Sports
Clare senior wraps up strong career
By John RaffelCorrespondent CLARE – Ava Long enjoyed a strong outdoor track and field season for Clare.Long participated for Clare in the 4×100 relay at the state Division 3 track and field meet.During the season, she participated in the relay…
McBain NNC soccer conducting drop-ins
By John RaffelCorrespondent MCBAIN – McBain Northern Michigan boys soccer coach Taylor Mulder reports he’s had drop-ins three times a week for his players.Drop-ins “are when kids show up and we play, scrimmage depending on how many show up.” Mulder…
Lawton running back eager for college career
By John RaffelCorrespondent LAWTON –Kal Motter was a talented three-sport athlete in track, basketball and football at Lawton.Football was his best sport and Motter will be going to Hope College as a running back.His strengths as a running back, Motter…
Nieuwenhuis places runner-up at Nationals
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor FARGO, N.D.—Winning a championship is hard.Repeating as champion might be even harder.Yet that’s exactly what Plainwell High School wrestling standout Madison Nieuwenhuis had the opportunity to do at the Junior & 16U Nationals last weekend.One year…
Allegan’s Garvin garnering plenty of attention
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing in at 300 pounds, Allegan junior Sully Garvin makes quite the impression when he walks in a room.He’s also made quite an impression on college football evaluators and coaches.Listed as a three-star…
Paw Paw’s football summer has been busy
By John RaffelCorrespondent PAW PAW – Paw Paw football coach Dennis Strey and his Red Wolves have less than a month to go before the practice season officially kicks off on Aug. 12. But there’s still work to be done.“We’ve…
Local softball team 4-1 in Kentucky
By John RaffelCorrespondent MARION – Michigan Expos 18U team from Marion triumphed over Midwest Pride 18U in Kentucky on Wednesday in the USSSA Great Lakes Nationals tournament. Michigan Expos 18U, coached by Ryan Raymond of Marion, took the lead late in…
Clare softball looking forward to next season
By John RaffelCorrespondent CLARE – Clare’s softball team came off a Division 3 state semifinal finish last month but many players are on summer teams to get ready for next year.Only two seniors graduated and standouts such as Madison Jones,…
Antkoviak reflects on Olympic Trial experience: Allegan grad competed in 400-meter hurdles
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor EUGENE, Oreg.—Be bold. Be strong. For the Lord your God is with you.Those lyrics are from the the worship song “Be Bold, Be Strong.” And those are the words that were playing in Hannah Antkoviak’s mind…
Baseball team best in state
The Valley 10U baseball team were crowned state champions.
Mattawan athlete to play college golf
By John RaffelCorrespondent MATTAWAN – Matt Novak enjoyed his senior golf season for Mattawan High School.“It went great,” he said. “It was a good season, a fun golf season. Fortunately the team didn’t qualify for state but it was fun.…
Clare freshman posted impressive softball season
By John RaffelCorrespondent CLARE – Clare’s softball team had a memorable season which led the Pioneers to the state Division 3 semifinals where they lost 1-0 to Ottawa Lake Whiteford.Among the key reasons for the Pioneers’ success was the play…
Former Marion athlete performs for Michigan rowing
By John RaffelCorrespondent MARION – Georgia Meyer was an extremely successful athlete at Marion in sports such as softball, volleyball and basketball before graduating in 2023. But this most recent season she had a unique and successful career on the…
Carlin excels in track and wrestling for Gobles
Finn Carlin is a wrestler and football player at Gobles. By John RaffelCorrespondent Finn Carlin was among the four Gobles freshmen who placed at their sports respective state championships.The others were Libby Smith, Daisy Estrada, and Lauren Shaffer.Carlin placed a…
Ross takes over as football coach at Otsego
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor OTSEGO—Honesty. Trust. Accountability.Those are Damien Ross’s three core values. And those are the values he hopes to instill in the football players at Otsego.Ross was recently named head coach of the Otsego varsity football team after…
Clare baseball infielder earns All-State honors
Ryan Louch is an All-State baseball player for Clare. By John RaffelCorrespondent CLARE – Junior infielder Ryan Louch from Clare earned all-state honors from the Michigan High School Coaches Baseball Association and for good reason.Louch played a huge role in…
Local softball team stays busy
By John RaffelCorespondent MARION – Marion softball coach Ryan Raymond is coaching a Michigan Expos summer team which was in action last weekend in a Traverse City tournament.Raymond’s team includes his daughter Malley Raymond and seven girls from Evart plus…
Paw Paw players stay active
By John RaffelCorrespondent PAW PAW – It’s the middle of summer and typically high school sport teams stay active with open gyms, camps and many other activities.Paw Paw baseball coach Derek Vanderburg is coming off a very successful spring season…
TR’s Forman named First Team All-State in softball
THREE RIVERS — A key contributor to the Three Rivers softball team’s success received a glowing honor yesterday.Senior first baseman Ava Forman was named First-Team All-State in Division 2 by the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association Tuesday. She was…
Russell posts solid season for Clare soccer
Ivy Russell By John RaffelCorrespondent CLARE – Ivy Russell had a solid year for a Clare soccer team which finished as runners-up this season in the Divison 3 district tournament.“The key is communication and talking to each other,” Russell said,…
