“UP Team of the Year” Round 1, Part 2

We loved how many votes came pouring in for our first set of 16 teams in our “UP Team of the Year” bracket. We hope to get just as many for our second set of 16. We will be conducting these polls slightly different from our first set of polls. The difference is that this time around, before each poll, we will provide a little background for each team pertaining to how said team did over the course of their most recent season. We hope this change will help more of our voters understand why we selected each of these teams for the bracket. Without further ado, let’s get into Part 2 of our bracket. Here are the matchups:

Iron Mountain football went on a tear this season. Led by stars Marcus Johnson, Caleb Evosevich-Hynes, and Bryce Pietrantonio among many others, the Mountaineers went undefeated during the regular season on their way to the state semifinal game against Pewamo-Westphalia, where the team suffered their first and only loss of the year. Aside from that loss, as well as a pair of one possession games against Negaunee and Calumet, the Miners beat every single one of their opponents by at least 20 points, including three shutouts…in a row from weeks 3 to 5. The Northern Michigan Swim & Dive team had just as impressive a season, but their most impressive feat came when their women’s team won the 2020 GLIAC Championship. Incredible individual performances from Maggie Vaitkus, Rachel Helm, Michaela Nelson, and Gabriella Spajic put the Wildcats on top after Day 1, and kept them out in front until the meet’s end. After that strong showing, several Northern swimmers were supposed to compete at D2 Nationals, but that meet was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation.

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Is there a better story from football season than the Westwood Patriots? One year removed from losing most of their key offensive weapons, not many people gave the Patriots much of a chance. All the Patriots did afterwards was rattle off 6 consecutive wins to end the season and host their first playoff game in school history. The Patriots ultimately lost that game 48-18 to Menominee, but the final score doesn’t indicate just how close it was. Westwood’s quarterback/running back, Taylor Dellangelo, became an absolute superstar on the field taking home the conference’s co-offensive player of the year by season’s end. They’ll be going up against Baraga Girls’ Basketball. The folks in Baraga county know just how dominant this team had been in Division 4. Aside from two blemishes against Ewen-Trout Creek and one against L’Anse, the Vikings were flawless on the season, scoring 60 or more points in 12 of their games this year. The Vikings coasted through the first four games of the playoffs, too. The team won their postseason games by 57, 16, 26, and 2 respectively. Baraga was scheduled to take on L’Anse for the regional title match, but that game was postponed. Looks like Baraga might have to wait a while for their shot at redemption.

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No Upper Peninsula team did better at the Regional Qualifying meet in Grand Rapids than Escanaba Gymnastics. By the skin of their teeth, the Mo’s squeezed past Marquette by 10 points and beat Negaunee by 80. Lyndsey Rogers has done a fantastic job turning Escanaba into an impressive and competitive team since taking over late in 2017. Before their regional final match against Leland, here’s how many postseason sets Rudyard Volleyball lost: 2. Just two sets lost in 5 matches before the regional final. They didn’t just win those sets. They dominated them. Of their 17 sets prior to the regional final, Rudyard’s opponents only made it to 20 points, 6 times, and that includes Rudyard’s two set losses.

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NCAA Tournament bound! That’s what the Michigan Tech Men’s Basketball team was singing before the tournament got shut down entirely. While they may have never had the chance to compete on the national scale, the Huskies can still take solace in their GLIAC championship. Over the course of the conference tournament, Tech beat every opponent they face by double digits. Kyle Monroe didn’t just win GLIAC player of the year, he was named first team all-district. He was named 1st team all-region. He was named an All-American. The list of accolades goes on and on and on for Monroe, and his team’s accolades go even further. Gladstone Girls’ Basketball went 7-13 during the regular season. Good thing the regular season doesn’t mean anything in this day and age. The Braves had the win of the year in the first round of the playoffs defeating the undefeated Menominee Maroons with a buzzer beater from Andie Balenger. You would think that’d be the end of the Cinderella story, but Gladstone doubled down and defeated Kingsford in the next round as well. While the Braves ultimately lost in the district final against Escanaba, no loss an take away from the roller coaster that was those playoffs. Megan Crow, Maddie Ahlgren, and Andie Balenger were a fearsome trio all year, and while their regular season record may not have shown just how talented this team was…their postseason success cannot be refuted.

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Splash! Splash! Splash! That was the mantra all season long for Negaunee Boys’ Basketball, and not just because of senior Jason Waterman. This Negaunee squad would out-handle you, out-shoot you, out-muscle you, and most importantly, out-work you in every second of every play at every position. Their starting five of Waterman, Sager, Kumpula, Lindberg, and Munson, was arguably the deepest in the UP. The team’s bench…just as deep. Arguably the team’s biggest strength was its depth, and head coach Dan Waterman used it to fruition. However, when the team needed its stars to step up, Negaunee was more than capable, as showcased by their win against Iron Mountain. A last second shot by Alex Munson handed Iron Mountain their only loss of the season. If that doesn’t impress you, I don’t know what will. The Miners’ first opponent is Gladstone Wrestling. It shouldn’t matter that the Braves’ wrestling team lost in the regional playoffs to a Lower Peninsula team (Grayling), because when it came to battling other UP teams, Gladstone was one of the best. In the district finals, Gladstone took down Menominee by a final score of 72 to 11. I’ll just leave that there for pondering.

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Hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype. That word is all that needs to be said about Westwood Girls’ Basketball. Coming into this season, Westwood had a reigning player of the year, a fellow all-conference 1st team-er, and a supporting cast that would rival the Oscars. Over the course of the season though, Westwood struggled to find its footing, being handed an early loss to Menominee. After facing another road bump in Negaunee though, Westwood started to figure things out and began to dominate like everyone knew they could. They beat Neagunee in Negaunee for the first time in four years. They destroyed their first round regional matchup, and were ready to win the regional finals as well before the season got shut down. With Madi Koski, Tessa Leece, Karlie Patron, Natalie Prophet, several other incredible role players, and coach of the year, Kurt Corcoran, this Patriots team was arguably the most talented team the UP had seen in years. Another very talented team with a lot of success was L’Anse Girls’ Basketball. The Purple Hornets were also set for a regional final matchup before the season was postponed. If you want to know just how good this team was, let’s just say that the team’s only losses were to Baraga (we’ve already talked about how good they’d been), Ewen-Trout Creek (a top-10 Division 4 team in the state, who L’Anse would end up beating in the playoffs), and Calumet (a team in a higher division). L’Anse lost those four games by a combined 29 points. That might sound like a decent amount, but take into account the fact that L’Anse beat 8 of their opponents by that score or more, and it starts to seem much smaller. L’Anse was a swarming offense, and it’s a shame we never got to see their grudge match with Baraga for the regional title.

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“How will the team survive without Kamin?” That’s what everyone was saying before the Escanaba Football season started. Ethan Silverstone went on to silence all the haters and lead himself and the Eskymos to fantastic seasons. While the Mo’s 62-7 loss at the hands of Traverse City Central might be the first game to catch your eye when looking through their schedule, that one game shouldn’t overshadow an otherwise phenomenal season that saw Escanaba score at least 10 points in every single contest. They were good…really good. Don’t get it twisted. Gwinn Girls’ Basketball was a tale of two seasons. They struggled, but, like a switch, BAM! they were one of the toughest teams to take down. Teams they’d lost to earlier in the season, fell victim to the Modeltowners later, and what was once a team everyone overlooked, started to become a team everyone feared. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs, but, boy oh boy, you can bet nobody took this team for granted down the last stretch of the season.

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If we held this tournament every year, Manistique Volleyball would be a staple. They’re one of those teams that’s been so good for some time now, it’s kind of expected. This year, the Emeralds didn’t disappoint. During the playoffs, Manistique cleaned up the competition with relative ease all the way to regionals. While there were a couple bumps (i.e: sets lost), it never felt like Manistique was worried. It always seemed like it was part of their plan, or that it didn’t bother them at all. That’s called confidence, and I can’t think of a single team that carried as much swagger wherever they went than the Emeralds during their fall season. Houghton Hockey was almost untouchable against Upper Peninsula opponents…almost. Despite a regular season win over Calumet, the Gremlins lost the other three meetings those teams had. While they may have struggled against the Copper Kings, they were a juggernaut against everyone else. The team tallied 5 or more goals in 10 games this season. They notched 8 goals in 4 games, and even managed to reach 9 once. There’s no denying just how deadly this team was.

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