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July 17, 2005Best of the bestSuttons Bay is school of the yearByRecord-Eagle sports editor TRAVERSE CITY - Cody Inglis is a firm believer that success breeds success. For proof, the Suttons Bay athletic director can point to his own department. Over the last five years, all 18 varsity teams - nine girls, nine boys - have won titles. This year alone, Suttons Bay teams won seven conference championships and had three teams - football, boys golf and boys skiing - finish as state runner-ups. In addition, the girls volleyball team reached the Final Four. That success earned Suttons Bay the Record-Eagle School of the Year. "Fantastic," Inglis said. Inglis, who's been athletic director for more than seven years, has overseen a dramatic turnaround in the school's athletic fortunes. The turnaround began in the 2000-01 school year when the Norse won a state championship in golf, went 8-1 and qualified for the playoffs in football for the first time in school history, went 20-0 during the regular season in boys basketball and advanced to the state championship match in girls volleyball. "That senior class set the tone, set the standard," Inglis said. "They helped establish the mentality at Suttons Bay that if you're going to do something, do it well." That success has continued for five years. "We've been able to sustain it," Inglis said. "It wasn't just a one-year wonder type of thing." Todd Hursey, who coaches golf and basketball, has played a pivotal role in the success. "Before 2000 most programs here were fighting to be respectable," he said. "Now the mentality is that we're trying to win championships - conference, district, whatever. "Our kids have put a lot of work into it to make themselves better. That's translated in to a lot of wins. And winning's contagious. You get a taste of it and you want to keep it going." The golf team has won two state championships and finished second two other times in the last five years. In two of those years, the Norse actually played up a class. Suttons Bay has not lost a dual match in eight years. The Norse - with juniors Nate Kelly and David Tropf returning - will be state title contenders the next two years as well. "We have a tradition now," Hursey said. "And our kids take a lot of pride in trying to uphold it." The football program reached new heights last fall with its march to the Pontiac Silverdome. The Norse have qualified for the playoffs the last five seasons, but last year was the first time the team advanced beyond the second round. "It was a breakthrough year," coach Joe Trudeau said. Trudeau, who's been the varsity football coach seven years, went 2-7 his first two seasons at the helm. But the Norse are 47-10 in the last five years. During that run, the Norse won their first Northwest Conference title and ended long losing streaks to Frankfort and Glen Lake. "We had not beaten Frankfort in 20-plus years and Glen Lake in almost 10," Inglis said. Suttons Bay has won 22 consecutive non-conference games in the regular season, but that mark will be put to the test this season. Suttons Bay's schedule includes Benzie Central, Beal City and Muskegon Catholic. The football and golf teams fueled a spectacular 2004 fall season at Suttons Bay. The Norse also reached the regional finals in girls basketball and won conference titles in boys soccer and girls cross country. For the girls cross country program, it was the sixth title in eight years. The Norse were state runner-ups in 2002. Suttons Bay also reached the regionals in girls soccer in the spring - after winning a fourth district title in five years. Suttons Bay has benefited from strong co-op programs, particularly in skiing with Glen Lake and football with Lake Leelanau St. Mary's. "We wouldn't be where we are without the co-op," Trudeau admitted. But the arrangements have worked both ways. "Without the co-op, neither Suttons Bay or Glen Lake would have had a ski team," Inglis said. Suttons Bay became the first school with a co-op program to reach the state finals in football. Inglis said he is also proud of the fact that a large percentage of the student body has been part of the success. He said 71 percent of the school's student body participated in at least one high school sport. "That's a big number," he said. "Usually 50 to 55 percent is about average."
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