The first day of the Island Resort Collegiate in Harris saw the West Virginia University Mountaineers dominate play for most of the 36 holes at the Sage Run Golf Course. WVU shot 18 under par in the first round, and then followed that up with a school-record 22 under par, finishing with a 40-under par 536. The Mountaineers are five shots clear of second place Purdue, which won last year’s tournament. Photo courtesy of West Virginia University.
The Gladstone Braves and Durand Railroaders battled in a back-and-forth football game Friday night in Lower Michigan, and the normal four quarters weren’t enough to settle the outcome. The Railroaders won the game in overtime, 28-22, after the Braves turned the ball over on their final possession in regulation time, and on their only possession in overtime.
The Escanaba High School football team rallied from eleven points down in the final quarter to beat the Kingsford Flivvers, 21-18, Thursday night, at the Escanaba Athletic Field. Brody Ison’s “jump-pass” to Alex Stolboerger for a touchdown put the Eskymos in the lead with three minutes left, and Keagan Braun's interception with 27 seconds left sealed the win.
The Michigan Tech football squad earned its first top-25 win in nearly six years after a convincing 37-17 win over the No. 16 nationally-ranked Bemidji State Beavers at Kearly Stadium on Thursday evening. The first ranked win since Sept. 7, 2019, was made possible by the Black & Gold shutting out the Beavers in the second half while rattling off 21 points of their own to overcome a first-half deficit (16-14).
The Northern Michigan football team jumped out to a 21-0 lead and carried a 27-15 advantage into halftime, but Minnesota State University Moorhead rallied with a 29-10 second half to defeat the Wildcats in shootout fashion, 44-37, in the first game of the 2025 season. The game would hold true to each team's strength, as Northern dominated the ground game, rushing 59 times to MSUM's 14. NMU rushed for 291 yards while totaling 384 yards of offense. QB Austin Ridl ran for a career-best 106 yards while Noah Dobert (97) and Jahi Wood (85) weren't far behind.
The Bay College Norse volleyball team opened its season with four matches over the weekend at a tournament in Rockford, Illinois. The Norse won one match and lost the other three.
The Superiorland men’s league championship game was held in the rain Monday night in Escanaba, and the host Mikey D’s Beer Cave team won the championship in six innings, 11-1, over the Channing Railroaders.
Northern Michigan University football head coach Shane Richardson has announced an open tryout for the 2025 NMU football team. The tryout will take place on Wednesday, August 27th at 6 p.m. at the Superior Dome. To participate in the tryout, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours for the fall semester at NMU and maintain good academic standing.
The Marquette High School boys soccer team opened the 2025 season with five matches against strong downstate competition this weekend, and ended up winning three matches, losing one, and another ending in a scoreless draw. One of the wins was against Fruitport, the team that eliminated Marquette in the regionals in each of the past two years.
As high school sports practices begin, and some of the first contests are played in some sports, the Michigan High School Athletic Association is again ramping up awareness of necessary hot-weather precautions as schools and families prepare for activity. Practices for all Fall 2025 sports – cross country, football, boys soccer, girls tennis, and volleyball began on Monday. The first soccer, tennis, volleyball, and cross cluntry contests are this weekend.
The Escanaba High School football team got the jump on the rest of the Upper Peninsula Monday morning by holding its annual Midnight Madness practice at the Escanaba Athletic Field. The team took advantage of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s official practice begin-date by having a practice at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
One of the top high school baseball pitchers in the state of Michigan has decided on where to attend college. Escanaba senior Lenny Peacock has committed to attend school and pitch at Western Michigan University.
The wild summer-long ride for the Negaunee Major Little League All-Star baseball team came to an end on Monday as the UP boys lost to Lexington, Kentucky, 6-1, in an elimination game in suburban Indianapolis. The loss ended the Great Lakes Regional Tournament run for Negaunee, after a five-week odyssey that started with district tournament blowouts in Calumet, and improbable six-game run at the state tournament in Saginaw that included a pair of nailbiters, and then the trip to the Hoosier state for the first time in program history.
The Little League Baseball Great Lakes Regional tournament is underway in suburban Indianapolis, and it got off to a rough start for the Negaunee Major All-Stars. The Michigan state champions lost to Hamilton West Side (Ohio), 8-0, to drop into the loser's bracket of the five-team event. Negaunee Manager Joe Dost says the tournament is far from over, the kids are having fun, and are mostly unaware of just what they've accomplished.
The 78th annual Michigan-Wisconsin Open Tennis Tournament got underway Saturday in Escanaba's Ludington Park. The singles competition was held in several divisions. In the Class A men's competition, Juan Guerra won the title in straight sets (6-3, 6-4), and in Class B, Escanaba native Chris Ogren defeated Aaron Isenhart of Elk Rapids in three sets, taking the third set, 6-4. The competition continues on Sunday with doubles matches, both in Ludington Park and at the Abrahamson Courts.
The Kingsford Greens captured the American Legion Baseball Class A state championship on Sunday, beating Stevensville-Lakeshore on their own field, 8-4, in a winner-take-all contest. The Greens had lost to that team in a testy game earlier in the tournament, but picked up a 5-2 win on Saturday to force this Sunday baseball. This group of ten kids from Kingsford and Norway combined to form this team, after both high school squads had successful seasons. And now, they share a state championship trophy together.
The baseball season came to a premature end for the Post 44 Blues on Saturday as they lost to the Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox, 7-2, in the Michigan Veterans Baseball state tournament in Gaylord. The Blues opened the tournament with two wins, but were battered by Gaylord Friday night and then got off to a slow start Saturday that spelled the end of a successful summer of baseball for the organization.
The Escanaba Cubs first appearance in the American Legion Class AA state tournament in more than a decade came to an end on Friday with a 5-2 loss to Adrian Post 285 at Northwood University in Midland. The Cubs finished the tournament with a 1-2 record, and closed a successful summer season with a 17-9-2 record.
The Kingsford Greens American Legion Baseball team opened Class A state tournament play on Thursday with a 9-5 victory over the Three Oaks Oakers in the far southwest Lower Michigan town of Stevensville. The Greens scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 5-5 tie in a game played under sweltering 90-degree heat that was amplified by the artificial turf on the field.
The American Legion Baseball Class Double A state tournament got under way on Thursday under scorching heat at Northwood University in Midland. The Escanaba Cubs beat Big Rapids, 14-2, in their first game, but suffered a power outage in the second game, losing 5-0 to Bay City.
The Post 44 Blues (Marquette-Negaunee) turned in two dominating performances on Thursday as the Michigan Veterans Baseball League began its Under-19 state tournament in the Gaylord area. The Blues dusted off the Ironwood A's, 16-0, and then blanked the Sault Ste, Marie (Canada) Black Sox, 7-0, in a tournament plagued by heavy rain, lightning, and lots of delays. Post 44 pitching allowed only one base hit in each of its victories.
The dream continues for the Negaunee Major Little League All-Star (age 10-12) baseball team. And the boys don't want to wake up any time soon. Negaunee won the first state Major Baseball championship in program history Wednesday night, beating Plymouth-Canton, 10-5, under the lights at Saginaw South Little League. The win sends Negaunee into the Great Lakeas Regional Tournament next month in Indiana, just one step away from a trip to Williamsport.
The Negaunee Major Little League All-Stars (age 10-12) are now one win away from a state championship. The boys battled Southern Grand Rapids in the state semifinals under the lights Tuesday night in Saginaw and pulled out a 1-0 win to advance to Wednesday's championship game.
The Negaunee Major Little League All-Stars (age 10-12) cruised past Mattawan in the state quarterfinals Monday night, 10-5, under the lights at South Saginaw Little League. Negaunee took advantage of early Mattawan mistakes to take a 5-0 lead and constantly built to that lead throughout the game, holding off several comeback attempts by the District 15 champions. And Negaunee advances to the state semifinals, set for Tuesday night at 7:00, against Southern Grand Rapids.
Rapid River High School is pleased to announce Katie Poma as the new Head Coach for the Girls' Varsity Basketball team. Katie is a 2004 graduate of North Central Area Schools. She earned her elementary education degree from Northern Michigan University in 2009 and holds a master's degree in educational technology from Central Michigan University and teaches math at Gladstone Junior High.
The Negaunee Major Little League All-Stars (age 10-12) finished pool play undefeated on Sunday with a 10-3 win over Ira Township at the Michigan State Tournament in Saginaw. With both teams already assured of a spot in the state quarterfinals, each used three different pitchers and used it as a tune-up game.
The tournament trail came to an end on Sunday for the Gladstone Major Little League All-Star baseball team. Gladstone rallied from a 6-1 deficit to tie the game against Taylor North, but lost on a three-run homer by Taylor's Brexton Runyon, 9-6, in the state tournament pool play finale at South Saginaw Little League. Gladstone ends up finishing 0-3 at the state tournament despite scoring 24 runs in those three games. That's normally enough to win games at this level, but Gladstone lost because it gave up 36 runs in those three games.
The Post 44 Reds 15u baseball team won two tight games on Sunday to take the state championship of the newly-formed Michigan Vetarans Baseball league, 3-2 and 4-3 over the Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) Black Sox. The games were moved to Marquette's Haley Field after heavy rains caused flooding at the tournament site in Felch.
The Escanaba Minor Little League All-Star softball team (age 8-10) finished pool play undefeated on Sunday with a 4-2 win over Georgetown at the Michigan State Tournament in Cheboygan. The girls will play in the state quarterfinals on Monday.
