ESCANABA – It was another successful year for Escanaba athletics.

On Monday, the Escanaba Board of Education heard from Escanaba Athletic Director Nate Zaremba on the past school year’s athletic programs.

Zaremba highlighted various programs and the student-athletes who excelled in them.

Hockey fans will rejoice as the Wells Sports Complex is now equipped with a National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) camera that will be used to broadcast all home hockey games. Zaremba said it’s perfect timing as there are 14 home games scheduled for the upcoming season.

He also shared other updates during his presentation, with Escanaba Area Schools Superintendent Dr. Coby Fletcher saying it’s always good to hear about what the athletic programs and athletes have accomplished.

“It’s great to hear how well our athletic programs did last year. It’s always a big point of pride for the district and the community,” Fletcher said.

Other program highlights include:

– Football in Escanaba will celebrate 130 years in 2027, one of the oldest programs in the State of Michigan.

– The Escanaba High School girls’ tennis team won the Great Northern Conference (GNC) Championship for the fourth consecutive year.

– The Escanaba girls’ golf team was the U.P. champions.

– The boys’ track and field team was named the Delta County champions.

– Hosted two of the largest track and field invitationals, with the junior high invitational featuring 18 schools and roughly 1,500 entries.

– The Escanaba girls’ softball team made the final four and ended the season ranked number one in Division Two.

Student athlete highlights include:

– Alisha Mabie recorded the seventh fastest time in all of the Upper Peninsula this past fall for cross country.

– Harlee Coolman set a school record for digs in a career, totaling over 1000 career digs. Zaremba shared that Coolman will be able to expand on that record next season as she comes back for her senior year.

– Irene Neumeier was named U.P. Champion for a 100-meter backstroke and a 100-meter butterfly. Zaremba shared that Neumeier was almost undefeated, losing just one event throughout the entire season.

– Cody Crowe and Kaleb Gagne both were individual U.P. champs for wrestling.

– Mikaiden Hughes was a first-team all-state catcher for baseball.

– Three Escanaba softball players were first-team all-state, including Grayson LaMarche (third selection), Katey Lamb (second selection), and McKenzie Engebretsen (first selection).

– Lamb also tied a high school state record with two grand slams and eight RBIs in one inning. Zaremba said he is waiting for the MHSAA to officially recognize her impressive performance.

– Camry Scott was the U.P. individual champion for golf for the second year in a row. Scott returns for her senior year in the fall, looking for a chance to win the honors for a third year in a row.

Overall, Zaremba said it was a very successful year for the athletic programs and looks forward to the upcoming school year.

In other business, the board:

– Announced the hiring of John Gudwer, Christine Sundberg, Bridget Alwood, Alycia Skorupski, and Angela Allison as paraprofessionals

– Announced the hiring of Brett Schlenvogt as a 7th-grade assistant football coach.

Announced the hiring of Breyden Papineau as a freshman assistant football coach.

– School Board Member JJ Johnson-Reeves received an award from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) for completing training sessions. She received a specialty award in data, advocacy, finance and community relations. Johnson-Reeves also received an award of distinction for all of the training and specialties she developed.

– Approved school of choice resolutions.

– Discussed a possible partnership with Schlechty Center Collaboration, an organization focused on strategic planning and leadership development.

– Discussed the board self-assessment, which is in the beginning survey phase. Fletcher said the board suggested the self-assessment.

“It’s good to be working with a board that is always looking for ways to get better,” he said.

– Approved the 2025-2026 school calendar.