Yale's Dykstra Wasting No Time Showing Superior Multi-Sport Potential
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 28, 2024
Sadie Dykstra’s already long list of accomplishments from less than two years of high school – three all-state medals, multiple all-conference awards and a league MVP to name a few – may seem shocking.
And to most, it justifiably is.
But it’s come as little surprise for those in Yale who saw her grow up and do, well, anything.
“I’ve always known that she’s kind of special,” said Yale boys track coach and Dykstra family friend Brian Bearss. “She was that kid that, when other kids would be playing and learning how to ride their bikes, here comes Sadie and she’s yelling, ‘Look at this,’ and standing on the seat riding the bike. She’s always been exceptional as far as being an athlete.”
Dykstra is entering her sophomore track & field season at Yale and has already established herself as one of the best female athletes in the state. Want to argue against that? Check out this résumé:
Volleyball: Two years varsity, second-team all-Blue Water Area Conference as a sophomore.
Basketball: Two-time first-team all-BWAC selection, BWAC all-defense and BWAC MVP as a sophomore, BCAM all-state honorable mention as a freshman, sophomore all-state honors still pending.
Track: Unbeaten in the BWAC as a freshman with four league titles (long jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 1,600 meter relay), three all-state finishes at 2023 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals (fourth in long jump, fifth in 100 hurdles, sixth in 300 hurdles).
Again, just a sophomore.
“I can’t believe that I get to coach her,” Yale girls track coach Ashley Garofalo said. “She has a drive and a mindset that I can’t teach somebody. Nobody can teach you to have this. She gives every single thing that she has in every single sport. I think it does help when you’re so good at it. It makes you want to do it more.”
Basketball gets Dykstra’s most attention and it’s the one she’d most like to play at the next level. The 5-foot-11 guard is getting interest already from Division I college programs.
But it wouldn’t be right to say her heart is with one sport or another.
“I enjoy all my sports,” Dykstra said. “I like all my teams. I have a different team for each one, and I get along with all those girls. I think each one, it flows into the next one, and helps strengthen things for my other sports. Volleyball helps my legs for basketball. In basketball, I’m getting in shape for track.”
You don’t have to look far to find where Dykstra gained her love for athletics. Her parents, Kerry and Brad, both played basketball at Calvin College. Kerry graduated as Calvin’s all-time leading scorer in 1999 and is still sixth on the all-time list. She also served as Yale volleyball coach for 10 years, just recently stepping down.
Brad was a two-sport athlete at Calvin, playing baseball as well. He also played baseball at Grand Valley State. He coached basketball at Yale from 2006-10.
“We’re a very sporty family,” Sadie Dykstra said.
So, when it came time to enter high school, there was never a thought of specializing.
“I came in with the mindset of, I’m going to play three sports each season and enjoy them, too,” Dykstra said. “I don’t want to be in them and have them be the most awful things in the universe. I came in with the mindset of enjoying all three sports.”
While basketball is her current collegiate goal, she did say that competing in basketball and track & field would be something she would consider if given the opportunity. Bearss said Dykstra has Division I potential in track & field, adding that heptathlon could best suit her.
But there are still two more years to figure that out. The next thing for Dykstra to enjoy is track, the sport in which she had the most early success. And while outdoor meets are still a couple weeks away, she’s already locked in.
“She’s just a natural leader, and I think that’s why she’s so disciplined,” Garofalo said. “(Tuesday), I was going over a workout with somebody else, and she just started her warm-ups on her own. She’s not afraid to lead 60 other kids, even though there are juniors and seniors.”
Dykstra has big goals for this spring, mostly based around performance marks. She’s eyeing the Yale school long jump record of 18 feet, 1¾ inches, which is less than an inch longer than her personal best of 18-1. She’d like to move that record closer to 19 feet.
Her 100 hurdle PR (personal record) sits at 15.59 seconds, and she’d like to knock that into the low 15s or even high 14s. For the 300 hurdles, where her PR is 47 seconds, she’d like to get down to 45.
“I have big goals, and I think I can get to them,” she said. “But that’s something for the end of the season to play out and see how that goes.”
Anybody who’s watched her wouldn’t doubt that Dykstra can reach those goals. And that list, along with those accomplishments, continues to grow.
“Last year we went to Ortonville Brandon, and we had really nice weather that day and the competition was really good – a lot of schools there,” Bearss said. “Even with all of those great athletes, you could just kind of see, people are pointing and looking, ‘There’s that girl from Yale.’ They’re taking notice. Every once in a while, you get kids that turn heads like that.”
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) Yale’s Sadie Dykstra launches into a long jump last spring. (Middle) Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. (Below) Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season. (Photos courtesy of the Dykstra family.)
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 3 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 10, 2025
We’re having a party, and volleyball fans everywhere are invited.
Volleyball has become Michigan’s most popular girls high school sport, with nearly 20,000 high school players last season. “Block Party” is our newest MHSAA.com endeavor, and we’ll be providing glances at some of the best and brightest on courts all over the state during the buildup to our annual Finals weekend at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
We hope these weekly reports – as they have for football and basketball – shine more light on the week-in, week-out competition that shapes every season, and on programs you may already know about but also several more than maybe you’ll read about for the first time.
This season's first matches were played Aug. 20, making this the midst of our third week (and hence, our Week 3 Report). Records, results and schedules below are based on what’s posted for teams and used to calculate Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) on MHSAA.com. Rankings noted below reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. North Branch d. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (25-17, 25-19) The Division 2 No. 3 Broncos finished 6-0 at the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep Invitational, with this toppling of the No. 2-ranked team in Division 3 its best victory.
2. Rockford d. Grand Rapids Christian (25-19, 25-21) The Rams downed the Division 2 No. 2 Eagles and also No. 7 Grand Rapids South Christian among other notables during its Rockford Rumble.
3. Traverse City St. Francis d. Roscommon (25-23, 23-25, 25-20) The Division 3 No. 8 Gladiators’ win over top-ranked Roscommon made a big wave, although St. Francis did also fall to Division 1 Midland Dow on this night.
4. Bloomfield Hills Marian d. Utica Eisenhower (29-23, 19-25, 15-9) This was arguably Division 1 No. 3 Marian’s most impressive win during a MI Elite Program Cup run that also included a two-set sweep of No. 9 Brighton. Eisenhower was ranked No. 6.
5. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central d. Imlay City (25-18, 20-25, 15-11) SMCC’s only loss at Notre Dame Prep was to North Branch (above), and the Kestrels earned a notable victory over Division 2 No. 5 Imlay City along the way.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Bloomfield Hills (15-1-0) The No. 4-ranked Black Hawks did suffer their first loss of the season last week – in two sets to Marian. But they’ve otherwise have been unbeatable with wins over No. 5 Farmington Hills Mercy, honorable mentions Lake Orion and Novi and another Tuesday over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, which ended Bloomfield Hills’ season last fall in a District Final. The Black Hawks will see Marian again Thursday.
Rockford (16-0-0) As noted above, the top-ranked Rams cruised through their Rockford Rumble, never dropping a set during victories over South Christian, East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Christian and Division 1 honorable mention Mattawan. The win over the Eagles was Rockford’s second this fall; they’ve also downed No. 8 Grand Haven, honorable mention Byron Center and Division 2 No. 4 Holland Christian among several impressive squads over the first three weeks.
DIVISION 2
Grand Rapids Christian (7-4-0) The Eagles’ losses have all come to ranked Division 1 teams – twice to Rockford and once apiece to Grand Haven and honorable mention Hudsonville. Meanwhile, Grand Rapids Christian defeated Division 1 No. 7 Jenison and Mattawan at Rockford over the weekend, and most recently Grand Rapids South Christian and Holland Christian at a power-packed tri last week. South Christian had ended the Eagles’ season with a five-set Regional Final loss last year.
Parma Western (9-0-1) The Panthers will pick up Thursday after a two-week match break and are ranked No. 10 in Division 2 coming off last season’s Regional Final run. Their only non-win was a two-set draw with Division 4 honorable mention Adrian Lenawee Christian, and wins over Division 3 No. 4 Pewamo-Westphalia to start the season and No. 9 Hanover-Horton at the Chelsea Invitational stand out most. Parma Western will see No. 9 Tecumseh on Thursday.
DIVISION 3
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (10-1-1) The reigning Division 3 champion is off to another fast start, with that loss to North Branch over the weekend and an early two-set tie against New Boston Huron their only non-victories this fall – and the Kestrels have defeated Huron twice since including 25-18, 25-17, 25-12, on Tuesday. SMCC has lost only four sets total, and only one during an eventual match win.
Saginaw Valley Lutheran (9-2-1) The Chargers aren’t ranked at this time but may get some looks soon. They opened the season with a loss to Division 4 No. 7 Crystal Falls Forest Park at the Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart Invitational, but came back to defeat the Trojans in the semifinals that day before falling to still-undefeated Division 1 Greenville in the championship match. Valley Lutheran has lost only one set over six matches since, to Division 2 Williamston at the Owosso Tournament where the Chargers finished 4-0-1.
DIVISION 4
Hancock (8-1-1) The Bulldogs have followed up last season’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals with a fast start, finishing 4-1-1 at the Kingsford Invitational against a field including several larger opponents after finishing 1-2-1 at the same event in 2024. Hancock will have another chance to improve on last season when it heads to The Rock Invite on Saturday at Gladstone – where it went 1-1-1 in 2024.
Mendon (12-1-1) The Hornets are coming off their toughest weekend of these first few, having finished 3-1-1 at the Cereal City Classic with a loss to Division 1 Battle Creek Lakeview and draw with Division 2 Pennfield but wins over Division 1, 3 and 4 opponents. They also opened the fall with a 5-0 run through the St. Joseph County Tournament as they look to build on last season’s Regional Final run.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Wednesday – Flint Powers Catholic (7-5-1), Yale (14-2-0), Traverse City St. Francis (9-6-0) at Essexville Garber (9-6-2) – This quad features the No. 8 team in Division 3 – St. Francis – and the Division 2 honorable mention Dukes.
Thursday – Fowler (7-2-1) at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (8-3-3) – The Division 4 top-ranked Eagles visit No. 8 Sacred Heart, which reached the Semifinals last season.
Thursday – Frankenmuth (3-3-4), Rochester (1-6-0), Temperance Bedford (9-1) at North Branch (11-0-0) – In addition to North Branch being ranked No. 3 in Division 2, Frankenmuth is No. 8 and Bedford always is a top team in Division 1.
Saturday – Motor City Power Series at UWM Sports Complex in Pontiac – Division 1 No. 4 Bloomfield Hills, honorable mention Northville, previously-mentioned North Branch, Canton, and White Lake Lakeland will make for an intriguing field.
Saturday – Makayla Kohn Memorial Invitational at Caledonia – The field of Mattawan, Edwardsburg, Byron Center, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Ionia, Portage Central, Cadillac, Ada Forest Hills Eastern, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Traverse City St. Francis includes ranked teams from Divisions 1, 2 and 3.
PHOTO Laingsburg and Bath volleyball players meet over the net while connecting with the ball during a match Aug. 27. (Photo by John Johnson.)