Upbeat Sports

23/04/2021

Surprise! Foster Wonders earned Mr. UP Basketball for the third straight year.

The Iron Mountain senior averaged 34.8 points 8 rebounds and became the UP Boys All-Time leading scorer with 2,286 points.

Here's the rest of the All-UP selections.

T he 2020-21 All-UP Girls Basketball Teams as chosen by the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. The UPSSA met on April 14 in Marquette to select the teams and individual awards.

16/04/2021

Escanaba's Nicole Kamin averaged 24 points, 9 rebounds and led her team to its first-ever quarterfinal appearance. After her stellar season, Kamin was named Ms. UP Basketball.

Here's the list of the 2021 All-UP Teams.

T he 2020-21 All-UP Girls Basketball Teams as chosen by the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. The UPSSA met on Wednesday to select the teams and individual awards.

15/04/2021

The 2021 Girls All-UP Teams will be released on Friday at 6 p.m. EDT.

The Boys All-UP Teams come out a week later, on April 23, at 6 p.m. EDT.

11/04/2021

Iron Mountain's season comes to an end as Flint Beecher proves it's the best team in Division 3.

“The guys battled all night, but in the end, Flint Beecher was the better team today."

T his is what happens when you run into a buzzsaw. When you face a team that’s more athletic, quicker and teeming with skill throughout its rotation. It doesn’t help if you have an off night, but sometimes the buzzsaw of a team can be so good you have to come to grips with reality and wonder if ...

09/04/2021

In the midst of a Schoolcraft rally, Jurgen Kleiman recorded two monster blocks to help Iron Mountain secure a semifinals victory.

"He’s a physical kid, but those guys are big. And he sent those things out with authority. Like, ‘Get out of here.’ ”

All season the senior has been quietly doing his job on the defensive end. But on Thursday, in the state semifinals, Kleiman made some noise.

09/04/2021

In his last three fourth quarters, Iron Mountain's Foster Wonders has made 14 of 15 shots and scored 41 points.

On Thursday, he was a perfect 6 for 6 in the fourth and OT to send the Mountaineers to the state title game.

"He just does what he does."

T he angst of the Iron Mountain fanbase continued to grow. McBain and Oscoda had given the Mountaineers some adversity, but this was different. Schoolcraft was matching and even winning the physicality battle and managed to accomplish what no other Iron Mountain opponent has done this season: Make F...

08/04/2021

Calumet achieved its goal of having its season end at the Breslin Center. The Copper Kings just didn't have the conclusion they wanted.

“This is definitely not how we wanted it to go, but it was a great experience being here and playing in front of this crowd. I’m so thankful we got here.”

Imagine stretching, and lacing up your favorite pair of sneakers only to be stopped after a few steps. Or maybe a few miles. Or maybe, you run for hours and hours full speed ahead, but still with the nagging feeling that someone is going to jump out and cut you off.

07/04/2021

Iron Mountain earns semifinal appearance for second time in three years.

"I’ve been around these kids for a number of years; we go way back. I know they’re realizing their dream, and it’s a dream of everybody’s. Not many kids get a chance to go to the Breslin Center once, let alone twice.”

A s the buzzer sounded, the celebration ensued. The Iron Mountain Mountaineers leaped into each other’s arms while their screams of joy filled the Lake City gymnasium. Marcus Johnson being Marcus, ran from his seat in the stands to join them. He was wearing one of the gold Iron Mountain warm-up sh...

07/04/2021

Escanaba's season closed with a quarterfinal loss, but the team still found things to celebrate amid the heartbreak.

"Someday it’s gonna be, ‘Hey, remember when both the boys and girls went to the quarterfinals at the same time?’ ” That is going to be special.”

The postseason always brings both emotions, but they don’t often affect the same team at the same time. But on Tuesday they did. As Escanaba grappled with the anguish of a 52-41 quarterfinal loss to Bridgeport, the team also celebrated one player’s milestone and the entire school’s history-mak...

06/04/2021

Escanaba's historic season came to an end on Monday in the quarterfinals.

"We were breaking history. We really thought we could pull a dub tonight. But that’s a good season. We had a good run with eight girls. That’s all we can really do.”

06/04/2021

The Copper Kings were down by double-digits to Glen Lake, but instead of folding, they made a comeback.

Now, Calumet is heading to the semifinals.

"I always say it comes down to whoever works harder, whoever wants it more. And I think we wanted it more."

06/04/2021

With Tessa Wagner in foul trouble, things looked bad for the Wolves, but Carney-Nadeau found a way to persevere.

"We are just hard workers. We work hard to get what we want."

03/04/2021

A barrage of 3s led Carney-Nadeau to a regional title over Bessemer.

"We’ve been a lot more consistent than we have during the year."

Carney-Nadeau (13-8) made 12 3-pointers and survived the Speedboys’ (14-8) furious rally to win the regional championship game 60-57.

02/04/2021

Carney-Nadeau did almost everything right on Wednesday to defeat E-TC, from 28 points from Tessa Wagner to a perfect 7 of 7 from the 3-point line.

"It was a perfect storm for us."

E wen-Trout Creek probably could have handled Tessa Wagner’s big night inside during Thursday night’s regional final. And it was a really big night — she scored 28 points and was unstoppable when she got a touch inside — but E-TC pretty much offset that with 22 points on six 3-pointers from ...

02/04/2021

Marquette's impressive postseason run came to an end with a loss to Grand Blanc.

"They’re a hell of a team. We knew it was gonna be a David vs. Goliath story, all we could do was come out and give it our best."

02/04/2021

It's been 61 years since the Esky boys made the quarterfinals. But on Thursday they topped Ludington to break the streak.

"Right now our school is on cloud nine."

Now Hudson and Escanaba’s 6-foot-7 duo of Colin and Carter Hudson have led Escanaba into its first state quarterfinal since 1960.

02/04/2021

Down seven at the half, the Mountaineers knew what they had to do to top Oscoda. And they executed it perfectly.

"When it sets in that this could be our last game, we are a different animal after that."

02/04/2021

Iron Mountain had to fight back from its largest deficit of the season to win its third regional title in a row.

"This feels awesome. It was a heck of a battle. Give Oscoda credit. They’re pretty good. But we had some guys who made some plays."

A t some point, we’ll have to have that conversation about Foster Wonders. It can get tricky when comparing players from different eras that played in different divisions, especially when you consider how far consuming high sports has come. It’s more accessible to follow games with the introduct...

01/04/2021

Bessemer continued its run of beating top-ranked teams. Now the Speedboys face Carney-Nadeau for a regional title.

I t’s pretty obvious which team in Thursday’s regional final between Bessemer and Carney-Nadeau has had the tougher road to Negaunee.

01/04/2021

Escanaba wasn't sure what would happen this season, but on Wednesday night, the Eskymos made history.

"We were just trying to get our season started. We just wanted to get the girls playing. We never looked this far ahead.”

A s the final seconds wound down, Escanaba remained stoic. The handful of fans who made the trip to Houghton Lake had already stood and were celebrating. Wednesday’s regional semifinal outcome with Ludington had been essentially decided for a few minutes now, but the Eskymos showed no signs of pre...

01/04/2021

Calumet was far from perfect, but the Copper Kings did enough to win a regional title.

"We just had to do what we could to win. It came down to just who was going to work harder in the end."

She’s certainly not the kind of girl to start a fight, but when push comes to shove, I guarantee she is the kind to finish one.

31/03/2021

Marquette is going to the regional final for the first time in 18 years.

"They really bought into our system from day one as freshmen, and they are certainly reaping the benefits right now."

M arquette defeated Midland 54-48 on Tuesday, earning a spot in the regional final for the first time in 18 years. This is just the fourth time in history the program has reached this achievement.

31/03/2021

Elise Besonen spent her offseason practicing baseline jumpers. It paid off when E-TC needed a buzzer-beater on Monday.

"You’ve got an all-state player who’s got the ball in her hands, and we knew she was gonna be the one to take the last shot."

E lise Besonen was prepared for her big moment Monday night. During all that time waiting for this season to start, her shooting workouts included a mid-range shot from the baseline, the part of the court she got to as the clock ticked down in this regional semifinal.

31/03/2021

Boyne City pushed Escanaba, but the Eskymos didn't falter when it mattered most.

"I told the kids tonight it goes from 32 teams to 16. We found a way to advance."

E scanaba is always going to be a difficult matchup in terms of length and athleticism. So for most teams to have a chance it has to be done fundamentally.

31/03/2021

Experience and maturity helped Iron Mountain defeat Jeffers in a regional semifinal.

"These guys have all been around a lot of big games. They’re pretty poised and mature, and they have their sights set."

R egional semifinals have traditionally been a grind for Iron Mountain. It usually marks the third meeting from a conference foe, meaning each team has the other scouted so well it could probably recite its offensive sets move for move. Two of the last three meetings in this spot for the Mountaineer...

30/03/2021

Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie are two similar teams, but on Monday, Esky won out.

"I think we’re mirror images. They just hit more shots than we did."

M addy Monkevich’s face was flushed, her voice hoarse. The celebration was more like relief than jubilation because Escanaba’s starting five had to first catch its breath before realizing that their team had equaled the deepest run the school had ever had.

30/03/2021

Calumet put on a dazzling performance against Menominee, but it was the team's toughness that stood out.

“When we talk about everything we do, it doesn’t matter if you’re up 20 or down by 20, we play the game the same way.”

T here is an inherent toughness associated with the successful Calumet programs. It’s essentially instilled in them. Having to brave long winters with over 300 inches of snow will naturally harden an individual, while numerous athletes at the school come from larger families where scrapping with o...

30/03/2021

In a much-anticipated regional contest, Calumet proved itself by defeating Menominee.

"We were confident going in, but not like ‘We are going to go in there and kick their butts,’ but like, it is going to be a good game. And we are going to battle."

28/03/2021

Jeffers is looking forward to the challenge of facing Iron Mountain after topping Westwood for a district title.

"Our kids really want to play that team just to see how we stack up.”

W hen Jeffers coach John Schutz found out the Jets would move up to Division 3 for this postseason, it didn’t shake him too much because he knew he had a special group.

28/03/2021

Escanaba utilized its size and physicality to edge Negaunee for a district title.

“Our strategy was to not let them get comfortable."

Intense and physical it was. Not for the faint-hearted, Saturday’s matchup was a chest-puffing chess match. But keeping those emotions in check when it mattered most was a test of will. With two intense coaches directing their intense big men, their shouting overtaking the squeaking the shoes, the...