 Salladay, Ciolk take top honors
The White Cloud Cross Country team hosted another successful Trail Trot Wednesday, July 27. The program fund-raiser was held on their home course at White Cloud Elementary School. First male finisher was Nathan Ciolk. Leading the women was Kameryn Salladay. Complete results can be found at https://bit.ly/3Jap82k The team would like to thank race sponsors, Trapp's Auto Change, Meraki Thrift Store, Quality Tree Service of West Michigan, Mike Saum - State Farm, Independent Bank, LifeCare Dental, Houseman's Foods, Rosenberg Hardware, Calvary Knights, T-1 Fasteners, Heavenly Guardians Home Care, Gerber Federal Credit Union, Brummel Mathematics, Jim Truman - National Youth Speaker, StartADeerFarm.com, Newaygo Insurance Agency, Evergreen Physical Therapy, and YoGraphics.
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 An aerial view of where the youth action took place for the first annual Newaygo Gus Macker First Annual Newaygo Gus Macker a Giant Success Photos and story by Alexis Mercer Aerial photos by Brandon Badgero Regardless of how one defines success, the first annual Newaygo Gus Macker fits that description. Walking around the courts to get the vibe of the players and spectators, not a single person had anything negative to say about the event. Parking? Well handled. Competition? Tough and fair. Food trucks? Divine. Registration? Full of helpful people with smiles on their faces. Port-a-pots? Clean as a whistle. (Schultzes cleaned them multiple times each day!) Weather? Rock solid. Refs? Even the refs weren’t complained about! Miracles do happen. Championship Sunday brought tears of frustration from the teams who really thought they were coming home with hardware, but also worthy lessons learned and hope for the future. It also brought epic smiles, hugs and high-fives for the teams who walked away with the big trophies for the winning bracket or the smaller but ever so coveted Toilet Bowl trophies.  Mighty and fierce, Brody Butler pops a jumper  Kaelyn Stephens drives against defender Jazlynn Baker on the Dream Court Sunday Event director Tara Nelson informed Near North Now that the total number of teams was 229, making it 916 players to join in the action on the courts: a record for first year attendance from Gus Macker in the last 5-10 years. Her favorite part when it was all said and done? When "the local police stayed after to play basketball with the kiddos," she said. "They had to be so hot in their uniforms after two 80+ degree days in the sun and they took the time to build relationships with the kids."  Working for the win, Montana Hansen shoots the 3 with skill and poise  Future MCC player and recent NHS graduate, Kayla Fisk continues with her defensive tenacity  Flying high, Blake Kerr makes an opening for a bucket  One of the men's championship games late on Sunday afternoon  Recent Newaygo graduate Jaxi Long, showing her skills with her future Cornerstone teammates  Intensity was the name of the game on every court First year hosting a Gus Macker? You’d never know it. Newaygo County knows how to host an event. Countless volunteers, plenty of referees, thousands of fans and families, multiple food trucks, and over 200 Gus Macker teams. It was a grand start to the two day tournament. Newaygo Middle School parking lot was filled with the iconic Gus Macker courts yesterday by some of those countless volunteers mentioned above. The area was swarming with people not much longer after the first light cracked over the horizon to start this Saturday morning. Near North Now was there to cover the action, enjoying capturing photos of many of the current and former athletes from Newaygo County that have donned our pages from their prep sports days. But also to welcome visitors to this happening event and see how the county’s talent stacked up against the competition. As it goes with Gus Macker, some teams ended their quest for a trophy today, but most teams will return tomorrow for either the main competition trophies, or perhaps, if they’re part of the exclusive club, they’ll be the winners of the coveted Toilet Bowl Trophies. Tip off for the first of the games will be at 8 AM. If you want to enjoy a free event as a spectator, bring a chair and prepare to be amazed. At both the games in progress, and also at the outstanding event organization and fun being had by all.  Volunteers made the day extraordinarily outstanding for everyone involved   Smiles for days from these ballers (l to r): Morgan Sharp, Emily Aishe, Gabriella Dakin, Kaelyn Stephens  Trace Vroegindewey from Jenison pulls down a rebound on Court A  Tiger fans endure yet another season of futility
By Ken DeLaat “The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers.”- Earl Weaver OK I was wrong about the Tigers. Way way wrong. With the additions to the lineup and a young pitching staff on the cusp of possible greatness and even a shored up bullpen who can blame me? This was the breakout year, the season that would dull the memory of the past several summers and even if the team didn’t make the playoffs they might at least make a run at it. And yet here we sit watching a team with apparent potential mired 13 games under .500, 11 games out of first place and 10 from a wild card spot at the halfway point of the season. And that's after a 4 game win streak. Three throwers who were expected to be part of the starting rotation are out. For The Season! And the ace acquired via free agency has apparently disappeared since mid June, leaving the team in order to deal with family issues, according to reports. Despite this disaster the pitching has been more than adequate, with starters keeping them in most games and a relief corps that has been better than any bullpen at Comerica Park since…well…since they moved to the current digs I’d bet. Or at least since Jones, Zumaya, Walker and Rodney helped the ‘06 team into the Series. But the hitting has been atrocious all season and the injury list seems to grow each day. Here we are once again hitting mid season with no realistic aspirations of anything but another ‘wait 'til next year’ frame of mind. The sweep of the Cleveland squad that has dominated the Tig’s in recent years is a good sign perhaps. And Riley Greene is the real deal. The kid can play the game and seems to have made his team better by his presence. Cabrera is no longer the long ball threat each time he enters the box, but he’s hitting over .300 and leads the team in RBI’s. Schoop and Haase are showing some signs of life, Baez has looked better of late and most of the team has finally climbed above Mendoza. But now they face the Sox who swept them in late June by a cumulative score of 27-6. Being a diehard I will continue to follow, of course, while knowing that to even reach the .500 mark this season the team would need to go 47-34 in the second half. Not impossible but with a patchwork rotation, and a struggling offense only the most optimistic among us can envision such a turnaround. Particularly since the team will be looking to stock the farm before the trade deadline, dumping anyone who might not be in the plans for ‘23 as they once again hit mid summer as sellers rather than buyers. In the meantime we can watch the development of Greene, hope for Torkleson to find more consistency and see if Roger’s kid Kody will make a case for sticking with the Big Club. And if you’re really discouraged by this snake-bit season the Tigers are weathering? We’re just 5 weeks away from the pre-season opener. Go Lions!   Brett Martin, DO, With Gus Macker in town, Gerber Memorial sports medicine physician offers tips to stay healthy
FREMONT, Mich– Warmer weather means outdoor sports. And with the famed Gus Macker coming to Newaygo County for the first time July 16-17, pick-up 3-on-3 basketball games may be a go-to sport this summer. Brett Martin, DO, sports medicine physician at Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial, shared some tips to stay healthy and minimize the likelihood of injuries on the basketball court. For the lower half of the body, Dr. Martin recommends proper footwear and bracing. Other tips to maximize overall safety include:
“The easiest way to treat injuries is to prevent them,” Dr. Martin said. “Don't ignore injuries. If you’re hurt and don't recover quickly, it is best to see someone who is trained in evaluating sports injuries. The quicker we start treatment, the quicker you can get back to the game.” Dr. Martin said the most common injuries in basketball are ankle and knee injuries. Tendonitis, or inflammation of the tendons, can also occur, especially around the lower extremities such as knees and ankles as well as shoulders. Heat-related injuries can also occur during outdoor tournaments such as Newaygo County’s Gus Macker, which is being held at Newaygo Middle School, 850 E 76th St in Newaygo. Dr. Martin recommends participants watch out for signs of complications, such as pain, bruising and swelling of the lower extremities, pain and swelling related to tendonitis, and excessive sweating, dizziness, light-headedness and confusion related to heat. With some proper precautions, an outdoor basketball game can be fun and safe. |
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