Weekend Tourney will draw hoopsters, fans to WCHS Photos of Macker '24 by Alexis Mercer For the fourth year Newaygo County will be hosting a Gus Macker Tournament. And this time it’s in White Cloud. The fun begins Saturday morning at the high school and continues Sunday. Newaygo has hosted the classic 3x3 event twice and Grant has also been the site of Mackermania. Now the county seat will get the opportunity to show folks a good time. There will be the requisite food trucks on hand providing a variety of tasty meal options as well as a number of hoop related activities. Prepare to be awed at the slam dunk contest starting at 4pm Saturday and root for your favorite team to either capture the top prize or perhaps head home clutching the Toilet Bowl trophy. On site parking is available for $10 with the money going to the school. 
0 Comments
Track & Field Kylie Corrigan-Newaygo Eliason Foster-Newaygo Morgan Andres-Newaygo Hope Peitrzak-Newaygo Kija Schultz-Newaygo Honorable Mention Ruby Hughes-Newaygo Grace Hughes-Newaygo Softball Amaya Lathrop- Newaygo Payton Shemaker- Grant Gracie Stamp- Newaygo Emma Thompson-Grant Reese Gragg- Grant Alexa Obenauf- Grant Chloe Clark-Newaygo Honorable Mention Gabby Arney- Newaygo Addison Herrmann- Grant Baseball Russell Toth -Newaygo Aiden Booth- Grant Austin Tyers- Grant Gage Scott- Newaygo Hunter Yearsovich- Newaygo Austin Gragg- Grant Honorable Mention Owen Chesebro- Grant Trevor Garbrecht- Newaygo Golf Porter Slominski- Newaygo Honorable Mention Jack Mercer- Newaygo Thomas DeVos- Grant Jonathan Bischoff- Newaygo Soccer Maddie Couch-Newaygo Lily Kreps- Grant Lola Cronk- Grant Ella Soules- Newaygo Honorable Mention Zahara Chuchoque-Grant Landry Hefferan-Nordlund- Newaygo  Track & Field Girls Justice Dixon Gabriella Dakin Kiah Rogers Natalie Dyke Courtney Coon Payten Bird 15+ points Keira Maike Boys Jayden Robinson 15+ points Kaleb Canning Dalton Crawford Honorable Mention Giuliano Vendetti Softball Emily Hedlund Honorable Mention Kayla Burgess Baseball Brady Strait Reece Hewitt Ayden Hensley Honorable Mention Edgar Rodriguez
Track & Field Girls Hannah Whitney Rachel Maddox Kayley Frens Kira Manchip Jessie Kendziorski Ava Cook Cayman Ramsey Linnea Paige Boys Carter Sherman Carter Rottman Jacob Burns Isaac Romero Softball Gracie Clark Kamryn Clark Maddie Baden Izabel Austin Honorable Mention Kenzie Homrich Riley Derks Baseball Degan Klimek Brayden Crosley Chase Paulsen Soccer Mia Clemence, Maddy Mater Grace Evans Esther Vissia Honorable Mention Riley Chase Golf Sam Content Aston Yuhasz Reid Nelson  State Qualifiers, BIrd, Dakin, Dixon, Maike, Graham, Dyke, Rogers, Coon The White Cloud High School girls track and field team made their mark at the MHSAA Division 4 State Finals in Hudsonville, battling cold, windy conditions early on to secure a remarkable 20th-place finish out of over 140 Division 4 schools across Michigan. Eight talented athletes represented White Cloud, bringing home a total of eight medals and leaving a lasting impression. Leading the charge was the sensational Justice Dixon, who accounted for three of White Cloud's medals. Dixon shattered a school record in the 200-meter dash with a blazing time of 26.24 seconds, earning her an 8th-place finish. She also achieved a personal record (PR) in the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 12.6 seconds for a 7th-place medal. Dixon then anchored the formidable 4x100 meter relay team of Kiah Rogers, Natalie Dyke, and Gabriella Dakin, to a 5th-place finish with a PR time of 52.2 seconds. The throwing and jumping events also saw White Cloud athletes on the podium. Payten Bird unleashed a discus throw of 104 feet, 7 inches, good for a 7th-place medal. In the pole vault, Courtney Coon soared to a height of 9 feet, 3 inches, securing an 8th-place finish. Other state qualifiers who showcased their dedication and talent included Keira Maike, who placed 19th in the 800-meter run. The all-freshman 4x800 meter relay team of Natalie Dyke, Courtney Coon, Alivia Graham, and Keira Maike, despite the challenging conditions, ran a commendable 11:05, placing 21st. The early morning chill and wind eventually gave way to sunshine, mirroring the stellar performances of these White Cloud athletes. Their collective effort and individual brilliance at the state championship are a testament to their hard work, dedication, and the bright future of White Cloud track and field.  Kiah Rogers, Natalie Dyke, Justice Dixon and Gabriella Dakin finish 5th in the 4x100  Natalie Dyke and Gabriella Dakin making the exchange as the 4x100 relay team finished #1 in the state  Brooklyn Foondle leapt to a 4th place finish Photos by Brent Foondle Congratulations to the VARSITY GIRLS TRACK TEAM on their 6th place finish at Team State. The team tallied 22 personal records on the day. Justice Dixon was the leading scorer and the anchor of the 1st place 4x100 team with Kiah Rogers, Natalie Dyke and Gabriella Dakin. Their PR time of 52.3 has them .5 seconds of the school record and they have one more chance to make history with their final run at the MHSAA State Track and Field Finals. Courtney Coon, Payten Bird, Alivia Graham, and Keira Maike are also state qualifiers. Justice also finished 5th in the 100M with a PR 12.9, 4th in the 200 with PR time 26.8 both of which are also hunting down the school records! Additionally, Justice anchored the 4x200 4th place finish with Gabriella Dakin, Kiah Rogers and Brooklyn Holbrook. 2nd place finishes in the Discus (Payten Bird) and the Pole Vault (Courtney Coon) were also notable. Everyone contributed to the team’s 1,316 point total and some athletes competed in events they had never done before for the good of the team! It was a great day for WCHS Track and Field.  WC leading scorer Justice Dixon 100M: 5th- Justice Dixon, 7th- Kiah Rogers and 35th- Isabella Shockley 200M: 4th- Justice Dixon, 7th- Kiah Rogers and 32nd- Tehyah Nickoloff 400M: 9th- Keira Maike, 26th- Brooklyn Holbrook and 28th- Kate McHaney 800M: 8th Keira Maike, 25th- Alivia Graham, 31st- Brooklyn Foondle 1600M: 19th- Natalie Dyke, 27th- Alivia Graham, 30th- Molly Francis 3200M: 26th- Brooklyn Foondle, 30th- Charlotte Karnes and 31st- Kate McHaney 100M H: 10th- Courtney Coon, 24th- Payten Bird and 27th- Isabella Shockley 300M H: 9th- Courtney Coon, 21st – Natalie Dyke and 24th Isabella Shockley 4x100: 1st place (Rogers, Dyke, Dakin, Dixon) 4x200: 4th place (Dakin, Rogers, Holbrook, Dixon) 4x400: 10th place (Maike, Coon, Dakin, Dyke) 4x800: 9th place (Maike, Graham, Nickoloff, Francis) Shot Put: 13th- Payten Bird, 17th - Shaylia Richardson and 24th- Amayah Canavan Discus: 2nd – Payten Bird, 10th- Charlotte Karnes and 14th- Shaylia Richardson High Jump: 4th- Brooklyn Foondle and 20th- Tehyah Nickoloff Pole Vault: 2nd place Courtney Coon, 9th Isabella Shockley, and 15th- Tehyah Nickoloff Long Jump: 10th- Gabriella Dakin, 13th- Brooklyn Holbrook, and 19th Payten Bird  Keira Maike will join 7 teammates at the finals  Kiah Rogers, part of the relay team finishing atop all competitors  "It was a great day for WCHS Track & Field"- Coach Dakin  Youthful squad shines at Brethren. "A testament to their dedication"
Justice Dixon led her team to a decisive win at Region 33-4, earning four 1st place medals. She ran 13.4 in the 100M, a 26.9 in the 200M, and was the anchor of both the 1st place 4x100 (53.7) and 4x200 (1:55.2) relay teams which qualifies her to compete in 4 events at the MHSAA State Meet on May 31st. Seven others qualified for the prestigious event: The other members of the 4x100 and 4x200 and State Qualifiers are Gabriella Dakin, Kiah Rogers and Natalie Dyke. The 4x800 team qualified with 2nd place 11:07 (Dyke, Courtney Coon, Alivia Graham, Keira Maike). Payten Bird also finished 1st in the discus with 103’3. Coon finished 2nd which qualifies for state in the pole vault with her 8’6 vault. Maike will compete in the State Meet with her 2nd place 2:38 800M finish. Finishers that contributed to the teams’ 123 total which was 26 points ahead of 2nd place Onekama: Charlotte Karnes finished 3rd in the discus. Kiah Rogers took 5th place in the 100 M. Kiera Maike was 4th overall in the 400M. The 8th place medal in the 1600m went to Alivia Graham. In the 3200 M, White Cloud took 6th place (Brooklyn Foondle) and 8th place (Kate McHaney). Caedance Traynor finished 6th in the 100m H and Courtney Coon took 3rd in the 300m H. The 4x400 team of Maike, Coon, Dakin and Dyke took 3rd place. Payten Bird and Shaylia Richardson took 5th and 7th respectively in the shot put. Isabella Shockley was 5th in the pole vault and Gabriella Dakin took 5th in the long jump. A total of 32 medals were earned and seven state qualifying finishes for the 2025 Regional Championship! Coach Jana Dakin: "I have been coaching for 28 years. This is one of the groups that as a coach you get lucky enough to be a part of their journey. These girls don't just desire victory; they sculpt it with relentless effort. Their dedication and understanding of what it truly takes to win fills me with immense pride. There's a unique thrill in witnessing all the pieces come together – the hard work in practice translating to victories as the athletes grow both individually and collectively. It's a testament to their dedication. "And I could not do it without my assistants Joan Ludtke, Sara Dyke and Arnie Baker!"  2025 Regional Champions: The Newaygo Lions Some of the team practicing their form for cheering on the 4x400 meter relay in the last event of the day to clinch the title  The trophy traveled with the team to Lake Michigan for a celebratory swim at the conclusion of the meet “Track isn’t a team sport.” Until it is. Until it takes every single last point from every single last event and it still comes down to the very final race where not only does Newaygo have to win the 4 x 400 meter relay, but they also have to rely on other teams beating out Saugatuck so they don’t get too many points. Then it is a team event. In every way. Where the athletes aren’t running, throwing or jumping for themselves as much as they are for the points to get their team a Regional championship. And that’s exactly what Newaygo Lady Lions did on Friday, May 16. In an atypically early start time for a Regional, the field events got rolling at 10 am. The temperature was already starting to rise quickly as the sun was shining down on the stadium. The first running event started out well for the Lions, as the 4 x 800 meter relay team consisting of Hope Pietrzak, Ruby Hughes, Grace Hughes and Ella Foster blew out the competition, winning with a 7 second margin and being the first athletes to qualify for the State meet. They also earned 10 points for the team score. As the meet rolled on, nearly every event came with huge wins and places for the Lions. Top 8 in each event earns points for the team. The following athletes all contributed to the score before the last event: Morgan Andres: 100 meter dash - 2nd place* Kylie Corrigan: 200 meter dash - 2nd place* Ruby Hughes: 400 meter dash - 5th place Ella Foster: 800 meter run - 3rd place Ollie Harrington: 300 meter hurdles - 2nd place* Hope Pietrzak: 300 meter hurdles - 6th place Morgan Andres, Kylie Corrigan, Kija Schultz, Hope Pietrzak: 4 x 100 meter relay - 1st place* Morgan Andres, Kylie Corrigan, Kija Schultz, Cali Butler: 4 x 200 meter relay - 3rd place Kalleigh Klappholz: discus - 4th place Kija Schultz: high jump - tied for 7th place Morgan Andres: long jump - 1st place* Ruby Hughes: long jump - 4th place *denotes State qualifying place for the May 31st Division 3 Finals at Kent City So it was going to come down to the final event. The 4 x 400 meter relay. Where Newaygo’s team of Hope Pietrzak, Ruby Hughes, Ella Foster and Grace Hughes knew they had to win in order to earn the trophy for their team. The first leg and a half were close. And then passing by the human pyramids and fanatically cheering Newaygo teammates widened the gap more and more until it wasn’t even a question that they were going to win. By 6 seconds. Within a few seconds the whole team was aware that Saugatuck, the host school and expected favorite to win the title, wasn’t going to score enough points to surpass the Lions. The celebration began. The entire team contributed to this win: a margin of only 2.6 points to take home the Regional trophy. A team sport at its finest.
 Medals and pink bling make for big smiles for the girls of the 4x800 and 4x400 meter relay teams (l to r): Ruby Hughes, Grace Hughes, Ella Foster, Hope Pietrzak  Courtney Coon sets new school pole vault mark 7 named to All Conference, team heads to Regionals Saturday Photos by Brent Foondle Congratulations to Courtney Coon who now holds the school record in the pole vault with a new jump of 9’3. This jump placed 1st in the league earning her 1st team All-Conference. Six other WC athletes earned 1st team All-Conference: Justice Dixon placed first in the 200 M (27.9), Payten Bird’s 1st place 100’3 discus throw, and the 1st place 4x100 team of Gabriella Dakin, Kiah Rogers, Natalie Dyke and Justice Dixon (53.3). Keira Maike earned 16 points to also make the 1st team All-Conference by placing in 4 events ( 3rd place high jump, 3rd place 400M, 5th place 800M, and the 4x400 team placed 2nd (Coon, Maike, Dakin, Dyke). Congratulation to these athletes on this prestigious honor! The top 6 finishers earned points toward the team total. Many athletes contributed to our 99 point total. Kiah Rogers was 4th in the 100M. Courtney Coon took 3rd in the 300 H and 5th in the 100 H. The 4x200 finished 2nd (Dakin, Rogers, Dyke, Dixon). The 4x800 was 4th place (Foondle, Shockley, Graham, Dyke). Payten Bird took 5th in the Shot put. Izzy Shockley took 4th place in the Pole Vault. The girls travel to Brethren this Saturday to compete in Regionals where they are a top contending team. WC girls are in the top 10 ranking in every event, as well as five 1st place rankings.  Gabriella Dakin  Justice Dixon  Kiah Dixon  Senior David Higgs  Senior Jayden Robnson  Senior Kaleb Canning Photos by Brent Foondle The White Cloud Boys’ Track and Field Team finished up the first year of the new CSAA format last week, and, based on their results, the Indians seemed to be peaking at the right time of the year. They will need to be in top form if they expect to repeat as regional champions this year when they head to Brethren next Saturday. Last Tuesday, May 6, White Cloud traveled to Morley-Stanwood to take on a much -improved Mohawk squad. White Cloud again battled the elements as well as the competition to squeak out a 68-65 victory. “Another rainy night,” commented Coach Tod Reeve. “We have not had much luck with the weather this year. But at least the wind was negligible, and the temperature wasn’t bad. Again, our seniors shined and that led us to the narrow victory." Senior Kaleb Canning had a stellar night. White Cloud’s top distance runner took first place in all four of his events. He teamed with sophomores Caleb Leys and Angelo Hinson, as well as fellow senior Wyatt Karnes to win the 4x800 meter relay, then went three for three in his individual events, winning the 1600, 800, and 3200 meter runs. He, Angelo, and Wyatt went 1, 2, 3 in the 3200 to seal up the victory for the Indians. Senior Jayden Robinson continued his dominance in the CSAA in the jumping events, winning both the high jump and long jump to secure 10 points for White Cloud. He also teamed with fellow seniors Dalton Crawford and David Higgs to sweep the 100 meter dash, with Dalton finishing 1st, Jayden 2nd, and David 3rd. Dalton and Jayden had personal best times, while David posted a season’s best time. Dalton followed his 100 win with a 2nd place finish in the 200 meter dash with a season’s best time. unior Giuliano Venditti scored a total of 8 points to help the Indian’s cause. Giuliano finished 2nd in the 110 hurdles, then took the victory in the 300 hurdles. Friday, May 9, the Indians gathered with schools Morley-Stanwood, Lakeview, Central Montcalm, and host Kent City to participate in the CSAA White (small school) Conference Championship. White Cloud finished 4th out of the 5 teams on the night, but closed in on 2nd place Kent City and 3rd place Lakeview compared to their dual meet scoring. Seniors Jayden Robinson, Kaleb Canning, and Dalton Crawford ended the night receiving first team all-conference honors due to their efforts. Jayden started his night by winning the long jump with a personal best jump of 20’1 ½”, his first time ever over 20 feet. He then moved over to high jump, where he leaped 6’2” to take the victory. Dalton finished 2nd in the 100 meter dash and 3rd in the 200 meter dash, while Kaleb was 2nd in both the 1600 and 3200 meter run. These three athletes were also involved in the three relays run by the Indians that night, and for Dalton, the points earned in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays helped him reach the 15 point total needed for an athlete to be given the first team honors if they have not won an event. Junior Giuliano Venditti fell just short of receiving the necessary 15 points to garnish 1st team honors, but his 4th place finish in the 110 hurdles along with his 3rd place finish in the 300 hurdles earned him the 10 points needed to receive 2nd team All-Conference. As stated above, White Cloud travels to Brethren next Saturday to take part in the MHSAA Region 33-4 Championship. They will compete against 15 other teams, including a Mesick team that is having a fine season and will be the Indian’s largest rival on the day.  Senior Dalton Crawford  Sophomore Rhoen Wade  Junior Giuliano Venditti |
Categories |
RSS Feed