JESPERSEN: Championships, new school records and more consistency; what I missed last week

For some out there, high school sports can feel like a constant. One day you're on the field playing yourself, and then ten years can pass without little to no change going on.

For people like me, it's exactly the opposite; so much happens on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis that even stepping away for a minute seems like far too long.

I may have been out of town last week, but Otsego County athletics still kept rolling on without me. We'll get back to the regular content soon enough ( top performers, game recaps, etc. ) but for today, join me as I catch you (and myself) up with what I missed from April 28-May 5:

Championships, top-ranked wins highlight continued softball success

When a week goes by, a lot of winning and losing can go on. In the Otsego County softball world, it has just been more and more winning.

First, the reigning state champion Gaylord softball team (finally) opened their home schedule on Tuesday, April 30 with yet another sweep, beating Traverse City West 13-1 and 15-0 respectively. Weather moved their Friday doubleheader with Division 1 foes Lake Orion and Grand Blanc to the Gaylord Little League fields, but the Blue Devils still away with yet another impressive two performances, beating LO 10-0 before falling in a close game with Grand Blanc 6-4.

Alexis Shepherd had a home run and a double in the game one win over TC West, while the Jones sisters (Jayden and Aubrey) both homered in the second victory. On Friday, Kennedy Wangler joined the Jones sisters in the home run club, all three homering in the 10-0 win over the Dragons while Jayden Jones went 3-for-4 with another home runs and a double in the loss to Grand Blanc.

Softball: Gaylord softball stars Jayden and Aubrey Jones trying to soak in final season together

Soccer: Gaylord soccer's Clarie Gorno commits to Albion College

Meanwhile, JoBurg has continued to roll through its regular season schedule, now at 16-0 overall after wins over Mancelona, Rudyard and Central Lake. Their previous week was highlighted by a win in their home-hosted Val Kapture tournament, just getting by Mancelona 6-5 before a 17-2 win over Rudyard in the finals.

Senior Jayden Marlatt continues to dominate both from the plate and the circle; as a hitter, she boasts a .720 batting average with 38 runs batted in and six home runs, while as a pitcher, she just gave up her first earned run of the season, now rocking a 0.17 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.

Record-breaking track efforts

While certain things stayed relatively the same over the week I was gone, the same cannot be said about the local track and field record books.

Some of the area's top athletes had some memorable moments last week, most importantly JoBurg junior Allie Nowak and Gaylord sophomore Katie Berkshire as both broke school records that they themselves previously held.

First, it was Nowak breaking her own 1,600-meter run recorded at the Barnyard Invitational and Elite Mile Showcase at Barnabo Field in Romeo, Mich., with a new personal best time of 5 minutes, 5.35 seconds. Then, Berkshire showed why her name is gaining recognition across the state on Friday, May 3, helping the 4x800-meter relay team take first place at Gaylord's own Blue Devil Classic before traveling all the way down to Shepherd in time to break her own school record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:41.81.

With the successful distance runners coming out of Gaylord and JoBurg, it might be time to start preparing for a bit more room in the trophy cases.

Consistent play for Gaylord golf

The Gaylord golfers had to wait the longest to get their season underway but since things have gotten going, they have played some consistent rounds so far in the 2024 season.

Gaylord played three tournaments from April 27 to May 4, placing ninth at the Nightmare/Dream Two-Day Invite, second at the Ogemaw Heights Falcon Invite and third at their own Gaylord Invite.

Junior Luke Sommerville has been the team's most consistent performer to start the season, shooting an 82 at the Nightmare/Dream, a 77 at the Falcon Invite and an 81 at the Gaylord Invite. Fellow junior Gage Caverson had one of his most impressive career performances at Treetops on Saturday, shooting a 79 for his first-ever top-ten performance,

Baseball results

Not much has changed in the area baseball world. Gaylord baseball has dropped to 10-8-1 in 2024, getting swept by TC West (11-2, 6-0) on Tuesday, April 30, while JoBurg went 3-2 last week with wins over Manton and Central Lake helping improve their record to 11-6.

GSM baseball had the best week, going 4-0 with sweeps over Ski Valley Conference opponents Mancelona and Forest Area while taking control of the top spot in the SVC standings after Inland Lakes's loss to Bellaire.

A month into the spring season, it seems the Snowbirds have the best chance of any area baseball team to bring home some hardware.

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: JESPERSEN: Championships, new school records and more consistency; what I missed last week