Catching up with college commitments from Gaylord, St. Mary's and JoBurg athletes

GAYLORD ― With two full seasons done and just a few months left in the 2022-23 prep sports year, Gaylord area athletes have been busy raking in accomplishments.

As the school year goes on, more and more students are deciding on their after-graduation plans, and as many of the athletes are wrapping up their final high school seasons, quite a few of them are choosing to continue their athletic careers at the next level.

Catch up on where the top committed athletes are attending school in the coming years.

Taylor Moeggenberg, Gaylord Softball/Cornerstone University, Class of 2024

No team in the area has quite as many talented players as the Gaylord softball team has, and that is reflected in their recent accomplishments as a team as well as the number of individuals committing to play at the next level.

The Blue Devils enter the 2023 spring season having won back-to-back Big North Conference championships, back-to-back MHSAA Divison 2 District Championships and made a trip to the state quarterfinals in 2021.

In recent months, many of their top players have chosen their next softball teams, with junior Jayden Jones committing to Virginia Tech, junior Alexis Shepherd committing to Toledo and senior Alexis Kozlowski committing to Ferris State.

Junior Taylor Moeggenberg's commitment to Cornerstone University makes it four future college softball players on the Blue Devils roster, so far.

"I chose Cornerstone because the atmosphere on campus is nothing like I have ever experienced. Everyone is so welcoming," said Moeggenberg.

Moeggenberg was a first-team All-Big North player in 2022, posting a .451 batting average, 41 runs batted in and nine home runs.

Emma McKinley, Gaylord St. Mary Cross Country/Concordia University Ann Arbor, Class of 2023

Among the successful teams in the fall season was the St. Mary's cross country squad, sending two runners to the MHSAA Division 4 State Finals at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

One of those runners was senior Emma McKinley, participating in her last race as a Snowbird alongside her teammate Miriam Murrell. However, after a recent decision on her future, it is clear it won't be her final career race.

McKinley announced her intention to continue her athletic career at Concordia University Ann Arbor this past week, planning to join both the cross country and track teams for the Cardinals in the Class of 2023.

"I went on a visit and met with the coach of the track team and cross country team and I loved the small environment," McKinley said. "The coaches are great and I feel like it would be a great fit for me."

In the most recent cross country season, McKinley posted her season-best time in the Lower Peninsula Regional race in East Jordan, Mich., finishing the 5000-meter race with a time of 22 minutes, 26.5 seconds. Her career-best came as a sophomore in 2019, posting a 20:50.7 time in the same East Jordan race.

She participates in plenty of events on the track and field team as well, specializing in the 400-meter sprint in 2021. Her personal best time came in the Lower Peninsula Regional at Indian River, posting a 1:05.33 time to place third overall.

McKinley was also a big part of the Snowbirds girls basketball team that advanced to the D4 regional finals this past month.

Aidda Freeman, Gaylord Girls Soccer/Delta College, Class of 2023

Another growing, talented team is the Gaylord girls soccer team, looking to improve this season after a third-place finish in the Big North a year ago.

Senior Aidda Freeman will look to play a part in that improvement in her final high school season before continuing her career next level, planning to play for the Delta College women's team after graduation.

"Soccer has always been a part of my life and I’ve always had such a love for the game. Once I got older, I realized how special this sport was to me and knew I wanted to continue my career at the collegiate level," said Freeman.

The Delta Pioneers, part of the National Junior College Athletic Association, fielded a dominant women's team this past year, finishing with a 15-1-3 overall record while advancing to the NJCAA Soccer Championship Semifinals. The Pioneers are coached by Damon Amey.

"When coach Damon reached out to me in the summer, I knew Delta had a good program for my academics and soccer program that I wanted to be a part of," said Freeman.

Gloria House/Grace Baragrey, Johannesburg-Lewiston Basketball, Volleyball/North Central Michigan College, Class of 2023

Two of JoBurg's top female athletes will also be playing at the college level, and they'll be joining each other at the same school, playing their respective sports.

Seniors Gloria House and Grace Baragrey are both going to play for North Central Michigan College in Petoskey, Mich., with House joining the Timberwolves' women's basketball team and Baragrey joining the volleyball team.

NCMC is relatively new to the college sports landscape, being granted membership in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association in December 2021 and becoming a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 12, Division II in October 2021.

House, a guard, was a key part of the Cardinals girl's basketball team's run to the Division 4 district championship this season, scoring 17 points in the semifinal win over Atlanta.

"What stood out about NCMC was the academics, campus, and the basketball program Coach Ofstad wants to build," said House. "When she talked to me, she was very passionate. She told me what she expected out of her players and how she was as a coach. I felt welcomed by her and other NCMC staff to the program."

Meanwhile, Baragrey has been one of the top players for head coach Kristine Peppin's squad for the past four years, finishing just 12 blocks shy of the JoBurg career blocks record while finishing her final high school season with 354 kills, 110 digs and 47 blocks.

Other committed athletes

Gaylord

Class of 2023

Louden Stradling, wrestling, Central Michigan University

Brayden Gautreau, wrestling, Central Michigan University

Alexis Kozlowski, softball, Ferris State University

Fayth Sanom, cheer/stunt, Alma College

Class of 2024

Brady Pretzlaff, football, University of Minnesota

Jayden Jones, softball, Virginia Tech

Avery Parker, girls basketball, Northwood University

Alexis Shepherd, softball, Toledo

St. Mary's

Class of 2023

Gavin Bebble, basketball, Concordia University Ann Arbor

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Catching up with college commitments from Gaylord, St. Mary's and JoBurg athletes