Performance of the Week: Okemos' Jack Guggemos
October 27, 2021
Jack Guggemos ♦ Okemos
Senior ♦ Soccer
Guggemos was 5 months old when his father Brian coached Okemos to its last MHSAA Finals championship, when a 2-1 victory over Utica Eisenhower clinched the 2004 Division 1 title. But as Jack's all-state career moves toward its conclusion, the senior midfielder has the program only two wins away from returning to the championship match.
Jack Guggemos played a leading role in Okemos earning the No. 4 ranking in Division 1 heading into this postseason, and despite plenty of defensive attention has remained a prominent contributor as his team has outscored its first four playoff opponents by a combined 18-2 margin. He scored a goal in Okemos' 4-1 District Final win Saturday over No. 11 East Lansing, following up his three goals Oct. 19 in a 4-0 District Semifinal win over Portage Northern. Guggemos broke the school record for single-season goals with his 34th during an Oct. 5 win, and he's amassed 44 goals and 13 assists total this fall. Okemos defeated No. 7 Traverse City West on Tuesday and travels to face No. 8 East Kentwood in a Division 1 Regional Final on Thursday.
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2021-22 Honorees
Oct. 21: Sachiv Kumar, Northville tennis - Report
Oct. 14: Kate Brody, Grand Blanc golf - Report
Oct. 7: Lilly Nelson, Negaunee tennis - Report
Sept. 30: Stella Chapman, Ann Arbor Pioneer swimming - Report
Sept. 23: Riley Hough, Hartland cross country - Report
Sept. 16: Josie Bloom, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Report
PHOTOS courtesy of the Okemos soccer program.
Flashback 100: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First
October 11, 2024
No American had ever won medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter events at an Olympic Games until Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher did so in Paris this summer.
He claimed bronze in both races, finishing just two-hundredths of a second behind second place in the 10,000. Fisher secured his opportunities in Paris by finishing first in both events at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
During his time at Grand Blanc, Fisher won two Lower Peninsula Finals championships in cross country, taking first place in Division 1 in both 2013 and 2014, his junior and senior years, respectively. In Track & Field, he earned five MHSAA titles, including winning the 3,200 meters in 2013 and both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in 2014 and 2015.
As a sophomore, Fisher played on the Grand Blanc soccer team that advanced to the Division 1 Final, ultimately losing to East Kentwood 1-0. He played for coach Greg Kehler, who retired from coaching boys soccer after the 2020 season with 340 wins, ninth most in MHSAA history. Kehler is the current girls coach at Grand Blanc and is fourth all-time with 402 victories.
Currently, Fisher holds the American records in the 3,000 meters, two-mile, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. In 2015, he became the seventh American high school student-athlete to run a mile in under four minutes and holds the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Finals record (all divisions) in the 1,600 meters at 4:00.28. At Stanford, Fisher was a 12-time Track & Field All-American and three-time Pac-12 champion.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Grant Fisher (15) takes a photo with his Grand Blanc soccer teammates as a sophomore. (Bottom) Fisher competes in multiple Cross Country and Track & Field Finals during his high school career. (Soccer photo courtesy of Greg Kehler. Running photos by RunMichigan.com.)