Every fall Spring Lake takes a night to recognize athletes nominated and chosen by a committee for their unique and outstanding achievements.
Thursday, Oct. 3 was this year’s night to celebrate the new 2024 inductees at a banquet put together by Laurie Draeger with help from Sarah Bolthuis, Kavin Morhardt, and other leaders of the community.
The Hall of Fame welcomed many familiar faces that night, including David Keift, Art Anderson, Remzi Sipahi, Tricia Gregory-Sucheki, and Samantha Adams-Bench.
This year there was also a new kind of inductee, nominated by the community for their three consecutive state titles: the girls’ golf teams of 2014, 2015, and 2016. These women were inducted by their coach, who commended them on their resilience coming back from being in third place on day one of the state tournament in 2013 to winning consecutive titles, with the greatest win coming in 2015, dominating by 70 strokes.
As he told the story of their unprecedented achievements the crowd began to truly come together in realization of community through highs and lows but especially the high of winning a state championship not once, not twice, but three times, let alone consecutively, connecting these golfers and their hard work to a room of other high achieving Spring Lake athletes.
It is a title one, no matter how high they climb, one will never forget. Being a Laker is competing at the country club, in the Big Gym, at Grabinski Stadium, on Hickman field, at the yard, and so many more triumphs that take place in our community that will never be forgotten by those who through their coaches were able to shoot for the stars and come back down to thank all those who helped them soar.
This is why the Spring Lake Athletic Hall of Fame was founded in 2018 as a way to recognize and appreciate the amazing athletes with outstanding achievements who have walked through these halls and gone on to greater things but have never forgotten the small village they came from and the coaches and mentors who helped them every step of the way.
