THE HASTINGS
Thursday, March 23, 2023County girls’ hoops squads had good leaders
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Whether thanks to a bye or an opening
round victory like the ones for Hastings,
Thornapple Kellogg and Delton Kellogg,
every varsity girls’ basketball team in Barry
County competing in the MHSAA state tour-
nament at the end of the 2022-23 season was
one win away from playing in a district final.
The season ended a little earlier than most
would have liked though, as all five county
schools in the MHSAA state tournament fell
in their respective district semifinal match-
ups.
The Lakewood ladies hosted their Division 2
District Tournament after a final Greater Lan-
sing Activities Conference season in which they
placed third in the conference standings. The
Vikings had the county’s top overall record on
the season, its only winning record, at 14-8.
The Lakewood girls took victories over
Maple Valley and Thornapple Kellogg during
the regular season. Hastings was the lone
county team to knock off the Vikings, but the
Saxons saw their season end on the same
night of district semifinals as the Vikings at
Lakewood High.
The Saxons were 8-16 overall this season.
The Thornapple Kellogg and Delton Kellogg
girls both scored 6 wins and Maple Valley
closed the season with one victory.
While the 2022-23 All-Barry County Girls’
Basketball First Team has five of its seven
spots filled with seniors this winter, the sec-
ond team has half a dozen underclassmen
who learned a lot during the season to lead
the way in the years to come.
Here are the 2022-23 All-Barry County
Girls’ Basketball First and Second Teams.Seniors fill most of all-county boys’ first team
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There were highs and lows for all the Barry
County varsity boys’ basketball teams
throughout the winter of 2022-23.
It was an earlier end to the season than
most would have hoped. Maple Valley and
Hastings got the area’s lone postseason victo-
ries. The Lions and Saxons were both downed
in the district semifinals of their respective
MHSAA district tournaments however.
The Barry County Christian School boys,
playing outside of the MHSAA, had an out-
standing season. The Eagles finished with a
16-2 record and won the regular season title
in the Great Lakes 6 Conference.
Lakewood had the only winning record
among the rest of the county’s squads, going
12-11 overall this season. The Vikings proved
the class of the county with wins over Hast-
ings, Thornapple Kellogg and two over
Maple Valley throughout the season.
The Vikings were third in the final season
of Greater Lansing Activities Conference
competition with a 7-5 league mark. Olivet
took the conference championship with a
perfect 12-0 record in league play.
Delton Kellogg also had a third-place fin-
ish in the Southwestern Athletic Conference
Central Division with a 5-5 conference mark.
The Thornapple Kellogg boys were at
the bottom of a tough OK Gold Conference
slate, but had back-to-back conference
wins on their home court over Cedar
Springs and Kenowa Hills among the sea-
son highlights.
Here are the 2022-23 All-Barry County
Boys’ Basketball First and Second Teams.All-Barry County
Boys’ Basketball
First Team
Chanse Courtney, Maple Valley: A junior
guard/forward, Courtney led the Lions in
scoring, rebounding and tied for the team
lead in steals. He averaged 13.9 points and
8.4 rebounds per game this season.
Courtney had a number of double doubles
throughout the season, highlighted by 29
points and 10 rebounds against Galesburg-Au-
gusta and 22 points and 10 rebounds against
Quincy. He was named to the all-tournament
team at the Quincy Holiday Tournament.
Jayce Cusack, Lakewood: A senior four-
year varsity starter at Lakewood, Cusack
averaged 21.9 points per game while shoot-
ing 44.6 percent from the floor. He averaged
6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game as well.
Injuries limited Cusack a bit throughout his
high school career, but he was a three-year
captain sporting a 4.0 GPA.
Layton Eastman, Hastings: A senior
guard/forward, Eastman was named first
team all-conference in the Interstate-8 Athlet-
ic Conference this season. He averaged 12
points and 4 rebounds per game this season.
“Layton is one of our main scorers and is a
third-year varsity player. He has been key to
many of our wins,” Hastings head coach Rich
Long said.
Philip Halcomb, Delton Kellogg: A
senior guard, Halcomb led Delton Kellogg
with 13.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
He also averaged 2.6 steals a game while
adding 29 blocked shots. He had 9 dou-
ble-doubles throughout the season. He was
named first team all-conference in the SAC
Central this season.
“Philip did not play last year, but is a two-
year varsity player who was up as a sopho-
more,” Delton Kellogg head coach Jim Hog-
oboom said. “He is an incredible rebounder
for being undersized as a “post” player who
also shared point guard duties. Philip has
grown as a leader. He has a good basketball
IQ and worked hard all year to be a positive
voice for us on the floor and in the lock-
er-room.”
Hayden Long, Hastings: A senior for-
ward/center, Long was named second team
all-conference in the Interstate-8 AthleticConference this winter. He averaged 8 points
per game this season and led the Saxons in
assists.
“Hayden has been an excellent post pres-
ence for us both offensively and defensively,”
coach Long said.
Myles Padilla, Hastings: Padilla was named
second team all-conference in the Interstate-
Athletic Conference this season averaging 12
points and 4 rebounds per game.
“Myles has really stepped up in the second
half of the season ad usually guards the otherteam’s best player,” coach Long said. “He has
been a consistent scorer for us all year.”
Kyle VanHaitsma, Thornapple Kellogg: A
junior guard, VanHaitsma led TK with 10 points
per game this season while adding 5 rebounds
and 2 deflections a game as well while earning
honorable mention all-conference in the OK
Gold. He had a season-high 19 points in the
Trojans’ regular season finale at Lakewood.Bailey Cook Peyton PrattSee GIRLS, page 11
Jayce CusackHayden LongSee BOYS, page 11