The Sun and News

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

11/08/2025

MHSAA Division 3 District Final update. 2:35 remaining 3rd Quarter:
Lowell 21,
Thornapple Kellogg 14

11/08/2025

MHSAA Division 3 District Final halftime update:
Lowell 21,
Thornapple Kellogg 0

11/01/2025

With about a mile and a half to go Caledonia senior Noah Johnston started working his way forward.

A mile into the race in a crowd of 251 boys in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn Saturday, Johnston was in 67th place. But he liked his pace.

After pushing in training for a few years, Johnston pushed just a little bit that second mile when he saw a few guys falling off the pack in front of him. By the time mile number two was done he was in 29th place. The top 30 in each race at the MHSAA Cross Country Finals earn all-state medals.

By the end of mile three he was in 28th place. And in the end he earned that first all-state medal by placing 26th. Johnston hit the finish line in 15 minutes 37.60 seconds. The last of the 30 state medalists clocked in with a blistering pace of 15:46.20.

Caledonia had three guys finish in less than 16 minutes, but Johnston was the only one to finish on the medal stand. The other two set new personal records though, and will get two more shots at those medals. Caledonia sophomores Bennett Snapper and Sean Thompson placed 46th and 47th respectively. Snapper improved his PR to 15:54.20 and Thompson pushed his down to 15:55.50.

Fighting Scot head coach Ben Thompson said it is the first time ever one of his teams has had three guys finish a race in less than 16 minutes.

All that speed and the Caledonia boys were 12th as a team. A group of 60 guys hit the finish line in 16:00.00 or faster.

Northville beat out Ann Arbor Pioneer for the Division 1 boys’ team championship by a score of 125 points to 134. Kalamazoo Central was third with 176 points ahead of Brighton 202, Midland 212, Highland-Milford 224, Lowell 254, Saline 274, Grand Ledge 297, Traverse City West 316 and Caledonia 333 in the top 12. Caledonia’s OK Green Conference rival Jenison finished just one point back of the Fighting Scots in 13th place.

Pioneer junior Kamari Ronfeldt won the race individually in 14:50.60 beating out Northville junior Brandon Cloud’s PR run of 14:52.80. There were four guys who finished the race in less than 15 minutes. Grandville junior Caden Livermore was third in 14:58.40 and Pioneer senior Beckett Crooks was fourth in 14:59.00.

The Caledonia team also had sophomore Bentley Nichols 164th, sophomore Jake Potgeter 195th, senior Eli Velting 214th and freshman Isaac Dinh 231st …

Read more in next weekend’s edition of the Sun and News

11/01/2025

Thornapple Kellogg junior lineman Brody Hammer rushed to the end of the handshake line for some extra hugs grabbing Hastings' Trapper Reigler, Mason Tossava and others.

With shoulder pads still wrapped in jerseys on the turf and the Baum Stadium at Johnson Field stands clearing out, Hastings' Jonah Hamp got a quick embrace from Thornapple Kellogg sophomore Zeke Webster.

Thornapple Kellogg senior fullback Debo Robinson and Hastings senior running back Cardale Winebrenner took a second for a photo with each other. They'd just spent two hours knocking the snot out of everybody that got in their way – including each other.

There are 13 miles of road between Thornapple Kellogg High School in Middleville and Hastings High School, and for the second time during the 2025 varsity football season there was just one score between the two teams in the end. Thornapple Kellogg avenged a two-point August loss to the Saxons in Middleville by scoring a 28-20 victory in Hastings in the MHSAA Division 3 District Semifinals Friday, Oct. 31.

The Trojans will go to Lowell next weekend to play for a district championship as the Red Arrows knocked off Coldwater 49-14 in the district's other semifinal contest Friday.

Robinson had two-yard and 14-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter in Hastings as the Trojans built a 14-0 lead. TK never trailed.

Winebrenner eventually scored on a 13-yard run and then followed up with a two-point conversion run to get the Saxons within 20-14 of the Trojans 13 seconds before halftime. Hastings tied the ballgame on a 71-yard touchdown run by Hamp 53 seconds into the second half.

Trojan senior Zach Eldridge scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a seven-yard run with 4:17 to go in the third quarter. He took a pitch out to the right, made sure he got the first down and then weaved through traffic to the end zone. A Robinson two-point run provided the final points of the game.

Pressure from the Trojans' defensive front in a couple of rare passing situations for the Saxons helped TK hold that eight-point lead for the final 16 minutes. TK junior Logan Goggins came through the line to reject a Tossava pass attempt on a fourth-and-7 from the TK 22-yard-line early in the fourth.

The Saxon defense finally stopped a TK drive that lasted more than six minutes by stuffing a run at the Hastings 23-yard-line with 4:21 to go.

Just like in the first match-up in Middleville, Hastings headed towards the TK end zone as the clock was ticking down. The Saxons moved the ball from their own 23 quickly to midfield, converted on a fourth-and-two run by Tyler Frazer to the TK 40, responded to a TK defensive time-out by coming out in the shotgun formation instead of the Wing-T and getting a 12-yard pass for a first down from Tossava to Frazer.

Hastings had the ball first-and-ten at the TK 28-yard-line with 59 seconds to go. A fumble in the backfield forced the Saxons to use their final time out though, a second down pass missed its mark, and then Tossava rolled left on third-and-12 from the TK 30. With rushers coming his way he fired a pass down field that was intercepted by Thornapple Kellogg's Camden Peter.

Hamp, the intended receiver on the play, hauled down Peter with the help of Frazer and then laid on the turf an extra beat. Momentarily, Robinson hustled over to grab his left arm and Frazer grabbed his right, and they helped him to his feet.

Trojan junior quarterback Micah Dock only needed to kneel down once in the victory formation to erase the rest of the clock.

Robinson was the workhorse for the Trojan offense, behind a stellar effort from the TK offensive line. He rushed 17 times for 138 yards and the two touchdowns. TK also got a couple big bursts from Malachi VanEngen who closed the night with seven rushes for 122 yards and a touchdown. He scored on a 74-yard run in the second quarter to answer the Saxons' first touchdown.

Eldridge closed the night with six caries for 48 yards for TK.

It was a similar effort on the other side. Winebrenner had a team-high 21 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. Hamp had 16 carries for 170 yards and hit a couple big ones. Hamp tallied the Saxons' first points on a 51-yard touchdown run a minute and a half into the second quarter that pulled his team within 14-6.

Quarterback Micah Dock was 2-for-3 passing for 30 yard for TK. He was intercepted once, by Hamp, on the final play of the first half. Tossava closed the game for Hastings 4-of-8 passing for 68 yards.

Peter led the TK defense with nine tackles. Hammer had eight tackles and Lucas Ploeg had six. Elliot Neff, Jack Smith, AJ Dutcher and Preston Gummo had five tackles apiece.

Tyce Richardson led Hastings in tackles with six. Frazer and Spencer Wilkins had five tackles each and Reigler added four …

Read more in the Nov. 8 edition of the Sun and News ...

11/01/2025

MHSAA Division 3 District Semifinal from Baum Stadium at Johnson Field in Hastings:
Thornapple Kellogg 28,
Hastings 20

11/01/2025

Thornapple Kellogg treats itself to a 20-14 halftime lead over the Hastings Saxons in their MSHAA Division 3 District Semifinal