Senior Standout Aiming to Add to Grass Lake & Family Fame
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
August 17, 2021
GRASS LAKE – What will Lexus Bargesser do for an encore?
The Grass Lake senior had an unbelievable junior year, leading the Warriors to their first-ever MHSAA Finals basketball championship, in Division 3, then winning three events to pace Grass Lake’s team title at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 track & field championship meet. She spent her summer on the basketball circuit, traveling the country to compete against top competition.
As she embarks on her senior year of high school, Bargesser is looking forward to having fun, working hard – and bringing home more hardware.
“It was pretty amazing,” she said this summer. “Everything came together and worked out.”
The Bargesser family certainly could have been called the first family of Grass Lake sports over the last few years – in the least for track & field – and Lexus is likely to add a few more highlights during 2021-22. She won’t play a sport for Grass Lake this fall as she’s prepping for basketball season and a hopeful encore to last winter’s achievement. But next month she will begin making college visits and could make a decision before the 2021-22 basketball season begins.
“I don’t really have a timeline,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the season and helping the younger girls on the team grow. I’m excited for it.”
Grass Lake’s Bargesser surge began with 2020 grad Xavier, who’s currently playing basketball at Alma College.
Second-oldest Brennen Bargesser made a splash last school year as a senior both on the basketball court and track, during the spring winning three individual events and running on a first-place relay to lead the boys team to a Finals title as well.
“My older brother and my younger sister are insane athletes,” Brennen said. “I’m the middle child and just wanted to make a name for myself.”
Lexus Bargesser had won the 100 and 200 dashes as a freshman at the 2019 Finals, then burst onto the national prep basketball scene with an amazing summer that saw colleges from across the country start offering her scholarships.
Their parents also are part of the mix. Father David Bargesser coached the Warriors boys basketball team last season and was an assistant to the girls team. Mother Lori Bargesser was the scorekeeper for the boys team.
Sports is the common bond that links the entire family.
“We’re a really close family,” Lori said. “We’ve always just played sports. That’s what we did. We were in the yard from the time I can remember.”
David, who played basketball and golfed in college, and Lori are from upstate New York. They originally moved to Belleville, then landed in Jackson when he accepted a job at the Michigan Department of Corrections. The family has lived in Grass Lake for about 25 years.
“When I got off work, we’d go outside and play basketball or throw the football,” he said. “From the time I can remember, we were always outside playing something.”
Lori said the organized sports started through a local YMCA.
“Xavier was probably 3 or 4 years old,” she said. “David helped coach. Ever since they started, they were always in at least two sports. It was hectic at times, with practice schedules and everything. It was weird when one of them could drive because they could take themselves to practice.”
Xavier, being the oldest, was the first to play organized sports. Brennen soon followed.
“Basketball is very important in my family,” Brennen said.
“As soon as they could walk, they had a basketball in their hands,” Lori said.
Lexus showed her basketball talent and poise from a young age.
“Basketball was the thing that took off for her,” her father said. “I remember realizing how fast she was on the basketball court. I didn’t realize how fast she was.”
One of the first colleges to offer was UCLA.
“Once one started offering, they all took notice,” David said. “It was a fun two weeks where everyone started calling. She’s would get 4-5 calls in an hour and a half.”
The Bargessers might have had the best day for any one family in state track & field history. Along with both Grass Lake teams winning championships, Brennen won the 100 with a time of 11 seconds, the 200 in 22.6 and the 400 in 49.10. He also anchored the 400 relay that came in first with a time of 44.43.
Lexus repeated as LPD3 champ in both the 100 with a time of 12.12 and the 200 in 25.30. (She had won both in 2019, and the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.) She set an LP Division 3 meet record with a time of 55.54 in the 400, then helped the 400 relay place second with a time of 4:11.54.
Between the two siblings were seven first places, one runner-up finish and two team championships.
“When Brennen won that first race, I was so happy for him,” Lori said. “He had worked so hard. Lexus had won before, but he never had. That was a great moment.”
The seeds of those championships were formed during the spring of 2020 when in place of their season Brennen and Lexus trained together almost every day.
“It’s insane to think (about) what we were able to accomplish,” Brennen said. “She’d run the 100 and win it, then I’d run the 100 and win it. I got so excited for her, then I had to run my race. In the conference meet I jumped (early) and was disqualified. I was nervous at the state meet that I would do that again.”
Lexus and Brennen have always been close. Training together brought them closer.
“We spent all summer running together,” Brennen said. “She was my pacer. She was helping me get my times in.”
Their dad was confident that both could accomplish what they set out to do at this spring’s Finals because he had watched their times closely all summer.
“Going into the year, I was checking times and seeing what other kids were doing,” David said. “I knew both had a chance to do it in all three events. It was definitely the goal. It helped them by training together. Brennen really was into lifting, and I think that helped Lexi get into it. The two of them were always training together, pushing each other.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Bargesser family celebrated a championship-loaded Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals; pictured from left: father David, Brennan, Xavier, Lexus and mother Lori. (Middle) Lexus Bargesser (1) gets a hand up on defense during Grass Lake’s 52-50 win over Kent City in April’s Division 3 Final. She finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. (Below) Brennen Bargesser crosses the line first in the 100 at the Finals in June. (Top photo courtesy of the Bargesser family; Brennen Bargesser photo by Jason Ruggles.)
Freshman-Infused Heritage Overcoming Injuries to Make Big Impression Fast
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 3, 2025
Saginaw Heritage entered this girls basketball season flying under the radar of most casual observers.
That turned out to be a quick flight.
A 26-point win against reigning Division 1 champion West Bloomfield on Dec. 7 showed the rest of the state what those in the program knew all along – despite having zero seniors, and freshmen making up half their roster, the Hawks are ready to compete at the highest level now.
“I guess I was a little, but I wouldn’t say there was a lot of surprise,” Heritage sophomore Emma Duran said. “We worked a lot this summer and into the season, so when we finally got to the season, we knew how to work as a team and how to get better. I wasn’t really surprised about it, because I knew how much talent we had.”
Heritage has stormed out to a 6-1 start, knocking off not just West Bloomfield, but also postseason contenders such as Sanford Meridian, Freeland, Detroit Cass Tech and Hemlock by an average of 23.2 points.
That’s happened with four freshmen starting most of their games, as the Hawks are not only young, but have been without star junior Alesia Ode for the past four games.
“I knew we had something special probably in April when we started doing workouts,” Heritage coach Jaden Clobes said. “These kids didn’t miss anything all summer. It’s a special group that is really committed to being excellent. It’s fun to coach kids that obviously know basketball, but that also want to get better and are committed to being the best.”
Heritage had a solid season a year ago, going 14-11 and winning a District title in Clobes’ second season in charge of the program before losing to eventual Division 1 runner-up Rockford in a Regional Semifinal.
While not a single upperclassmen was coming back from that team, there were major pieces to build upon. That included leading scorer Ode and classmate Bree Hamilton, who Clobes called the best leader he’s coached. Emma and Ava Duran were also coming back after solid freshman seasons, although a knee injury suffered in April has kept Ava off the court. Clobes called them two of the best defenders he’s coached.
Around those pieces, Clobes was able to add perhaps the most talented freshman class in the state: Josie Ode, Zariya McCrary, Jayla Laster, Brooklyn Isom, Londyn Newton and Phoenix Brownfield.
It’s a group that went unbeaten in middle school (24-0 over two seasons), and several of them play high-level AAU in the offseason.
“We have a lot of talent,” McCrary said. “We all came from a team where we all played together, so we’re used to playing together.”
They immediately meshed with their older teammates and gave Clobes the ability to play his preferred up-tempo, pressing style.
“It was fun to put this group together,” Clobes said. “I’m a pressing coach, and we haven’t had the pieces the first two years to do it. This year, we have the length, we have the size, have the speed, have the IQ. We’ve caused 40 turnover in a game, we’ve caused 35 turnovers in a game. It’s fun to watch this team. They can kind of play the game without me having to say, ‘Hey, set this screen. Do this. Do that.’ I really haven’t had a team where I can just let them go play.”
They’ve earned this type of trust and praise from their coach while playing in big games, and without the help of the older Ode on the court. Their early success, however, has made her feel comfortable waiting until she’s fully healed to come back. A year ago, she said she suffered the same injury and it lingered for much of the season as she rushed returns multiple times.
“I’m proud of these freshmen,” she said. “They’re making big plays to help us win. I love the way they play. They play free. They play with passion. They’re not scared; they just play their game.”
As great as those freshmen have been, in order for Heritage to reach the goals it’s set for itself, Alesia Ode will be needed. But it’s been nice to have others grow their roles in her absence.
“Losing Alesia, obviously as a junior and someone who knows how to play, definitely is a challenge,” Hamilton said. “She gives us 15 points a game, so we lost those. But we’ve had freshmen step up. She’s also a good leader, so I’ve stepped up as that.”
One other thing that could help the Hawks reach that goal – the one loss on their record. Heritage lost its most recent game 60-51 against Howell, handing the freshmen their first-ever defeat playing basketball for their school.
“That was very eye-opening for us,” Hamilton said. “We have six freshmen on varsity, and they haven’t lost a game. The outside view does really get to you sometimes, and we came in and honestly did not have good practices before. It was a big learning moment, which was good. It’s eye opening and a good lesson that hard work is really what you need. You need to come into practice every single day and work hard. There are no rest days.”
To hammer that point home, Clobes hands out a hard hat to the hardest-working player each week. They tote it around during school, bring it to practice and set it at the end of the bench during games as a reminder.
“There’s a great quote that says, ‘Hard work does not equal success,’” Clobes said. “‘It’s the opportunity for success.’”
If it all comes together, the Hawks feel they can achieve their goals – which include getting past Rockford in the Regional, making a trip to Breslin for Finals weekend, and winning it – and the pieces do appear to be falling into place.
If they don’t, the Hawks certainly seem to be fine for at least another year, and likely longer, as they try to bring the program back to the heights it reached in 2002, 2018 and 2019, when they brought home Finals titles.
While they acknowledge that the future if full of those possibilities, they’d much rather take care of business now.
“Our huge goal is winning a state championship this year or next year, and getting to the Breslin Center,” Emma Duran said. “We want to do it with this team. We hope to, and that’s our top goal is winning a championship. Or, it could be both years.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw Heritage’s Bree Hamilton (11) makes a move toward the basket during a win over Freeland. (Middle) Hawks coach Jaden Clobes (kneeling) huddles with his team. (Below) Josie Ode (23) looks to make a play against the Falcons. (Photos courtesy of the Saginaw Heritage girls basketball program.)