DULUTH — Bill Punyko extended his arm, smiled and offered words of encouragement as one of thousands of runners took the water-filled paper cup from his hand.

It was one of countless cups Superior’s longtime head swimming coach handed out alongside more than 60 other Spartan volunteers during the 49th annual Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday, June 21.

“We’ve been coming here for around 10 years,” Punyko said. “The purpose is to provide community service. It’s also fun; we’re dancing to music, handing out water, and all of the runners are very grateful for the volunteers.”

The Spartan swim team is one portion of a larger Superior presence that worked mile marker 19 near Lester River in Lakeside. In addition to their athletes, coaches and several parents, Superior also had volunteers from the Lake Superior Youth Chorus.

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

Together, Superior’s swimming program and Lake Superior Youth Chorus volunteers — who ranged in age from young children through high school students — operated one of the largest multi-purpose water stations during Grandma’s Marathon this year.

Superior educator and Lake Superior Youth Chorus choir coordinator Elise Sterling said bringing multiple unique aspects of the community together for a day of giving back was a great way to bring everyone closer together.

“It’s a great and super-valuable community builder,” Sterling said. “As an organization, we want to make sure we’re giving back to the community. We have some swim team kids and some non-swim team kids, but we all came together as one group today.”

The Lake Superior Youth Chorus is a Duluth-based nonprofit organization that offers holistic musical education for children living in the Twin Ports. They had more than a dozen volunteers at Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday, including Sterling.

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

Whether it was handing drinks to parched runners, continuously filling additional cups or picking up discarded trash, Superior’s volunteers — including roughly two-dozen swimmers — made a positive impact, according to water station captain Susie Burns.

“It’s so amazing,” Burns said. “I just love the groups that we have. This is the first year in a while that the Lake Superior Youth Chorus has volunteered, so we’re super excited to have them here. The swim team is back again, and it’s always great to have them, too.”

Multiple Spartans said giving back to the community is always a rewarding experience, but when surrounded by the fun and festivities of Grandma’s Marathon, it takes the joy to a completely different level.

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

Among them is Max Carey, who just finished his junior year with Superior’s swim program. He said Saturday was a fantastic day of community service and that it was an honor to represent Spartan athletics on such a large scale.

“This is my first time volunteering,” Carey said. “We’re helping people, having fun and eating hot dogs, too. It means a lot to be able to get out here and do some community service because I have a lot of pride in our sports and athletes.”

It was an action-packed day that began as early as 5:30 a.m. for many of Superior’s volunteers. They filled thousands of cups and handed them out to a percentage of the thousands of people who raced in either the half or full marathon on Saturday.

Spending time together contributing to the greater good is something Punyko and Carey believe translates far beyond one extremely humid race day in June. For Spartan swimming, it’s a jumping off point that gets the program ready for the upcoming year.

“It’s not just swimming,” Punyko said. “They’re building the bonds you need for when things get hard during the year. They’re going to have to rely on each other, trust each other and have relationships. This is the first step in coming together for next year.”

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

The Spartans swimming program has been volunteering for essentially a decade, but this year was the Lake Superior Youth Chorus’ return to Grandma’s Marathon after a couple of summers away.

Sterling said Saturday was a perfect return to Minnesota’s largest and oldest marathon, and that she hopes it’s the genesis of a lengthy run of the Lake Superior Youth Chorus volunteering again at a truly historic event.

“The fact that they wanted to include us, that’s really cool,” Sterling said. “We were like, ‘Of course we will be there to help, even if there are just 12 of us.’ This was exciting, and it’s something I think we will definitely continue.”

Reagan Hoverman joined the Duluth News Tribune as a sports reporter in July 2023 after spending the better part of two years covering a variety of prep and collegiate sports at the Pierce County Journal in Ellsworth, Wis. Before that, he was a news and sports reporter at the Inter-County Leader in Frederic, Wis.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A Rochester woman is celebrating a major milestone, and one that most never get to experience. On Friday, Maxine Schultz turned 110, and a party was held in her honor Saturday afternoon.

Dozens of family members and friends lined up to greet Maxine Schultz as she celebrated her big day and achievement.

Schultz moved to Elgin, Minnesota from South Dakota in the 1940s, before coming to Rochester after her husband got a job with Marigold Dairy.

Throughout her life, Schultz worked at the downtown location of JCPenney Co., at her family’s hardware store, and as a cafeteria worker for Rochester Public Schools.

Schultz said her biggest piece of advice is to always keep yourself busy.

“It’s tremendous that this many people would show up,” she said. “Keep busy. Don’t sit around and do nothing and feel sorry for yourself. That was the one thing, I could always find something to do.”

Family and friends said she is sharp as a tack. Schultz also shared her refrigerator was always filled with ice cream when her husband worked for Marigold Dairy.

Those who stopped by on Saturday afternoon got cake and ice cream. In the past Schultz has taken a ride on a hot air balloon to celebrate previous birthdays.

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CHARLEVOIX, Mich. (WILX) – Michigan State golfer and former Williamston standout Caleb Bond battled to win the 114th Michigan Amateur Championship at Belvedere Golf Club on Saturday evening.

The semifinals were pushed back a few hours due to weather, but it was Bond taking down Laingsburg’s Zach Koerner in 16 holes and Cheboygan’s PJ Maybank beating Clinton Township’s Adam Burghardt to advance to the finals.

Bond held an early lead through eight holes, but Maybank would take the lead on the back nine until Bond tied it up on 12. It went all the way to the 18th for Bond to take down Maybank and win the Michigan Amateur Championship.

Bond gets an exemption into the U.S. Amateur in August.

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