Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By JASON JUNO [email protected] MARQUETTE --- Ewen-Trout Creek's Bree Besonen joined a pretty exclusive club last week. The eighth grader was named to the All-U.P. Second Team at the 49th annual Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association girls basketball meeting last week. She's believed to be one of just three girls to ever be named to the All-U.P. team as an eighth grader. She knows the other two pretty well - they're her sisters. Elise Besonen made it in 2017 and...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Ironwood came out ready to defend its home court in last week's MHSAA Division 4 District 97 semifinal. They dominated from the start and beat Bessemer 68-37. "They were tournament ready tonight," Ironwood coach Jesse Mackey said. "Every girl was locked in and ready to go." The Red Devils played well on both ends of the court. They attacked offensively from the start, getting to the foul line six times and taking a 24-8 lead after the first qu...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Bessemer took advantage of the defensive attention given to standout Brooke Stanislawski. They went inside and pulled the upset of rival Wakefield-Marenisco. After losing to the Cardinals by double digits twice since Feb. 15, the Speedgirls won the most important game, Monday's MHSAA Division 4 District 97 opener, 61-50. "Our schedule did not help us," W-M coach Alex Metas said. "It's hard to beat a good team three times in a season, let alone in 2.5 weeks." Things were certainly different in...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Ewen-Trout Creek is a unanimous favorite among coaches to win next week’s MHSAA Division 4 District 97 championship. They’re the No. 1 seed in the bracket, they’re 8-1 against district opponents, they’re the defending champions and they’re ranked fourth in the U.P. poll with a 16-5 record. “Ewen has to be the favorite,” Ironwood coach Jesse Mackey said, “with that earned No. 1 seed. Very talented team. Those young girls have only gotten stronger and more experienced against the varsity lev...
BESSEMER - The A.D. Johnston High School class of 2018 said farewell to high school and hello to the next step in their lives on Friday evening in Bessemer. Megan Peterson, in her senior class farewell speech to her fellow graduates, closed with familiar words the Bessemer faithful, "Always remember, 'Go Speedboys and Go Speedgirls." TJ Mazurek, Serenity Plochocki and Alejandro Martinez ushered in the evening's presentation with the Pledge of Allegiance. All three, according to Dave Wineburner,...
WATERSMEET - Watersmeet coach Brent Besonen was a bit worried the pressure of getting to 2,000 career points might get to Bethany Baldwin on the opening night of the tournament Monday. She put those fears to rest in a hurry. The senior scored 17 in the first quarter, surpassed the milestone in the third quarter and finished with 41 points, leading the Nimrods past the Speedgirls 64-46 in the first round of the MHSAA Class D District 127 tournament. The Nimrods will host Wakefield-Marenisco in a...
BESSEMER, Mich. - Edward Zeliska, 92, a long-time resident of Bessemer, died Friday evening, Oct. 27, 2017. Ed was born on Oct. 21, 1925, in Puritan Location, Bessemer Township, a son of John and Mary (Mojeck) Zeliska. He spent his early years on what the family lovingly called "the farm" on the back of Powderhorn Mountain. Ed would often reminisce about the wonderful times he had with his siblings fishing, churning butter and eating delicious foods. At 18, Ed enlisted and proudly served his cou... Full story
BESSEMER — It's tough to win many games scoring 18 points in a varsity basketball game. That happened to the Bessemer Speedgirls on Thursday night and Bessemer went down to defeat at the hands of Hancock 60-18 in a non-conference game in the House of Noise. "Hancock plays tough man-to-man defense and they do it with six girls," Bessemer coach Gerry Pelissero said. "Our girls weren't comfortable playing against that defense. We only had five field goals (the whole game). "We survived the first q...
BESSEMER - Bessemer stayed with the Upper Peninsula's top-ranked Class D girls team, Baraga, for three quarters, but the Vikings pulled away for a 42-24 Copper Mountain Conference victory Friday night. "We had the No. 1 team in the U.P. at our house and we played them solid for three quarters," Bessemer coach Gerry Pelissero said. "I told the girls after the game, 'OK, are you convinced you can play with anybody left on our schedule?' Certainly, we can." The Speedgirls (2-9, 2-6) returned home...
BESSEMER - Wakefield-Marenisco needed a huge fourth quarter to defeat the Bessemer Speedgirls 57-38 in a physical, hard-fought Copper Mountain rivalry game in the House of Noise on Friday. As the third quarter ended, Bessemer's Caitlyn Lynch and W-M's Darienne Korpi both made a 3 the old-fashioned way with a field goal and a free throw. The Speedgirls held a 36-35 lead after three quarters and it had been a close game for 24 minutes of intense basketball. But the Cardinals stepped up their game...
WAKEFIELD — Crystal Falls Forest Park swept Bessemer and Wakefield-Marenisco blitzed Watersmeet in the MHSAA Class D District 127 volleyball semifinals on Thursday. The winning teams will meet tonight at 6 p.m. to determine the 2016 district champion. CFFP has won districts 17 years in a row. It was evident that W-M coach Jessica Novascone already had Crystal Falls Forest Park on her mind. "We never get to see them and we never play them," Novascone said. "You have to start quick against them o...
BESSEMER – The 28th annual Bessemer Hometown Run held on Saturday as part of the Bessemer Blast 2016 once again blended good race competition with a chance to bond and reminisce with old friends as well as making new friendships. Temperatures at race time were near perfect (although there will always be complaints that weather conditions are either too hot or too cold). Some 373 runners/walkers participated in the 10K runs and 2 mile run/walks. "We had 300 two mile participants and 73 10K p...
BESSEMER - Bessemer wanted to give their fans an early Christmas present, but a good Jeffers team would have no part of it and thumped the Speedgirls 61-31 in a Copper Mountain Conference game in the House of Noise on Friday night. "Bessemer is a good young team that is impressive on the inside and has good coaching," Jeffers coach Joe Romano said. "But they couldn't handle our press, especially early on. Every game, we usually go with a man-to-man press, But Bessemer is tall, so it was zone pre... Full story
WAKEFIELD - Wakefield-Marenisco used a suffocating press and a relentless running game to overcome Bessemer 56-42 in Copper Mountain Conference action on Friday night. "The key was our press-they had a tough time handling it," Cardinal coach Bruce Mahler said. "We went with a full-court press the whole game and when we get the ball we will run all the time. We're a running, pressing team as much as we can. The other key in the game was Rachel Obradovich's defensive play on Rachel Mazurek and... Full story
BESSEMER - The Bessemer volleyball team started its first practice of the season at the earliest time possible Wednesday. Midnight. Practice for sports other than football opened in Michigan Wednesday. For the first time that morning, the Speedgirls went to the House of Noise at midnight and practiced for 2.5 hours before sleeping at the gym. "We're young, so last night was pretty much focused on team bonding, unity," Bessemer coach Shelly Mettler said. "It was more games to support each other,... Full story
WAKEFIELD - The Wakefield-Marenisco girls track and field team put on a strong performance and out-distanced the Bessemer Speedgirls 102-78 in the final Porcupine Mountain Conference track meet at Cardinal Field in Wakefield. Along with the boy's W-M's victory, the double win will stand the test of time, because the Porcupine Mountain Conference, which has been the longest continuous running conference in Michigan since 1955 or '56, will be dis-banded next year. Cardinal coach Lauren Korpi thoug... Full story
IRONWOOD - West Iron County finished in first place in the girls division, while Ashland took home the gold on the boys side at the 36th annual Jack Kraemer Invitational Track Meet at Longyear Field on Monday. It was the third straight Kraemer title for both the Wykons and Ashland, not counting the 2013 meet which was canceled due to poor weather conditions. Weather has played a major role in disrupting recent Kraemers. In its first 19-years of existence, the Kraemer was never plagued by a... Full story
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DRUMMOND, Wis. - The Bessemer boys and Wakefield-Marenisco girls finished runner-up in Thursday's Indianhead Conference track-and-field meet. Luckily, the meet was scheduled outside of the snowbelt. It was sunny and relatively warm with no snow on the ground here, compared to snow-covered fields around the Gogebic Range. The co-op of South Shore/Washburn, which has large boys and girls teams, won both team events easily. The W-M girls finished nine points ahead of third-place Bessemer. Hurley... Full story
BESSEMER — The A.D. Johnston library was filled for Monday night’s school board meeting, with the hopes of a new Gogebic Miners (Bessemer-Wakefield-Marenisco) football coach being announced. A committee was put in place to hire a new football coach, which consists of Bessemer’s Athletic Director Tim France, Principal Dan Vander Velden and board representative Mary Beth Trudgeon. Wakefield-Marenisco’s Supreintendent Cathy Shamion and Athletic Director Mark Lane are also on the committee. “We had four applicants. … At this time we are not goi... Full story
BESSEMER - Hurley put the finishing touch on its resume going into Saturday's seeding meeting with a 54-32 Indianhead Conference victory at Bessemer Thursday night. The Midgettes took advantage of Bessemer turnovers in the first half for a 35-14 halftime lead. Bessemer was led by Whitney Trcka's 18 points, including 11 in the first half, but the shorthanded Speedgirls didn't get a field goal from someone else until midway through the third quarter. "I think we sped them up; that was part of our... Full story
BESSEMER - Bessemer held off Watersmeet's furious rally to beat the Nimrods for the first time since 2012 41-40 Tuesday night. The Nimrods defeated Bessemer in the last six meetings with the Speedgirls' last win coming on Jan. 20, also at the House of Noise. Watersmeet took the first meeting of the year, 65-43. This one wasn't a sure thing until the final buzzer rang as Watersmeet's Bethany Baldwin was stopped on a drive to the basket with a chance to win. "It's a big win for our girls,"... Full story
HURLEY — The Hurley girls basketball team came back from Christmas break in a big way, defeating Bessemer 53-24 on Tuesday night in Hurley. The Midgettes started off with strong defense, outscoring Bessemer 13-0 in the first quarter and allowed only eight points at halftime. “Our defensive intensity was solid tonight,” coach Steve Eder said. “We only committed nine fouls, which was big.” Despite the early lead, Eder said his team played “sluggish and hesitant” throughout the game, something he was nervous about coming back from break. “We pl... Full story
BESSEMER - Pressure defense led to turnovers and turnovers turned into points for Wakefield-Marenisco as it cruised to a 52-39 win in an Indianhead and Porcupine Mountain Conference battle in the House of Noise on Friday night. Basketball fans will look at the statistics and see that 5-9 junior Lauren Grace scored a 28-points and conclude she was the reason the Cardinals won. Grace had a terrific night and although she was the biggest contributor, W-M wasn't just a one-girl show. "Our game plan... Full story
BESSEMER - The Crystal Falls Forest Park volleyball team captured the MHSAA Class D District 127 title, downing Bessemer 25-9, 25-11 and 25-11 at the House of Noise on Thursday night. The Lady Trojans have won the district championship every year since 2001. "We feel good and the girls played well in all three games," coach Kim Bjork said. "I liked our attitude and we played hard and aggressively. We're getting better. We started the season playing on all cylinders and went into a little slump.... Full story
