Spring sports at ACGC and Panorama are officially underway … kind of
By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
ACGC and Panorama spring sports have hit the blocks, teed off and kicked off. Or, as best they can. I was prepared to get back into the swing of covering track and field for both schools, seeing as the boys and girls of the Panthers and Chargers have made a habit of qualifying for the state meets. But several meets have already been cancelled. The same goes for golf, a sport I wish I was good at. And, my personal favorite sport, soccer, also fell victim to spring’s fickle weather.
Even with postponements and cancellations galore, I would still like to take the opportunity to use this column to detail what I am excited to see for each sport, boys and girls, for Panorama and ACGC. You can read more about them in detail in our coming Spring Sports Guide, where I interviewed each team’s head coach ahead of their respective 2026 seasons.
ACGC
The ACGC boys track and field team is coming off of one of its most successful seasons in school history. The Chargers placed second at the state meet and took home a gold medal for good measure. Add in a few more medals and a host of top-10 finishes, and ACGC had quite the 2025 season. Girls track coach, Jacob Lacey, takes the reins this season. He has been assistant in the program for a long time and is aiming the replicate last season’s success.
Speaking of Lacey, his girls track team is also a successful one. Sure, they will be missing Ava Campbell and her prowess in the distance runs, but the team returns several state qualifiers from last season. It should be another successful campaign for them as well.
Lori McGivney had plenty of recruiting to do for the boys golf team, and that she did. McGivney had to make several replacements to last year’s squad but retains her best golfer in Sayer Bireline-Huss. In the team’s first meet, they exceeded her score expectations, and Bireline-Huss placed in the top five overall.
The girls golf team is led by Will Shull for the second year. He and his golfers made great strides in her first season, and, luckily for him, returned basically his entire team from a season ago. The team won its first competition of the season at the Woodward Golf Club, led by an impressive group of seniors. Shull says the team and some individuals will be chasing records this year, so it will be interesting to see how they finish out the season.
Panorama
While interviewing the Panorama girls track team’s head coach, Greg Thompson, we shared a laugh. I asked, “What season is this for you in charge?” He said, “Oh my gosh. I’ve been doing this since 1998.” I did the math for him, since I was born in 1998. This marks his 28th season leading the Panther girls. And he should be set for another solid year with the return of distance running star Kylie Rochholz, as well as several other returning state qualifiers.
For the boys track team, Bruce Dahlhauser had one state qualifier last year in Syler Shaffer. A few more missed out by slim margins. Either way, Shaffer is returning, as well as plenty of other solid athletes. Dahlhauser won’t put a pin in how many events he would like to qualify for, but I would be surprised if that number was only one again.
As for the Panther boys golf team, they have qualified for back-to-back state meets under Head Coach Connor Osbahr. He returns three of his six golfers from the state meet last year. The Panthers rattled off four straight wins at one point last year. This 2026 squad has every chance to go on a similar run and hopefully make the final rounds of the season for a third straight year.
The girls golf team is led by Melissa Hochstetler. Statistically, the girls had their best season in 2025. After going 1-14 three years ago, and 4-25 two years ago, the Panthers went 12-22, accounting for their most wins in a season. The year ended at regionals, but the girls return a few solid golfers and will hope to continue improving that record.
Unfortunately, the boys soccer season was cancelled due to low numbers. My heart goes out to those players who will not be able to play this year. The memories I made during soccer season were easily the most enjoyable ones of my high school days.
On the other side, the girls soccer team should be in for another season full of wins and an opposing net full of Morgan Crees goals. Crees’s 55 goals last season was the second most scored by any girl in the entire state. Her freshman year, she scored 41. Her junior year, 48. That’s 144 goals from one player. And she netted five in the team’s first game of the season. There is every chance that she can reach 200 career goals this season. I’ll have to look into what the record is. Besides Crees’ incredible goal-scoring acumen, the girls team has never had a sub .500 season since it was formed. Head Coach Paul Kautzky hopes to bring them to the state tournament this year and get Crees some much deserved post season goals on her resume.