MUSKEGON — Whitehall displayed what it can do in a July scrimmage against presumed West Michigan Conference favorite North Muskegon. With the season now set to kick off in full, the Vikings are determined to back it up.
This is the season, coach Adam Prince believes, that Whitehall will reap the rewards of the past two seasons, which saw many Vikings rack up varsity experience sooner than they probably would have under ideal circumstances.
“We had to throw a bunch of guys in there who were freshmen last year,” Prince said. “Evan Jud, Ian Hinze, Keegan Frees, all had to play as freshmen, and as sophomores they had to pretty much start every game. Now as juniors, they’re relaxed and calm on the ball.
“We basically lost a player and a half. Kyler Frees left, and he was the captain last year and honorable mention all-state. One of our other guys came over from basketball, DJ (Jamison), and he got hurt halfway through the season. When he was still there, he was really good, but then he got hurt. We didn’t lose as much as we gained.”
Prince’s own expectations were stoked by his team’s effort at a camp at Oakland University earlier in July, where college coaches repeatedly told him his team seemed the most cohesive there. That’s a tribute to the talent Whitehall has and the time they’ve been able to build chemistry.
“We’ve got a good balance of young kids and then some old kids, and I’ve got two keepers who are pretty much even, so I’m feeling really good going into this season,” Prince said.
Those two keepers are Andon Palmer, a senior and a three-year starter, and Garrett Taylor, an up-and-coming sophomore who’s spent the offseason refining his skills at the position. At minimum, Taylor appears to be the heir apparent for 2025, but it seems likely he’ll see some time there this fall too.
In addition to Palmer, Mason Mulnix, Tyler Van Antwerp and Royce Freed are experienced seniors, and Carter Burrous is a returning sophomore. A trio of talented freshmen - Ryan Bowen, Thomas Leeke and Isaac O’Boyle - should make their presence felt too.
“The only thing we’re really missing right now that we’re hoping to try to find in the next couple weeks is a bunch of sophomores, because we’ve only got two or three of those right now,” Prince said. “We’re hoping to try to fill that class in a little bit. We’ve got about another 9-10 eighth-graders getting ready to play. I think going forward, we’re looking really good.”
Whitehall’s program has long been known for scheduling aggressively out of the conference, and it’s no different this year. The Vikes open with Division 2 Allendale and will face Mona Shores and D-4 state champ Western Michigan Christian before September begins, and they also have a pair of unfamiliar names on the slate in Traverse City St. Francis and Saugatuck.
“We went looking for some teams we don’t usually play...so we’re playing some teams from down south and a team from up north,” Prince said. “Our conference is pretty much packed with teams we have to face in districts and possibly regionals. We should have a little bit of seeing everybody around.”
