North Central senior Brody Mercier assembled a group of talented players to play together in Class C, which is usually a very competitive division. Tournament manager Bryan Maule secured a sponsor for the group, long-time tournament supporter and 2026 Gold Medal Classic Hall of Fame inductee Lee Vincent of Lee’s Greenery in Powers.

“The high school seniors, both girls and boys, are coming to play in the tournament before they go off to compete in college athletics,” said Maule. “Last year we had a half-dozen players of the eight that played in the Border Bash all-star game at Gogebic — for team Michigan — play in Gold Medals, with most of the six going on to play college basketball this past winter. I was excited to see some of those players return for this year, but also for the group that Brody (Mercier) put together.”

The Lee’s roster for Class C that Mercier captained included Ethan Marta of Westwood, Ford Richardson of Marquette, Darrent Butler and Tanner Theuerkauf of Menominee, Jack Kriegl and Owen Olkkonen of Kingsford, as well as Ben Stage and Brady Trudgeon of North Central. The group made it to the Class C championship game Sunday evening, but came up short to four-time defending Class C champion Dave’s Auto of Iron Mountatin, 81-70.

The Border Bash game(s) that Maule is referring to is an annual battle between recently graduated high school seniors from both the U.P. and northeast Wisconsin, for both male and female players. The game is held at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood and is sponsored by the Ironwood Kiwanis.

Iron Mountain graduate Macy Linsenbigler averaged 15.4 points and 12.3 rebounds per game in her freshman season at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood. (Gogebic College photo)

This year’s other Gold Medal participants who recently completed their high school careers include Lillie Johnson of Gladstone, Lauren Adams of Norway, Elsie Williams of Forest Park and Kylee Uotila of Ontonagon in the Women’s Division. Johnson will attend the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Adams will attend the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and Uotila will attend Gogebic Community College, all as basketball recruits.

First-year college cagers who returned to play in this year’s Gold Medal who were Border Bash participants in 2025 include Marquette’s Kyler Sager of Bay College, Kingsford’s Gavin Grondin of Lake Superior State University, Iron Mountain’s Oskar Kangas of University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Macy Linsenbigler of the Gogegbic Lady Sampsons. Linsenbigler’s Gogebic teammate Grace Maule of Carney-Nadeau was also a Border Bash participant in 2025.