Check out the top sports photos from the Gaylord-area in 2023-24

Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review

As we count down the final days of July, with football practices right around the corner and all the fun that is the beginning of the fall sports season just one month away, it is time to say goodbye to the 2023-24 season.

We've talked extensively about the best of the best from this past year, from athletes to coaches to moments. Now, let's let some of the best photos of the past year speak for themselves as the top ten photos of 2023-24 have been selected and have been revealed.

If you don't see a photo you expected to see, head over to @dylanjespersen on Instagram to see the nearly 50 photos that were selected as honorable mentions. It was a great year not just to be a sports fan in Gaylord, but a sports photographer as well:

10. Gaylord softball wins a state championship x2

Gaylord's Aubrey Jones leaps into her teammates arms after winning the program's first state championship back in 2023.
Gaylord's Aubrey Jones leaps into her teammates arms after winning the program's first state championship back in 2023.
Aubrey Jones celebrates as Gaylord clinches the program's second-consecutive state championship back in June.
Aubrey Jones celebrates as Gaylord clinches the program's second-consecutive state championship back in June.

Last year, I decided to start the top photos countdown before Gaylord softball's run to a state championship. Big mistake on my part.

So, I needed to include at least one photo from last year's run in this year's top ten, and luckily this year I got a shot so similar to my favorite one from last year's celebration that I made it a dual entry at No. 10.

9. Face-to-face with a phenom

Kaylee Jeffers stares down freshman sensation Mia McGregor during a Division 4 regional semifinal battle won by Gaylord St. Mary.
Kaylee Jeffers stares down freshman sensation Mia McGregor during a Division 4 regional semifinal battle won by Gaylord St. Mary.

Mio's freshman sensation Mia McGregor averaged 41.2 points per game before leading the Bolts to the D4 regional semifinals. There, they met a Gaylord St. Mary's team led exclusively by underclassmen, hoping to be the ones to outduel one of the best scorers in state history.

That night, it was GSM and Kaylee Jeffers's night, winning 61-54 despite 46 points from McGregor.

8. Three state title winners for Gaylord wrestling

Gaylord's Zane Willobee jumps for joy after winning an individual wrestling state championship.
Gaylord's Zane Willobee jumps for joy after winning an individual wrestling state championship.
Gaylord's Ty Bensinger is comforted by former Gaylord wrestler Louden Stradling after winning an individual state title under unfortunate circumstances.
Gaylord's Ty Bensinger is comforted by former Gaylord wrestler Louden Stradling after winning an individual state title under unfortunate circumstances.
Gaylord's Sunni LaFond becomes the first female state champion in Gaylord wrestling history and the third individual state champion for Gaylord on a historic day.
Gaylord's Sunni LaFond becomes the first female state champion in Gaylord wrestling history and the third individual state champion for Gaylord on a historic day.

March 2, 2024 will be a day etched into Gaylord wrestling's history.

The historic program added three more individual state championships in head coach Jerry LaJoie's final outing, helping cement Gaylord as one of, if not the pinnacle of Northern Michigan wrestling. Junior Zane Willobee led things off with his win in the D2 157-pound bracket, while Sunni LaFond secured the girls 115-pound state title, the first female wrestling state champion in school history.

If Bensinger's photo doesn't look like one of a state champion, it probably needs some context; after spending nearly the entire year as the top-ranked 190-pound wrestler, Bensinger won the D2 190-pound bracket after an illegal slam knocked him unconscious, disqualifying his opponent. It wasn't the way Bensinger wanted to win a state title, but he was a still a fitting champion.

7. Right place, right time?

Gaylord senior Makenna McVannel watches as her opponents celebrate the game-winning goal scored with just seconds on the clock.
Gaylord senior Makenna McVannel watches as her opponents celebrate the game-winning goal scored with just seconds on the clock.

They say photography is all about being in the right place at the right time.

Gaylord senior Makenna McVannel just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and became the subject of this celebratory photo on the other side.

6. Hold that trophy high

Gaylord senior Russell Hush holds up the Jaycees Trophy following a regular season win over a win over Petoskey.
Gaylord senior Russell Hush holds up the Jaycees Trophy following a regular season win over a win over Petoskey.

Even with all that Gaylord accomplished in 2023 (Conference champions, district champions, undefeated perfect season), I think some of the best moments still came from their regular season victory over Petoskey, including this moment with Russell Hush holding up the Jaycees Trophy yet again.

Will this trophy be on the move in 2024? Time will tell.

5. Jumping into states

Rylan Matelski, a state qualifier in the long jump, leaps through the air during the JoBurg Quad in May.
Rylan Matelski, a state qualifier in the long jump, leaps through the air during the JoBurg Quad in May.

Senior Rylan Matelski went back to the Division 4 state finals this season after another successful year in the long jump pit. While track meet photos can sometimes feel monotonous at times, taking a break to capture some of these moments at the field events can be the best use of my time.

4. Pretzlaff shows off the hands

Gaylord senior Brady Pretzlaff makes two difficult catches during the annual GHS 7-on-7 tournament back in July of 2023.
Gaylord senior Brady Pretzlaff makes two difficult catches during the annual GHS 7-on-7 tournament back in July of 2023.
Gaylord senior Brady Pretzlaff makes two difficult catches during the annual GHS 7-on-7 tournament back in July of 2023.
Gaylord senior Brady Pretzlaff makes two difficult catches during the annual GHS 7-on-7 tournament back in July of 2023.

These photos feel like forever ago.

Back in July 2023, then senior Brady Pretzlaff was beginning to cement his name as one of Northern Michigan's top athletes as he snared these two unbelievable catches at the GHS 7-on-7 tournament in July of 2023. Now, Pretzlaff is entering his first season with the Michigan State Spartans while Gaylord attempts to move on without him for the first time in four years.

4. Coach KP shares one final moment with AP

Head coach Kelli Parker shares a moment with her daughter Avery as she takes the court one final time.
Head coach Kelli Parker shares a moment with her daughter Avery as she takes the court one final time.

Gaylord senior Avery Parker had set herself up for a big final year on the basketball court, leading what she hoped to be a competitive team into a winnable conference. However, fate had other plans as she suffered an ACL tear that would end not just her final basketball season, but her Blue Devil career as a whole.

Still, she was able to get one final moment back on Gaylord's home court, starting and getting one last bucket against TC Central in a night to honor her efforts for the GHS girls basketball program.

It was a night full of emotions for her and her mom, head coach Kelli Parker, as they shared this moment while AP walked off the court one last time.

2. Here comes the chopper!

The Gaylord football team watches as a blackhawk helicopter arrives and lands in the GHS parking lot prior to their military appreciation game.
The Gaylord football team watches as a blackhawk helicopter arrives and lands in the GHS parking lot prior to their military appreciation game.

Easily the coolest non-sports experience of the year was when Gaylord secured a military helicopter from Camp Grayling to land in the parking lot prior to their military appreciation game on Saturday, Sept. 9.

1. Collins's one-handed interception

Junior Isaac Collins hauls in a one-handed interception on the last play of the game against Alpena.
Junior Isaac Collins hauls in a one-handed interception on the last play of the game against Alpena.

What I think is easily the best photo of my career comes with a lesson for any sports photographer out there; the best shot is always yet to come.

I could've easily set my camera down and stopped shooting this late into a blowout Gaylord victory, but something told me to keep going. Then, on the last play of the game, Isaac Collins pulled in possibly the best catch I've ever seen in person, and I was more than happy to show everyone around me that yes, I got the shot.

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Check out the top sports photos from the Gaylord-area in 2023-24

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