February 2023 Issue of Varsity Monthly Thumb Magazine

PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Athletes are selected as the Players of the Month for their athletic
accomplishments, leadership roles, and community impact.
HUNTER
KROHN
LAKERS
BASKETBALL
CHELSEA
ROACH
CASS CITY
WRESTLING
ELKTON-PIGEON-BAY PORT’S HUNTER KROHN IS
MAKING THE MOST OUT OF HIS SENIOR SEASON.
THE 6-FOOT-8 STANDOUT IS AVERAGING A DOUBLE-
DOUBLE, BUT HIS IMPORTANCE TO THE LAKERS
GOES FAR BEYOND STATISTICS.
“Obviously, his size is important, but he’s playing big
right now,” said EPBP coach Bill McLellan Jr. “When he
plays big, he’s special. He can stroke the ball, but he
has to establish himself inside before we can do those
special things with him.”
While being a dominating presence in the post, Krohn
can shoot it from the outside and even handle the ball
in a pinch. Through the first half of the season, he was
averaging at least one 3-pointer made per game.
“He could always shoot it, but we wanted to make
sure he understood that he was an inside player before
we let him shoot it,” McLellan said. “He’s had that part
of his game. With the group we have this year, we can
showcase it a little more.”
Being the biggest player on the
court also makes him a target for
the opposing team. “The reality is,
because he’s bigger than everyone
else he gets beat up every night,”
McLellan said. “He just plays
through it and plays hard through
it and finishes. He deserves the
accolades for being that mentally
and physically tough.”
The message from McLellan this
year to Krohn has been simple. “He
attacks the basket much more,” McLellan said. “Before,
he would go up for a basket and fade away. Now, he’s
going through people, which is getting him to the line.”
He added: “Hunter has worked on his game
individually; he just loves basketball. Our biggest
conversation is playing big, playing physical, playing
strong.”
LAST SEASON, CASS CITY WRESTLER CHELSEA
ROACH BECAME THE FIRST FRESHMAN IN
PROGRAM HISTORY TO QUALIFY FOR THE STATE
TOURNAMENT. ROACH PLACED SIXTH IN THE
FIRST EVER MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC
ASSOCIATION GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT.
Red Hawk coach Adam Dorland is hoping for another
first before her career is over – a state championship.
“Her mindset is to keep improving
and not be stagnant,” said Dorland.
“That’s going to come by being
dedicated and working hard in
practice.”
With the girls state wrestling
tournament being a new event,
Dorland admits to making the
mistake of not entering Roach into
any girls tournaments last season.
It resulted in Roach being the lowest
seed in the qualifying tournament.
But she made it through and
eventually found her way onto the
podium.
This season, Roach placed runner-up in the Mio
Thunderbolt Girls Tournament. Mostly though, Roach
wrestles against boys and takes some losses, but
doesn’t let it affect her approach to the sport.
She was slowed down a bit by a December elbow injury,
but Dorland believes she is fully back and ready to win
another medal at the state tournament.
“Winning a state championship is a goal of hers,” he
said. “She has a very good work ethic. She has a lot of
out of season stuff she wants to participate in. Her focus
is on wrestling. If we want to take it to the next level, we
have to wrestle all year round. It’s on her radar and she
has the capability to do it.”
ARTICLES BY PAUL ADAMS
4 February 2023 CONTACT US AT 989-673-5826 VIEW FREE ONLINE AT WWW.VARSITYMONTHLYTHUMB.COM PURCHASE PRINTS AT WWW.MISPORTSPHOTOS.COM
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