March 8, 2023, CUTHBERT, Ga. — The Grand Rapids Community College baseball team out-hit Andrew College on Wednesday, but lost 10-9 and 9-6 to another tough NJCAA Division I team. In game one, Dylan Chargo and Fernando Rivera-Calderon combined for six of the team's 12 hits, while Zacarias Salinas and Tommy Reid each had two hits. In the nightcap, GRCC fell behind 7-1 after two innings, but scored five runs in the next two frames to cut the deficit to just one.  Andrew College tacked on two runs in the bottom of the sixth to finish the scoring.  Jeremy Marble took the loss in his second start of the season, but allowed just one earned run while striking out four batters. Luke Huerta, Trevin Laming and Chargo all had two hits, including a home run by Chargo, his first of the year. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

  March 8, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grand Rapids Community College’s Workforce Training is offering a new program requested by West Michigan businesses that provides the skills required of a newly appointed leader. The Preparation for Leadership program is intended for the many small- to mid-sized organizations that often are not able to provide detailed leadership development training to potential or newly promoted leaders. Upskilling employees to become leaders can save money on the hiring process and operations training. “This leadership training goes beyond the typical 'leadership 101', said John Van Elst, interim executive director of GRCC Workforce Training. “It is built to address the skills and responsibilities new supervisors will face.” Van Elst said he is excited to have Thomas Hecksel as the trainer for this course. “Thomas has a proven track record with his experience and expertise with small to mid-sized companies in the West Michigan business market to improve their performance and competitiveness.” The training is a nine-hour course over three days that provides new and future leaders with detailed tools and techniques for immediate results. It is designed to challenge the participants with specific discussions on the skills and responsibilities they will face as a supervisor or leader. The interactive curriculum allows learners to gain easy-to-implement strategies to put into practice. Actual employee interaction scenarios are practiced in group discussions so skills can easily be applied. “This training addresses common hurdles for many new leaders such as gaining credibility from others,” Hecksel said. “Responsibility checklists are used to give a clear picture of the elements involved in being a leader.” Training includes a personality test to improve understanding of participants’ leadership traits, styles and preferences. This will help them recognize how to best deal with others who may have different traits. Class runs Thursday mornings beginning April 27, 2023 and will be held at the GRCC Tassell MTEC. For more information go to grcc.edu/leadership .

March 7, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College women's basketball team is heading back to the regional semi-finals for the sixth straight year after a 53-44 win over Muskegon Community College on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the men's season came to end after a 78-68 defeat to Delta College, ending a six-game win streak. The team, which won 11 straight games to begin the season, finished the year 21-8. For the eleventh time this season, the stingy women's defense - ranked third best in the league - held their opponent under 50 points.  It also held Muskegon to just 20.9 percent from the field. Marlene Bussler led the team with 15 points, including three of the team's seven made three-point shots. Grace Lodes, 13 points, 12 rebounds, finished with the game's lone double-double. Karissa Ferry totaled 11 rebounds. “Extremely proud of the effort defensively tonight,” coach David Glazier said. “They played as one tonight on both ends of the floor. I’m happy for our sophomores, who get to continue adding to what they have already accomplished at GRCC.” The women's team will move on to the semi-finals of the Great Lakes B District Tournament to face Jackson College on March 9 at 6:30 p.m. Jackson is the tournament's No. 1 seed after winning the Eastern Conference.  Mott Community College plays host to both the semi-finals and the finals. If GRCC wins, the championship game will be March 11 at 6 p.m.   The men's team turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 16 times and shot just 43.3 percent from the field.  Delta's 26 free throw attempts -- to just four for the Raiders -- might have been the biggest difference in the game. Danyel Bibbs finished his outstanding two-year career at GRCC with a 19-point, 10-rebound, six-assist performance.  Sophomore teammate Myron Brewer finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while freshman guard B.J. Neely went 8-of-12 from the field for 17 points. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

March 7, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Izzy Regner continues to dominate on the mound with her third shutout in as many days to give the Grand Rapids Community College softball team a 7-0 win over Penn State Greater Allegheny on Tuesday. The softball team split its games on Tuesday while the baseball team dropped two more games against a tough Gulf Coast Community College team that is ranked No. 15 in the latest NJCAA Division I poll. In the first softball game, Regner struck out 11 batters, bringing her season total to 36 in just three games.  She also added three doubles and two RBI. Samara Kolehouse also had a three-hit game with a double of her own.  Autumn Scott and Lauren James had two hits each. In game two, GRCC suffered a 14-0 loss to Lake Michigan College and got hits from Regner, Jaye Guichelaar and Britney Cisler. The baseball team managed just four hits on the day, losing 11-1 and 13-1. Fernando Rivera-Calderon hit his second home run of the season while Zacarias Salinas, Melvin Rodriguez and Joe Hoeks picked up the other hits. The baseball team plays Andrew College in a double header on Wednesday while the softball team resumes play on Thursday. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

March 6, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Izzy Regner pitched her second one-hit shutout in as many days to give the Grand Rapids Community College softball team a 3-0 win over Lincoln Land Community College on Monday. The softball split its games on Monday on a southern tour, while the baseball team dropped two games against Tallahassee Community College, which competes in the NJCAA Division I. In the first softball team, Regner allowed a leadoff double, then got the next 20 batters out, 14 of them via a strikeout. Regner is now 2-0 on the season, with 25 strikeouts. GRCC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second game, but Jackson College responded with five runs in the bottom of the first and won 12-4 in five innings.  Jaye Guichelaar had three hits on the day including the team’s first home run of the season. Regner had four hits and Lauren James had three hits, including two RBI doubles. The baseball team had two hits in each game, losing 4-0 and then 16-2 in five innings.  Trevin Lamin had two hits, and Aaron Bess and Tommy Reid had the other two. Colton Leatherman and Caden VanDeBerg gave up just three hits in the game one loss. Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday. This story was written by Ben Brown.