Vote for Kalamazoo

Nov 23, 2023

Kalamazoo Central's Kayenn Mabin leads men's 110m hurdles at the MHSAA Track and Field Regionals at Portage Central High School in Portage, Michigan on Friday, May 19, 2023. (Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com)Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com

KALAMAZOO, MI – The spring high school sports playoffs have arrived, and Kalamazoo-area athletes are ensuring not just their names are heard across the state.

But their play, too.

This past week saw nearly a hundred track athletes punch their tickets to the state finals, while a plethora of tennis athletes went home with regional championships as well. With baseball and softball coming into the final turn, and girls soccer kicking off district play this week, we’re in for a real treat down the stretch.

We’ve come to the time of another installment of MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette's Athlete of the Week, which has another loaded selection of athletes to choose from – a poll of 46 athletes.

Readers have unlimited voting until 9 a.m. Friday, and we’ll publish the winner later that day. Voting has no bearing on postseason honors, such as the all-conference or all-state teams.

The Athlete of the Week series will continue throughout the spring sports season, and to nominate a standout performer, you can email Matthew Ehler at [email protected] with that athlete's stats and recent accomplishments.

If the poll doesn't appear at the bottom of the story, click here to view it.

Paige Metzger, Schoolcraft softball

The sophomore first baseman proved to be the Eagles’ best hitter last week, extending her hitting streak to 11 games while amassing 10 hits including a double and a homer, with 10 RBIs and a .667 batting average, all while committing no errors in the field.

- Portage Northern baseball earned a 3-1, 8-7 sweep over Portage Central on Thursday, May 18, 2023.(MLive.com / Matthew Ehler)

Ty Tomlinson, Portage Northern baseball

The star junior slugger came up clutch last week, belting a solo walk-off homer to help sweep Portage Central while posting an impressive 10-for-15 sequence at the plate with three doubles, five RBIs and six runs scored – all good for a .667 batting average.

- Portage Northern girls soccer beats Kalamazoo Christian, 1-0(MLive.com | Matthew Ehler)

Caysee Burk, Portage Northern soccer

The senior scored the game-winning goal in Friday's 1-0 upset victory over 2022 Division 4 state runner-up and state-ranked Kalamazoo Christian, using a header off a corner kick from Daphnee Plante.

Ella Rohrstaff, Vicksburg soccer

Rohrstaff was on fire in last week's 7-1 win over Edwardsburg, notching five goals to pull her season total up to 34 for the season.

Laken Whittington, Plainwell soccer

The senior forward put on a scoring clinic last week, tallying five goals in two goals including a hattrick in an 8-0 win over Niles and two goals in the Trojans’ 6-0 win over Vicksburg on Friday, claiming yet another Wolverine Conference championship.

Gabrielle Zugel, Plainwell soccer

While she didn't score, the senior defender still accounted for five of the Trojans’ goals last week with her five assists including three in the Trojans’ 6-0 win over Vicksburg on Friday.

Mia McMillin, Constantine soccer

McMillin recorded a hattrick in the Falcons’ 4-1 win over Coloma on Wednesday.

Bennett VandenBerg, Constantine track

The junior thrower hit the triple whammy during Friday's regional track meet at Hillsdale – he qualified for the state finals, struck a personal-best and broke a school record. VandenBerg's 158-foot, 1-inch throw in the discus beat the previous record held in 1986.

Liam Mann, Kalamazoo Hackett track

Mann earned four wins at Friday's regional track meet, punching multiple tickets to the Division 4 state finals. The senior won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, and was a part of the winning 400-meter and 800-meter relay teams.

Kalamazoo Central's Kayenn Mabin leads in men's 300m hurdles at the MHSAA Track and Field Regionals at Portage Central High School in Portage, Michigan on Friday, May 19, 2023. (Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com)Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com

Kayenn Mabin, Kalamazoo Central track

The senior athlete also picked up four wins at Friday's regional track meet, highlighted by his season-best time in the 110-meter hurdles (14.33 seconds). Mabin also picked up wins in the 300-meter hurdles and was a part of the 400-meter and 800-meter relay teams.

Dean Topolski, Constantine track

The senior sprinter earned a trio of victories at Friday's regional track meet, highlighted by his part of a new season-best in the team's 1,600-meter relay (3:29.78).

Heidi Newhouse, Lawton track

Newhouse will compete in a trio of events at the state finals thanks to top-spot finishes in the 400-meter dash, 1,600-meter relay team and the high jump.

Keyanna O’Tey, Sturgis track

O’Tey will compete in four different events at next month's state finals thanks to top spot finishes at Friday's regional meet. The sophomore was just four hundredths of a second away from striking a new personal best in the 100-meter dash.

Madison Cooley, Gobles track

The freshman phenom won each of the four events she competed in at Friday's regional track meet, including a personal-best in the 400-meter dash (1:01.90).

Morgan Modert, Gobles track

The senior sprinter also won each of the four events she competed in at Friday's regional track meet, setting a season-best record of 13.51 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

Megan Germain, Otsego track

The junior runner earned a trio of victories at last week's regional track meet, allowing her to compete in next month's state finals in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs, and be a part of the 3,200-meter relay team.

Ti’Anna Murphy-Ryan, Comstock track

Murphy-Ryan also registered a trio of wins at last week's state finals, and will compete in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, along with being a part of Comstock's 400-meter relay team at next month's state finals.

Kalamazoo Central freshman Daniella Richardson takes on Port Huron Northern sophomore Amolia Rossow (not pictured) during the MHSAA Girls Division 1 Tennis Finals at Stowe Stadium on the campus of Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Thursday June 2, 2022. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com

Daniella Richardson, Kalamazoo Central tennis

The sophomore star remained undefeated and captured a regional title at last week's regionals, never needing to reach a third set in her trio of victories that was highlighted by a straight set defeat over East Kentwood's Deenie Mercer in Round 2.

Allison Wootton, Portage Northern tennis

The senior claimed a regional championship last week thanks to some strong play that included upsetting the No. 1 seed in Portage Central's Deshana Betala in the final 6-4, 6-4.

Anna Dinsmore, Portage Central tennis

Dinsmore improved her record to 21-1 and captured a regional title last week in dominating fashion – the senior picked up a pair of straight set victories during her regional championship run.

Adelie Chen, Portage Central tennis

The freshman made her presence felt again at last week's regional, sweeping the field to improve her record to 21-2 on the season and claim her first-ever regional title.

Sienna Watts, Mattawan tennis

Watts carried her No. 1 seed with power in last week's regional, beating a trio of opponents that included a 6-3, 6-1 win over Portage Central's Malea Lakey in the final to claim a regional championship.

Kennedy Abegg, Richland Gull Lake tennis

The senior improved her season record to 19-1 at last week's regional tournament, beating Battle Creek Lakeview's Caitlyn Miller 6-0, 7-5 in the final to win a regional title.

Aly Aldrich, Otsego tennis

Aldrich remained undefeated thanks to some stellar play at last week's regional, earning two set wins in each of her three matches played on her way to a regional championship.

Addy Fales, Allegan tennis

Fales outlasted Hastings’ Carlota Espi Vano in a three-set nailbiter to claim her first-ever regional title and improve her record to 27-2 in just her freshman campaign.

Scarlett Hosner, Vicksburg tennis

The sophomore picked up a regional title last week, beating Battle Creek Pennfield's Aubriana Farrow 6-1, 6-0 in the final to improve her record to 20-4 on the season.

Maya Grossman, Vicksburg tennis

The freshman phenom continued her stellar season with a regional title last week, never needing a third set in her three victories in improving her season record to 21-3.

Cameron Nobis, Kalamazoo Hackett tennis

Nobis claimed a regional title last week, picking up two-set wins in all three of the matches she played.

Ellie Christian, Kalamazoo Hackett tennis

The junior barely lifted a finger on her way to a regional championship last week. Christian improved her record to 12-2 on the season, and beat No. 1 seed Mari Allen of Niles Brandywine 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

Logan Weis, Centreville track

The senior will compete in a trio of events at next month's state finals thanks to runner-up finishes in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs, and also was a part of the 3,200-meter relay team. Weis’ time of 4:33.37 in the 1,600-meter was a new personal-best.

Parchment's Brady Caswell (23) and Tyler Laske (12) run to home base at the Hackett vs. Parchment baseball game in Parchment, Michigan on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com)Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com

Tyler Laske, Parchment baseball

Laske was brilliant both on the mound and in the batter's box for the Panthers last week. The junior led the team with nine hits including a pair of doubles with two RBIs and two runs scored, while earning two victories with seven strikeouts and just three earned-runs highlighted by a scoreless outing against Kalamazoo Hackett.

Tristan Smeltzer, Centreville baseball

In three appearances on the mound, Smeltzer was brilliant last week while allowing just five hits, one earned-run and just two walks with 14 strikeouts highlighted by a one-hitter through four and two thirds innings in a 2-1 win over Colon on Tuesday.

Jacob Sikanas Jr., Centreville

Sikanas Jr. continued his dominance both his with his bat and his arm last week, including allowing just one hit, two walks and one earned-run with a dozen strikeouts in a 9-1 victory over Mendon on Monday, while piling up a team-leading eight hits and eight stolen bases to keep the Bulldogs’ undefeated record alive.

Sienna Potter, Decatur softball

Potter destroyed softballs last week, collecting a dozen hits with three doubles and a whopping team-leading five homers and 19 RBIs, to go along with nine runs scored. In fact, Potter homered in four straight games highlighted by her two four-bagger game in a 23-0 win over Comstock.

Cecilia Conforti, Decatur softball

Conforti also was mashing the softball, amassing 12 hits with two doubles, three homers and seven RBIs, to go along with nine runs scored. She belted a pair of homers in a 7-6 loss to Berrien Springs over the weekend, and added another in a 10-9 win later in the day. Conforti also led the Raiders with 38 strikeouts through 22 and two thirds innings pitched in the circle – all good for a 3.08 earned-run average for the week.

Brendan Hunsburger, Decatur baseball

Hunsburger led the Raiders with five hits last week, which was highlighted by a three-hit game in a 13-1 win over Comstock on Thursday. He also pitched a five-inning gem in the game, allowing just two hits, no earned-runs and no walks with nine strikeouts.

Kasey Kapteyn, Delton-Kellogg softball

Kapteyn came up clutch for the Panthers last week in a pair of close games – she drove in the go-ahead run on a single in the sixth inning in a 6-4 win over Watervliet, and homered in a 9-7 win over the Trail Blazers. Kapteyn's week included seven hits with three singles, three doubles, a homer and seven RBIs, while also scoring seven runs.

Takunda Kubvoruno, Gobles baseball

Kubvoruno was one of the Tigers’ best hitters in their sweep over Black River last week, picking up a pair of doubles during a three-hit series that included four RBIs in a 21-1 opening win.

Landon Evans, Gull Lake baseball

Evans was the Blue Devils’ best hitter last week, collecting five hits with three doubles and five RBIs, to go along with six runs scored and five stolen bases. Evans had two doubles with three RBIs as part of a three-hit day to help Gull Lake beat Plainwell 6-2 on Friday.

Hackett's Eli Backman (14) bats at the Hackett vs. Parchment baseball game in Parchment, Michigan on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com)Rodney Coleman-Robinson | MLive.com

Eli Backman, Kalamazoo Hackett baseball

Backman continued swinging a hot bat last week, picking up a trio of multi-hit games in his last three on his way to a 7-for-15 performance at the plate, adding five RBIs, seven runs scored and five stolen bases.

Brody Johnson, Hartford baseball

Johnson led Hartford with nine hits including six doubles and seven RBIs, to go along with nine runs scored and four stolen bases to preserve their eight-game winning streak.

Ava Fellings, Kalamazoo Central softball

Fellings led the Maroon Giants with six hits, recording a pair of three-hit performances in their split of Watervliet.

JJ Manion, Kalamazoo Christian baseball

The senior pounded the baseball with 13 hits including seven singles, five doubles and a homer with seven RBIs and 11 runs scored – all good for a .542 batting average. Manion's feature games were a four-hit day in a 28-3 win over Gobles, and his big fly in a 5-4 loss to Union City.

Ben McCaw, Lawrence baseball

McCaw smacked seven hits with three singles, three doubles and a triple at the plate last week. He also tacked on six RBIs, six runs scored and six stolen bases to help Lawrence to a 4-0 week.

Abby Butler, Mendon softball

Butler led the Hornets in average last week, collecting eight hits with seven singles and a triple.

Jordan Wesaw, Portage Northern softball

Wesaw belted two homers to go along with 10 hits in helping the Huskies pickup wins over Portage Central, Milford and Woodhaven last week. Her best game came in a 7-all draw to Canton, where she collected three hits including a homer and three RBIs.

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