It has been a little more than two full years since I took over the sports editor job here in Gaylord, and I've been privileged to see and cover some of the best years in Otsego County sports history.
Since my first day on the job in late May of 2022, I've seen some historic accomplishments; state championships, undefeated seasons, all-state players and plenty more. Athletes from Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston High Schools have made themselves known across the state and, recently, across the country,
All that success can't last forever; there is only so much talent that can come out of such a relatively small area in Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula. With that in mind, I think it's time and stop and give the Class of 2024 their flowers and celebrate all they've accomplished for their respective schools over the past few years..
If you're unaware, it's been a lot.
Plenty of college-bound athletes
Perhaps one of the best markers of the talent coming out of the Gaylord-are high schools is the shear number fo them heading to play their sports in college.
This year felt like a never-ending wave of college commitments, coming from all three seasons, nearly every sport on offer and all three schools in the area.
Senior football player Brady Pretzlaff garnered most of the national attention after his recruitment ended in him choosing Michigan State University, one of four GHS athletes from the Class of 2024 signed to play at NCAA Division I schools and one of 17 going to play sports in college.
Including the five more college-bound athletes from Gaylord St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston, that makes 22 total athletes from the Class of 2024 alone that plan to continue their careers at the next level, a record number that will likely stay unbeaten for a long time in Otsego County sports history.
Plenty of championships
Gaylord-area teams have seen a lot of success over the past two years and, while it's not been all up to the Class of 2024, they have played big parts in some of the most successful seasons since 2022.
Starting again with Gaylord football, the 2023 version of the GHS team set countless school records, going undefeated in the regular season while winning its second-ever district title and first Big North Conference title in 22 years. That team was of course led by senior Brady Pretzlaff as well as a host of other talented seniors, including all-state defensive back Ty Bensinger and future college players Caleb Aungst, Connor Calano, Karson VanLuchene and Carter Sitz, all seniors.
Come this fall, GHS will be attempting to reload after losing nearly every starter to the Class of 2024's graduation.
That extends across nearly every sport, and every sport where area schools have had success; the back-to-back state champion Gaylord softball team graduated six seniors, all of which are signed to play college softball. Johannesburg-Lewiston cross country, a state championship-winning team in 2022, says goodbye to many of the runners that made that championship possible, including Oakland University signee Madalyn Agren, Rosalinda Gascho and Cora Mullins.
Point being, if a Gaylord-area team has seen recent success, expect their rosters to look quite a bit different next year.
It has been a two-year stretch to remember; since the spring of 2022, Gaylord-area teams have won 27 different championships including 14 MHSAA district titles, six conference titles, four regional titles and three team state championships. There were also five individual state title winners in that time, including GHS Class of 2024 grad Ty Bensinger.
They've given the Otesego County community something to cheer for on almost a nightly basis and given me some of the most interesting stories to write about. No matter where we all go from here, I'm sure I speak for all of Gaylord and Johannesburg when we say the Class of 2024 and their efforts will not be forgotten anytime soon.
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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