Help us decide the top male and female high school athletes from the Gaylord area for the 2025-26 school year.
Meet the candidates from Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston, then vote below for your choice for the top athlete. Polls will stay open until the end of July.
Kaven Cole, Gaylord – Cole won the GHT Football Player of the Year after rushing for 1,470 yards, the second-most in a single season in GHS history, and 20 TDs. He was also one of GHS’s best basketball players, averaging 10.4 points per game.
Jaron Bensinger, Gaylord – A future Alma football player, Bensinger led Gaylord football with 91 total tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss and was a state-title contender in wrestling before an injury cut his season short.
Zane Willobee, Gayord – Willobee won his second career state title in his final high school wrestling match, defeating Clio’s D’Marion Erlenbeck (dec. 4-3) in the D2 157-pound state finals.
Calvin Cosby, Gaylord – Cosby broke the school pole vault record (15 feet, 4 inches) and finished as the state runner-up in Division 2.
Cal Royce, Gaylord St. Mary – Despite injuries in the fall and spring, Royce had 373 receiving yards and four touchdowns for GSM football and averaged 11.0 points, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals for GSM basketball. He was the area baseball POY, going 6-0 on the mound without allowing an earned run, striking out 79 batters in 33 2/3 innings and hit .576 with 55 RBIs and 56 runs scored.
Nathan O’Connell, Gaylord St. Mary – The area basketball Player of the Year averaged a double-double during the 2025-26 season, finishing at 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. During the football regular season, he threw for 842 yards and 9 touchdowns and rushed for 597 yards and 12 TDs.
Joey Smokevitch, Johannesburg-Lewiston – Smokevitch became the latest 1,000-yard rusher in JoBurg’s Wing-T offense, leading JL football on offense and defense.
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: Vote for the Gaylord Herald Times Male Athlete of the Year, 2025-26
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
