Sports

By Robert TomlinsonNews Director THREE RIVERS — Armstrong Field at Three Rivers High School will look pretty different when the first football game of the season rolls around on Aug. 29. Fans will be greeted with a new-look Armstrong Field…

By John RaffelCorespondent FARWELL – Stephanie Brown is varsity volleyball coach at Farwell and anxious to see what the team will b ale to accomplish this season.“The first week of practice will entail team building and strategy work,” Brown said.Practices…

Jarvis Memorial Stadium was a busy on Monday, Aug. 12.That’s because that was the first official day of practice as allowed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. And players from Saugatuck joined players across the state in going about…

Bulldog Stadium in Otsego and Streidl Field in Plainwell were busy on Monday, Aug. 12.That’s because that was the first official day of football practice as allowed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association and players from both schools were…

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor School hasn’t started up for local students just yet. (Although it’s getting close, as Otsego’s first day of classes is Monday, Aug. 19.)But for high school student-athletes who participate in fall sports, the 2024-25 school year…

By John RaffelCorrespondent PAW PAW – Paw Paw head football coach Dennis Strey had his agenda set on Aug. 12 as he was starting practices.“We will be working on fundamentals and focusing on Big Rapids,” he said, referring to the…

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Last summer, I had the opportunity to do a tour of Major League Baseball stadiums with my two sons and dad that featured seven parks in seven days.It was a lot of fun—and a little exhausting—and…

By John Raffel GOBES – Coach Greg Eichler is coming off a busy summer program for his Gobles 8-player team and is anxious to get going on Aug. 12 when practices start.The season opens at Colon on Aug. 29.“We’re having…

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor This year’s version of the annual Allegan Lions Club City Championship tennis tournament—which took place from Monday, July 22, through Friday, July 26—featured a lot of fresh faces.Of the 58 players who participated in at least…

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Competing at the prestigious U.S. Marine Corps Junior & 16U Wrestling Nationals in Fargo, N.D., last month, incoming Plainwell High School freshman Dylan Nieuwenhuis finished one win shy of being an All-American in the freestyle division.That…

By John RaffelCorrespondent LAWTON – Alyssa McNally is a senior volleyball player at Lawton who has had a productive summerIn the Division 3 state finals, McNally was 28th in pole vault at 7-feet-9 inches.Right now, McNally has been going to…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…