Hamlin Breaks Escanaba's 48-Year-Old High Jump Record, Climbing List of State's Best
By
Adam Hinch
Special for MHSAA.com
May 7, 2026
ESCANABA — Over the last three seasons, Escanaba sophomore Andrew Hamlin has shown big gains annually in the high jump – and this year he has broken Escanaba High School’s record not once but twice, with plenty of opportunities remaining to better his best performance.
Hamlin took his first jumps in seventh grade but did not actively start competing until his eighth-grade year at Holy Name School in Escanaba.
“I remember the meet in Bark River,” Hamlin said. “I used to go off my right side with my left leg and then switched halfway through the season and ended up breaking the record.”
Hamlin broke Holy Name’s school record at the Escanaba Junior High Invitational with a jump of 5-foot-7 on May 14, 2024.
He also came in 11th at the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals that spring with a jump of 5-4 as one of only two eighth graders to compete in the Division 3 boys high jump that day.
“I knew Andrew since he was in fourth grade,” Holy Name athletic director Tony Derkos said. “He is a great kid, and track really gives him a chance to be his own athlete.”
Hamlin switched to Escanaba High School as a freshman and had a jump of 6-foot at the Division 1 Regional in Escanaba last spring. He then came through with a jump of 6-2 at the UP Finals in Kingsford where he was finished second as one of only two freshmen to place among the top 10.
“I really enjoy the competitiveness of the sport,” Hamlin said. “It definitely helps to fuel you as an athlete to improve every time out.”
Hamlin also has a personal coach, Hugo Munoz, who was a member of the Peru national team and competed in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics.
Hamlin has competed in two high jump camps, one in Wisconsin and most recently one in New Prague, Minn.
Now a sophomore, he broke the high jump record for Escanaba High School with a jump of 6-6 on April 21at the Delta County Invite in Gladstone. The previous record was set in 1978 by Keenan Failing.
“It meant a lot to get the record,” Hamlin said. “It was one of the goals for the season coming in, and I was just kind of surprised that it happened this early in the season.”
That record lasted for 10 days until the Escanaba Invitational on May 1, when Hamlin completed a jump of 6-7. That height ranks eighth statewide this season and first among Upper Peninsula jumpers.
“I have to adjust my goals for the season,” Hamlin said. “I never thought I would hit this high of a height this early in the season, so now I’m just trying to stay consistent and improve my height when I can.”
Hamlin will be taking part in the Nike Nationals this summer as well as some other high jump events. He also competes for Escanaba in the long jump, 400 meters and 1,600 relay, and plays football and basketball for his school.
“He’s everything you want in an athlete,” Eskymos track coach Scott Dykema said. “He is a good competitor and is always working on his game and what he can do to improve every time he goes out.”
Hamlin has overcome various injuries but works to get back in action as soon as he can.
“He never lets injuries keep him down,” Derkos said. “He is a tough kid and battles through injuries, and that is the sign of a natural competitor – which is what he is.”
Hamlin has aspirations of taking the high jump to the collegiate level and said he also enjoys distance running. He competes in 5K races and said he would enjoy running a marathon at some point.
“I think it would be fun to run a marathon,” Hamlin said. “That would come after college as there is so much time and training that goes into preparing for a marathon, but definitely something I would have interest in down the road.”
Hamlin has at least four track meets left this season as Escanaba will compete in Negaunee on May 8, at the Division 1 Regional at Manistique on May 13, and at Gladstone and Gaylord as well before finishing at the UP Finals on May 30 in Kingsford.
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba’s Andrew Hamlin soars over the high jump bar during a meet. (Middle) Hamlin completes a turn in the long jump pit. (Photos by Adam Hinch.)
MCC's Glover Fills Key Role as Athletic Trainer for Super Bowl Champions
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
August 6, 2024
David Glover never had the glamour role – and didn’t even play the glamour sport – during his high school days at Muskegon Catholic Central.
MCC is known statewide as a football powerhouse that ranks third in state history with 12 MHSAA Finals championships during the playoff era. But basketball was Glover’s sport of choice, and his specialty didn’t show up in the box score.
“I was the defensive stopper,” explained Glover, who graduated from MCC in 1996. “I was always the guy that Coach (Greg) Earnest would put on the other team’s best scorer. I took a lot of pride in that.”
Glover continues to be the ultimate team player, only now his role is the first assistant athletic trainer for the Kansas City Chiefs, who are aiming to three-peat this season as Super Bowl champions.
“As the team and the goals have grown, so have I,” said Glover, who has been on the Chiefs’ training staff for the past 18 years. “The job is the same, which is getting the players onto the field and back onto the field after injuries so that they can perform at their highest level. I have become more comfortable and experienced in that role.”
Glover broke into the NFL as an athletic training intern with the New York Jets in 2004. He came to Kansas City in 2006 when Jets head coach Herman Edwards took the KC job, bringing Glover and several other members of the training staff with him.
Glover quickly fell in love with the Chiefs’ famous family-first culture, along with the area’s world-famous barbecues. He also met his future wife, Jera.
He is known as a tireless worker and student of his craft, which has allowed him to steadily move up to his current position as first assistant athletic trainer on the Chiefs’ five-member training staff, second only to Rick Burkholder, the vice president of sports medicine and performance.
Glover’s skills also have caught the attention of his colleagues across the NFL, who awarded him the 2022 Tim Davey AFC Assistant Athletic Trainer of the Year Award – given annually to someone who represents an unyielding commitment, dedication and integrity in the profession of athletic training.
Glover said a big reason for his success in his profession can be traced back to high school.
“Playing sports at MCC, especially for a smaller school, gave me such a sense of camaraderie, teamwork and a family outside of my normal family,” said Glover, the son of David and Lyndah Glover. “Those teammates energized me to be my best.
“There’s no doubt that some of the lessons that I learned playing sports in high school help me out in my job.”
Glover also ran track for the Crusaders – competing in the long jump, 200 meters, 400 meters and various relays – and said he enjoyed himself, even though he ran track initially as a way to stay in shape for basketball.
The highlight of his MCC basketball career came his senior year, when the underdog Crusaders captured a Class C District championship.
Growing up in Muskegon and close to Lake Michigan, Glover thought he would become a marine biologist someday – that is, until he suffered an injury during his senior basketball season.
Glover went up for a block and actually pinned the opponent’s shot against the backboard. However, the shooter inadvertently took his legs out on the play, causing him to crash violently to the court and lose feeling in his right leg for about 10 seconds.
The injury to his hip flexor put him on crutches for two weeks and off the court total for about a month, which he said “felt like the end of the world” at the time.
But the injury led him into rehab with Brian Hanks, a 1988 MCC graduate who was back working at his alma mater as an athletic trainer through Mercy Hospital.
Glover and Hanks turned out to be a perfect match. Glover was naturally curious about the entire process and wanted to know the “why” of his rebab program. Hanks recognized Glover’s interest in how the human body works and encouraged him to consider studying athletic training in college.
“God works in mysterious ways,” said Glover. “I was devastated when I got injured, but that experience opened my eyes to a whole new career. I wanted to learn everything I could about the human body and how it works.
“Looking back, the injury was a blessing in disguise. I wouldn’t change anything at all.”
Glover followed in Hanks’ footsteps and attended Central Michigan University, spending countless hours in the training room working with athletes in every sport – from football to track to gymnastics – graduating with a degree in health fitness and exercise science.
He said a huge inspiration in his career was CMU professor Dr. Rene Shingles, who in 2018 became the first African-American woman to be inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame. Shingles encouraged Glover to continue his studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, where he earned his master’s of science in athletic training.
He got his break into the NFL with his internship with the Jets, and his work ethic has kept him there for the past 20 years.
“If there are high school kids out there reading this, I guess I would tell them that there are a lot of different avenues to get to the NFL or the NBA,” Glover said. “I’m a perfect example. I didn’t even play high school football, but through athletic training I have been part of three Super Bowls.”
The Chiefs, who won their first Super Bowl way back in 1970, would have to wait 50 years (until 2020) to win their next one. But Kansas City now has won three Super Bowls in five years, adding titles in 2023 and 2024.
“To have these kind of experiences, and to be able to share so much of it with my family, is really a dream come true,” said Glover, 45, who said his ultimate goal is to become the head athletic trainer for an NFL team.
“I am always open to see what opportunities God has for me and what doors he opens.”
More immediately, with the start of training camp last month, Glover is back to his seven-day-a-week schedule, sharing the organization’s goal of making it to the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season.
Glover has worked with all of the Chiefs star players at some point, including star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who he calls “a great, humble man.”
But perhaps the player he has worked with most is standout tight end Travis Kelce.
Kelce, who has become a huge name outside of football as the boyfriend of pop sensation Taylor Swift, injured his knee during his rookie preseason in 2013, sidelining him for the entire year. Glover was assigned to Kelce for his rehab.
With Glover’s daily help, Kelce was able to get back on the field the following year and emerged as a star, earning him the 2014 NFL Ed Block Courage Award as a model of inspiration, sportsmanship and courage.
After winning the award, Kelce invited Glover (he calls him “DG”) and his wife to attend the award ceremony with him in Baltimore.
“That was a huge honor for me, and I was blown away,” said Glover. “I look at it that I was just doing my job. He entrusted and believed in me throughout the process, and it worked out great.”
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, David Glover as a senor during the 1995-96 school year at Muskegon Catholic Central, and at right Glover shows the AFC Championship trophy after Kansas City's 17-10 win at Baltimore on Jan. 28. (Middle) Glover, left, hugs teammate Doug Dozier after a victory over rival Muskegon Mona Shores in 1995-1996 basketball season opener. MCC finished 17-7 and a District champion. (Below) Glover poses with this year's Super Bowl Championship trophy alongside fellow Chiefs athletic trainer Julie Frymyer. (Trophy photos courtesy of David Glover; 1996 photos courtesy of the MCC yearbook.)