GAYLORD ― Like many high schools, Gaylord HS has banners hanging in its gymnasium for each sport its students participate in, listing the years each team has won a championship.
GHS’s banners are separated by conference titles and district titles, with more banners added for the deeper rounds of the postseason if needed.
The Gaylord girls soccer banner has hung there alongside the rest of the sports since they were hung in Monsignor Kaminski Gymnasium. Except, the girls soccer banner has looked a bit bare, the years 2001, 2002 and 2006 are beginning to look lonely as of a couple years ago.
So, head coach Chris Adams and the girls have been doing the work to add a few more years and memories to that old thing.
It started in 2024 with an upset win over Petoskey in the district finals, pushing GHS to its first district title since 2006. This year, perhaps the most successful team in Blue Devils soccer history will be putting two 2026’s on the banner, becoming the first team in program history to win a Big North Conference title and an MHSAA district title in the same season after a 4-1 win over Petoskey on Saturday, May 30.
“This team has been a great team from day one until today,” Adams said. “We’ve still got more in us going into the next round, excited for that, but it’s the work that the girls put in that got them here today.”
Opening the floodgates
Much like Alpena in the district semifinals, it was clear Petoskey benefited from multiple regular season matchups with the Blue Devils, and things held close for the first 20 minutes. Then, much like that semifinal game, a goal seemed to break the seal for GHS.
Senior Emma Horsell-Sehl, known more for her leadership and defensive skills than her goal scoring, redirected a corner kick from Clarie Krajniak into the net for Gaylord’s first goal of the game. Shortly after, sophomore Khloe VanOosten found herself one-on-one with Petoskey keeper Isla Scheib, scoring the Blue Devils second goal of the first half.
Junior Ella Cherwinksi scored almost immediately after the second half began, then another corner kick from Krajniak to Callie English finished off Gaylord’s scoring.
“Claire is a high-quality player. Everything she does, there is normally quality in there,and she’s really good at what she does,” Adams said. “We’re lucky enough to have that across the whole team, but Claire, her deliveries are consistent. She’s got a real quality delivery, and she should be really proud of what she’s done this season.”
Petoskey’s lone score of the day came off the leg of sophomore Katie Robinson. The Northmen closed out an up and down 2026 season that closed in a 9-7-1 overall season. It’s marked by three losses to the Blue Devils in 2-11 goal-differential, though the final matchup played out much closer than the previous.
“The score doesn’t reflect our effort,” Petoskey first-year coach John Lennon said. “We played very well and they scored one of their goals on a free kick, another on a corner. I’m incredibly proud of our team this season.”
The journey continues, the pressure builds higher
A big part of Gaylord’s success this season has been about embracing pressure situations. That pressure only builds as the teams get whittled down and the competition gets better with each round.
“Every single game, the goal gets reached and a new goal gets created,” Adams said. “That’s no different than this. We reached our goal today, and we’ve reset a new goal for the next game.”
Gaylord advances to the regional semifinals at noon on Tuesday, June 2 at Mount Pleasant High School, set to face Muskegon Reeths Puffer. The winner of that game will take on either Mount Pleasant or Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central on Thursday, June 4 in the district finals.
This team has already made its case as one of the best in program history. With two more wins and the program’s first regional championship, the No. 1 spot would be all but theirs.
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: Gaylord girls soccer beats Petoskey for second district title in three seasons
Reporting by Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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