March 2023 Issue of Varsity Monthly Thumb Magazine

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PROUD TO COVER HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS IN THE THUMB 

March 2023 | Volume 11 Issue 3 

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OFFENSE

Owner Jason Parmenter 

Magazine Design Alyssa Buhl 

Photo Editor Kaitlin Gunsell 

Office Manager Brenda Tomlinson 

Regularly Contributing Photographers 

Kaitlin Gunsell - Kaitlin’s Klicks 

Jason Parmenter - Quad N Productions 

Mallory Hughes - Quad N Productions 

Jeff Caverly - Jeff Caverly Photography 

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www.misportsphotos.com 

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Varsity Monthly Thumb is published 12 

times a year by Quad N Productions, LLC, 

189 N State St., Caro, MI 48723 

PHONE: 989-673-5826 

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Caro 

Lakers 

Cass City 

Sandusky 

Deckerville 

Kingston 

Harbor Beach 

Akron-Fairgrove 

Cass City 

Bad Axe 

Caro 

Cros-Lex 

North Branch 

Marlette 

Bad Axe 

CPS 

Ubly 

Caseville 

Mayville 

North Huron 

Reese 

Millington 

Vassar 

Owen-Gage 

USA 

Brown City 

Peck 

Caro 

Cros-Lex 

North Branch 

Frankenmuth 

COVER IMAGE: 

Mikel Good brings the ball up the court 

against Cass City on 1-27-23. 

Photo by Jason Parmenter 

OFFENSE 

We are quickly approaching the end of the 

winter sports season. Many of our area teams 

are making a strong final push to end their 

season on a high note while meeting the goals 

they set a few months ago. Here at Varsity 

Monthly, our goal was to cover each of our 26 

boys and girls Varsity basketball teams both 

home and away, while also covering every 

varsity sport for our coverage schools. We 

accomplished the first goal and missed the 

second goal by one bowling team due to 

cancellations. We are incredibly grateful to our 

advertisers that allow us to provide this 

coverage for the student athletes, and also to 

those of you that purchase pictures that help 

cover our costs. We can definitely use some 

more advertisers with the increasing paper/ 

printing costs. More ads from a district allows 

for more coverage of that school too, so if you 

are interested in helping your area athletes get 

more coverage, please both thank our current 

advertisers and encourage new businesses to 

advertise as well. Check back next month for our 

Winter Season Review! 

www.misportsphotos.com

PLAYERS OF THE MONTH 

Athletes are selected as the Players of the Month for their athletic 

accomplishments, leadership roles, and community impact. 

MICHAEL 

BOOMS 

CARO 

SWIM 

KATHERINE 

HIMMEL 

BAD AXE 

BASKETBALL 

MICHAEL BOOMS HAS DEDICATED NEARLY A DECADE 

OF HIS LIFE TO THE CARO SWIMMING PROGRAM. THE 

SENIOR IS CURRENTLY A STANDOUT FOR THE TIGERS. 

HE PARTICIPATES IN THE INDIVIDUAL MELODY, 100 

BREASTSTROKE, INDIVIDUAL MELODY RELAY AND 400 

FREE RELAY. 

Before being a four-year swimmer for Caro, Booms was 

involved with Tigersharks, a youth program. “I’ve known Mike 

since he started Tigersharks, he’s kind of a quiet guy,” said 

Caro coach David Sutton. “He gets in the pool, works hard 

every day and pushes forward.” 

By the end of the season, Sutton expects Booms to leave 

his mark on the program. His season highlights include 

186 points scored. Booms has 13 

wins and has broken eight personal 

records, with a top time of 1:08.77 in 

the 100 breaststroke and 2:20.00 in the 

individual melody. 

“Individually, I think he can get a 

record and with the relays, they could 

get another record,” Sutton said. “That 

would be really cool. Some of those 

haven’t been changed in 15-20 years.” 

Booms has been a captain of the 

team for the past two seasons. “Being 

a small team, they’re tight knit. Being a 

captain, he kind of holds that together,” 

Sutton said. “I tell these guys; you can get in and do the work. 

But it’s the memories you make and the leadership skills you 

get coming out that are the important parts. Mike is the allaround 

student athlete that you look for. He’s always the first 

one to get in the water to start working out and the last one 

to leave.” 

Replacing Booms will be no easy task, according to Sutton. 

“He’s such a strong swimmer, so filling his spot in the pool is 

going to be tough,” he said. “But we’re also going to miss that 

leadership and that guy that others look up to.” 

ARTICLES BY PAUL ADAMS 

KATHERINE HIMMEL’S IMPACT ON THE BAD AXE GIRLS 

BASKETBALL PROGRAM HAS BEEN MASSIVE. THE 

SENIOR, A THREE-YEAR VARSITY STARTER, HAS HELPED 

THE HATCHETS REACH HEIGHTS SELDOM ACHIEVED AT 

BAD AXE, WITH HIMMEL PROVIDING SOLID DEFENSE AND 

REBOUNDING, WHILE TRANSFORMING HERSELF INTO A 

STEADY OFFENSIVE PRESENCE. 

“She’s been a central piece to the whole program,” said 

Bad Axe coach Kurt Dennis. “The program has formed into 

something I’m not sure it’s ever been, and she’s been as 

instrumental as anybody.” It’s not uncommon to see Himmel 

staying after practice to work on her skills. 

Himmel leads the Hatchets in points per game (17.7), and 

rebounds (12.6), while providing over two blocks per game. 

Her rebounding and blocks were never in question, but it’s her 

offensive output which has greatly improved. 

“She has shouldered a good percentage of the offensive load 

this year,” Dennis said. "She’s such a good teammate that she 

doesn’t want to take too many shots. But if she’s open, you 

want her putting the ball up.” 

Himmel has a mid-range jumper, 

nearly unmatched in the area. “I’ve had 

numerous coaches tell me they haven’t 

seen a mid-range jump shot like hers 

in a long time, if ever,” Dennis said. “It’s 

repetition being in the gym.” 

Himmel doesn’t get too vocal on the 

court, she lets her actions do the talking. 

“She leads by example, she leads by 

effort, she leads by putting in the extra 

time and showing her teammates what 

it takes to get to that level,” Dennis said. 

With the season and her career coming to a close, Dennis 

reflected on Himmel’s overall impact. “If you put these four 

years against the 50-plus year history of this program, they’re 

the most successful four consecutive years,” he said. “It’s 

because of some key individuals and Katherine Himmel is one 

of them.” 

4 March 2023 CONTACT US AT 989-673-5826 VIEW FREE ONLINE AT WWW.VARSITYMONTHLYTHUMB.COM PURCHASE PRINTS AT WWW.MISPORTSPHOTOS.COM 

VIEW FREE ONLINE AT WWW.VARSITYMONTHLYTHUMB.COM PURCHASE PRINTS AT WWW.MISPORTSPHOTOS.COM CONTACT US AT 989-673-5826 March 2023 5

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Photography by Kaitlin Gunsell 

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