Good bye seniors

All things must come to an end. When you start covering athletes from the time they enter high school (sometimes earlier) to the time they graduate you get to a point where you feel you really know the kids you cover. Whether it is watching a student go from being a freshman on the junior varsity football team or maybe some of those rare athletes who play varsity for four years staright.
To me those athletes are in many regards special almost like members of the family. Not that I would go and invite them over for dinner but by the same regard you feel an attachment to them. Almost as if you see them as another child. We cover them when they are doing well and we watch them struggle as almost eveyone does. The point I am trying to make is these people become a very active part of the sports section and in many ways it is sad to see them go.
Granted a lot of them go onto college and will be playing at the next level so hopefully I will get to do one or two more articles to let people in the community know what these very special individuals are doing.
Never the less I will miss writing their names in the paper every week and letting people know what they are doing for their sports teams.
This year quite a few of these type of athletes will be leaving high school behind and beginng yet another step into the aventure that we call life.
The biggest one that comes to my mind right now is Lincoln's Andrew Dillon. This man has played varsity football, basketball and baseball for the past four years. I have watched him develop talked to him in person and on the phone and wrote a lot of good things about him.
Now even as I write this out he is tearing it up on the baseball diamond and setting a new home run record for the Splitters for a single season. I have never seen one athletes so revered and talked about (in all three sports) as his coaches and the other coaches in the Southeast Conference have been. Dillon has got game and that isn't just in one sport.
Good luck, Andrew in college and all you do. He is going to be playing baseball for Oakland University next season and I can bet he will turn heads in that league as well.
Ypsilanti's Zevin Carter has been an extremely good track athletes for several years now. She will be racing at the state meet in a few days and will be headed to Minnesota State University to run track and become a nurse.
The Phoenix also had Conner Heine graduate this season and I can tell you I saw this player do some great things on the basketball court in his career. He can play basketball with the best of them and I hope he continues doing so at the next level. I know Coach Steve Brooks will miss him and would probably like five or six just like him on the team.
Belleville's Mohamed Conde was one such player I have covered all four years at Belleville. Not only his is a good athlete and basketball player he has always been a nice person and a good interview. He will be playing basketball at Saginaw Valley University and plans to be a big part of their team in a couple of years. Good job, Mo!
How about senior track star Chyann Hawk? Four events for a state competition. I hope you Grandmother brings enough food for the team at the state meet.
Willow Run's Garrett Davis and Maurice Jordan were both very good athletes and both have strong futures ahead of them. I know Davis will play football for my aluma mater Wayne State University and I am sure they fell glad to have a player with such talent. He has been one of those interviews that I can depend on and that I love to do. Jordan was a basketball player with a lot of talent that had a tremendous season this year. I think he and his coach were surprised when he was named our area's player of the year in hoops.
This players and many like them are just quality individuals and I will miss covering them and writing about them. I thing that a lot of thanks goes to the athlete's parents' teachers, coaches and even athletic directors and athletic support staff.
I can't wait to start over next season with the new talent and the juniors who become seniors.