 Photo by Brooke Hren By Ken DeLaat, N3 Sports Hesperia Panthers 24-25 record: Unimportant Coach Ty Elenbaas The Panthers didn’t manage to get into the win column last year, a rough go for any group of players and their coach. What is to be admired is that they took to the court with a desire to do better, to improve their game and to do the kind of things that help turn a program around. In doing so teams take their lumps and Hesperia was on the receiving end of plenty. But they never backed down. Sarissa Conkle earned All Conference Honorable Mention last season as a sophomore and is in her third Varsity season. Senior Olivia Gerard is also in her third go-round on Varsity and their experience should help the newer players on the court and in the locker room’. Graduation took away a couple of starters, but as Coach Elenbaas said their departure opens the door for other players to step up and grow We asked Coach Elenbaas for a little info on his team. What expectations do you have for the team? We’re poised to have the best team we’ve had here at Hesperia in quite a while. With a blend of experience, youth, and hunger, we expect to compete at a high level, grow throughout the season, and make a jump in the conference. Which incoming players do you think could make an impact on this year’s team? Emily McCallum and Chloe Rickard both played fifth-quarter varsity minutes last year and have consistently come into the gym to put in time preparing for this season. Their extra work and dedication are going to show up on the court in a big way. Maddie Bolles, an incoming freshman, is already a high-level competitor. She has a lot of poise for a freshman, a diverse skill set, and real strength. She’s going to bring a dynamic to the floor that we haven’t had here in a while. Coming off of last season, what changes, if any, do you need to make to be more successful this season? We are placing a very high emphasis on our defense — taking pride in our ability to match up with teams and force them into the shots we want to give up, not the ones they want. Offensively, we’re going to be intentional about hunting opportunities for our best playmakers to make plays, both for themselves and for their teammates. These areas will help us take significant steps forward. Where do you see your team in the league race? We’re taking the mindset that we’re not just here to participate — we’re here to make our mark. With the combination of experienced returners and talented newcomers, we believe we can take a significant jump in the league standings. Our defense, work ethic, and commitment to growth will help us compete every night. Who are the teams to beat in the conference race this season? Shelby and Hart are still the teams to beat. Shelby has a strong young core that continues to improve, and Hart is consistently tough and well-prepared. They set a high standard for intensity and execution. Our job is to match that level of growth and compete with that same energy. Hesperia opens on the road at Pentwater on Tuesday Dec. 9th before facing Walkerville on Friday the 12th at home. The Panther season will be an intriguing story. The team is starting fresh with some solid returnees and a few newcomers who will be added to the mix. We’re particularly interested in seeing the play of Bolles who begins her Varsity career as a freshman. The Cats aren’t likely to compete for the title in a conference that boasts a bevy of young talent returning to their strong teams, but they will be taking the next steps toward building the kind of team they want to be.
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 Brady Strait received AC HM honors last year as a freshman. -Photo by Brent Foondle White Cloud Indians 24-25 record: 11-13 overall 2-6 CSAA-White Coach Bob Jones Last year the Cloud proved to be one of the more enigmatic teams we covered. At times they would look like title contenders for half a game then go ice cold from the floor. Or they might dig an early hole then scramble back to make a game of it. In conference play they began by knocking off a strong Morley squad then followed it up with a loss to lowly Lakeview, the only conference win the Wildcats would get. There were many bright spots though, not the least being the emergence of Brady Strait an all-conference Honorable Mention as a freshman last year who might end up becoming one of the area's best. Reece Hewitt also returns and the two will help lead a large contingency of newcomers to the Varsity floor. We contacted Coach Jones to get his take on his team Key Returnees: Sr. Reece Hewitt and Soph. Brady Strait New Comers: SR. Chris Anabol, JR. Edgar Rodriguez, JR. Jaxon Ruether, JR. Damian Mayle, JR. Logan Stamp, JR. Steven Zook, JR. Trysten Tancock, JR. Ben Fehrlen, JR. Blake Vanbogelen, JR. Dawson Vandoorne Team Strengths. We have a lot of guys that can knock down shots. Team challenges. We are very young and not battle tested. Whether we can handle the challenge is going to decide our season. Season Outlook: The Conference is loaded with talent we will have to fight to get out of the bottom of the league this year and our schedule is any easier. Trying not to use the word rebuild. Supporters will get a good look at the Cloud early on as they open with 3 straight home games, Tuesday Dec 2nd vs. Baldwin then back to back games the 8th and 9th when Mason County Eastern, then Reed City make their visits.  Photo by DeCamp Creative Solutions Fremont Packers 24-25 record 7-17 overall, 2-10 WMC-Lakes Coach: Kip Powell By Ken DeLaat The Packers went through some growing pains last season and the always rugged WMC-Lakes proved to be challenging when they weren’t playing Montague. The team went 5-6 when playing outside the division and captured a District opener before Ludington made it a 3-0 sweep to end their season. Coach Powell has some talent coming back for another year and has added players from the JV squad who will be adding to the mix. Coach Powell on his team: Key Returnees: Mossen Green (Jr) - WMC Honorable Mention last year. Starter, Scorer, leader, communicator, Captain. Brayden Crosley (Jr) Starting PG last year, Glue Guy, Captain, court vision, distributor. Logan McLain (Sr) - Starting Center Last year, over 65 blocks Gabe Hulst (So) - Scorer, high basketball IQ, does everything well. Breckin Kooistra (Jr) - Best Fundamental Player, lengthy, can get to the hoop, rebounds. Noah Hansen (Sr) - does it all, gritty, defender. Newcomers: Aiden Hunt (So) - Poised, great ball handler, all around solid player. Javon Basso (Jr) - Athletic, defends and rebounds well, bursts of energy off the bench. Collin Trouslot (Jr) - Rim protector, great finisher, good touch, rebounds well. Griffin Reed (Jr) - High Motor, does the little things, good defender, rebounds, hustles all the time. Josh Rowe (Jr) - Shooter, defender, plays hard. Sam Cummins (Jr) - Center, rebounder, good defender. Team Outlook: We are looking forward to competing this season in the WMC Lakes division, we have a tough schedule to start with 3 conference games in the first 2 weeks after we open at Shelby. Games before break also include at Hart and Kenowa Hills - @ Van Andel Arena. I like how hard this team works, they get along well on and off the court and genuinely like each other. As the chemistry and trust continues to be established we have a high ceiling. Still a pretty young team with only 2 seniors on it. As Coach Powell stated, the Pack will be tested early in conference play. The road opener (Tuesday, Dec. 2nd) at Shelby pits them against a Tiger team that had its struggles last season then they face 4 Lakes division teams in a row, including last season’s top two teams Whitehall and Ludington. Their home opener will be Tuesday December 9th when they face Orchard View.
Newaygo Lions 24-25 record: 18-5 overall, 8-2 CSAA Red, 2nd place Coach: Nathan Thomasma By Ken DeLaat The Lions got off to a roaring start last year. After a loss in their opener the team only lost to one other squad the rest of the season before falling short in their regular season finale The team they lost to? Big Rapids. Twice. And while those Cards will be bringing back the Fricke sisters, Courtright and others from their title team, the Lions are bringing back some pretty fair players as well. Lathrop, Andres, Arney and the seemingly everywhere Ruby Hughes will be back on the Newaygo court with other returnees and a new face or two. I’m anxious to see what role Zaydrie Eaton will play this season after showing some skills during her playing time last year. We asked Coach T. for his take on the team. Key Returnees + Newcomers PG Amaya Lathrop (Senior), SF Morgan Andres (Junior), SG Gabrielle Arney (Junior), PF Ruby Hughes (Junior), SF Sydnee Shepherd (Senior), C Morgan Sharp (Senior), C Kalleigh Klappholz (Senior), SG Kaelyn Stephens (Senior), PG Zaydrie Eaton (Soph), C Elizabeth Crisler (Junior) Natalie Bischoff (Soph) and Kylie Corrigan (Soph). Team Strengths: We have plenty of experience coming back from last year's squad. (4 girls that have started from the previous year). I like the team chemistry and makeup. We got some good kids on the team that are willing to play for each other. Team Challenges: We have to fill some big shoes from some graduating seniors from last year's team. We have to be more consistent shooting the ball from the outside than we were last year. Outlook: I like the makeup of the team this year but I do think our schedule is more challenging than last year. We are going to have to continue to play good defense to keep us in ballgames. We must play smart and stay out of foul trouble as much as possible. Conference Outlook: Big Rapids is the team to beat. Outside of that, I do think the conference as a whole will be improved over last year. Should be a competitive year. Newaygo opens their season at home on Tuesday, December 9th and then they won’t see their home gym until a month later (Jan 7, Hart)) In between they play Grant, Lakeview Tri County and Coopersville (Coach T’s alma mater) on the road.  Back Standing L-R: Zaiden Phillips (5) SR; Blake Rider (10) SR; Owen Chesebro (4) SR; Easton Swanson (32) JR; Austin Gragg (13) JR; Gage Rasch (33) JR; Kohen Obenhauf (11) JR; Jacob Gates (2) JR, Jack Swanson (1) JR Front Seated L-R: Associate Head Coach Kirk Rider (2nd year); Head Coach Dan George (2nd year); Assistant Coach Zander Powell (1st year). Grant Tigers 24-25 season: 20-3, overall, 10-0 CSAA-Red Coach: Dan George By Ken DeLaat In Coach George’s first year on the Grant bench the Tigers began the season with their first of two 10 game winning streaks and burned up the Red Division going undefeated to capture the title. In their 8 Red Division games when they played teams not named Big Rapids the Tigers won by an average of 40 points. Then, of course, there were the battles with the Cardinals including a winner take all regular season finale, a classic 3 overtime victory . The magical season came to an end at Districts but the team added to the trophy case as league champs. Grant lost a pair of all conference players to graduation, but they return co-captains Zaiden Phillips (1st Team All Conference, 2nd Team All State) and Blake Rider (1st Team All-Conference). Senior Owen Cheseboro and Junior Jack Swanson also return to the court while a quintet of newcomers in Austin Gragg, Kohen Obenhauf, Jacob Gates, Easton Swanson, and Gage Rasch will be called on to help form this year’s Tiger squad. We asked Coach George about the 25-26 Tigers Team Strengths Quickness, Coachability, Desire Team Challenges Small in height Outlook - It will be a challenge to match the 20-3 record of last year, but I'm excited about this team. They are a joy to coach. Conference Outlook - All of our opponents will be better than last year, and we likely will have a target on our back, going undefeated in the conference last year. Our daily goal is to be better than we were yesterday. Grant had some talent last year, but they also had tremendous chemistry and truly played like a unit. Coach George obviously had a lot to do with this however his in-game adjustments, particularly in those rare close games, put on display the bench skills honed from years of coaching experience. This year’s version of Tiger hoops might not be as dominant as last season’s but it’s their title to take away and they still have Phillips, easily one of the best in the area. If they can find some of the points lost to graduation and continue to play that stifling defense it should be another fun year in Grant. The Tigers open at home on Tuesday December 2nd when the Red Hawks soar in from Cedar Springs. Hometown fans will get a good look at the team as they will play their next four at home including Friday, December 5th when they open the defense of their league title against the TC Vikings.  Photo by Matthew Zerfas Fremont Packers 2024-25 Record 23-3 overall, 12-0 WMC Lakes Division Coach: Peter Zerfas By Ken DeLaat That was quite a season the Packers put together last year. They ran the conference table, grabbed some District hardware then got to the Regional finals, for the first time in nearly half a century, before being ousted by Gladstone. Two of their varsity veterans departed via graduation and took about 30 points a game with them, however they return a nucleus of strong players led by perhaps the best player in our coverage area, Taylor DeKuiper. Since her emergence as a freshman DeKuiper has become the catalyst for the Packers. She is a demon on defense and one of those players who, quite simply, knows how to win. Coach Zerfas, truly a stats guy as those who know him have long been aware of, uses a mathematical formula to determine value based on, of course, stats. In his words (and stats): “If you hit a season of +300, you are almost always all-conference, +350....all-area, + 400...all state, generally speaking. The record was +550. Taylor as a freshman was +582 and last year as a sophomore +845...an insane number I never thought I would see and is tough to comprehend. She does everything on the basketball court.” The team also has a solid group of returnees and newcomers who will be taking to the court From Coach Z: Brynna Barnhart 5'10 Senior Forward Brynna started the entire season last year and was the back end of our press. She blocked 58 shots and altered just as many. She had a really good summer and I look for Brynna to take a bigger role this season in our offense. Ella Shriver 5'8 Junior Guard Ella was our starting shooting guard last season averaging 4 points and 3.5 steals per game. She had a great off-season and I think will have a breakout season this year. Grace Evans 5'6 Senior Guard Grace is a 3-year varsity player and will bring leadership and experience to our team. Anna Norris 5'9 Senior Forward Anna got good minutes off the bench last year and will be a big contributor this season as well. Taylor Johnson 5'6 Senior Guard Taylor can play multiple positions in our press and brings hustle and versatility to our team. Breven Powell 5'6 Sophomore Guard....Helped lead the JV to a 17-3 record and had a great summer of basketball. Esther Vissia 5'6 Sophomore Guard.....also helped the JV to a 17-3 record, very athletic and versatile player Ava Krohn 5'5 Senior Guard........Great team player, good 3pt shooter, willing to help in any way she can. Ariana Tanner 5'10 Senior Center.....Will help provide hustle and muscle when she plays. Roxy Martin 5'6 Junior Guard.......started for our 17-3 JV, good outside shooter, dedicated to basketball, hard worker. Railee Durham 5'8 Freshman Guard....talented. Needs time to develop but will definitely help us this year. Team Strengths We are guard loaded again, deeper and quicker than last season. Team Challenges We will need to rebound as a team as we are not very tall or big. We will need players to step in and fill big shoes and production that we lost to graduation. Outlook We have beefed up our non-league schedule with away games against Zeeland East, Fruitport (at the Van Andel), Hart, Kent City, Grant and Kenowa Hills. We also play a very good Shelby team, Morley Stanwood and West Michigan Christian at home. We will be small, but athletic and quick. I'm excited for what the season will bring. Conference Outlook We will have a target on our back as we have won 24 league games in a row, all by double figures last year. We will need to erase that and play one game at a time this season. Ludington will be good as always, Manistee has some really good players, Whitehall is always athletic and will be challenging. Montague lost its starting 5 but seems to be good every year and Orchard View and Oakridge are moving in the right direction. It should be a challenging and fun league season. The Packers open their season on Monday, December 8th, taking on the Pirates at Hart then Thursday the 11th they will look to extend their 24 game winning streak in the Lakes Division when they visit Ludington. Hometown fans can get a look at this year’s Packers on Tuesday the 16th when the Mariners of Manistee come to town.
Newaygo Lions Last season: 9-14 overall, 5-5 CSAA Red Division Coach: Jeff Bauer By Ken DeLaat Former collegiate coach Jeff Bauer takes over boys hoops for the Lions bringing a wealth of basketball IQ to the Newaygo bench. He inherits a team in transition since most of the regulars from last season’s 9-14 team left with their diplomas last June. A new coach, a new system, and likely a whole new starting lineup will make for an interesting combination as Coach Bauer’s Lions take to the court this season. We asked for a bit of info on his team as he heads into his inaugural season on the bench for Newaygo Key Players: We are trying to figure everything out including our personnel! I've been doing this for three decades and I honestly have no idea who the key players will be. Everything is up in the air at the moment. The student-athletes who buy - in, play the hardest, and learn how to play off the ball will eventually become our cornerstones. That is going to take time to figure out. Team Strengths: I'm hoping that we will have a tremendous togetherness and desire to win that will carry us through the season! We are going to focus on competing, playing hard, focusing on defense, and rebounding! I'm expecting those to be strengths! I believe that we will likely have decent depth. We will have tremendous energy and unselfishness! Team Obstacles: We have no idea how to play yet. That will take time! We will likely be a very young squad with very limited experience in terms of structured competition! We are not a physically imposing team. We will have to work extremely hard to close out defensive possessions! Outlook: Our focus is not going to be on wins and losses. Our present goals are to get better every day, learning how to play, learning how to compete at levels we currently don't believe are possible. If we can accomplish those things while trusting the process which is required to get better, we will be successful. Conference Outlook: As a first-year coach in this league, I have a very limited scope of what to expect. It sounds like Grant and Big Rapids will be strong again, but I am sure other programs will be competitive as well! We are looking forward to the challenge!! An interesting season ahead for the Lions who will open with a road game against OK Silver's Kelloggsville on Wednesday Dec. 3rd. Two days later they will begin divisional play when the Coyotes of Reed City come to town.  Team Camp at Northwood U. in July- Photo credit: Caitie Wilk White Cloud Indians Last season 7-16 overall, 1-7 CSAA White Division Coach: Caleb Wilk By Ken DeLaat Coach Wilk’s team was pretty young last year. They got younger. Two freshmen will be joining three returning sophomores, including the sharpshooter Andi Vincent who shattered the school's freshman scoring record by almost 100 points (379). Vincent was pouring in over 20 a game toward the end of last season and is part of a bevy of youthful talent throughout our coverage area. And on this team. Aubri Vincent joins her sister as one of the pair of freshmen making their varsity debut. Addison Boomgaard also makes the leap from middle school hoops to the big gym while last years JV competitors Kylie Zimmer and Tehyah Nickoloff bring their talents to the top squad. In addition to the 1st team all conference, All State HM Vincent, the Cloud returns a strong core as fellow sophomores Addyson Cook and Courtney Coon along with seniors Payten Bird (all conference HM), Molly Francis and Kayla Burgess bring some serious chops to the court. Coach Wilk’s team will have a new follower in the crowd this season as he and his wife Paige (both former cagers for the Cloud) welcomed future baller Lane into the world this past summer. We asked the new Dad for a bit of info on his youthful squad. Team Strengths: This team is fast and very coachable. We have quite a few girls who put in a lot of work this summer, and I think our fans will notice the improvement on the court. We are returning a lot of our core from last year, and we are gaining four very talented players to add to our team. Team Challenges: On-court chemistry will be a challenge early on. This summer, we were able to play together with most of our team, but we need more court time together. We have four newcomers, and we have many things we need to implement to get everyone up to speed. Although I think we will start the season off just fine, I believe we will be a much tougher team to play against as we get closer to March. Outlook: New players, a new system—only time will tell. What we do know is that we are going to use the whole court to our advantage and play hard for 32 minutes. We are excited to see what this group can do. We feel like we have multiple different lineups to help challenge other teams, no matter what they throw at us this year. If we play our basketball with the players we have and our shots are falling, we feel like we can beat anyone on our schedule this year. Conference Outlook: Kent City and Morley are returning most of their starters. Both teams are vastly different: Kent City likes to run up and down the court, and Morley is big and physical. Both teams will be tough, just like last year; however, we are much improved from last year. The team will be challenged early as they open with two road games, a visit to Coyote Country and that enigmatic Reed City gym on December 9th, then opening conference play three days later at likely contender Morley. Fans and followers will get to see their team perform in their home gym when Tri County comes to town on Dec. 16th. I got a feeling this will be a fun team to watch.
 Fremont Girls CC 2025 State Qualifiers-Photo by Emily Paige By Mike Paige Fremont sent a girls cross country team to the state finals at MIS on Saturday for the first time since 2018. There have been some fine runners to qualify individually during that time, but it is extra special to qualify as a team, as the ultimate recognition of the program’s hard work and excellence. Per Coach Cliff Somers, “The girls had a great day to race and they all turned in their best time of the season besides their race at Benzie last weekend. The team placed 18th with 425 points. That matched their seeding. I am really proud of the way the girls performed, all running their first finals race except Linnea Paige who was running for the fourth year and turning in her best performance… It was a strong end to a great season.” Paige bid farewell to the MIS course with a time of 19:06, good for 45th place and while she was a little disappointed not to make the All-State top 30, she was elated to have her teammates there competing with her. Joelle Patten ran a 19:47 and placed 81st in her final high school race. And she really saved the best for last, leaving it all out there, as she ran her best time of the year and was just 9 seconds off her PR set at Benzie last year. She had a fine 4 year varsity career. Freshman Myah Breuker was impressive from day one this season, running varsity all year and finishing 2nd or 3rd on the team in every race. She finished 91st with a time of 19:54. Likewise, freshman Natalie Christoffersen ran varsity all year and finished top 5 on the team in all of the team’s races. She finished 163rd with a time of 20:47. The future is bright for the team with these two in the mix. Senior Ava Krohn joined the team last year as a junior and her first season ended early due to injury. This year she really put together a fine season improving her time by 5 minutes(!) throughout the year and solidifying herself in the team’s top five by year’s end. She finished 215th with a time of 21:48. Kira Manchip finished 245th with a time of 22:33. As a junior she will return next year looking to lead this team back to MIS. Rocquel Richards, also a senior, went out with a blast, running a 22:58, for 252nd place. That is a good two minutes faster than her times from just a couple weeks prior. Although not called on to run, freshman Sawyer Semlow accompanied the team as an alternate. Like those mentioned above, and along with returning seniors Jailyn Saum, Emma Scott and Jessie Kendziorski, she will be counted on heavily next year to keep the momentum going and returning to this meet. Paige and hopefully others from the team will be competing next Saturday at the Michigan Meet of Champions in Shepherd. |
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