I have put off writing this column for long enough.
What a journey the 2025-26 school year was around Gaylord, one of the most winding roads from late August to early June I’ve experienced since taking over as the sports guy at the Gaylord Herald Times in 2022. In the end, I said goodbye to the first set of graduates that I have covered from the start of their high school careers to their conclusions, while one of the most unpredictable years of my short career helped me learn more valuable lessons on what covering high school sports means, especially to communities in Northern Michigan.
Help me take a look back on all of 2025-26.
The fall of 2025 was one of the most up-and-down seasons since I arrived up north, bringing unexpected twists and turns throughout August-November. While some around the nation became aware of Gaylord for an unfortunate incident with a former soccer official, it was teams like Gaylord football and Johannesburg-Lewiston volleyball whose successes became the talk of the town.
Those moments showed me something I already knew, but differently: drama can sometimes overshadow the great that can come out of smaller communities, but those in those communities always know how to embrace the best of what their communities have to offer, and high school sports continue to be one of the best ways those in Otsego County show their support of one another.
Two moments will stick out in my memory forever: the Gaylord boys soccer team honoring Nick Mzaur and his family on senior night, as well as the Tom Johnson Court dedication. Those both top a long list of memorable moments of Northern Michigan communities embracing their own over the past four years, something the GHS, GSM and JLHS communities continue to be a paradigm of every year.
Then, things really got real for me in the spring.
Watching the Class of 2026 approach their final days as high school students was surreal to experience. As a 2014 high school graduate (12 years ago now, yikes), my connection to each graduating class gets a little bit more distant. Still, there will always be a special place in my head and my heart for the kids that started their high school sports careers around the same time I started in Gaylord.
So, watching them walk across the stage on graduation night, say their final goodbyes on senior night and shed those final tears in their final moments as high school athletes was pretty impactful, and that’s putting it lightly.
More than the state titles, the unforgettable plays and everything that I’ve experienced as a sportswriter in the past four and half years, what stood out about the Class of 2026 for Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston was that they always showed a ton of respect towards us in the media, the coaches and officials that dedicate their time to their games and the parents and fans in the stands. Throughout all the ups and downs, they’ve gone through in just four years, that quiet respect has become synonymous with each group I have had the privilege to cover since 2022 and, even more so, this graduating class.
I doubt that will change after this year, but I know that for however long I am doing this, this group of kids in Otsego County’s Class of 2026 will be a great example of what great athletes can look like and sound, both on and off the field. They will be an easy group to root for as they move into their next chapters.
As we turn the page on another fantastic year of sports around Gaylord, I want to say thank you one more time to all the coaches, players and parents who have always treated me so well and made Gaylord my new home. I hope 2026-27 will be just as exciting and memorable; thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out.
Thanks again and see you soon, Otsego County!
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Thank you, Class of 2026 | Jespersen
Reporting by Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dylan Jespersen, The Petoskey News-Review | USA TODAY Network
