— The Flint River Watershed Coalition conducted water quality tests today at the point where Swartz Creek enters the Flint River the education manager says the testing is citizen science that gets kids out of the classroom and provides them with a real-world scientific experience "The data that we collect today is going to be public record," said Esper "It will be posted on the Flint River Green.org website anybody who needs to know what's going on with the water quality of Swartz Creek in the Flint River have access to that information." The project involves 20 local teachers from the Flint River Watershed area. Those interested in participating can contact the Watershed Coalition through its website here Swartz Creek junior Wyatt Jolman was named Flint-area Athlete of the Week for April 21-27.Jim Jolman .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Jonathan Szczepaniak | jszczepaniak@mlive.comFLINT - Swartz Creek’s milestone man has been a special player since he first stepped onto the field as a freshman who earned his 100th-career hit earlier this season has solidified himself as one of the premier players in the Flint Metro League the past two seasons A first-team all-FML Stripes selection last season and 19 stolen bases while holding four wins None of his stats came as a shock to Swartz Creek baseball head coach Nick Bierman who said Jolman was a special talent since fall camp back in 2022 I knew of him and I knew he was pretty good but I just saw him doing defensive work and he was so technically sound on everything he did,” Bierman said I thought he might be our best defensive player in the program When we got closer to setting the roster in spring and he came out and had three or four hits.” earning a spot on the Flint-area Athlete of the Week poll for April 21-27 after Jolman went 8-for-11 at the plate and contributed five scoreless innings and struck out seven in a 10-2 win over Linden on April 21 Jolman (6,820 votes) narrowly beat Clio softball’s Addie Taylor (6,407 votes) who pitched 22.2 innings with 34 strikeouts and zero earned runs (four unearned) during the week Jolman and Taylor were the only two players to reach over 1,000 votes Jolman is no stranger to winning Flint-area polls after being named the Flint-area’s best spring sophomore sports athlete in 2024 He’s still lethal on the mound and at the plate but Bierman said Jolman’s game has evolved from the hitting side he has solid line drives and gap power,” Bierman said He doesn’t sit there and wait for pitchers to pitch him Jolman is currently hitting .508 with 15 RBIs and 11 stolen bases The six-foot right-hander is also pitching to a 5-1 record with a 2.58 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 24 innings of work anchoring the shortstop position when he’s not pitching Jolman’s pitching arsenal consists of a fastball (sitting 84-85 MPH) but Bierman said what makes Jolman strong on the mound is the way he attacks hitters “He’s smart about recognizing his own arsenal and what isn’t working and what is with certain hitters,” Bierman said The Dragons are currently 16-3 on the season and tied with Flushing for the top spot in the league with a 7-2 record Swartz Creek is 2-1 against Flushing this season Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices Mich.-- Monday brought perfect baseball weather to Mid-Michigan and four of the area's stronger teams took the field in the late afternoon Swartz Creek hosted Flushing; the conference rivals split their doubleheader with the Dragons taking Game 1 5-1 and the Raiders punching back with a 12-2 blowout victory in Game 2 however the hosts overpowered the Railroaders; Mt Morris won the first contest 6-2 and found another gear afterwards to win the second 15-3 - A Genesee County man had a morning he will never forget when a stop for coffee and a lottery ticket led him to a $1 million prize “I buy lottery tickets every Friday,” said the lucky player but I always hope to win a few dollars or at least break even so I stopped at the gas station to buy a coffee and a lottery ticket I scratched the ticket when I got in my car and had to scan it at least five times to make sure I was reading it right after I saw I had won $1 million This prize is life-changing and is going to give me opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise had.” “What started as a normal day for this lucky player quickly turned to a life-changing one when a stop for coffee led him to winning a $1 million prize,” said Lottery Commissioner “It is heartwarming to hear that this prize will not only have a positive impact on the player but his good fortune will also help others with his plans to start a nonprofit.” The 45-year-old player bought his winning ticket at Admiral Petroleum located at 7561 Miller Road in Swartz Creek He recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim the big prize He chose to receive his prize as a one-time lump sum payment of about $694,000 rather than annuity payments for the full amount - The Swartz Creek Fire Department invited the community to assist them with christening their new engine on Saturday Their new engine is replacing one that has seen 27 years of service by the department the firefighters held a push-in ceremony where they practiced firefighting traditions everyone put their hands on the new engine while a prayer was read water was transferred from the old vehicle to the new one The new fire truck was washed then with it's hose everyone worked together to push the engine into the garage the department cheated this step as the truck was put in reverse Fire Chief Dave Plumb was heartened by the show of community support they've always supported our department City of Swartz Creek residents Clayton Township residents we have a great support system with them and to see them be able to come out her and share in the experience help push the fire truck in the department hopes to better serve the community as The vehicle also has an expanded water tank which will lessen their reliability on hydrants The Swartz Creek girls bowling team celebrates its state championship.Courtesy .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Jonathan Szczepaniak | jszczepaniak@mlive.comFLINT -- It’s been a long time coming but Swartz Creek will finally have a girls state championship trophy to showcase throughout its halls Newcomers to Division 2 bowling this season after competing in Division 1 last year the Dragons were red-hot on the lanes leading up to the Division 2 state finals on Feb Swartz Creek dropped to Division 2 after the State of Michigan no longer counted Swartz Creek’s virtual learning center towards enrollment size Senior Kaidance Gates was coming off an all-tournament team MVP honoree at the Division 1 Regional Tune-up junior Grace Parsons won the Flint Metro Singles Tournament and Swartz Creek took first at the Division 2 Regional Tune-up as a team days before regionals When Swartz Creek girls bowling stormed out of the state finals qualifying block nearly 150 pins ahead of Bay City John Glenn and earned the No including Swartz Creek head coach Mike Vanderkuur and I don’t think there’s ever been a Swartz Creek girls team that’s thrown a 1,000 in a Peterson game but they threw 1,018 and 1,048 at this warm-up,” Vanderkuur said “I knew what they were definitely capable of.” A Peterson game is when bowlers compete in individual games and scores are added up who finished as the top girl at the Division 1 tune-up led the way with a 214 and 245 while senior Christiana Mata The numbers were there for Swartz Creek to make a run in the state finals 1 seed out of the qualifying block was the first step “We felt pretty good going into qualifying but we also knew that anything could happen at any time,” Mata said 4 Sparta 3-2 to set up a state championship matchup against Cedar Springs Cedar Springs had done the Dragons’ bidding by eliminating Flint Kearsley which was fresh off a state runner-up finish to Kearsley Kearsley had just claimed a regional title over the Dragons a week prior by 145 pins The nerves of the final game came and went as Swartz Creek swept Cedar Springs 3-0 by scores of 148-138 The Dragons had won its first girls bowling title and first girls state title out of any sports in school history Swartz Creek athletic director Adrian Trzebiatowski made sure the school honored the girls properly for their accomplishments “She’s overjoyed with it,” Vanderkuur said “When I called her Friday afternoon that we had won we ended up meeting Saturday evening with all the players and parents at McDonald’s where she had a police and fire escort us to the high school coming into town.” “She opened up the gym so the girls could all come into the gym with ‘We are the Champions’ playing in the background.’” which she threw without any knowledge that she would be the bowler sending Swartz Creek home as champions that’s when I realized we could do it,” Gates said When I threw the ball and I came back to my coach and he told me There are a few things you could point to as the difference maker for Swartz Creek but depth certainly should be in the conversation Vanderkuur had returned a core of his varsity bowlers in Gates but he also added freshman Allison Temple and junior Peyton O’Brien to the mix a first team all-league and second team all-state bowler knows a thing or two about Swartz Creek bowling from her older sister Sarah Temple a sophomore bowler for Rochester Christian University bowled for Vanderkuur and had Allison around at practices when she was in middle school Allison Temple was eager to bowl for varsity but hit a rough patch mentally on the lanes in the spring of her eighth grade year Temple said she was fearful of judgement and felt like people would be disappointed in her if she didn’t do well That’s when her older sister came along to help giving her a book called “The Mental Game,” and the first chapter changed everything for Temple and you really do need to be for bowling,” Temple said “It said how you could sing a song or think about someone you love and I thought how singing a song could really work It was just telling me not to focus so much on bowling.” found her stride and qualified for states in the singles bracket this year 4 seed out of the qualifying block before being eliminated in the first round Allison Temple might not be the first Temple to rep the Dragons logo but she is the first to bring home a title and she’ll be sure to remind her older sister we’re very competitive,” Allison Temple said “She always says I’m better but ‘just remember who made you better.’” There’s definitely truth to it She’s the one who started in sixth grade and helped me bowl Gates also earned first team all-league while Mata and Parsons earned second team and O’Brien honorable mention in the Flint Metro League There are no two bowlers who deserved the championship win more than Gates and Mata who have played an integral part to getting Swartz Creek bowling where it is now Both coaches during their varsity tenures on the Swartz Creek middle school bowling team have been leaders by example both on and off the lanes helping create a team environment every Swartz Creek bowler is comfortable to be a part of “We all came together as a group,” Gates said I think what helped us win was knowing we’re so close and like a family.” “You meet a lot of really great people through bowling and you all have something in common,” Mata said “Making friendships and those bonds get really close over the years.” Swartz Creek will return next season with Parsons and O’Brien as the senior group along with Temple hoping to build off her stellar freshman campaign There’s no doubt Flint Kearsley will be coming for Swartz Creek after the Dragons knocked its league rival off the state finals throne Kearsley has won 10 state titles since 2012 and was the Flint Metro League champion this season ahead of Swartz Creek Swartz Creek’s only league loss came to Flint Kearsley “We see them quite often,” Vanderkuur said A Genesee County man won 'life-changing' money on an instant scratch-off ticket he purchased at a gas station in Swartz Creek The 45-year-old player bought his $1 million winning ticket at the Admiral gas station on Miller Road The player tells the Michigan Lottery that he buys tickets every Friday but I always hope to win a few dollars or at least break even," he said bought a coffee and the '$46,000,000 Payout' ticket, then decided to scratch it off right away He says he needed a little convincing after seeing that he was a big winner "I scratched the ticket when I got in my car and had to scan it at least five times to make sure I was reading it right after I saw I had won $1 million!" he said SEE ALSO:  Michigan Man Buries $1M Winning Lottery Ticket in a Jar in His Yard SEE ALSO:  Sam's Clubs Are Being Remodeled - Some Michigan Shoppers Won't Like the Change The lucky player tells the Michigan Lottery that the prize is 'life-changing' and says the money "is going to give me opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had." He goes on to say that he plans to buy a new car A Genesee County man won 'life-changing' money on an instant scratch-off ticket he purchased at a gas station in Swartz Creek.\nRead More The player tells the Michigan Lottery that he buys tickets every Friday SEE ALSO:  Michigan Man Buries $1M Winning Lottery Ticket in a Jar in His Yard SEE ALSO:  Sam's Clubs Are Being Remodeled - Some Michigan Shoppers Won't Like the Change 1/28Swartz Creek vs. Holly boys basketball Division 1 district game — Feb. 24, 2025.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Jake May | jmay2@mlive.comLAPEER The Dragons dominated their way to a 69-43 victory over Holly on Monday night 24 at Lapeer High School during the opening games of district play in the tournament Swartz Creek (15-8) entered the matchup 2-0 against Holly (7-16) in regular season play RELATED: Youngblood leads Swartz Creek to 68-43 victory over Holly in district opener Senior Darrion Youngblood led the Dragons with 20 points He was joined by sophomore King Powell (3) Junior Jayden Kenney led Holly with 14 points while senior Bowen Moore who finished top 3 all-time in scoring at Holly Swartz Creek will face Grand Blanc (14-7) for a district semifinals matchup at 7 p.m MLive was there to document the action. Click here to see more photos or check out photos from the game in the gallery above You must be a subscriber to view the photo gallery. Subscribers click the “Get photo” link to download high-resolution images right to their device for free as part of their subscription. To subscribe, click this link. ‘Junkyard dogs’ Davison advances, beats Lapeer 65-51 in first round of districts Five takeaways from Flint-area girls basketball district pairings Final Flint-area boys basketball Power Rankings for regular season: Journey to the Breslin Center is on Lapeer junior guard sets school record, eyes family bragging rights 1/39Election Day in Flint Area.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Fuad Shalhout | fshalhout@mlive.comSWARTZ CREEK MI - The Swartz Creek Community Schools bond proposal has been approved according to unofficial results from the county Clerk’s Office A total of 14,112 people voted on the proposal in the Genesee County community The measure allows the district to borrow up to $38.8 million for a range of improvements Related: Live: Genesee County election results for Nov. 5, 2024 The bond will be repaid over a maximum of 25 years with an estimated millage rate of 1.90 mills in 2025 reflecting no net increase over the previous year’s levy Additional funds will be allocated to support improvements to playgrounds aimed at enhancing the educational environment The district currently has $36.355 million in outstanding bonds .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Jonathan Szczepaniak | jszczepaniak@mlive.comFLINT - Below are the results of how Flint-area baseball teams fared over the weekend It’s still very early in the spring season with some teams still waiting to compete for the first time but that hasn’t stopped other Flint-area teams from trying to find their stride early on Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to email results, highlights, and comments about the results of each game for any sport to jszczepaniak@mlive.com The Flushing bats were alive in game one as Dom Oyler led the way with three hits and two RBIs but Frankenmuth was able to walk away with the win Cam McIlhargie and Austin Madrigal had two hits and Luke Smith added one in the loss for Flushing The bats came alive for the Raiders in game two as Flushing put 13 runs on the board in four innings Flushing and Dexter each walked away with a win in the doubleheader as Flushing’s Drew Schmidt Dexter’s pitching limited the Raiders’ offense as Dexter took game one but Kayden Tinnin put on a strong performance in game two to help Flushing earn the win Tinnin tossed three innings and recorded three strikeouts and Cam McIlhargie each had a hit and an RBI for Flushing The Dragons swept the Friday doubleheader behind another strong performance from its pitching staff Wyatt Jolman tossed five innings and struck out 13 batters while Jac Sandlin and Nate Crawford combined for five innings pitched and nine strikeouts Jolman also paced the offensive effort with a 3-for-7 day at the plate and Crawford all collected a pair of hits in the wins Swartz Creek improves to 4-0 while Birch Run drops to 0-2