Mel Vaara has worn many hats in Clarkston over the years. Aside from writing sports for The Clarkston News in the 1960’s, he was the first prinicipal of Sashabaw Junior High in 1969; has coached track, basketball and cross country; was named assistant superintendent in 1972; and was the principal of CHS in 1986 and again in the 1991-92 school year. He has held numerous administrative positions over the years.
This is the last of his guest column series in which he details the history of Clarkston sports. All facts and names presented in this article are from Mr. Vaara’s memories and have been presented as provided.

Wrestling: Max Inman was the first wrestling coach, followed by Dick Moscovic. Dick won a league title. Wrestling was new to the community at that time with not much of a following. Some outstanding wrestlers were Rick Detkowski, Mike Packer, Kurt Dougherty and Al Knake. Dick set the foundation for a wrestling program and started the feeder system from elementary and junior high. Other coaches were Greg Gwisdalla, Gary Warner and Toby Carter. Rick Detkowski coached for four years. Some outstanding performers during that time were Jeff Miracle, Mike Conway, Bruce Burowitz, Todd Thompson and Mark Karrick.
In 1991, the wrestling team became State champs. The head coach was Scott Strickler, he coached for seven years (100-25). Clarkston’s record in 1991 was 26-0, they were second in the State rankings and 15th in the nation. The team won three districts and one regional to go with their State title. All-State champions on that team were Damon Michelsen, Jerry Anderson, Corey Grant, Joel Davis, Joe Webb, Tony Miller and Jeff DeRosia.
Two wrestlers that really stemmed the tide at the State championship were Jason Slater and Brian Davis. They had to sub for other CHS wrestlers and were not expected to win against All-State Temperence Bedford wrestlers, both Slater and Davis won and the rest is history. Coach Strickler had his big guns waiting in the wings and CHS won going away for the State title. Strickler has fond memories of that team and communicates with them on a regular basis.
Incidentally Jerry Anderson is the only four-time All-State wrestler in CHS history.
In 1996, Mike DeGain was varsity coach assisted by Frank Lafferty. Joe DeGail, Ryan L’Amoreaux, and A.J. Grant were State champions. Armand Michelsen was ranked third.
In 2003 Joe DeGain was appointed Head Coach. He is assisted by Derek Moscovic. Joe’s team won the districts and regionals. Tony LaJoie and Braden L’Amoreaux were State champs. Shawn Turner and Elliot May took seventh. Steve Smith took sixth. There are 31 boys on the team.
Football: One must start with Coach Ralph ‘Doc? Thayer. He coached in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. He also drove the bus, lined the field and more. Back in World War II, gas was a premium; so, mothers would often drive the players in their cars. All games were played at 6300 Church Street. Other coaches were Borsum and Ed Hintz. Ed’s record was 33-20-3.
In 1955, lights were installed and every teacher and administrator was assessed $5 to help pay for the lights. Other coaches were Tom Taylor, Bill Valasco and Walt Wyniemko (coached for eight years – 44-20). Walt’s teams missed the playoffs twice by slim margins. Kirk Norman was an All-American for Wyniemko.
Rob White had great success as a coach (42-11). He played football for Bo Schembechler. His 1977 team was 9-0 and lost to Brother Rice in the playoffs. Coach White commented that his 1974 team was very special, but there were no playoffs at that time. Current freshmen football Head Coach Dave Whitehead was a member of that team.
Kurt Richardson is the present coach. His record as head coach is 120-56 with a total record of 171-88. He has been coaching football for 19 years. Six of his teams qualified for the playoffs, with two of his teams making it to the semifinals. Four of his players have gone on to Division I college programs: Nick Upchurch (Central Florida and U of M), John King (CMU), Steve Black (CMU) and Dan Jokisch (U of M). Jason Graves, Ryan Clement, and Ryan Kaul played for Division II schools.
There are many great games one can mention. How about this year’s win over Lake Orion to make the playoffs? A couple of my favorite games are the 1999 regional contest over a very highly ranked Grand Blanc team. They had a fabolous running back. Clarkston ended up winning the game 35-14. The next week’s regional final victory over Macomb Dakota, 57-56 was a game that played into four overtimes. After Clarkston scored in the fourth overtime period, Coach Richardson elected to go for a two-point conversion instead of a kick to tie the game once again. Rocky Lund (the kicker) threw a pass to Andy North in the end zone to win the game in perhaps the most exciting end to an athletic event in Clarkston history.
Boys Track: Leigh Bonner was replaced by coaches Kelly Burnett and myself in 1956. We coached together for seven years. It was difficult becauise they really didn’t have a track back then. The track we had (cinder track) was hard to maintain – it was at the junior high. The best dash man was Bill Powell, probably the most outstanding dash man in the history of Clarkston. Bill White was very good too in the 100 and 220. Tom and Bob Grey were great in the high jump, they held the record for years. The Seyer boys and Larry Morgan had very good times in the distance races. On days of home meets, the principal, S.F. Goedde would let the coaches out early so we could roll and line the track plus get the pits (sawdust) ready for competition. The salary ($50) was split between the two coaches. Enjoyment was high, but we only had average success.
Connie Bruce and Errol Solley coached the varsity track after that, followed by Walt Wyniemko, who coached for 26 years, assisted by Mike Taylor and Mike Kaul. Great trackmen were J.J. Price (discus – 161?) Kyle Powell (shot put, his father was Bill Powell), Wayne Thompson and Jeff Schuipe (both broke Bill Powell’s record in dash), Matt Scharl (pole vault 14?2?), J.R. Kirk (long jump – 22?7?), Gordie Sanderson (9:14 2 mile), David Sage (4:19 mile), Adam Gebus (400 – :49.5), Raffal Fauza (high jump – 6?8?), Steve Wyckoff (high jump), David Ryeson (300 hurdles), Chris Evans (high hurdles – :14.2 and low hurdles – :39.6), Cody Senkyr (hurdles), and the two-mile relay (7:53) of Matt Haver, David Sage, Kevin Breen and Brett Quantz. Walt’s teams have won two league titles and qualified many trackmen for the State finals.
Tennis: Dick Swartout coached the boys and girls tennis for 20 seasons. His teams won over 200 matches. Swatout qualifies for the Hall of Fame; he also enjoyed coaching his own children.
Linc Smith and Larry Thibault coached in the seasons before Swartout. Thibault was the only coach to win a regional title. The Beattie boys (Kirt and Kim) carried the team that year.
Becky Craig was the varsity coach in 1979-83 and 1991-93. Her teams won two league crowns and one regional. Members included Mary Smith, Kelly Craig, Alex Campe and Sam Mallett.
The 1997 girls were regional champs. Kristin Atkinson and Alaina Dodds carried the team.
This year’s team members include Lauren Little, Stephanie Parkison and Allysa Lucas (all State champs). Darylann Trout lost in the semi’s of the State tournament. The current girls coach is Kyleen Cunningham.
Skiing: Ed York was the first coach in 1979, he coached for four years, his 1982 teams were both undefeated with 9-0 records. Dan Balzarini coached for 6 years. His boys teams went 30-6 and his girls went 40-3. Jane Holing coached for one year and both of her teams went 8-0. Jay Roeser coached for five years, the records are somewhat incomplete but the boys went 29-4 and the girls went 19-5. Thom Halsey coached for three years, the boys went 18-5 and the girls went 21-2.
Bruce Rosengren and Tami Niemi are present coaches, and have been for seven years. The boys have gone 57-6 while the girls have been 58-1 under their guidance. Rosengren has been honored three times as State coach of the year, Niemi has earned the honor twice. Both of the coaches have been honored as regional coach of the year several times.
The girls have won eight regional meets in a row. The skiing teams are the winningest teams in southeast Michigan. Over the last seven years 13 girls and 10 boys were All-State. Last year the girls varsity and jv were All-State academic team with a cumulative GPA of 3.79.
Our ski teams have had phenomenal success, their total record for boys and girls is 115-7.
Hockey is a rather new sport, started in 1997, they originally played as an independent and had a 15-7 record. From 1999-2004 the coach has been Bryan Krygier who is assisted by Ralph Humphlett. They have won the league crown four times and one regional. His six-year record has been 101-42-12. Krygier has brought stability to the program. Some of the players off the 2004 regional championship team were Trevor Johns, Aaron Cataneze, Sten Morin, Griffin Cummings, Adam Peters and Kyle Buzzo; all of them were honorable mention All-State.
Boys Cross Country Mike Taylor has coaching for 23 years. His top runners were Dave Sage, Matt Haver, Jim Havicamo, Mark Sitko. All made All-State in cross country. Taylor had very strong teams from 1995-99, they won the Oakland county meet those years. This year the team qualified for the State meet.
Temperence Bedford wrestlers, both Slater and Davis won and the rest is history. Coach Strickler had his big guns waiting in the wings and CHS won going away for the State title. Strickler has fond memories of that team and communicates with them on a regular basis.
Incidentally Jerry Anderson is the only four-time All-State wrestler in CHS history.
In 1996, Mike DeGain was varsity coach assisted by Frank Lafferty. Joe DeGail, Ryan L’Amoreaux, and A.J. Grant were State champions. Armand Michelsen was ranked third.
In 2003 Joe DeGain was appointed Head Coach. He is assisted by Derek Moscovic. Joe’s team won the districts and regionals. Tony LaJoie and Braden L’Amoreaux were State champs. Shawn Turner and Elliot May took seventh. Steve Smith took sixth. There are 31 boys on the team.
Football: One must start with Coach Ralph ‘Doc? Thayer. He coached in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. He also drove the bus, lined the field and more. Back in World War II, gas was a premium; so, mothers would often drive the players in their cars. All games were played at 6300 Church Street. Other coaches were Borsum and Ed Hintz. Ed’s record was 33-20-3.
In 1955, lights were installed and every teacher and administrator was assessed $5 to help pay for the lights. Other coaches were Tom Taylor, Bill Valasco and Walt Wyniemko (coached for eight years – 44-20). Walt’s teams missed the playoffs twice by slim margins. Kirk Norman was an All-American for Wyniemko.
Rob White had great success as a coach (42-11). He played football for Bo Schembechler. His 1977 team was 9-0 and lost to Brother Rice in the playoffs. Coach White commented that his 1974 team was very special, but there were no playoffs at that time. Current freshmen football Head Coach Dave Whitehead was a member of that team.
Kurt Richardson is the present coach. His record as head coach is 120-56 with a total record of 171-88. He has been coaching football for 19 years. Six of his teams qualified for the playoffs, with two of his teams making it to the semifinals. Four of his players have gone on to Division I college programs: Nick Upchurch (Central Florida and U of M), John King (CMU), Steve Black (CMU) and Dan Jokisch (U of M). Jason Graves, Ryan Clement, and Ryan Kaul played for Division II schools.
There are many great games one can mention. How about this year’s win over Lake Orion to make the playoffs? A couple of my favorite games are the 1999 regional contest over a very highly ranked Grand Blanc team. They had a fabolous running back. Clarkston ended up winning the game 35-14. The next week’s regional final victory over Macomb Dakota, 57-56 was a game that played into four overtimes. After Clarkston scored in the fourth overtime period, Coach Richardson elected to go for a two-point conversion instead of a kick to tie the game once again. Rocky Lund (the kicker) threw a pass to Andy North in the end zone to win the game in perhaps the most exciting end to an athletic event in Clarkston history.
Boys Track: Leigh Bonner was replaced by coaches Kelly Burnett and myself in 1956. We coached together for seven years. It was difficult becauise they really didn’t have a track back then. The track we had (cinder track) was hard to maintain – it was at the junior high. The best dash man was Bill Powell, probably the most outstanding dash man in the history of Clarkston. Bill White was very good too in the 100 and 220. Tom and Bob Grey were great in the high jump, they held the record for years. The Seyer boys and Larry Morgan had very good times in the distance races.
On days of home meets, the principal, S.F. Goedde would let the coaches out early so we could roll and line the track plus get the pits (sawdust) ready for competition. The salary ($50) was split between the two coaches. Enjoyment was high, but we only had average success.
Connie Bruce and Errol Solley coached the varsity track after that, followed by Walt Wyniemko, who coached for 26 years, assisted by Mike Taylor and Mike Kaul. Great trackmen were J.J. Price (discus – 161?) Kyle Powell (shot put, his father was Bill Powell), Wayne Thompson and Jeff Schuipe (both broke Bill Powell’s record in dash), Matt Scharl (pole vault 14?2?), J.R. Kirk (long jump – 22?7?), Gordie Sanderson (9:14 2 mile), David Sage (4:19 mile), Adam Gebus (400 – :49.5), Raffal Fauza (high jump – 6?8?), Steve Wyckoff (high jump), David Ryeson (300 hurdles), Chris Evans (high hurdles – :14.2 and low hurdles – :39.6), Cody Senkyr (hurdles), and the two-mile relay (7:53) of Matt Haver, David Sage, Kevin Breen and Brett Quantz. Walt’s teams have won two league titles and qualified many trackmen for the State finals.
Tennis: Dick Swartout coached the boys and girls tennis for 20 seasons. His teams won over 200 matches. Swatout qualifies for the Hall of Fame; he also enjoyed coaching his own children.
Linc Smith and Larry Thibault coached in the seasons before Swartout. Thibault was the only coach to win a regional title. The Beattie boys (Kirt and Kim) carried the team that year.
Becky Craig was the varsity coach in 1979-83 and 1991-93. Her teams won two league crowns and one regional. Members included Mary Smith, Kelly Craig, Alex Campe and Sam Mallett.
The 1997 girls were regional champs. Kristin Atkinson and Alaina Dodds carried the team.
This year’s team members include Lauren Little, Stephanie Parkison and Allysa Lucas (all State champs). Darylann Trout lost in the semi’s of the State tournament. The current girls coach is Kyleen Cunningham.
Skiing: Ed York was the first coach in 1979, he coached for four years, his 1982 teams were both undefeated with 9-0 records. Dan Balzarini coached for 6 years. His boys teams went 30-6 and his girls went 40-3. Jane Holing coached for one year and both of her teams went 8-0. Jay Roeser coached for five years, the records are somewhat incomplete but the boys went 29-4 and the girls went 19-5. Thom Halsey coached for three years, the boys went 18-5 and the girls went 21-2.
Bruce Rosengren and Tami Niemi are present coaches, and have been for seven years. The boys have gone 57-6 while the girls have been 58-1 under their guidance. Rosengren has been honored three times as State coach of the year, Niemi has earned the honor twice. Both of the coaches have been honored as regional coach of the year several times.
The girls have won eight regional meets in a row. The skiing teams are the winningest teams in southeast Michigan. Over the last seven years 13 girls and 10 boys were All-State. Last year the girls varsity and jv were All-State academic team with a cumulative GPA of 3.79.
Our ski teams have had phenomenal success, their total record for boys and girls is 115-7.
Hockey is a rather new sport, started in 1997, they originally played as an independent and had a 15-7 record. From 1999-2004 the coach has been Bryan Krygier who is assisted by Ralph Humphlett.
They have won the league crown four times and one regional. His six-year record has been 101-42-12. Krygier has brought stability to the program. Some of the players off the 2004 regional championship team were Trevor Johns, Aaron Cataneze, Sten Morin, Griffin Cummings, Adam Peters and Kyle Buzzo; all of them were honorable mention All-State.
Boys Cross Country Mike Taylor has coaching for 23 years. His top runners were Dave Sage, Matt Haver, Jim Havicamo, Mark Sitko. All made All-State in cross country.
Taylor had very strong teams from 1995-99, they won the Oakland county meet those years. This year the team qualified for the State meet.