The Sun and News

12/19/2025

A 13-2 run in the fourth quarter powered the Thornapple Kellogg varsity girls' basketball team to a 54-51 win over a previously undefeated Caledonia team Thursday in Middleville.

The Fighting Scots started the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead thanks to some full-court pressure that gave the Trojans fits throughout a lot of the second half.

The Trojan surge in the fourth quarter included three 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Taylor Lloyd hit two and assisted on the other. She fired a pass into the left corner, in front of the Christmas-themed TK student section, for an assist on a three by junior point guard Addy Henry that got their team within one with just over five minutes to play.

The next three was the one that was a bugaboo to Caledonia head coach Todd Bloemers. His team was really good with its transition defense for much of the game and did a good job of keeping a close eye on Lloyd. This time the Caledonia defense lost Lloyd in transition and left her alone at the top of the key for an open three that put TK into the lead at 49-47.

A minute later, the Scots lost the Trojans' All-OK Gold junior forward Reece Ritsema in the paint and sophmore guard Amya Gater found her for a bucket prompting a Caledonia timeout. A putback by Ritsema moments later had TK's lead to six points.

Caledonia freshman guard Reese Abbott scored four points down the stretch to get her team within two, but the Scots' last best chance down the stretch was a three-point try from the right wing by sophomore guard Brooklyn McLeod that was heavily contested by Henry and missed its mark.

Abbott finished with a team-high 19 points, mostly by attacking the basket. McLeod buried a couple threes and finished with ten points for the Scots. Sophomore guard Myla Gortmaker had seven points.

Ritsema had a game-high 20 points. Lloyd finished with 14 and freshman Kathleen Kaboos had five points.

TK is now 2-2 overall this season. The Fighting Scots fall to 4-1.

Caledonia won't have to wait long to try and bounce back. The Scots head to Aquinas College to take on Lansing Waverly Saturday, Dec. 20, at 3:00 p.m. and then will play again Monday at East Grand Rapids.

TK is off until the Cornerstone University Holiday Classic starts Dec. 26. TK faces Lowell at 11:30 a.m. the day after Christmas …

Read more in the Dec. 27 issue of the Sun and News ...

12/12/2025

A young Forest Hills Eastern team was not prepared for what the Thornapple Kellogg varsity girls' basketball team had to throw at it in the season opener Tuesday in Middleville.

The Trojans took a 62-35 win over the visiting Hawks.

The TK defense threw so much pressure at the Hawks that even TK head coach Brandi James thought her girls were going a little too hard trying to steal the ball off the Hawks’ dribble too often rather than getting a stop and trying to steal a pass. But that was really her only complaint.

TK sophomore guard Taylor Lloyd led all scorers with 18 points. Junior forward Reece Ritsema finished with 14 points. Freshman guard Kathleen Kaboos closed the ballgame with nine points and junior Ellie Harmon had eight.

Ritsema was her usual dominant self on the glass, and sophomore guard Amya Gater had a great game rebounding the basketball for TK too as well as being a terror at the top of the Trojan press.

The 1-0 TK ladies are back in action Friday, Dec. 12, at Forest Hills Central …

12/10/2025

Snow day for Cal today, Dec. 10.

Caledonia Community Schools is closed today, December 10, 2025.

12/10/2025

Thornapple Kellogg Schools will be closed today, December 10, due to inclement weather, all buildings, including childcare, will be closed. TK will provide an update at noon for after school activities.

12/10/2025

The Caledonia heavyweights both faced significant deficits after getting put on their back in the first period against Thornapple Kellogg wrestlers.

Both Xavier Stewart and Ky Spencer fought their way upright and eventually scored pins in the final two bouts to boost the Caledonia varsity wrestling team to a 41-37 win over the visiting Trojans on the first night of the 2026-26 season.

Grand Ledge took wins over both the Fighting Scots and Trojans at the tri Wednesday at Caledonia High School …

Read more in the Dec. 6 edition of the Sun and News or check the story out at …

https://sunandnews.com/articles/sports/heavyweight-comebacks-boost-scots-over-trojans/

12/06/2025

The Trojans put the ball in the basket Thursday. That helps.

The Thornapple Kellogg varsity boys basketball team more than doubled its scoring output from the season opener in a 67-64 win over visiting Lakewood Thursday in Middleville.

TK trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but rallied to get within 34-33 by the half. That was already one more point than the Trojans scored in their season opener against Plainwell Tuesday.

Trojan senior guard Ben Lloyd attacked the basket and scooped a shot up for a bucket that put TK in front 56-54 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, and the Trojans held a slim lead the test of the night.

Lloyd made a habit of getting to the rim and led all scorers with 27 points even after picking up three quick fouls in the first half.

Lakewood was inhibited a bit by its array of bigs getting into some foul trouble too.

Senior guard Zay Boafo added 10 points for TK, junior guard Andrew Johnson had 9 and senior forward Trey Hilton finished with 8

Lakewood had three guys in double figures.

11/22/2025

The Caledonia girls spent their Friday going from the starting block to the water to the medal stand and back again at the Oakland University Aquatic Center in Rochester.

Caledonia senior Sophie Ga***rd and junior Mya VanderZwaag were both four-time state medalists Friday, and they were two of five Fighting Scots who earned state medals throughout the course of the two-day MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls’ Swimming and Diving Finals. That duo was joined in medal-winning relay performances by senior Aliya Van Hofwegen, freshman Caitlyn Morris and freshman Kailey Hall.

Ga***rd upped her state medal county to 11 in three varsity seasons at Caledonia, and she’ll be back in the Oakland pool before too long as she has already made plans to join the Grizzlies’ Women’s Swimming and Diving program next season.

The top finish for Ga***rd came in the 100-yard freestyle where she turned in a stellar time of 51.42 seconds to place third. She placed fifth in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.45 seconds putting herself in consideration for All-America honors in that event.

VanderZwaag placed 15th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.71 and was the last Scot out of the pool with a 16th-place time of 1 minute 8.32 seconds in the penultimate event of the meet - the 100-yard breaststroke.

Ga***rd, ZanderZwaag, Van Hofwegen and Morris earned a fifth-place time of 1:48.38 in the 200-yard medley relay finals, and the team of VanderZwaag, Hall, Morris and Ga***rd was ninth in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:38.27.

The Fighting Scot squad also had the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Hall, Van Hofwegen, Morris and sophomore Amelia McCann place 21st in the prelim’s of their race (3:47.30.)

All their efforts throughout Thursday’s prelim’s and Friday’s finals put the Caledonia team in tenth place at the finals with 79 points. Unsurprisingly, Ann Arbor Pioneer won the team championship with 404 points. Jenison was a distant second with 249 points …

Read more in the Nov. 29 edition of the Sun and News …

11/22/2025

Grand Rapids Gators junior Lydia Slagel went two steps up the medal stand Friday.

Slagel finished as the state runner-up at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls’ Swimming and Diving Finals hosted by Oakland University in Rochester improving on a fourth place finish from her sophomore season at the finals.

Slagel was in third place following Thursday evening’s prelim’s and semifinals, and then with successes on some tougher dives late in the competition she moved up into second place.

Kalamazoo Central senior Kiya Bowman made sure no one was catching her after she came out of Thursday’s semifinals with the lead. She won the state championship with an overall 11-dive score of 422.60 points. Slagel closed the meet with a score of 389.80.

The top 16 in each event at the state finals earned medals. Slagel was the only diver among the top six scorers who was not a senior …

Read more in the Nov. 29 issue of the Sun and News …

11/17/2025

Grand Rapids Gators' Lydia Slagel, a TK junior, qualifies for D1 Diving Finals a third time with regional runner-up finish.

There is no doubt that Thornapple Kellogg junior Lydia Slagel will have done everything she could to prepare for her third trip to the state finals. Slagel, diving for the Grand Rapids Gators co-op varsity girls’ swimming and diving team, finished as the runner-up at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Divi...

11/10/2025

Two seasons. Two championships. Zero defeats.

The Caledonia varsity girls' swimming and diving team rolled through its second undefeated season in the OK Conference East Division by winning Saturday's conference championship meet at the Community Education and Recreation Center in Hastings by 61 points over runner-up Ottawa Hills.

Caledonia senior Sophie Ga***rd and Wayland senior Laney Wolf were the top two performers in the conference for the day with Ga***rd a victor in all four events she participated in. Caledonia had five of the top ten scorers at the meet and seven all-conference honorees overall - a list that included senior Aliya Van Hofwegen, junior Mya VanderZwaag, sophomore Amelia McCann, freshman Caitlyn Morris, sophomore Lily Klein and freshman Kailey Hall.

Caledonia remains a co-op with South Christian and Lowell student-athletes. The Grand Rapids Gators co-op with Thornapple Kellogg, Hopkins, West Michigan Aviation Academy and West Catholic girls placed fifth on the day as a team, tying Grand Rapids Union for fifth in the overall conference standings, and had junior Lydia Slagel win a conference title for the third consecutive season in the diving competition.

Divers from around the state will compete in regional meets this week. Slagel, a state medalist a year ago, will be a part of the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Diving Regional hosted by Hudsonville. The D1 MHSAA L.P. State Finals will be held Nov. 21-22 at Oakland University.

Caledonia girls were better than the Division 1 state qualifying time in all three relay races at the conference championship and Ga***rd and VanderZwaag had times good enough for spots in the D1 Finals in individual victories.

Ga***rd won the 100-yard backstroke in 57.74 seconds and the 100-yard butterfly in 57.68 Saturday. Teammate Van Hofwegen was the 100-yard butterfly runner-up in 1 minute 3.90 seconds. And as far in front as Ga***rd was, Van Hofwegen was still more than two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

Ga***rd, Van Hofwegen, VanderZwaag and Morris won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:49.46. VanderZwaag, Hall, McCann and Ga***rd won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:39.6 breaking a ten-year-old pool and conference record in that race set by Grand Rapids Catholic Central in what was formerly known as the OK Rainbow Conference Tier II. Caledonia made its return to the conference in 2024 after a few seasons competing in the OK Red Conference with the biggest schools in the Grand Rapids area.

VanderZwaag won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:08.60 beating her nearest competitor by more than four and a half seconds.

Van Hofwegen, McCann, Hall and Morris had a runner-up time of 3:46.90 in the 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing just behind the Wayland foursome of Sybil Williamson, Kaeli Whip, Stella VanWyk and Wolf who finished in 3:45.93.

Wolf was the conference champ in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:11.42 with VanderZwaag the runner-up in that one with a time of 2:15.02. In the 500-yard freestyle, Wolf won in 5:18.66 with McCann second in 5:31.50.Wolf and her Wildcat teammates were second to the Fighting Scots in the 200-yard freestyle relay, about three and a half seconds back.

VanHofwegen won the 50-yard freestyle in 25.57, and teammates Morris and Hall were third and fourth in that race. It wasn't the only race the Scots were especially dominant in. Ga***rd won the 100 butterfly with Van Hofwegen second, sophomore Chloe Kerkstra fifth and senior Lena Gesing eighth.

McCann also had a runner-up time of 2:00.82 in the 200-yard freestyle.

Other top eight performances for Caledonia came from Nora DeHaan and Anneka Schuurmans in the 100-yard breaststroke; Klein (third) and Hall (sixth) in the backstroke; freshman Madelyn Foerch (eighth) in the 500 freestyle; Klein (sixth) in the 200 freestyle; Kerkstra (eighth) in the 50 freestyle; Gesing (eighth) in the 200 IM; and junior Lily Smith (eighth) in the diving competition.

Gator sophomore Mckenna Hawks was seventh in the 200 IM in 2:32.94 and freshman Mara Raak sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:19.04.

For the Gators, senior Jenna Robinett, Raak, Hawks and sophomore Eloise Nichols placed fifth in the 200-yard medley relay and that same foursome was fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of senior Devon Barnhill, sophomore Scarlett Hilzey, freshman Adelaide Nyudam and freshman Leyna Kursch was sixth in the 400-yard freestyle relay …

Read more in the Nov. 15 issue of the Sun and News ...

11/08/2025

The football was on the ground too often.

Penalty flags were on the ground too often.

Lowell quarterback Logan Dawson wasn’t on the ground soon enough often enough.

The Thornapple Kellogg varsity football team fell into a 21-0 hole in the first half, battled back to within a touchdown a couple of times in the second half and eventually fell to the host Red Arrows 28-21 in the MHSAA Division 3 District Final inside Red Arrow Memorial Stadium Friday, Nov. 7.

Lowell (8-2), a district champion for the first time since 2016, will host Zeeland West in an MHSAA Division 3 Regional Final next weekend. It wasn’t the prettiest of victories, but the Red Arrows will take it.

Friday was an evening where both teams offered up more opportunities to their opponent than they would have liked.

TK fumbled away the opening kick-off and the Trojan offense moved the ball forward just 15 yards in the first half before one final run as the half ended netted a first down.

The Lowell punting unit had a pass fall incomplete on a fake attempt in its own end early in the third quarter, and then a bad snap on the next drive result in a hurried, blocked punt. TK turned the short field into a touchdown both times. TK could have used one more gaff by the Red Arrows, but it never came.

Dawson rushed 33 times for 120 yards, rushed for three touchdowns and threw for one more. It was preferable for the Trojans to have him throwing the ball. He was just 2-of-7 passing for 15 yards.

Dawson was shifty in the backfield to find running lanes and avoid defenders, and proved powerful enough to break away or keep moving forward once hands were on him.

His touchdown runs were all short ones. An eight-yard TD run and a two-yard TD run in the opening quarter had his team up 14-0. He fired an 11-yard TD pass to Crue Huisman in the end zone with 12 seconds left in the first half to make it 21-0 at the break.

TK got within 21-14 thanks to the Red Arrows’ special teams’ mishaps with a four-yard TD run by senior fullback Debo Robinson and a one-yard TD run by junior quarterback Micah Dock.

It wasn’t the quite the final nail in the Trojans’ season, but the Red Arrows were nearly there once they put together a 63-yard touchdown drive that ate up a little over six and a half minutes in the fourth quarter. Dawson notched his third rushing touchdown on a two-yard run with 3:49 to go in the game. The Red Arrows led 28-14.

TK got a five-yard Robinson TD run with 2:31 to play in the game to make it a one score game.

Of all people, Dawson fell on the loose, on-side kick attempt by TK. The Red Arrow offense then moved the ball just well enough, with the help of a couple flags against the TK defense, to eat up the rest of the clock.

Still, the Trojans close out one of their best seasons in the lifetime of most of their players. TK finishes with a 7-4 record. It is just the second time in the past 15 seasons that the Trojans have won seven games …

Read more in the Nov. 15 issue of the Sun and News …

11/08/2025

Final score of the MHSAA Division 3 District Final at Lowell. Lowell 28, Thornapple Kellogg 21