I've talked at length about how fun this year of Gaylord-area sports was to cover.
I started the year following Gaylord St. Mary football up to the U.P. and then spent most of 2023-24 following successful teams from across Otsego County as they pulled in awards, accolades and championships in bunches. It was a year filled with memorable moments, some I'm sure those around the Gaylord-area won't soon forget.
Before we close the book on the 2023-24 season for good, let me bring you back to some of my favorite moments from the past year:
The GHS football program took a massive step forward in 2022, finishing with six wins while making the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Once that year concluded, however, all anyone could think about was how good they could be in 2023.
Returning nearly their entire starting lineup from that six-win team, the 2023 Blue Devils had a lot of expectations coming into the season. Not only did they meet nearly every one, they exceeded them.
Gaylord capped off its first undefeated season and Big North Conference Championship since 2002, ending a 20-year drought while setting them up for a run in the Division 3 postseason. There, they put an exclamation point on what was possibly the greatest GHS football season in its history, defeating their rival Petoskey at home to win the program's second-ever district title.
One of the first things I was made aware of when I took the job in Gaylord back in 2022 was the friendly, and sometimes not-so-friendly, crosstown rivalry between Gaylord St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston.
In my first few experiences with the matchups, it wasn't much of a rivalry.
Some dominant St. Mary and JoBurg teams had made for some less-than-competitive matchups in the first few times I covered their rivalry battles. In the end, most games didn't feel all that different from the average Ski Valley Conference game, just with more for me to do with two teams to cover instead of one.
Then came a two-day stretch during this year's basketball season.
After a weather-related cancellation, JoBurg would host St. Mary on back-to-back nights during late February, the boys team hosting an injury-riddled Snowbirds team hoping to stay afloat in the conference title race on Thursday before the two of the top girls teams in the SVC did battle on Friday.
There was a different feeling entering JoBurg's gym that week; maybe it was the packed student sections, the intensity of the close games or just the feeling of tides turning, but it was that two-day stretch in late February that truly introduced me to this rivalry.
JoBurg pulled off back-to-back wins, throwing a wrench into the SVC standings late in the season while reinvigorating the passion behind this small school, Northern Michigan rivalry.
There will always be a special place in my heart for the teams and athletes that allow me to cover big-time moments and be involved in championship atmospheres. The Gaylord softball program has done that with regularity for the past two seasons.
Covering the Blue Devils' first run to a Division 2 MHSAA State Championship was an experience in itself, but this season felt even more memorable. The last run for the core that made up this talented group, the Gaylord softball team spent all of 2024 with a target on their backs and never waivered on their way to back-to-back state championships.
Add in an extra-inning thriller in the state championship game victory and it was the perfect way to conclude what was an unforgettable year of sports for the Gaylord area.
Honorable mentions:
Brady Pretzlaff signs with Michigan State ; JoBurg's Allie Nowak wins a D4 track state title ; Three Gaylord wrestlers win state championships ; Gaylord St. Mary girls basketball fends off Mia McGregor, Mio in regionals ; JoBurg baseball/softball debut new fields ; Luke Gelow scores 1,000th point
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: Relive Gaylord's top high school sports moments of 2023-24
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