West Bloomfield High School continued its unbelievable streak in is athletics. This week, many Lakers were in action, as the fall sports season was wrapping up and the winter sports season was starting. Let’s review the action packed and historic week of sports behind us.
On Friday, November 7th, a huge crowed cheered on the exceptionally talented WBHS Varsity football team in a district final playoff game against the rival Walled Lake Central (WLC) Vikings. The Lakers entered the game with a 9-1 record and fought hard against the Vikings who carried an 8-2 record. The battle was decided in the last few minutes which created much excitement but deep disappointment for the Lakers, as they fell 11-7 in favor of WLC. The Lakers hung onto hope with 40 seconds remaining in the 4th with 2 timeouts as they trailed by 4. Junior quarterback, Trishton Jackson bombed the ball down field in a last second attempt, resulting in an unfortunate interception to seal the game’s fate. Despite the outcome of the match, the team should be very proud of giving WBHS the best season in school history. The WBHS team concluded their season with a 9-2 record and a first district finals appearance. Congratulations on an unforgettable year!
WBHS Varsity volleyball attended their MHSAA district matches with winning results. On Monday, November 3rd, they took on Walled Lake Western (WLW). The hard fought game ended in favor of this very talented WBHS as they swept WLW 3 sets to zero with set scores of 28-26, 25-12, and 25-16. The Lakers carried this momentum over to their next contest as they once again swept their opponent on Wednesday, November 5th. This WBHS team won all three sets against Walled Lake Central (WLC) with set scores of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-18. Unfortunately this 6 set winning streak was snapped the next day on Thursday, November 6th, as WBHS fell to Lakeland High School (LHS). WBHS lost all three sets 25-16, 25-20, and 25-20. The Varsity volleyball team competed with heart and passion as they concluded their season with a slam.
The WBHS Varsity girls swim and dive team was busy at work as they competed in a series of very important league meets. The first meet of the week was on Wednesday Nov 5th, as the WBHS swim team competed in a Varsity OAA Preliminary meet at Groves High School. The competing schools included Berkley High School, North Farmington High School, Rochester High School, and Troy High School. The top 24 swimmers in this meet would continue to the league finals. Of the 14 WBHS swimmers, 13 ranked in the top 24 and continued their streak to the finals. One WBHS Freshman, Ava Barnhouse, received 2 state cuts for the 50 meter free and the 100 meter fly. The next day on Thursday, November 6th, the WBHS dive team hit the diving boards with spectacular flare in a division meet. Many WBHS students advanced to the next stage, one of which includes, Senior, Jacqueline Bumler, as she finished in first place among all divers. The last day of districts took place on Friday, November 7th. WBHS made a huge splash finishing the day in 4th place among the many schools in attendance. Senior, Jacqueline Bumler performed incredible finishing first overall out of hundreds of swimmers.
Some great performances included:
Ava Barnthouse (Freshman): 1st in 50 meter free and 100 fly

Aliza Durack (Junior), Courtney Mcginnis (Junior), Sarah Durack (Freshman), and Ava Barnthouse (Freshman): 3rd 200 free relay STATES

Aliza Durack (Junior), Courtney Mcginnis (Junior), Taylor Christensen (Freshman), and Ava Barnthouse (Freshman): 3rd 400 free relay

Sarah Durack (Freshman):  8th place 200 IM and the 100 free
Special mention: WBHS’ marching band finished 9th in the state. Their competition was held on November 1 at Ford Field in Detroit as they faced some of the state’s most renowned bands. WBHS has a legacy of having some of the best musicians and that talent was displayed at the state competition.
The proud and bold WBHS student section, better known as the SWAMP, had a demanding presence in all three of the away volleyball matches, as well as under the brights light of Laker Stadium. Every resident should take a moment and recognize the legacy, hard work, and talent that exists in the halls of WBHS.