Micah Parsons has emerged as an emotional leader for the Dallas Cowboys. Last season was a prime example as the entire defense improved when he returned from a high ankle sprain.

During his four-game absence, the defense displayed minimal confidence but once he was back, there was a spark.

If Parsons had it his way, he might give a similar shot in the arm to the Dallas offense.

MORE: Cowboys breakout star cracks top-25 defensive tackle rankings

During his high school days, Parsons was a superstar running back. Highlights from his days at Harrisburg have resurfaced, reminding everyone how impressive Parsons was.

Parsons commented on the video making the rounds on X, stating that he averaged nearly 10 yards per attempt.

After racking up 1,239 yards and 27 touchdowns, Parsons committed to Penn State where he focused on the defensive side of the ball.

MORE: Cowboys seventh-rounder labeled ‘NFL draft day steal’ after OTAs

That proved to be the right call as he played well enough for the Cowboys to select him at No. 12 overall in the 2021 NFL draft. Parsons quickly became a star and is set to make around $40 million per season with an upcoming extension.

Parsons has become a superstar defender, but it would still be fun to see him get a few carries.

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HOULTON, Maine (WAGM) – The Northern Maine Soap Box Derby was first held in Camden in 1995.

The first year of the race came at the perfect time for County resident David Harbison.

“My son was eight years old at the time, so I found out there was going to be a race and I got my hands on an application and he was in his library at his elementary school and I went over and interrupted that and said John you gotta fill this out, he said what is it? I said don’t ask questions, just fill it out. There’s only two spots left,” said David Harbison, longtime supporter of the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby.

Harbison and his son secured one of the last two spots out of 100 available.

“So then the following year we thought how can we spread this out a little bit?” asked Harbison.

Harbison and a few other County residents were instrumental in getting the Derby hill built for the 1996 race.

Through donations of money and time from the community, they were successful.

“It was a lot of work to get this started and it’s a lot of work and a lot of dedication by those who continue it so we have a great deal of respect for those that continue this race and we hope it goes on for many more years,” said Harbison

Harbison helped his son compete in the soap box derby, and without even knowing it, helped his grandchildren compete.

Harbison said, “My grandchildren, two of my grandchildren will be racing today so it’s kind of the next generation. That’s not even something I thought about when our son and daughter were racing, grandchildren really wasn’t on the radar, I’m proud to say that it is on the radar now.”

His grandchildren had mixed emotions about the race, but overall positive.

8-year-old Paisley Williams said, “Good, but nervous.”

“I like it, I think it’s cool, I think it’s going to be fun. I’m excited, I really am excited. It’s pretty far down but it’s really not scary when you go down it’s really just fun,” said 8-year-old Malon Harbison.

When the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby began, there were races in other parts of Maine.

“Those have all dissolved and we’re left with just one soap box derby left in the State of Maine and that’s here in Houlton,” said Harbison.

The race continues to grow every year. The hard work and dedication put into building this hill by the last generation is turning into fun and laughter for this generation.

Copyright 2025 WAGM. All rights reserved.

KALAMAZOO, MI –– One point.

That was the difference between Kalamazoo Hackett and Southfield Christian on Saturday, as the Irish fell just short of obtaining their fifth Division 4 boys track and field state championship in the last eight years at Baldwin Middle School in Hudsonville.

Nonetheless, Hackett still had a stellar outing.

Cross country champion and star junior runner Marek Butkiewicz led that charge, defending his state title in the 3,200-meter run en route to sweeping the distance events –– he’d start his tear by capturing his first state title in the 1,600.

Elsewhere, Lawton senior Mason Mayne made history by not only defending his state title in the discus, but he completed the day by sweeping the throwing events in becoming the first Blue Devil in program history to win multiple state titles.

Kalamazoo Central senior sprinter Jeremy Dixon captured his first state title in the 200-meter dash, finishing in a personal best time of 21.11 seconds, and also grabbed all-state honors in the 100 and as part of the Maroon Giants’ fourth-place 800-meter relay team.

Kalamazoo Hackett’s 3,200-meter relay team and Centreville’s 400-meter relay team also captured state titles on Saturday.

Check out all the athletes from the Kalamazoo-area that made the top eight cut in their respective events to earn all-state honors over the weekend.

MORE: 2025 MHSAA Division 2 boys track finals: Parma Western soars to historic first title

MORE: 2025 MHSAA Division 1 boys track & field finals: history highlights Belleville’s first title

STATE CHAMPIONS

Jeremy Dixon, Kalamazoo Central

Grade: Senior

Event: 200-meter dash

Division: 1

Time: 21.11 (PR)

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Centreville 400-meter relay

Team: Matthew Bates, Henry Kelley, Carter Cartier, Deandre Stout

Division: 3

Time: 43.49

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Mason Mayne, Lawton

Grade: Senior

Event: Shot put

Division: 3

Throw: 59’9.75

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Mason Mayne, Lawton

Grade: Senior

Event: Discus

Division: 3

Throw: 180’9

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Marek Butkiewicz, Kalamazoo Hackett

Grade: Junior

Event: 1,600-meter run

Division: 4

Time: 4:16.85

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Marek Butkiewicz, Kalamazoo Hackett

Grade: Junior

Event: 3,200-meter run

Division: 4

Time: 9:23.40

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Kalamazoo Hackett 3,200-meter relay

Team: Marek Butkiewicz, Alexander Dumont, Kellen Siems, Sean Siems

Division: 4

Time: 8:06.36

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DIVISION 1 ALL-STATE

Jeremy Dixon, Kalamazoo Central

Grade: Senior

Event: 100-meter dash

Place: 3rd

Time: 10.45 (PR)

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Kane Morris, Portage Northern

Grade: Sophomore

Event: 200-meter dash

Place: 7th

Time: 21.67 (PR)

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Jackson Lam, Loy Norrix

Grade: Junior

Event: 1,600-meter run

Place: 3rd

Time: 4:14.24

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Portage Northern 400-meter relay

Team: Melvin Mesan, Vaughnzell Tyus, Ryan Mauwa, Ty Oaks

Place: 7th

Time: 42.30

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Kalamazoo Central 800-meter relay

Team: Curtis Whitfield, Jeremiah Marshall, Maurice Streeter, Jeremy Dixon

Place: 4th

Time: 1:27.10

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Liam Takace, Portage Central

Grade: Senior

Event: Shot put

Place: 8th

Throw: 53’6.75

—

DIVISION 2 ALL-STATE

Sullivan Zietlow, Three Rivers

Grade: Senior

Event: 800-meter run

Place: 5th

Time: 1:56.24 (PR)

—

Donovan Ryan, Plainwell

Grade: Junior

Event: 1,600-meter run

Place: 8th

Time: 4:22.19

—

Alex Robbins, Otsego

Grade: Junior

Event: Discus

Place: 5th

Throw: 162’7 (PR)

—

David Wills, Three Rivers

Grade: Sophomore

Event: High jump

Place: 4th

Jump: 6’4

—

DIVISION 3 ALL-STATE

Greyson Burrous, Lawton

Grade: Junior

Event: 100-meter dash

Place: 4th

Time: 11.12

—

Greyson Burrous, Lawton

Grade: Junior

Event: 200-meter dash

Place: 5th

Time: 23.18

—

Ethan Miller, Centreville

Grade: Senior

Event: 400-meter dash

Place: 3rd

Time: 49.78 (PR)

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Shawn Butler, Parchment

Grade: Senior

Event: 400-meter dash

Place: 5th

Time: 49.99 (PR)

—

Lawton 400-meter relay

Team: Dillon Carlson, Greyson Burrous, Timothy Willoughby, Jack Fletcher

Place: 6th

Time: 43.95

—

Parchment 1,600-meter relay

Team: Caythen Verburg, Keagon Cole, Elliot Cole, Shawn Butler

Place: 4th

Time: 3:28.89

—

Matthew Bates, Centreville

Grade: Junior

Event: Shot put

Place: 3rd

Throw: 52’3.75 (PR)

—

Matthew Bates, Centreville

Grade: Junior

Event: Discus

Place: 6th

Throw: 161’3 (PR)

—

DIVISION 4 ALL-STATE

Mason Mansfield, Gobles

Grade: Senior

Event: 100-meter dash

Place: 6th

Time: 11.01 (PR)

—

Nathan Medendorp, Kalamazoo Hackett

Grade: Junior

Event: 400-meter dash

Place: 4th

Time: 51.46

—

Mekhi Singleton, White Pigeon

Grade: Senior

Event: 400-meter dash

Place: 6th

Time: 51.74 (PR)

—

Sean Siems, Kalamazoo Hackett

Grade: Junior

Event: 800-meter run

Place: 7th

Time: 2:00.47

—

Sean Siems, Kalamazoo Hackett

Grade: Junior

Event: 1,600-meter run

Place: 3rd

Time: 4:22.60 (PR)

—

Luke Lawrence, Climax-Scotts

Grade: Senior

Event: 110-meter hurdles

Place: 4th

Time: 15.20

—

Jordan Pisco, White Pigeon

Grade: Senior

Event: 110-meter hurdles

Place: 6th

Time: 15.56

—

Alexander Dumont, Kalamazoo Hackett

Grade: Senior

Event: 300-meter hurdles

Place: 4th

Time: 40.61 (PR)

—

Climax-Scotts 400-meter relay

Team: Chase VanMiddlesworth, Elijah Bowron, Maximus Wurtzel, Luke Lawrence

Place: 4th

Time: 44.77

—

Gobles 400-meter relay

Team: Nathan Ray, David Sager, Steven Juarez, Mason Mansfield

Place: 7th

Time: 45.14

—

White Pigeon 400-meter relay

Team: Josh Davidson, Maddix Jancasz, Mason Yoder, Jordan Pisco

Place: 8th

Time: 45.26

—

Kalamazoo Hackett 800-meter relay

Team: Jude Coffman, Sam Finley, Nathan Medendorp, Luke Napolitan

Place: 4th

Time: 1:32.00

—

Climax-Scotts 800-meter relay

Team: Maximus Wurtzel, Chase VanMiddlesworth, Luke Lawrence, Elijah Bowron

Place: 5th

Time: 1:32.37

—

Kalamazoo Hackett 1,600-meter relay

Team: Alexander Dumont, Nathan Medendorp, Luke Napolitan, Sean Siems

Place: 3rd

Time: 3:28.53

—

Sam Bleeker, Climax-Scotts

Grade: Senior

Event: Shot put

Place: 6th

Throw: 47’8 (PR)

—

Marvin Jones Jr., Marcellus

Grade: Junior

Event: Shot put

Place: 8th

Throw: 45’7.75

—

Gabe Walliczeck, Climax-Scotts

Grade: Junior

Event: Discus

Place: 4th

Throw: 152’8

—

Jordan Pisco, White Pigeon

Grade: Senior

Event: High jump

Place: 8th

Jump: 6’0

—

Another successful track and field season for Otsego County came to a close on Saturday, May 31 and two more state championship trophies coming back to Gaylord and Johannesburg-Lewiston High Schools.

Gaylord senior Zachary Cowper won the Division 2 state championship with a school-record-breaking shot put throw of 65 feet, 0.5 inches, joining the GHS Wall of Champions while JoBurg’s Allie Nowak won her second-straight Division 4 800-meter state championship, clocking in a time of 2 minutes, 18.45 seconds.

Cowper’s throw not only set a new school record, it was the longest throw of any Michigan shot put throw this season regardless of division. The Illinois State track and field commit also placed 20th overall in the discus throw with a toss of 148 feet, 11 inches.

Nowak, meanwhile, still holds the Division 4 record in the 800-meter with a time of 2:13.51 set at last year’s D4 state finals. This year, she defended that title while finishing her high school career with a third state title, also playing a major part in JoBurg’s first-ever team state championship back in 2022 as a sophomore leader of the girls cross country team.

Gaylord’s Katie Berkshire nearly joined Cowper and Nowak as state title winners on Saturday, twice over; the GHS junior finished as the state runner-up in both the 1,600-meter (4:58.14) and the 3,200-meter (10:36.05). It finished up another elite season for Berkshire, never finishing lower than third overall in any individual race while finishing atop the podium ten separate times.

Here are the other top performers from a busy weekend for Gaylord-area sports:

Skylee Ames, Gaylord track and field: finished her high school career with a personal best time in the 300-meter hurdles at the D2 state finals, finishing 11th with a time of 47.73 seconds.

Ella Moylan, Gaylord track and field: the Alma track and field signee finished 11th in discus at the D2 state finals with a throw of 114 feet, 2 inches.

Brennan Radulski, Gaylord baseball: went 2-for-3 with double during GHS’s district semifinal loss to Petoskey.

Jeremiah Witt, JoBurg track and field: the Lake Superior State track and field signee finished ninth in the 1,600-meter at the D4 state finals with a personal best time of 4:31.45.

Aubrey Jones, Gaylord softball: Oklahoma State signee went 5-for-5 with two home runs, a triple and a double, seven runs batted in and six runs scored. At 72 career home runs, Jones stands just two home runs shy of tying the MHSAA career record.

Kennedy Wangler, Gaylord softball: hit a home run and two doubles during wins over Cadillac and Ogemaw Heights, helping Gaylord win its fifth-straight district title.

Lily Ryckman-Hall, Gaylord softball: had two home runs, a triple and a double over the two district games on Saturday.

Daniel Jacobson, Gaylord St. Mary baseball: had four hits, eight runs scored and two runs batted in over two games on Saturday, May 31, hitting a solo home run to start a district-championship winning day.

Sam Kuznicki, Gaylord St. Mary baseball: got the win on the mound in the district semifinal vs. Hillman before finishing off the last 2.1 innings of the district final against JoBurg, helping GSM capture its fourth district in five seasons.

Jaeden Briley, JoBurg softball: went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored in the district semifinal win over Atlanta on Saturday.

Rylan Rosso, JoBurg baseball: went 4-for-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and 3 runs scored in a 15-0 district semifinal win over Charlton Heston Academy.

Collin Lake, JoBurg baseball: went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored in the district semifinal victory.

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

New Sheridan HS Girls Basketball Coach: Sheridan High School has a new girls basketball coach for next season.

Chris Wagner who has been the coach at Cody for the past 6 seasons, will take over for Ryan Sullivan who has left to take a coaching position at the University of Montana Western.

During his tenure at Cody, Wagner has led the Fillies to 1 state championship and 3 runner-up finishes, including this past season.

After going 8-14 in his first year, his combined record during the last 5 years has been 111-15.  

Wagner has coached against Sheridan a few times, and says what the Lady Broncs do now, is not all that different from what he had Cody doing.

Wagner adds he student taught at Sheridan in 2012 and helped coach the weight room one summer for the Bronc football team.

He was named the Wyoming 4A Girls Basketball Coach of Year in 2022 and 2023.

In ‘22, Cody went 24-1 and lost to Cheyenne East in the 4A State Championship Game.

In ‘23, the Fillies put together an undefeated 4A state championship season going 25-0.

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Sheridan Troopers Legion Baseball: The Sheridan Troopers went 1-3 in games played at Billings this past weekend.

On Saturday, the team lost to both the Billings Royals and the Scarlets.

Yesterday, Sheridan won in walk-off fashion against Idaho Falls, and then lost to the Royals again.

The Troopers are now 18-12 on the season and next play this coming Thursday thru Sunday at a tournament in Rapid City, South Dakota.

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Colorado Rockies Baseball: The Colorado Rockies lost all 3 games this past weekend at the New York Mets.

Friday’s score was 4-2.

Sam Hilliard hit a solo home run for the cause.

Saturday’s score was 8-2.

Ezequiel Tovar went yard on his own.

Yesterday’s score was 5-3.

Orlando Arcia hit a solo shot and Tyler Freeman hit a 2-run home run, but it was not enough.

Today the Rocks start a 3-game series at Miami.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:40pm.

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NBA Playoffs: The Indiana Pacers advanced to the NBA finals, by winning Game 6 of their best of 7 Eastern Conference Finals series vs. New York at home on Saturday 125-108, to win the series 4-games-to-2.

Indiana will play at Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, which starts on Thursday.