GLADSTONE---It’s been three weeks since the Gladstone Major Boys Little League All-Star team won their district championship in the southern U.P.

The boys will be hitting the road Thursday morning for lower Michigan where they will compete in the state tournament in Grand Rapids with dreams of making it to Williamsport.

The boys were presented with their district championship trophy Wednesday night by retired district administrator Don Howes.

The 5-foot trophy, the largest in the state, is taller than some of the players.
 

“Practicing every day, two hours a day and a lot of different stuff,” said Landon Pepin, a pitcher, and shortstop for Gladstone. “We were always working on our infield and outfield, but yeah we’re working on batting, infield, outfield, and just everything. It feels amazing and it feels even better with this trophy.”

“We’ve been practicing every day,” said Nick Proehl, a pitcher, and infielder for Gladstone. “Infield, outfield, and hitting every day."

"It's been a pleasure with these boys for three weeks," Gladstone Manager Mike Sanville said. "They've had time to work really hard with fundraising for support to go down there. Shout out to everyone in the community. The support has been overwhelming. Just so proud of them. The comments on their behavior when they've been out in public, and how polished these boys are for their age. So, I'm very proud of them for that."

The Gladstone boys open state tournament play Friday afternoon at 1:00 pm against Commerce Township. The Negaunee boys are also headed to this tournament and will play Petoskey at 10 am Friday morning.

The Gladstone and Negaunee teams will be involved in Opening Ceremonies Thursday night and will take part in a home run derby.

"The kids have grown so much in the three-week period (since districts)," Samville said. "I feel confident in how our defense has grown. They pick themselves up when bad things happen, and if we can play good defense and throw strikes, hopefully we can compete with a lot of the teams down there. We're not overpowering, but sometimes, solid defense and putting the bat on the ball, and playing a close game, just seems to be our kind of game."