GAYLORD ― It will be a while before a group of athletes as deep as the Class of 2024 comes through the Gaylord area.
Teams from Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston have set a new standard for their athletic programs, thanks to a lot of help from this year's graduating class; area teams have won 27 championships over the past two school years, all while sending over 20 Class of 2024 graduates to play their sport at the next level.
It took quite a lot for athletes from this group to stand out from their peers, but that's exactly what Gaylord St. Mary's Dillon Croff and Mirriam Murrell did their entire careers and were rewarded for it in their final days as Snowbird athletes, receiving the GSM Most Valuable Senior Athlete Awards for their efforts in the 2023-24 year and beyond.
Croff, the Gaylord Herald Times Baseball Player of the Year for the 2024 season, wrapped up his Snowbird career as one of the more versatile athletes in his class. He dealt with a hamstring injury during his senior football season, but still earned all-conference honors as a defensive lineman with 58 total tackles, seven tackles for losses and a sack from the defensive line. He was also an all-conference honorable mention on the basketball court.
Where Croff really shined was on the baseball diamond, posting a 7-5 record with 77 strikeouts and a 3.27 earned-run average through 15 appearances while hitting .375 batting average, 24 runs batted in and 23 runs scored.
Murrell, meanwhile, wrapped her GSM athletic career as one of, if not the most decorated distance runner in school history. She owns school records in the 800-meter (2 minutes, 30 seconds), the 1600-meter (5:29.11) and the 3200-meter (11.51.89) while making nine appearances at the MHSAA D4 state finals in her career (five in cross country, four in track and field).
She was also the lone senior on GSM's district championship girls basketball team, earning All-SVC honorable mention honors.
Murrell is set to run cross country and track at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.
Other GSM end-of-year Athletic Awards
Cross Country Most Valuable Athlete: Miriam Murrell
Track and Field most valuable athlete: Miriam Murrell
Basketball most valuable athletes: Daniel Jacobson and Rylan Matelski
Baseball most valuable athletes: Dillon Croff and Daniel Jacobson
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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