by Justin Gibson | May 14, 2019 | Schools, Vicksburg
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Front row from left: Jacob Cleaver, Nicholas Armitage, Casey Hall, Kyle Kelly, Vic Simmons. Second row: Rachel Dick, Leah Pierce, Mia Mulhearn, Tyler Vallier, Madeline Ritter, Alexis Taylor, Madeleine Geiger (Not pictured – Maia Fleck).
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Top students were invited to choose the teacher that was most influential to them during their high school years. They are: Tina Porter (science) chosen by Tyler Vallier; Ben Rosier (band) chosen by Jacob Cleaver standing in back in the blue shirt; Madeline Ritter standing in back chose Virginia Ruimveld (not present); Rachel King (math) was selected by Casey Hall on the far right.
By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg school board and principal Adam Brush honored the class of 2019’s top seniors at the school board’s April meeting.
“The top 12 GPA was all above 4.1,” Brush said. “This class of the top 12 took over a hundred AP courses, which to me, is like mind-boggling.”
The students:
Nicholas Armitage scored a 1350 on his SAT and took nine AP courses, played trumpet for seven years and was NHS treasurer. He plans to attend Kettering University in Flint where he will study electrical engineering and computer science.
Jacob Cleaver scored 1440 on the SAT and took 13 AP classes. He spent four years in the Big Red Machine. He was also an Excellence in Education Scholarship winner and chose Ben Rosier as his significant educator for his passion for teaching music to students. Cleaver plans to attend the University of Michigan next year.
Rachel Dick took 10 AP courses, was involved in model United Nations, theater and National Honor Society. She also works at the Vicksburg library and plans to attend Michigan Tech to study science and engineering. She plans to minor in Spanish.
Maia Fleck is a four-year student of KAMSC and was the winner of outstanding research project. Fleck wasn’t present at the meeting because she was at a tennis meet. She also participated in de-tasseling for four straight summers.
Madeline Geiger took 11 AP courses. She was involved in Student Senate and Aim Higher, a volunteer youth group at the high school. She was captain of the girls’ basketball team. She enjoys walking and running. Geiger also helped referee and coach youth basketball. She will attend WMU.
Salutatorian Casey Hall took 12 AP courses. He was a Presidential Award winner for WMU. He also ran track, played tennis and football. He was an Excellence in Education Scholarship winner and chose Rachel King as his significant educator because of the time she spent helping him figure out what he wanted to do with his future.
Kyle Kelly took 10 AP courses and was a four-year scholar athlete. Kelly was involved in National Honor Society, DECA an Ski Club. He also served as captain of the lacrosse and cross-country team. He also worked with the lacrosse youth program and helped with Alzheimer’s patients. He plans to attend Iowa State or Purdue.
Mia Mulhearn took 12 AP courses and was a four-year scholar athlete. She served as NHS President and was involved in marching band and drum major. She also earned eight varsity letters and was the YWCA Women of Achievement Award Winner for Vicksburg. Mulhearn plans to attend Ohio State next year.
Valedictorian Madeline Ritter earned many college credits via KVCC courses. She also volunteered at the animal rescue at Tobey Elementary, where she enjoys walking the dogs. She was also an Excellence in Education Scholarship winner and chose Virginia Ruimveld as her significant educator for pushing her academically. Ritter said she plans to attend WMU.
Vic Simmons: scored a 1400 on the SAT and took nine AP courses. Simmons served as National Art Honor Society president and helped with the mural in the library. Simmons also enjoys pet-sitting and plans to attend the James Madison Residential College for political science at Michigan State University next year.
Alexis Taylor is a member of National Honor Society and served as junior class president and senior class vice president. She also participated in many volunteer opportunities with Sunset Elementary students and planned prom last year. Taylor plans to attend KVCC for a year before moving to Florida to study veterinary science at the University of Central Florida.
Tyler Vallier took 12 AP courses and plays on the varsity baseball team. He also volunteered at Sunset Lake Elementary. Vallier was an Excellence in Education scholarship winner and chose Kristina Porter as his significant educator for the time she spent helping him plan his future. He plans to attend the University of Michigan next year.
The board also recognized Leah Pierce as the DAR Good Citizen Award winner. Pierce took seven AP courses and served on band leadership for four years. She also volunteered at the middle school and in library summer reading programs. Pierce plans to attend Grand Valley State University to pursue pre-veterinary studies before continuing her education at Michigan State.
by Justin Gibson | May 14, 2019 | Sports, Vicksburg
Trenton VanderBor displays his prosthesis on the bleachers of the school stadium. Photo by Travis Smola.
By Travis Smola
Nearly three years after a farm accident took his leg, Trenton VanderBor doesn’t think too much about the struggles it caused. “I don’t think it was a huge setback,” he said. “It’s become very regular to me now, it’s almost as if I have another leg. Normal.”
Nevertheless, the fateful accident forever changed the Vicksburg High School senior’s life in 2016. “If I would have played freshman year football, I wouldn’t be in this situation,” VanderBor said. “But I believe everything happens for a reason.”
He was 15 years old in 2016 and working his first job at a local farm just before his sophomore year one day when his right foot became caught in the drag belt to a conveyer system in a corn silo. “The belt ran on my foot for about two minutes before they were able to shut it off,” VanderBor said. The belt then had to be reversed so he could back himself out of it and be rushed to Bronson Trauma Center.
The next year proved to be brutal. He spent 18 days in a hospital. Trenton underwent five surgeries in the first five days in the intensive care unit before being transferred to the University of Michigan’s children’s hospital for three more surgeries to amputate his foot and remainder of his leg. After that came eight months of physical therapy.
“Learning to walk again was definitely the hardest,” VanderBor said. Other simple tasks like standing in the shower are made much more difficult when one must balance on one leg for eight minutes. “It’s harder than it seems.”
One thing that helped was the outpouring of love and support from his friends, family and the community – especially from the teachers, who gave him a lot of leeway in his assignments given the circumstances. “I’m very thankful for all my friends and family that have supported me through it,” he said.
If anything, the incident was harder on his family. “I think it was hardest for my mom to fathom that her son had just lost his limb,” VanderBor said. “But I think now she’s one of the most accepting people of it, and she knows now that nothing holds me back and I’m able to do anything anyone else can, maybe just not as fast.”
But one thing that couldn’t be changed was the injury’s effect on Trenton’s sports career. Three to four months after the accident he returned to school and supported the basketball team through the whole season at games and at practice. “It stunk a little bit to not be able to go back and play the sport that I loved, but I got a better understanding and a better outlook on life for it,” VanderBor said. “Things aren’t all about sports. I’m just happy to live and be able to see the next day.”
And Trenton’s sports career wasn’t done completely. It just shifted slightly to new things. Trenton threw discus and shotput in 2017 after being inspired to do so by head coaches Jon Kachniewicz and Dave Smith. He took his junior year off from sports before deciding to bowl this past winter.
“Some of my other buddies did it with me,” VanderBor said. “Kind of just for fun, but we took it more seriously than we probably should have. It was always a competition at practices and meets, but it was a good time.”
Through it all, he did keep up with his love for weightlifting; he even has a specialty prosthetic leg for it. It’s one of three; the others are for swimming and everyday walking and running.
As his senior year winds down, VanderBor is looking towards the future. He admits the accident did alter his plans a little. First, he plans to attend KVCC to major in mechanical engineering before transferring to WMU. But his accident also sparked an interest in helping other amputees and he is considering a minor in medical engineering. After that, he may transfer to Eastern Michigan University to work on a master’s degree in prosthetics and orthotics.
He already helped a young girl from the eastern side of the state facing an amputation by helping her prepare for the many challenges that were ahead. “No one can relate better than someone who’s been through it already,” he said.
Ultimately, he just hopes his story of overcoming adversity can help others, no matter what their struggles may be.
His advice? “Never give up, there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” VanderBor said. “Always get better and be thankful for what you have, just be thankful to see another day.”
by Justin Gibson | May 14, 2019 | Sports, Vicksburg
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Joey McCowen is pitching and Parker Wilson is guarding first base for the Bulldog baseball team. Photo by Travis Smola.
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David Benedict makes good ball contact while batting for the Bulldogs. Photo by Travis Smola.
By Travis Smola
“We’ve been in most of the games we’ve played so far,” Vicksburg varsity baseball Head Coach Brian Deal said. “An error here, a walk there and next thing you know, it turns into a run and we get behind in the game.”
Unfortunately, this has been how things have played out in the early part of the season as the team has a 2-6 record. “The best thing I can say about it is, it’s early, and this is only the seventh game that we’ve played so far,” Deal said after the second game of a double header against Conference foe Sturgis was suspended due to failing light.
The team lost the first game of the double header to Sturgis 13-8, but they had their chances. The Bulldogs were leading going into the fifth inning when the Trojans took back the lead. With two on and one out, Carter Ford hit a high fly ball to center that allowed one runner to score and tie things up in the bottom of the fifth.
But Sturgis struck right back with two more runs in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, Jacob Conklin had the big highlight of the night when he smashed a huge solo home run over the center field fence to get Vicksburg back within one. But the Trojans responded with four runs in the top of the seventh that went unanswered by the Bulldogs.
The second game got off to an even rougher start as the Trojans went up 6-0 before play was suspended in the fourth.
It’s worth noting Vicksburg lost seven key seniors last season. Deal expects much of the Wolverine Conference to be in a similar position this season.
“It’s one of those things that’s going to be a work in progress where we just have to come to practice every day. We have to try to get better,” Deal said. “We have to go into every game trying to improve on something. That’s how we have to look at it, because if we start folding up the tents right now, it’s going to make for a long season.”
by Justin Gibson | May 14, 2019 | Sports, Vicksburg
Adam Verner heads toward the goal for Vicksburg’s lacrosse team. Photo by Travis Smola.
By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg varsity boys’ lacrosse team started off its season with a hard-fought physical contest against rival Portage Northern, but came away with a low-scoring 6-4 win.
“I think everyone played hard. I think the referees called a good game,” new Head Coach Mike Malloy said. Senior midfielder Krew Conroy opened the scoring for the Bulldogs early in the first and tacked on a second crucial goal in the game’s waning minutes.
Senior Midfielder Michael Kessler had a hat trick of three goals in the contest. Sophomore attacker Nicholas Anstead accounted for the other Bulldog goal.
The Huskies tacked on a late fourth goal in the game’s final minutes, but Kessler’s third goal of the contest helped seal the deal for the Bulldogs.
“We were lucky to really hang on at the end there,” Malloy said. “This was the first bit of adversity that they’ve faced and as you could see, it was a little bit of a challenge. But they rose up to it at the end.”
He said he’ll be looking forward to seeing how the players respond to this adversity in their upcoming practices. Malloy brings previous coaching experience at the middle school and varsity level in another district close to Vicksburg. He also previously served as an assistant for Olivet College and spent some time coaching overseas as an assistant for the Dutch Men’s National Team.
This team has had an extremely strong start to the season, beating big-name teams like Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. In their latest game, a close contest against Harper Creek, the Bulldogs snatched away a 9-8 victory in the final four seconds of the game to bring their record to 5-2 for the year.
Many eyes will be watching this Bulldogs team this year as it attempts to defend its Conference Crown for a fourth consecutive year in the Southwest Michigan Lacrosse League.
by Justin Gibson | May 14, 2019 | Sports, Vicksburg
Maryssa Wright is on the run with teammates Adele Wilson (#15) and Taylor Miller (#24) trailing behind. Photo by Travis Smola.
By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg varsity girls’ lacrosse team showed flashes of potential in an early-season loss to powerhouse Caledonia.
The team ultimately lost the game 21-4. But considering how difficult scoring was last year for the squad, it’s a marked improvement for a team which has many members still learning a very complex game. The big highlight of the night was freshman Bella Pence, who accounted for three of the Lady Bulldogs’ goals. Her first goal came on a play where she cut up the middle through the Fighting Scots’ defense for a wide-open shot at the goal.
Later in the evening, senior Taylor Miller got in on the action when she ran behind the opposing goal and then cut back in front to make a spectacular left-handed shot into the back of the net. This year’s team has only three seniors but eight freshmen, making it a team with some growth potential.
by Justin Gibson | May 14, 2019 | Sports, Vicksburg
By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg varsity boys’ golf team is the smallest it’s been in years and will likely face some challenges while competing this year.
“This is the first time in our golfing tenure we haven’t had 15 players. We only have six,” Head Coach Rob Johnson said as the boys competed in their first outing of the season, a league jamboree at Angel’s Crossing. It’s still a bit early to tell how things will shake out this season. This year’s team has a bit of an odd makeup. There are no seniors or freshmen on the team, but Johnson said there are likely a few other teams in the league facing the same growing pains.
Johnson expects the leaders for the Bulldogs will be Juniors Brett Manski, Seth Crabtree, Taylor Harvey and Gabriel VanDyke. The coaches are also excited about their new player, Matthew Simonds.
“He has great potential. We’ve seen him hit some really great shots, so we hope he can learn fast,” Johnson said.
