminates almost a quarter of the season for some of our spring sports,” Knudsen said.

“Usually when I make an announcement about a canceled sporting event, you can here some ‘woo hoos’ in the hall, because the weather is lousy and no one wants to play in bad weather. When I announced the cancellations today (Tuesday), there was silence. The kids really want to get outside and compete,” Inglis said.

Northport athletic director Marshall Collins said the Wildcats’ tennis meet at Glen Lake scheduled for today was canceled. He too, is hoping the snow will be leaving soon.

St. Mary baseball coach Steve Plamondon had his varsity team play an inter squad scrimmage in the snow Tuesday afternoon. With temperatures reaching the upper 30s and the sun shining, the Eagles ran around the bases, swung at the ball and played catch.

“When you’ve been practicing inside as long as these kids have, once you go outside, like we got to just before spring break, it is so hard to get them to go back inside.

This scrimmage is a way to keep them outside and interested,” he said.

The Eagles’ home opener scheduled for Tuesday against Elk Rapids was canceled, but Herman said today’s games at Manistee Catholic Central may still be on, depending on the weather.

Leland’s baseball and softball games slated at home against Frankfort for Tuesday were canceled, but Knudsen had not canceled the home doubleheaders with McBain NMC for today as of yesterday morning. The Comets are also supposed to host a baseball/softball tournament on Saturday, but that tourney may be canceled depending on the weather.