High school sports are officially back, and with the official start of the 2024 spring schedule comes the return of the Gaylord Herald Times Athlete of the Week poll.
Each Monday, nominees from Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston will be nominated based on their efforts from the past week. Cast your vote for your choice and the winner will be decided each Friday at noon. Vote Now:
Jayden Marlatt, JoBurg softball
The hot start continues for JoBurg softball and senior Jayden Marlatt, now 8-0 after a recent sweep of Inland Lakes. Marlatt was 6-for-7 with a home run, a triple and five runs batted in during the sweep of last year's Ski Valley Conference co-champions while earning a win and a save from the circle.
Her numbers through two weeks are still absurd; an .808 batting average with 21 hits, 19 RBIs and four home runs as well as an unblemished earned run average with 56 strikeouts.
Aubrey Jones, Gaylord softball
Gaylord continues to rattle off wins against top opponents, recently picking up four wins in two days in a trip downstate.
Junior Aubrey Jones had herself quite the weekend, starting with a one-hit, 10-strikeout performance in a 12-0 win over Jenison on Friday, the No. 3 ranked team in Division 1. She continued to produce over a three-game stretch over the weekend, accounting for five home runs and 18 RBI in wins over Howell, Harper Creek and Grand Ledge.
Alexis Shepherd, Gaylord softball
Senior Alexis Shepherd has been on a roll lately, up to nine straight games with a hit after another successful weekend at the plate. She had a big hand in the Blue Devils' win over Jenison on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBI to help Gaylord to a 12-0 victory.
Will Bethuy, Gaylord baseball
It was an up-and-down week for Gaylord baseball, but senior Will Bethuy turned in a monster performance from the plate in their win over Carrollton/Saginaw on Saturday. He went 4-for-4 with a triple, a double, three RBI and three runs scored during Gaylord's 19-4 victory.
Thomas Fox, JoBurg baseball
Another team that had an up-and-down week, JoBurg baseball swept a conference opponent early in the week before suffering a sweep of their own at the hands of Inland Lakes.
Senior Thomas Fox had another solid performance against Forest Area, striking out 13 batters and allowing just one earned run in six innings of work in a 4-2 victory.
Dillon Croff, Gaylord St. Mary
Senior Dillon Croff continues to be the top player for GSM, earning the win in a mercy-shortened game one win over Pellston on April 15, allowing no runs and striking out six batters while racking up two hits, two RBIs and four runs scored over the two-game-sweep.
Blake Fox, JoBurg track and field
A state championship contender in the 800-meter run in Division 4, senior Blake Fox had an impressive week, clocking a time 2 minutes, 16.19 seconds in the win at the JL Quad before a 2:04.77 in a win at Mancelona, outpacing the second-place finisher by a full second.
Cirio Espositos, Gaylord track and field
A new name on the Gaylord track and field team, Espositos won the 200-meter sprint at Friday's Rathburn Invitational in Cadillac, Mich., finishing with a time of 24.18 seconds while fending off runners from Petoskey, Houghton Lake, Cadillac and Roscommon among other schools.
Miriam Murrell, Gaylord St. Mary track and field
Looking to wrap her high school running career in style, Oakland University signee Miriam Murrell won the 1600-meter run at the JoBurg Quad on Tuesday, April 16 with a time of 5 minutes, 50.52 seconds. She also placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:45.62.
Elly Kuras, Gaylord soccer
Gaylord girls soccer is still unbeaten after its first six matches, and they have to give goalkeeper Elly Kuras a lot of credit for that. Her play in a 0-0 draw against Traverse City West almost single-handedly kept the game tied when, with how well TC dominated the ball, it could've ended up being a blowout loss.
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
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