Article - High School Sports Scene

DAVID COOK
Sports Scene
Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart turned in a big season in 8-man football last season and the Irish have a large group of returning players from that team that are setting their sights. On another big season this fall.
Sacred Heart turned in a 9-2 overall record last season including a 5-1 mark in the Central Michigan 8-man Football Conference as the Irish finished in a tie for the conference championship.
A host of starters return from that squad including several key parts of an offense that averaged 41 points per game a year ago. Jason Boge returns at quarterback for the Irish. A versatile signal caller, Boge is a strong runner and accurate passer.
“Things are looking pretty good so far,” said Boge. “We lost a lot last year, but I think we are going to be faster and more athletic than last year as well. I think our speed on defense is way better this year as far as getting to the ball quickly.”
Sacred Heart graduated some key players including a four-year starter at middle linebacker, a starting wide receiver and a starting running back.
Sacred Heart does welcome back a veteran running back in Jackson Verleger.
“We have a lot of guys coming back this year and I see a lot of guys that want to win,” Verleger said. “We have a lot of guys who are getting a lot better and we’ve seen even throughout the summer a lot of improvements. We’ve got a lot to look forward to this year.”
The squad is also strong at wide receiver with the return of Joe McDonald and Luke Hacker. A newcomer that is primed to make an impact is sophomore wide receiver Nathan Siler who has outstanding hands.
The Irish are solid up front with the return of offensive linemen Caleb Strauch, Brendan Ervin and Jim McDonald.
“I’m excited about the season,” McDonald said. “Most of us are seniors and probably all agree with me that we have one more season and we want to make the best of it. Our goal is, 8-man plays (the final) up at the Yooper Dome and of course that’s our goal to get up there.”
Several of the Irish will start on both sides of the line. The Sacred Heart defensive line is led by Ervin, Jim McDonald and Strauch. Joe McDonald and Verleger return at linebacker with Hacker returning in the secondary at cornerback.
“We’re excited,” said Sacred Heart coach Josh Wheaton. “We lost three real good football players to graduation. Probably the best three as a group that that might have ever been at Sacred Heart, but we feel like we might be as good or better as a team even without those three guys. We’re different. We are a lot faster. We swarm the football. We had guys that played the third level of our defense that are not playing on the second level and that just changes everything. Everything is going to come down to one thing and one thing only, and that is our offensive line, and if our offensive line rises to the occasion and plays the way they should play and the way we expect them to play, we are going to be really, really difficult to beat.”

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By Jeff Steers
MHSSS Special Writer
Jamie Slate was promoted to coach his alma mater at Hemlock High School after serving three seasons as the defensive coordinator at the school.
The 2007 graduate of HHS has experience of coaching at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart and Bay City Western.
Slate is a physics and computer science teacher in the district who believes football is a key cog in the small-town community.
His players put that to the test completing more than 300 community service hours this summer.
“The football program is the heartbeat of small towns like Hemlock,” Slate said during media day. “The more we give in the community, the more support we get on Friday nights.”
Team members helped a local teacher battling cancer wash windows earlier in the summer.
On the field, Hemlock should look a little different according to Slate. The team was forced to throw the ball nearly 60 times per game in 2023.
“Throwing the ball 60 times per game made us a scoring threat,” Slate said. “We need more balance and will be refocusing on running the football.”
Chad Brown – a CMU baseball signee – will use his 6-foot 6-inch frame to run and throw the ball for Hemlock. He threw for more than 2,000 yards in 2023 – ranked as the No. 10 throwing quarterback in Michigan by MaxPreps.
Five-sport athlete Dawson Doan was the recipient of a number of those passes with nearly 1,100 receiving yards and more than 1,200 all-purpose yards in 2023. Doan was a D-7 all-state receiver and an all-region and all-conference football honors as a receiver.
Landon Zastrow played a number of positions for Hemlock in 2023 including running back and receiver on offense. He should be one of the team’s key players in 2024.
Steven Katzenberger was an all-region and all-conference linebacker in the Tri-Valley last year.
Others who are expected to make major contributions for the Huskies are sophomore William Foss (OL/DL) – a bull in a China shop according to Slate, D.J. Lyscas (RB/LB), and Trevor Hare (DE).
Hemlock has nearly been a lock for the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs. A 1-8 season two years ago stopped a streak of six consecutive seasons in the playoffs.
“The expectations over the years are to make the playoffs every year,” student-athlete Doan said.
Katzenberger believes the Huskies will make the playoffs for the community.
The Huskies will kick off the season against non-conference opponents Garber and Cass City before beginning play in the Tri-Valley Conference White Division.

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BUTCH HARMON
Sports Scene
The Ithaca football team has been among the gold standard for small school football in the state of Michigan the past few decades and this year’s edition of the Yellowjackets is primed to add another chapter to the legacy.
Ithaca welcomes back a talented core of veteran players from a team that compiled an 11-1 record last season and advanced to the regional title game before falling to eventual Division 8 state champion Ubly.
Ithaca featured a high-powered offense last season that averaged 43.6 points per game. Several of the key contributors of that offense return this season headlined by quarterback Jackson Conn. The strong-armed senior passed for 1,936 yards and 28 touchdown passes last season and is poised for an even bigger season this year.
“I feel pretty good about the season,” Conn said. “A lot of our kids are hungry. We’re amped up and ready to go for week one. We have a couple guys spread around between our offense and defense that are going to be our leaders. We have a lot of young guys coming up but I think the spread of our leadership through our guys will help out all the other positions with our younger guys.”
Ithaca graduated some key pass catchers from last year’s squad but it does return standout wide receiver Ryley White. White caught 26 passes for 681 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago and should be among the top receivers in mid-Michigan this fall.
“I think we should be pretty good this year,” said White. “Obviously we had quite a few kids leave last year. We had five seniors graduate, two of our starting receivers who helped us out a lot, but I think we have some kids coming into positions that will help us out a lot and be productive for us.”
Along with a potent passing game, the Yellowjackets will also have a running threat. Nathan Mikesell is back after rushing for 700 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
Paving the way for the offense is an offensive line anchored by a trio of talented seniors in Nicholas Mikesell, Broden Peska (5-11, 230) and Lloyd Stoneman.
Many of the same standouts on offense will also be playing defense for the Yellowjackets who allowed 11.8 points per game.
Linebacker Nathan Mikesell led the team with 121 tackles last season along with five quarterback sacks.
“I feel pretty good about our team,” Mikesell said. “We still have things to work on but that’s pretty normal for every team.”
Nicholas Mikesell returns up front along the defensive line along with defensive tackle Karter Araujo. Peska also returns to the defensive line.
The defensive backfield is led by White and Conn.
“We’re excited about the season,” said Ithaca coach Jordan Hessbrook. “We have six or seven guys back on both sides of the ball. We had a lot of kids gain valuable experience as juniors last year. We’re also excited about some of the younger kids we have coming up.
Ithaca has reached the regional title game the last two years and this season the Yellowjackets are focused on taking the next step.
“After losing in the regional title game the last two years everyone is hungry to get back to that game and win the regional,” said Conn.
Ithaca kicks off the season in week one against St. Louis and then takes on a rugged Standish-Sterling team in week two before starting conference play in week three. The Yellowjackets close out the regular season with non-conference tests against Tecumseh and Shepherd.
To reach their goals, it will take a total team effort.
“I think for the older guys it’s going to be taking the younger guys under their wing and getting those guys up to speed in what it takes to play football at a high level,” said Hessbrook. “For those guys also, it’s going to be fighting complacency. We didn’t reach our ultimate goal last year but they did a lot of good things last season so it’s going to be not satisfied with that and continue to push to move up to the next level and play deeper in November. For the young guys, I think it’s going to be trusting their coaches, trusting in those older players who have been there and done that and it’s going to be trying to get them up to speed as fast as possible.”

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By JOHN RAFFEL
They’re celebrating another boys
state track and field championship
at Pewamo Westphalia.
P-W got the job at the state meet
by posting 57 points compared to
47 for Clare.
Pewamo Westphalia had some
outstanding performances, led
by Trevor Smith who won the
100-meter dash and was fifth in the
200 meters.
Collin Farmer was fourth in the
1,600 meters in 4:21.23 and second
in the 3,200 meters in 9:34.58.
In the 4×200 relay, the foursome
of Alex Nurenberg, Trevor Smith.
Rylee Arthur and Sam Muirhead
were fourth in 1:30.86. The
foursome of Wyatt Werner, John
Kowatch, Sam Muirhead and Allan
George was eighth in 8:19.65.
Gavin Nurenberg was first (60-2)
and Dalton Brown was third (54
7.5) in the shot put. Nurenberg was
second in the discus (165-11) and
Brown was 11th (140-0).
Pewamo-Westphalia finished
runner-up last season to Benzie
Central in Division 3.
In Division 4, P-W was state
champs in 2008 ad runners-up the
next two seasons.
P-W’s girls held their own in
their meet with 22 points to take
eighth place.

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By JOHN RAFFEL
Clare finished runner-up to
Pewamo-Westphalia in the Division 3
state meet.
“On the guys side, it was one of
the greatest finishes in school history
with our Division 3 state runner-up
finish,” Clare coach Adam Burhans
said. “Athletes who believed and stuck
with the program chose to envision
that they could be one of the best
groups ever, and in the end, they were.
We normally would have won the
MHSAA state title with the number
of points we scored (47) but it was
a dogfight all day with Pewamo
Westphalia, perhaps their best team
ever, who tallied 57 on the day.
“People underestimate what it takes
to even score at this meet, let alone
that many points as a team. It normally
takes an elite athlete to score 1 point to
be All-State. To score that many on an
off-and-on rainy day against that level
of competition says a lot.”
These athletes were superb:
Andrew Klaus, career PR in the 3,200
(10:13.54). Neiko Ketchum (11-9) and
Ethan Reeves (12-9) vaulted well in a
non-stop rain. The 3200 relay team of
Connor Schmidt, Brayden Schmidt,
Kona Crump, and Andrew Klaus ran
their fastest time with that group of
guys (8:47.26).
The 400 Relay team of Mason Heintz,
Joey Bouchey, Jacob Halicek, and Ryan
Rodenbo ran the No. 4 time all-time
for our school (44.74).
The 800 Relay team of Jeffrey Schafer,
Jacob Halicek, Ryan Rodenbo, and
Keagen Paisley was state runner-up
and posted the No. 3 time all-time
(1:30.37).
Jake Punches was all-state in shot
put (51-3) and discus (151-5) — both
tosses ranking No. 6 all-time; and Brad
White had a banner day. . . establishing
three school records on the day: the
1600 (4:17.31), the 800 (1:53.16),
and as anchor of the state champion
1600 relay team of Owhin Thompson,
Jeffrey Schafer, Nic Porter, and White
(3:22.38).
Conan Weeks (sophomore) was state
champion in the long jump in 22 feet.
2.25 inches.

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By JOHN RAFFEL
It was a close one in the 2024
Division 4 state finals but coach
Brett Schafer’s Fowler track and
f
ield squad was able to hold back
Detroit Fredric Douglass 56-52 for
f
irst place on June 1.
He has been coach nine years.
“We finished up second in
our league,” Schafer said. “It was
the best season we have had in a
long time. Great athletes and an
incredible coaching staff, parents
and community. Won the state
championship this year with the
boys and girls. Hard to describe
but what a day for Fowler track
and field.
“We decided at the start of
the season, we wanted to hang a
banner in the gym. Well we did
it on June 1. Total teamwork.
Team, Team Team. That’s what we
focused on, team.”
Top athletes for Fowler this season:
Brady Feldpausch:a 110 hurdles –
State Champion; 300 Hurdles – All
State (2nd place); 4x200m Relay
Team – State Champions; 4x400m
Relay Team – State Champions
Nate Spicer: 200m – 4th place
(All State); 400m – 4th place (All
State); 4x 200m Relay Team – State
Champions;m4x400m Relay Team – State Champions
Ford Phillips: 4x200m Relay Team – State Champions; 4x400m Relay
Team – State Champions
Ben Kohagen: 4x200m – State
Champions;4x400m – State
Champions
Carter Lancez: High Jump – 4th
Place (All State); Long Jump – 4th
Place (All State)
Cole Hufnagel: Discus – 7th (All
State).

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By JOHN RAFFEL
Neil Hufnagel’s first season as
Fowler girls track was a fun one as
the team won a state title.
Fowler had an 8-1 dual meet
record, was second in the CMAC
championship meet and second
overall in CMAC.
“We had a great season striving
to continue the championship
character, attitude and tradition of
Fowler girls track,” Hufnagel said.
“We had challenging goals for the
year including using our talents
and gifts to make track a positive
experience for all team members,
winning the CMAC, Regional, and
legitimately competing for a state
title.
“While falling short of our goal
of winning the CMAC title, we
were successful in reaching our
other goals including using our
talents and gifts to win the regional
and D4 state titles.”
Fowler had 70.5 points to finish
well ahead of Portland St. Patrick
with 44.
CMAC championships,” Hufnagel
said.
Senior Alayna Vandegriff was
third in the pole vault and ran on
the fourth place 4×100 and 4×200
relays and the first place 4×400
relay. “Alayna tied the pole vault
school record with an outstanding
10-6 vault,” Hufnagel said.
We had invitational wins at
the Chesaning and Hillsdale
Invites, won our D4 Regional at
Breckenridge, and won the D4
state championship,” Hufnagel
said. “The only real challenge
we faced was a late start to the
season for several of our key
contributors as they played in the
D4 state basketball championship
game the last Saturday in March.
With spring break the following
week, those girls didn’t truly start
practicing until the first week of
April.
“Our team had extraordinary
depth, especially in the sprints and
mid sprints. This allowed us to free
up some top performers to score in
individual events while our deep,
talented roster filled legs in our
championship caliber relays.”
State meet finishes for key team
members included:
Junior Katie Spicer placed in four
individual events at the state meet
including second in long (17-4.25
PR) and 100 meters, third in 200
meters and sixth in 400 meters.
“Katie won the long jump 100, 200
and was second in the 400 in the
Senior Grace O’Hare ran legs on
all four state meet placing relays
consisting of 4×800 eighth, 4×100
and 4×200 both fourth, and 4×100
f
irst.
Junior Ella Hufnagel was fifth
in the 400 meters and anchored
the three sprint relays, 4×100 and
4×200 both fourth, and 4×100 first – including a 59-second anchor
leg in the 4×400 to edge out St
Pats to win. Ella won the 400m at
the CMAC championships for the
third straight year.
Junior Kelcie Pung led off the
state meet with a 2:24 leadoff
leg on the 4×800 for 8th place to
score our first points of the state
meet. Kelcie was our top distance
runner placing in the top 3 in
the 1600m, 800m, and 3200m
The 2024 Fowler girls track and field team.
at both the regional and CMAC
championships.
Sophomore Paige Thelen was third
in the 300m hurdles with a 46.29
personal record and led off the
state champ 4×400 relay with an
outstanding 61 seconds split.
Sophomore Maria Wieber PRed
by over a second to take an
unexpected fifth place in the 300
meter hurdles with a 57.80.
Sophomore Michaela Spitzley led
off the fourth place finishing 4×100
and 4×200 relays.
Freshman Nadia Shafer placed
fourth in the pole vault with a 9-6
PR.
“Seniors Alayna Vandegriff
and Grace O’Hare will be greatly
missed, along with senior Rebecca
Smith who ran on the state
placing 4×800 relay and was our
top thrower this year in both the
shot and discus,” Hufnagel said.
“We will have a solid group of
returning athletes, and will be
looking to sustain the momentum
from this year to assure a positive
a rewarding experience for all of
our team members.
“Just want to acknowledge
previous girls track coach Jill
Feldpausch who retired from
coaching last year and left the
cupboards absolutely packed
with talent leading to this year’s
success. In roughly 14 seasons,
Coach Feldpausch’s teams won
f
ive state championships and had
four runner up finishes.”

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By DAVID COOK
The final putts dropped on an exciting high
school golf season. Following is a look at the
boys golf state tournament and a recap of the
performances from some of the area’s top teams
and golfers.
DIVISION 1
Detroit Catholic Central won the Division 1
team state golf championship for the second time
in the past three years. The Shamrocks finished
with a 597 team score as they shot a 305 on the
f
irst day and a 292 on the second day. Ann Arbor
Skyline finished eight strokes behind in second
place with a 605 total while Rochester Adams
f
inished in third place with a 611.
Detroit Catholic Central senior Julian Menser
won the individual state title by two strokes as
he carded rounds of 70 on both days for a 140
total. Ann Arbor Skyline senior Vibhav Alokam
f
inished in second place with a 142 while Warren
De La Salle sophomore Troy Nguyen and
Mattawan senior Matthew Novak tied for third
place with 143.
Rockford Places 12th
At State Finals
T
he Rockford golf team finished the season
by placing 12th at the Division 1 state finals with
a two-day total of 640. The Rams totaled 318 on
day one and 322 on day two. Freshman Owen
Wilson led the way for the Rams as he carded
rounds of 82 and 75 for a 157 total to place
32nd as an individual. Senior Trevor Hobbs and
sophomore Jack Reum finished in a tie for 43rd
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with a 160 total while junior Kaiden Dressler
placed 61st with a 163 total.
Okemos Golfer Places In Top Ten
Okemos junior Ian Masih qualified for the
Division 1 state meet as an individual and
f
inished in the top ten at the finals. Masih opened
play with a 78 on the first day and then came back
with a 69 on Saturday to finish in seventh place
individually with a 147 total. Masih earned a trip
to the state finals after placing second individually
at the Midland regional where he fired a round
of 70.
DIVISION 2
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s edged defending
Division 2 state champion Grand Rapids
Christian by a single stroke to win the Division
2 state golf championship a Forest Akers West in
East Lansing. St. Mary’s finished with a two-day
total of 603 while Chrisian totaled 604. Richland
Gull Lake placed third with 609.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior Will
Preston won individual medalist honors as he
f
inished with a 141 total as he carded rounds
of 70 and 71. Birmingham Brother Rice junior
Leandro Pinili placed second with a 142 total
while Orchard Lake St. Mary’s senior Cooper
Eaton took third with a 144.
Mason Golfers Place 11th
At State Finals
After placing 17th at last year’s Division 2 state
f
inals, the Mason golf team came back to finish
in 11th place this season. The Bulldogs shaved 37
strokes off last year’s total to finish with a two
day total of 639 this year. Mason was led at the
f
inals by senior Luke Petee who finished 25th as
an individual with a 155 (80-75) total. Junior Josh
Dys placed 47th with a 159 total while senior Joe
Strach placed 49th with a 160 and junior Chaase
Makley totaled 165.
DeWitt Golf Team Takes 12th At
T
he DeWitt golf team capped the season by
placing 12th at the D2 state finals with a 646 team
score.
Senior Luke Hanselman led the way for the
Panthers as he 15th as an individual with rounds
of 74 and 78 for a 152 total. Freshman Justin
Steinman placed 47th with a 159 total while
sophomore Myles Smith placed 57th with a 163
(81-82) and sophomore Parker Roberts totaled
a 173.
Haslett Golfers Place
In Top 15 At State
T
he Haslett golf team closed out the season
by placing 14th at the Division 2 state finals with
a two-day total of 654. Senior Carter Gerard ked
the way for Haslett as he placed 56th individually
with a 162 (77-85). Freshman RJ Zecchino placed
61st with a 164 (83-81) followed by junior Roen
Blue with a 165 (83-82) and junior Luke
Blattert with a 166 (86-80).
St. Johns Caps
Season At State Meet
St. Johns capped the golf season by
f
inishing in a tie for 15th with a team
score of 660 at the D2 finals. Senior Grant
Rustad led the way for the Redwings as
he placed 25th individually with a 155
(78-77). Junior Ty Wardin placed 57th
with a 163 (81-82) while sophomore
Elijah Schultz totaled a 173 (85-88).
DIVISION 3
Shunk finished with a 184 while junior Keegan
Crowe fired a round of 84 on the second day of
the tournament.
Traverse City St. Francis won its
f
irst state golf title since 2008 as it won
the Division 3 state title at Katke in
Big Rapids. St. Francis totaled a 640 to
win the title by 18 strokes over Jackson
Lumen Christi. Grand Rapids West
Catholic and Grand Rapids Covenant
Christian finished in a tie for third place
with 668. St. Francis junior David Ansley
won medalist honors in a playoff against Elk
Rapids sophomore Baron Vollmer as both golfers
totaled a 152 for the tournament. Millington
junior Brad Coleman finished two strokes behind
in third place with a 154.
Chippewa Hills Places
Eighth At State
T
he Chippewa Hills golf team closed out the
season by placing eighth at the Division 3 state
f
inals with a 688 total. The Warriors were led at
the state meet by senior Cameron Morgan who
f
inished eighth individual with rounds of 78 and
80 for a 158 total. Senior Brandon Slasor and
junior Dylan Boerma both finished in a tie for
36th with a 170 total.
Lansing Catholic Places
In Top Ten At State Meet
T
he Lansing Catholic golf team capped the
season by placing eighth at the Division 3 state
f
inals with a 689 total. The Cougars were paced
at the state meet by senior Cole Hutchinson who
f
inished sixth individually with a 157 (82-75).
Junior Hayden Riley finished 39th with a 171
while senior Jack McGinnity placed 42nd with a
172. Freshman Adam Killingsworth totaled a 189.
Essexville-Garber Wraps
Up Season At State Meet
Essexville-Garber capped the season by
placing ninth at the Division 3 state finals with a
team total of 691. Senior Owen Halstead led the
way for Garber as he carded rounds of 80 and 82
to place 16th as an individual. Sophomore Jonah
Williams placed 36th overall with a 170 total while
sophomore Lucas Schiefer totaled a 177 and
senior Owen Prokopenko totaled a 183.
Alma Golfers Compete
At State Finals
T
he Alma golf team wrapped up the season by
taking 13th place at the Division 3 state finals with
a team score of 691. Junior Cooper Couch led the
way for Alma as he placed 42nd individually with
a 172 (87-85) total. Freshman Jamison Ferguson
was 47th with a 174 (89-85). Sophomore Koby
Area Golfers Place In
Top Ten Individually
Belding junior Brad Jenks and Bullock Creek
junior Colton Lower tied for ninth as individuals
at the Division 3 state finals. Jenks and Lower
f
inished with rounds of 159. Shepherd junior
Talan Bailey also qualified as an individual and
placed 61st with a 178.
DIVISION 4
Clarkston Everest Collegiate won the Division
4 state title for the second year in a row. Everest
f
inished with a team total of 664 to outpace
Grandville Calvin Christian by eight strokes.
Hillsdale Academy placed third with a 674.
Clarkston Everest junior Will Pennanen took
medalist honors with a 148. Michael Houtteman
of Maple City Glen Lake placed second with a
151 and Rykert Frisinger of Hillsdale Academy
was third with 155.
Saginaw Nouvel Places
In Top Five At State
After placing sixth at the state finals last
season, Saginaw Nouvel moved up the charts
to finish in fourth place at the D4 state meet
with a 679 total. Junior Alex McCarthy led the
way for Nouvel as he placed eighth overall with
rounds of 81 and 82 for a 163. Senior Giorgio
Fabiano placed 13th with rounds of 84 and
83. Sophomores Ian Ziegelmann and Iamurri
f
inished in a tie for 36th place with totals of 176.
Breckenridge Golf Team
Reaches State Finals
Led by seniors Zane Schmitz and Jaxon
Laubscher the Breckenridge golf team competed
at the Division 4 state finals. The Huskies finished
in 13th place as a team with a team score of 723.
Schmitz led the way for the Huskies as he finished
19th individually with a 169 while Laubscher
placed 34th wit

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By JOHN RAFFEL
Cameron Morgan’s golf season
was a record-breaking All-State
performance for the Chippewa Hills
sports program.
Morgan became the school’s first
All-Stater in golf when he placed
eighth with rounds of 78 and 80. He
was six strokes away from medalist
David Ansley of Traverse City St.
Francis with a 152.
Chippewa Hills was seventh
overall as a team. Behind Morgan
in scoring was Brandon Slasor
170. Dylan Boerma with 170,
Marcus Barnes with 190 and Bode
McArthur with 196.
Morgan shot an 80 on Saturday
and coupled with his 78 from
Friday he had a 158 to take eighth.
He was only six strokes behind
medalist David Ansley of Traverse
City St. Francis.
“He had a couple of bad breaks
but he bounced back. I’m pretty
proud of the guy,” Starck said. “He’s
f
irst one placing in the top 10 at the
state finals.”
“Conditions were hard but
ending up in the top 10 I was pretty
happy,” Morgan said. “I don’t think
the rain cost me any strokes. It was
the mental errors. The rain can have
an effect. Everyone is playing under
the same conditions.”
Morgan was the individual
champion for the Central State
Activities Association.
He had a best round of 71 during
the season.
“I got the ball on the green and
I was making putts,” he recalled. “I
was playing good golf.”
Morgan has had offers for college
golf but said he has not yet made a
decision.

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By JOHN RAFFEL

Charlotte track coach Nicholas Perkins couldn’t have been happier with how his team performed on June 1 when Charlotte took fourth place at the state finals for Division 2.
It was Perkins’ seventh season as Charlotte’s head coach.
Charlotte was 7-0 in conference dual meets ands ad split the conference title with Olivet.
“We met expectations as a team, exceeded expectations in some individual events and relays,” Perkins said. “We had three broken school records on the season and second place finish at states in 4×200 and 4×400. The team dealt with some lingering injuries throughout the season making it difficult to reach our full potential in the sprint relays.”
Top performers:
Cutler Brandt – First year hurdler winning the state title in the 300m hurdles and a true swiss army knife able to help the team to score points in 11 of 17 events. A leader and integral part ofthe sprint relays and individual events. Now holds 3 school records.
Maliki Garza – Battled through some injuries on the season but never strayed from remaining a necessary part of the sprint relays. Now holds 2 school records.
Jason Green – Improvement in his sprint times from last season are indescribable. First time participant in the sprint relays he was able to break 2 school records with his team.
Bryce McConnell – Undoubtedly one of the most talented underclassmen in school history, huge improvements from last year in sprints and jumps.Finishing the season with 3 all state awards the program looks forward to his continued development.
Braylon Holmes – A long jump specialist finishing the season as the No. 2 freshman in the state, and a up and coming sprinter will look to fill some big shoes as a successor on the future of Charlotte sprint relays.
“We are only graduating five seniors in 2024, three of which were apart of the record breaking 4×100 and 4×200 teams. Cutler Brandt, Maliki Garza and Jason Green will be tough to replace. Kaiden Holmes will return as a senior and lead the team in the sprints to work towards the goal of continuing our relay success,” Perkins said.
“However, with a sophomore class carrying most of the remaining load for the teams success, we look forward to the continued development of our young athletes. The future of the program rests firmly on a very talented sophomore class in Bryce McConnell, Evan Colosky, Phoenix Lawton, Grant Conley and Gage Johnson. Accompanied by our outstanding freshman Braylon Holmes in the long jump and sprints, and incoming freshman hurdler Tyler Densmore, the program should be able to continue improving.”
Perkins added: “After securing our third consecutive undefeated conference title, this young group of athletes know how to win and I look forward putting what they have learned from this years seniors when we return next spring.”

Back

Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart loaded up for big season in 8-man football

Slate promoted to head coach for Hemlock football

Veteran, talented Ithaca squad looking to take next step in playyoffs

P-W Boys Win Track State Title

Clare Boys Track Team Is Second At State Meet

Fowler Boys Win Exciting Title Track Meet

Fowler Girls Post State Track Title

High School Boys Golf State Tournament Roundup

Morgan An All-State Golfer For Chippewa Hills

Charlotte Track Boys Place Fourth In The State