SPORTS

VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL
Elks capture six all-conference honors

The Northern Shores Conference (NSC) awards for the boys high school basketball season were announced at the Elk boys basketball team banquet last Sunday with six Elks earning all-conference status.

Elk seniors Wyatt Bargy, Keagen Cotterman and Max Ward were awarded First Team All-Conference. Taking home Second Team All-Conference was the junior duo of Jayden Hresko and Cameron Kerfoot, and All-Conference Honorable Mention went to sophomore Tyler Standfest. All six of the Elk players were first-time all-conference honorees for basketball.

The Elks having six members earning all-conference status tied the 2003 Elk basketball team for the highest number of all-conference players for a season. The Elk Rapids Elks won the first-ever NSC title with a 13-1 conference record, just ahead of Harbor Springs in second place at 12-2. This marks the first time in school history that the Elks have won back-to-back conference titles. The Elks claimed the final Lake Michigan Conference title last year.

The Elks had a record of 19-5 overall this season, tying the 1998-99 and 2023-24 Elk varsity boys basketball teams for second place on the Elk season wins list. The 1989-90 Elk team holds the first-place spot with 23 wins in a season.

“We are waiting to hear on more awards to be announced, but that probably won’t happen until April,” said Elk head basketball coach Kevin Ball. “Aside from our talented and gritty team, I have also been blessed with supportive school administration and an insanely talented coaching staff. Their commitment directly benefits our program at all levels, and I cannot thank them enough.”
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Congratulations to the all-conference Elk honorees and to all the players and coaches who worked hard to make the season a success! Go Elks!

JV BOWLING
JV bowlers roll an undefeated season

A new conference and a new weekly travelling and practicing format didn’t faze the Elk JV bowling team this season. The JV bowlers showed up each week ready to work and finished the season in first place, going undefeated at 10-0.

The JV Elks had the season team high game rolling a 720 and threw the high team series with a 1363. Cheboygan finished second with a 704 team game and 1336 for the team series.

The Elk JV also had the season high for Baker games with 181 and the Baker series with a 323, edging out second-place Cheboygan with a 147 in Baker games and a 284 for Baker series.

Laci Springborn rolled the league high game with a 261 and carried a 171.5 average. “Laci, Dante, Ryan, they did a really good job this season, but everyone on the JV team did a great job. That is why they were undefeated for the year,” said Elk bowling coach Ken Hicks.
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The Elk JV bowlers each received first-place medals for winning the conference. These JV bowlers will return next season with experience and confidence that will be a force for Elk Rapids on the alleys!  

JV GIRLS BASKETBALL
Team finishes with improvement and strong season 

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The Elk JV team is on the fly with a fast break after a defensive rebound. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
The Lady Elks JV team was a young group this season made up of a returning junior, two returning sophomores and eight freshmen. “This was one of the youngest teams I have coached at the JV level,” said Elk JV girls coach Megan Gregorski at the start of the season.

Three players in Jillian Moazeni, Natasha Beebe and Emily Vandergriff were all two-way players, splitting time with the Elk varsity team. The Elks had 22 games scheduled, but Lake City canceled the JV girls season, leaving the Elks with 21 games to play. They began with three losses, two by just one point, then won the next three contests and finished with a record of 14-7. 

“Over the course of the season the girls improved on playing as a team and playing with composure,” said Coach Gregorski. “Ilah Bryan and Vandergriff did a great job in handling the ball, while Moazeni and Beebe also stepped in when we needed a third ball handler.” The main rebounders were Moazeni, Coraline Rainey, Elsie Thomas and Ruby Kline. “Madelyn Conrad and Abby Graham showed skills in the mid-range shooting, while Natasha, Emily and Kami were the main threats for a three. Jana Pharo and Vandergriff always show an intense amount of hustle.” Moazeni and Bryan grew into leadership roles both vocally and by example, according to Gregorski, and everyone improved in the ability to shoot the ball with confidence.

“My two favorite games this year were when we played Harbor Springs at home and St. Francis on the road. We won both games, the girls played fast, but under control and they played with composure and had minimal turnovers. I had a great year coaching this group of girls, they are coachable and are great teammates, and most importantly, they are always having fun.” 
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The girls gained valuable experience every time they took to the court and improved from a slow start to finish with a solid record. This experience will show as they continue to play in the coming seasons, putting the Elk girls basketball program on the right track for success!

JV POWERLIFTING
Powerlifters shine this season 

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The sport of powerlifting grows more popular every season as evident in the size of the Elk JV powerlifting team this year. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
The JV State Finals were held on Saturday, March 1 at Powers Catholic High School in Flint. There were over 600 lifters competing at the JV States, including 13 Elks who qualified by finishing first or second at a regional meet during the season or by lifting the pre-determined qualifying total for their division at a regional meet. The Elks had a pair of lifters both earn fifth-place medals, Emma Eardley in the 140 division and Gabby Johns in the 155 division.
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The Elks were also represented at the state finals by Bre Cullimore, Charlotte Heitger, Norah Greene, Alexia Shananaquet, Gabbi Johnson, Avery Kiel, Gwen Taylor, Lily Wierema, Henry Clausen, Colin McCormack and Braylen Ryskamp. Team awards were earned by the top three finishers at JV states, the third-place trophy went to Troy Athens with 33 points, just squeezing past the Elk girls team in fourth place totaling 31 points. There were 60 teams competing at the meet.

The JV powerlifting season began at the Manistee Regional meet where the Elk JV had an outstanding day, with both the mens and womens teams bringing home the first-place hardware for the first time in program history. 

“The JV men finished first out of a pool of 21 teams, and the JV girls were number one out of 14 teams,” said Elk powerlifting head coach Garrett Skurnit.

The Elks hosted first ever regional powerlifting meet this season that attracted over 200 lifters. The Elk JV lifters repeated history with both teams finishing in first place.

“This is a very exciting time for Elk Rapids powerlifting and I could not be more proud of the entire crew,” said Coach Skurnit. “The numbers are indeed up. We continue to see an increase in interest and participation year after year. When I took over in 2017, we had 13 lifters and this season we had 55 lifters with over 40 on the JV team. The new facilities have certainly been a great addition to our training and the team was very excited about the new weight room. Many lifters come out for powerlifting without having ever touched a barbell before, but the continued increase in our numbers is very exciting to see. The powerlifting program is going to be exciting as the JV lifters move up to the varsity level!”

JV BOYS BASKETBALL
Elk JV boys have solid season on hardwood

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Eli Zbytowski (2) speeds around a Kalkaska defender. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
The Elk JV boys basketball team ended the season with a record of 15-5 and were undefeated in Northern Shores Conference play posting a 12-0 record. The Harbor Springs Rams did not have a JV boys team this season, making the number of teams in the conference 12 instead of 14.

“At the start of the season I knew we were going have a competitive team with both our size and our quickness, explained Elk JV Head Coach Tylor Somers. “We had three great physical post players inside in Caden Schlicker, Jake Moore and Colin Shockley.” Schlicker and Moore both played on varsity several times during the season, giving the duo some experience for next year. 

“Our speed and quickness from the rest of the team was great! Drew Plum carried the load at point guard and did a great job filling up a stat sheet with points, rebounds, assists and steals. Mason Hilley, Eli Zbytowski and Keegan Kiel played big roles successfully executing our full court pressure and all three did some scoring. Jack Morton and Cole Graham were contributors on offense and defense and Michael Macksey stepped in where he was needed as a role player. 

The Elk JV struggled early with turnovers but worked hard in practice to overcome the flaw. “By mid-season we had our turnover issues under control, which really helped contribute to winning some of our games by bigger margins,” said Coach Somers.

A highlight for the Elk JV was beating St. Francis 65-38 on the road. “This was one of my favorite moments this year. We played great defense, and offensively we had three guys score in double figures. We shot 17-20 from the free throw line, very impressive for a JV squad,” said Somers. “This team is full of good character guys who play as a team. They are going to be great varsity players!”
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The future of the Elk boys basketball program is headed in the right direction with a solid season from the Elk JV team!

FRESHMAN BASKETBALL
Elk freshmen grow as a team with 17-1 record

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Brody Turner (35) gets off a shot despite a Rayder trio of defenders. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
The Elk freshmen boys basketball team finished a great season with a 17-1 record, losing only to Traverse City West. That loss was a standout moment for freshman head coach Tyler Wilson due to the fight his team displayed in the game.

“As hard as it was to lose, it was a huge moment of growth for us. I was extremely impressed with our fight and “never back down” attitude. We were down only three at the half and went toe-to-toe with a school five times our size. My guys laid it all out there that night, I was extremely proud of them. We took the loss pretty hard as we had a goal of going undefeated, but it also helped us grow as a team,” explained Coach Wilson.

The Elk freshmen team played as a well-balanced group according to Wilson. “These players complement each other well and excel at team-style basketball. This is what became our identity and “DNA” as I would say to them. A team that plays together is one that is most difficult to stop. We were at our best when we played up-tempo, pressed, and looked to get fast break opportunities.” 

The scoring leaders were guards Miles Prabhaker and Ian McDonald; the most consistent perimeter shooters were Kelen Croftchik and Josh Raddatz, and the top rebounders were Luke Otto and Noah Liggett.

“Prabhaker and McDonald were both elected team captains and they filled that role well. Hudson Sailor emerged as a strong leader for the group and in many ways was the heart and soul of our team. Sailor was always the loudest and biggest supporter of his teammates and his positive energy was contagious to the rest of the team.”

Another standout from the season was a win against St. Francis on the road. “It is hard to win at St. Francis and they gave us their absolute best. It was a close back-and-forth game and they definitely put the pressure on us. We prevailed in the end and won that game by four points. We faced some adversity with foul trouble, but we had players step up off the bench, a great example of our “team DNA,” explained Wilson.

The Elk freshmen bonded with team ice baths in Elk Lake after practice this season. “I told my guys that an ice bath was a great way to heal from soreness and boost recovery after hard practices and games. They all wanted to give a try and so we did as a team in the freezing cold water! It was excellent team bonding,” Wilson said.

The Elk freshmen improved tremendously throughout the season in many areas including basketball IQ, playing together as a team, ball movement, and team defense. These players are on the way to becoming a solid varsity force and provide some exciting times for Elk basketball fans!