WHITEHALL — While Wednesday didn’t feature the Whitehall wrestling “Assembly Dual” against Benzie Central - the match was canceled due to weather issues up north - it was still a day to celebrate for the student body, as five of its graduating seniors commemorated their signings to play college sports.
The Vikings sent two players to the Division I ranks, with Camden Thompson inking with Western Michigan for football and basketball and Gavin Craner signing with Central Michigan for wrestling. Two more players, Sidney Shepherd and Evelyn Darke, signed with Division II schools, with Shepherd choosing Cedarville University, in Ohio, for volleyball and Darke signing with the University of Mary, in Bismarck, North Dakota, for softball. Wrestler Wyatt Jenkins signed with Southeast Community College, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, with an eye to a future four-year school opportunity.
The high school gym was packed with students to witness the occasion, and athletic director Christian Subdon helmed the event with help from principal Brett Westerlund. Several coaches spoke on behalf of their athletes as well.
Thompson drew the biggest response from classmates after a successful career - which still isn’t over - that’s included two district football championships, a district basketball title, GMAA track championships, a tie for the school high jump record that coach Kirk Mikkelson predicted will be broken this spring, and a slew of individual honors at the conference and state levels.
Thompson will pursue both football and basketball at WMU, though his scholarship is for football. The 6-5, 200-pounder will play wide receiver for the Broncos.
“I’m really thankful for this journey and all the work I put in and what they saw in me,” Thompson said of WMU. “To finally write it down and officially be a Bronco is amazing. It’s the best feeling in the world right now.”
The senior said he tried to attend as many Bronco games this fall as possible and appreciated coach Lance Taylor and his staff for being so welcoming any time he made it to Kalamazoo.
Even though football will be the priority by virtue of his scholarship, Thompson plans to put as much effort into his time with the basketball Broncos as he can.
“I’m not really looking at it as a challenge, more like an opportunity,” Thompson said. “I’m really grateful that they let me do both there...I’ll just give it my all, because I don’t know how many more years I’ll be able to do this.”
Craner, who starred for Whitehall in his first season last winter after transferring in from Belding, signed with the Chippewas in November. Expectations are high once again for Craner, who will wrestle mostly at 190 pounds this year, occasionally bumping to 215. Once he gets to CMU, he will wrestle at 184.
“They were my first ever visit,” Craner said of the recruiting process. “I really liked the coaches and the teammates. My friends are going there too. I had a blast when I went there. I want to stay around home. I really like the program and I think I can do great things there.”
Craner said he is unsure of his academic plans but will consider pursuing criminal justice or science for his major. He said he’s enjoyed being able to achieve team success with Whitehall and contribute to its tradition of excellence.
“At (Belding), we had good wrestlers, but we never really had a full team,” Craner said. “Not a lot of athletes get the experience, the atmosphere of team state...I’m just very honored to be able to be a part of this program.”
Shepherd, like Craner, signed her paperwork in November before celebrating it Wednesday. She is considering studying either sports broadcasting or occupational therapy at Cedarville. She appreciated the Christian atmosphere there when she was going through the recruiting process, saying she felt welcomed there.
“I really like the coaching staff and all the girls, when I went on my visit, were super welcoming,” Shepherd said. “I got to have lunch with all of them. I also really liked the campus and I like the opportunity.”
She will be playing setter for the Yellow Jackets, which is the position she’s most familiar with as she played it for her club team. Shepherd set for Whitehall too but was often deployed as an outside hitter, an experience she said made her a better player.
“I’m excited to set, though, because that’s what I love to do,” Shepherd said.
Darke thought her softball days would be finished after high school and was at peace with that when she unexpectedly received correspondence from UMary, a Benedictine school. The Marauders were interested in her to play third base, and on her visit she fell in love with the school.
A key factor for Darke was that UMary has a strong forensic psychology program, which is what she intends to major in.
“That’s kind of what got me,” Darke said. “They have a great program. They’re offering me to play. I get to go play and get a great education. It’s a win-win.”
UMary is a building program, and Darke appreciates the chance to be part of starting something good there. She’s thrilled not to be done playing softball.
“After they reached out, it was almost a shock,” Darke said. “I can actually do this. I can actually go somewhere and do something. It just opened my eyes and made me realize how much I did want to play and that I would miss it.”
Jenkins is looking forward to returning to the mat with a vengeance after missing almost all of last season with a spinal cord injury. He said he feels he has a lot to prove and appreciates the chance to do it at Southeast.
“It’s been a long, hard road with a lot of ups and downs,” Jenkins said. “Overall it’s a pretty good outcome for me...I’m so pumped up for this. I’ve waited so long to get back to it.”
Jenkins intends to earn a look from a four-year school after his time at Southeast and will wrestle at the 215-pound weight class this season, sometimes bumping to heavyweight. He said the Vikings intend to be in the state finals again this spring.
“We’re going to shoot to try and beat Dundee, but we’ll see how it goes,” Jenkins said. “We’ll try and make it to the state finals again and see how it goes from there. My goal is to go undefeated the whole year and get a lot of bonus points.”
