Written by Riley Cogburn (Class of 2026), Ava Blossingham (Class of 2028)
Edited by Trinity Hurford (Class of 2028) and Mr. Zane Harding (Journalism Advisor)
BOYS BASKETBALL (by Riley Cogburn)
The Onekama boys basketball team put together a winning streak with victories over Suttons Bay and Frankfort before the streak ended with losses to Glen Lake and Leland.
On January 20, the Portagers defeated the Norsemen 47–33. Two days later, on January 22, they earned another win against the Panthers, 61–50. At that point, Onekama stood at 8–7 overall and 6–2 in conference play.
During the Suttons Bay game, Luke Bradford led the team with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Tyler Hart added 10 points, while additional contributions came from Carson Bradford (5 points), Mitchell Falk (4), Bennett Zeller (4), and Ryan Hrachovina (4). This win marked Onekama’s fourth victory in five games, bringing their record to 7–7.
Against Frankfort on January 22, the Portagers pulled away in the second half after a close first half. Mitchell Falk led the team with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Tyler Hart added 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals, while Carson Bradford contributed 11 points and 3 rebounds. With the win, the Portagers improved to 8–7 overall and 6–2 in conference, earning their fifth win in six games.
On January 29, Onekama suffered a loss to Glen Lake, 44–65, dropping their record to 8–8. They followed that with a close loss to Leland on February 3, falling 39-36. The Portager boys now stand at 8–9 overall this season.
GIRLS BASKETBALL (by Ava Blossingham)
On January 10, the varsity girls basketball teams faced Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep, earning a 43–36 victory. The team then played Shelby, where they fell in a close game by a final score of 47-44.
The girls bounced back after the Shelby game by picking up a win against Benzie on January 15, 54–30. On Saturday, January 17, the varsity girls traveled to Fowler and earned a 45–39 victory. On January 30, the team was defeated by rival Frankfort, 50-44, snapping a three-game winning streak. They have bounced back since then, defeating Buckley 47-38 on January 30, and winning on February 2, against LeRoy Pine River, 46-42.
The girls are scheduled to travel to Traverse City tonight, February 4, to face St. Francis and will then play Glen Lake on February 6. Entering tonight's action, the girls are 9-4 on the season.
SKI (by Jasmine Lapp)
On January 12, our ski team raced at the Bryan Groenevelt Memorial Invitational at Crystal Mountain. Brickston Rinehart recorded a combined time of 1:01.87, placing 42nd, but unfortunately did not finish the slalom course. Jasmine Lapp finished 33rd in GS with a combined time of 58.90 and 38th in slalom with a combined time of 1:35.31. Aleah Blackmore earned two medals, placing 4th in GS with a combined time of 46.46 and 3rd in slalom with a combined time of 1:05.38. Overall, the team had impressive runs.
On January 21, the team competed in their Week 3 conference race. In GS, Brickston placed 23rd with a combined time of 59.21 and followed that with a 20th-place finish in slalom at 1:19.65. Jasmine placed 16th in both GS (59.73) and slalom (1:20.18). Aleah continued to impress, finishing 3rd in GS with a combined time of 47.67 and taking 1st in slalom with a time of 56.26. Another strong week for the ski team.
On January 28, the team raced in the Week 4 conference meet. Brickston continued to improve, placing 22nd in GS with a combined time of 54.14 and 17th in slalom at 1:25.67. Jasmine placed 15th in GS (52.68) and 16th in slalom (1:19.05). Aleah claimed 1st place in GS with a combined time of 43.28 and finished 2nd in slalom at 59.27. Another great race for the Portagers.
On February 3, the team traveled to Schuss Mountain for the Clare Invitational. Jasmine Lapp placed 32nd in GS with a combined time of 1:14.94 and 36th in slalom at 1:33.53. Aleah Blackmore earned a 2nd-place finish in GS with a time of 59.13 and placed 3rd in slalom with a combined time of 1:08.73. As a team, the girls finished 4th overall with 137 points.
We had a great few weeks—I hope we keep it up!