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22 Apr, 2025
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Recognizing top Muskegon-area spring sports athletes for April 14-19 (with poll)
@Source: mlive.com
The 2025 spring sports season is already underway and we’ve witnessed a plethora of impressive individual performances in just a few short weeks of action. Each week this spring, we will place a spotlight on Muskegon-area athletes ranging from baseball, softball, soccer, track, golf, lacrosse, tennis, and boys volleyball with our MLive High School Sports Athlete of the Week project. The goal of this project is to reward the achievements of outstanding student-athletes in the area who deserve special recognition for their hard work, determination and skill. We then put together a poll of all the nominated athletes and allow the readers to cast their vote on who had the most impressive performance. You can vote as often as you’d like from now until 10 a.m. every Friday when the winner is announced in their own article highlighting their achievements. Coaches and athletic directors are asked to nominate candidates by emailing Josh VanDyke at jvandyke@mlive.com. Below is a look at 50 Muskegon-area spring sports athletes who have put together impressive performances in the past week of action. Nominees are presented in alphabetical order by last name. Walt Autrey, Ludington The boys track and field standout for the Orioles took top honors in the shot put with a throw of 54-9.5 at the Fruitport Invitational. Cruz Beckstrom, Mona Shores The boys golf standout for the Sailors shot a 37 to lead his team to first-place team honors at the O-K Green jamboree at Railside Golf Course last week. He also added a 79 to finish 11th overall out of 110 golfers at the Forest Hills Invite at Egypt Valley Country Club last Monday. Valerie Beeck, Grand Haven The girls track and field standout for the Buccaneers took top honors in the 800 run with a personal-best time of 2:10.95 and was a member of the 1,600 relay team that finished first with a time of 3:59.17 at the Ram Classic at Rockford. Leighton Belasco, Shelby The baseball standout for the Tigers registered three hits and four RBI in his team’s 12-2 win over Kent City. Kristian Brown, Reeths-Puffer The boys golf standout for the Rockets took individual medalist honors with an even-par 36 at the O-K Green jamboree last Tuesday. Jayna Burmeister, Shelby The softball standout for the Tigers struck out 15 batters and allowed just two hits and two runs from the circle while adding three hits from the plate, including a triple and a double in her team’s 12-2 win over North Muskegon in Game 1 of a league doubleheader. She later added 14 strikeouts from the circle in Game 2 of the twin bill and belted a solo home run and two singles from the plate in a 7-1 win over the Norse. Jacob Burns, Fremont The boys track and field standout for the Packers broke the school record in the 100-meter dash twice last week, as he recorded a time of 11.51 seconds in a West Michigan Conference tri-meet and added an 11.50 finish at the Fruitport Invitational on Friday. He also added a personal-best time of 23.30 seconds in the 200 dash and is a key member of the 400 and 800 relay teams. Lainee Carmean, Mona Shores The girls lacrosse standout for the Sailors recorded two goals, six ground balls and four draw controls in her team’s 9-5 win over Lowell on Saturday. She also added four goals, one assist, three ground balls and three draw controls in her team’s 18-3 win over Jension on Friday and six goals, two assists, seven draw controls, three ground balls and two forced turnovers in a 13-4 win over Grand Rapids Christian. Owen Chesebro, Grant The baseball standout for the Tigers struck out four batters and allowed just three hits and no earned runs in his team’s 14-7 win over Howard City Tri-County in Game 1 of a doubleheader and added three hits, including a double, from the plate. Emmy Creed, North Muskegon The girls soccer standout for the Norse tallied two goals and two assists in her team’s 5-3 win over Hart last week. Trevor Cunningham, Mona Shores The baseball standout for the Sailors struck out nine batters and allowed just three hits in his team’s 15-1 win over Hastings in Game 1 of a doubleheader and added two hits and two RBI from the plate in a 7-1 win in the nightcap. Emma DeYoung, Mona Shores The girls track and field standout for the Sailors took top honors in the pole vault by clearing 9 feet, three inches at the Fruitport Invitational. Zeke Erler, Ravenna The baseball standout for the Bulldogs struck out 14 batters in his team’s narrow 3-2 win over Hart in Game 1 of a doubleheader and finished the day with four hits and five RBI from the plate. Micah Gawronski, Spring Lake The girls lacrosse standout for the Lakers tallied four goals in her team’s narrow loss to top-ranked East Grand Rapids last week. Addison Gillard, Ravenna The softball standout for the Bulldogs stuck out eight batters and allowed just two hits, two runs and three walks in her team’s 5-4 win over Grand Haven and added a no-hitter with six strikeouts in her team’s 17-0 win over Traverse City West at the Grand Haven Invitational last weekend. Aubrey Goyings, Holton The softball standout for the Red Devils accounted for three hits, two runs and seven RBI from the plate during her team’s doubleheader sweep of Hesperia last week. Natalie Hall, Mona Shores The girls track and field standout for the Sailors took top honors in the 300 hurdles with a new personal-best time of 48.46 seconds at the Fruitport Invitational. Kenzie Homrich, Fremont The softball standout for the Packers struck out 13 batters from the pitching circle to power her team to a 12-0 win over Hesperia. Addi Hovey, Hart The girls track and field standout for the Pirates took top honors in the 100 dash (13.68) and 200 dash (27.27) and was a member of the 400 relay (53.02) and 800 relay (1:54.05) that also finished first overall at the McBain Track and Field Invite. Audrey Huizinga, Manistee The girls track and field standout for the Mariners took top honors in the 200 dash (26.53) and 400 run (1:01.16) at the Fruitport Invitational. Jessica Jazwinski The North Carolina State commit took top honors in the 1,600 run with a time of 4:57.69 at the Ram Classic at Rockford last week. Deagan Klimek, Fremont The baseball standout for the Packers registered two hits and five RBI from the plate in his team’s 12-2 win over Hesperia in Game 1 of a doubleheader and picked up the win from the mound in Game 2 with five strikeouts and no hits allowed in four innings. Will Korenstra, Grand Haven The boys track and field standout for the Buccaneers took top honors in the high jump (6-0) and long jump (20-03.50) and was a member of the 400 relay team (42.77) that took top honors in his team’s 77-59 win over Rockford last week. It was the first time in 25 years that Grand Haven’s boys track program had defeated the Rams in a conference dual meet. He later added a personal-best mark in the high jump by clearing 6 feet, 4 inches at the Ram Classic meet. Quentin Lange, Mason County Central The boys track and field standout for the Spartans took top honors in the high jump by clearing 6 feet, 2 inches at the Fruitport Invitational. Lylah Larson, Kent City The softball standout for the Eagles struck out 14 batters from the pitching circle in her team’s 5-1 win over North Muskegon in Game 1 of a doubleheader and added five strikeouts while allowing five hits and one run to secure a 2-1 win in Game 2 of the twin bill. Amaya Lathrop, Newaygo The softball standout for the Lions combined for six hits, eight RBI, and four runs scored during her team’s doubleheader sweep of Chippewa Hills last week. Chase Lorenz, Hart The boys track and field standout for the Pirates took top honors in the 200 dash (23.01) and 400 (50.36) and was also a member of the 800 relay (1:33.96) and 1,600 relay (3:39.04) that also finished first overall at the McBain Track and Field Invite. Annabelle Lowman, Ludington The girls track and field standout for the Orioles took top honors in the 3,200 run with a time of 11:13.39 at the Fruitport Invitational. Damien McEntaffer, Manistee The boys track and field standout for the Mariners took top honors in the pole vault by clearing 14 feet at the Fruitport Invitational. Josalynn Nowicki, Fruitport The girls tennis standout for the Trojans recorded a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles during her team’s sweep of Comstock Park. She also added a 6-1, 6-1 win over Grandville Calvin Christian earlier in the week. Ryan Opsommer, Mona Shores The boys track and field standout for the Sailors took top honors in the 110 hurdles (15.55) and 300 hurdles (40.30) at the Fruitport Invitational. Linnea Paige, Fremont The girls track and field standout for the Packers took top honors in the 1,600 run with a time of 5:29.68 at the Fruitport Invitational. Eli Petersen, Montague The baseball standout for the Wildcats struck out 13 batters and gave up just one hit and one walk in his team’s 1-0 win over Whitehall in Game 1 of a conference doubleheader. Katie Phillips, Mona Shores The girls soccer standout for the Sailors scored one goal and added one assist to help power her team to a second-half comeback in a 2-1 win over rival Reeths-Puffer in O-K Green Conference action on Thursday. Nora Pollock, Western Michigan Christian The girls soccer standout for the Warriors scored four goals in her team’s 5-2 win over Allendale on Saturday and added one goal in her team’s 2-0 road win over North Muskegon on Thursday. Madyson Prout, Fruitport The softball standout for the Trojans combined for six, five runs and two RBI in her team’s doubleheader sweep of rival Spring Lake. Trevor Rusnak, Fruitport The baseball standout for the Trojans struck out nine batters and allowed one run on four hits from the mound to pick up a 12-1 win over NorthPointe Christian. He also crushed a two-run home run and a grand slam to account for six RBI from the plate to help his own cause. Payton Shoemaker, Grant The softball standout for the Tigers threw two shutout innings in relief and struck out four batters and added two hits and one run from the plate in her team’s 5-3 win over Belding. Jennah Skiba, Ludington The girls tennis standout for the Orioles recorded a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles during her team’s match with Mona Shores last week. She also added a 6-0, 6-0 win over North Muskegon during her team’s 5-3 win over the Norse. Logan Slimko, North Muskegon The baseball standout for the Norsemen struck out 10 batters and gave up just three hits and one earned run in his team’s pivotal 4-0 win over Oakridge during a West Michigan Conference doubleheader. Julia Smith, Fruitport The girls track and field standout for the Trojans took top honors in the long jump with a mark of 14 feet, 8 inches at the Fruitport Invitational. Kate Somsel, Manistee The girls soccer standout for the Mariners recorded a first-half hat trick to power her squad to a 4-3 win over Ravenna. Tiana Stockford, Ludington The softball standout for the Orioles threw a no-hitter with 14 strikeouts and added two hits, including a double, with one RBI and two runs scored from the plate in her team’s win over Onekama on Thursday. Blake Taylor, Fremont The boys track and field standout for the Packers took top honors in the 3,200 run with a time of 10:15.53 at the Fruitport Invitational. Gabe Trask, Spring Lake The baseball standout for the Lakers recorded five hits and four runs scored in his team’s doubleheader sweep of Grand Haven on Saturday, added four hits, four runs and two RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Ludington and had two hits, two runs and two RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Western Michigan Christian. Grace VanderKooi, Western Michigan Christian The girls track standout for the Warriors took top honors in the 800 run with a time of 2:24.13 and finished second in the 1,600 run with a time of 5:15.44 at the Houseward Invitational. She also added a new personal-best time in the 400 (1:01.21) and was a member of the 1,600 relay team that took top honors with a time of 4:40.99 at the WMC midweek meet. Ian Vanderstelt, Western Michigan Christian The boys golf standout for the Warriors carded a 78 to finish ninth overall at the Kent County Invitational on Thursday. Michael Wambaugh, Oakridge The baseball standout for the Eagles put together a pair of impressive performances from the mound last week. Wambaugh went 4.2 innings without allowing a hit and just two walks while striking out 11 batters in a 9-0 win over Fremont. He ended the week with allowing two hits and striking out eight batters in a 3-1 win over Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday at Marsh Field in Muskegon. Kylee Willea, Oakridge The softball standout for the Eagles struck out 12 batters from the circle and added two hits, including a double, with four RBI from the plate during her team’s 11-3 win over Fremont in Game 1 of a West Michigan Conference doubleheader last week. Bode Zygmuntowski, Muskegon Catholic Central The baseball standout for the Crusaders struck out 10 batters and allowed one hit in his team’s 10-1 win over Wyoming Lee in the first game of a doubleheader. He later scored three runs in his team’s 17-2 win over the nightcap of the twin bill. Follow Josh VanDyke on Twitter and Facebook for more West Michigan sports content If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters. Love reading about local sports? Don’t miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription and get full access to every story on MLive.
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