Edited by Trinity Hurford (Class of 2028)
Written by Jasmine Lapp (Class of 2026), Riley Cogburn (Class of 2026), Ava Blossingham (Class of 2028), and Trinity Hurford (Class of 2028); edited by Trinity Hurford (Class of 2028)
BOYS BASKETBALL (by Riley Cogburn)
The Portagers are back! After a restful winter break, the boys basketball team jumped back into the season with their games against Brethren and Leland. On January 7, the Portagers defeated Leland by a final score of 48-38. They displayed control early in the game with their tight defense and efficient offense. They were led by Luke Bradford (17 points) and Carson Bradford (10 points). With this win under their belt, the Portagers’ season improved to 4-6. Other key players were Mitchell Falk (8), Bennett Zeller (7), and Tyler Hart (6).
On January 9, the Portagers defeated Brethren 37-31 to move to 5-6. "We've played a lot of tough competition," Onekama head coach Nathan Bradford said after the game. "I told the guys, they're not going to be easy ones. JJ (Randall) does a good job with his kids; he gets them ready... I just told the guys, don't try to do too much, make sure we're sharing the ball, run the offense a couple times." The Portagers lost their lead in the second quarter but were able to regain it in the third quarter thanks to Luke Bradford scoring four straight baskets, giving them a 37-31 lead. Tyler Hart was able to maintain their lead by knocking down a three-pointer, giving the team a 40-31 lead.
During the game, senior Luke Bradford was honored for surpassing 1000 points in his career. Mitchell Falk chipped in nine points and five rebounds, while Tyler Hart chipped in nine points, one assist, two rebounds, and two steals. Chase Gauthier added six points and a rebound. In addition, Bennett Zeller added four points, three assists, one rebound, and two steals. Other key players were Ryan Hrachovina (two points, one assist, one block, four rebounds, and two steals) and Carson Bradford (two points, two rebounds, and a steal).
Finally, last night, January 12, the Portagers fell 31-29 to Mason County Central, bringing us to a 5-7 record on the season. Luke Bradford once again led all scorers with 13 of Onekama's 29 points. The Portagers won the final three quarters of the game by six, but could not overcome a 12-4 deficit through the end of the first quarter.
GIRLS BASKETBALL (by Ava Blossingham and Mr. Harding)
On December 18, 2025, the Onekama girls varsity basketball team defeated Suttons Bay with a score of 56-10, a decisive home win for Onekama. Upon our return from break, the girls fell to Glen Lake in a tight 45-39 game, but bounced back with a 27-18 win against Leland and a 43-36 win against Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic. The Manistee News Advocate posted great coverage of the tight defensive match against Leland. Up next, the girls host Shelby tonight, January 13, at 7 PM! Good luck, ladies.
Ski (by Jasmine Lapp)
On January 7th, our ski team had their first conference race of the season. While snow conditions were poor, we still had a great start to the season. Brickston Reinhart came in 21st place with a combined time of 1.33.81 in slalom and came in 20th place with a combined time of 59.86 in GS. When asked what his goal was he said he simply wanted “to work on getting more on my edge.” He did great for his first race and I can't wait to see him improve! I came in 15th with a combined time of 1:30.44 in slalom and came in 16th with a time of 1:02.83 in GS. For my goal, I want to finish top ten at a conference race. Finally, Aleah Blackmore led our team coming in 2nd with a combined time of 1:05.20 in slalom and claiming 1st with a combined time of 47.27 in GS. Her goal for the year is to “straighten up my line in slalom.” I’m excited to see what we continue to do.
WRESTLING (by Trinity Hurford)
The co-op wrestling team has been working hard! Over Christmas break, the girls wrestling team had a tournament at Montague. Both Onekama girl wrestlers had good performances at the tournament, with Aerika Roberts taking 6th place in her bracket and Faith going 1-2! Aiden Buckner attended a tournament in Traverse and, despite a strong effort, went 0-2. On Jan 7th, a tri-meet was hosted at MHS against Ludington and Fremont. Aiden competed and went 0-3, but performed great, and all three matches were a very last minute pin! Aerika and Faith had a match against the same girl in exhibition matches. Keep it up, wrestlers!