Community comes out to honor its state champions

Published 11:11 am Friday, June 24, 2022

By Max Harden

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BUCHANAN — The Buchanan baseball team was celebrated with much fanfare Wednesday night.

Buchanan Community Schools hosted a celebratory gathering for the newly-minted Division 3 state champions at the Buchanan Commons.

Dozens of community members attended the event, which featured speeches from both BCS Superintendent Patricia Robinson and Buchanan Mayor Sean Denison.

“I used to have a poster on my wall growing up that said ‘the name on the front of your jersey represents who you play for; the name on the back represents who raised you. Do them both justice,” he said. “From the stories I’ve heard and as near as I can tell, you young men have done that to perfection this year. Thank you.”

Next, head coach Jim Brawley recapped the season that was and thanked everyone for supporting the team.

“Every one of these kids truly contributed to this state championship and not only did they do it but so did their parents,” Brawley said. “If anyone is out there and they’re hoping to be on this stage someday, I’m gonna tell you what it takes: it takes 14 kids, and 28 parents who put their team in front of themselves. These kids and these parents didn’t care who stepped up. It didn’t matter if it was Logan (Grwinski) making the diving catch for a double play ball. It didn’t matter who it was, they cheered each other on and so, did their parents.”

Brawley then opened the floor to any seniors who wanted to address the crowd. Senior Drew Glavin took him up on that offer.

“Here we are today standing down at the Commons as champions celebrating,” Glavin said. “This was a dream of all of ours since elementary school and we finally did it. Words cannot describe this feeling and we’re just happy to be here ending our season in a win because not many teams do that.”

At the conclusion of the event, the team participated in an autograph session signing baseballs and posters for the next generation of Buchanan athletes.

For community members in attendance, the 2022 Buchanan baseball team will be one to remember for years to come.

“I still remember after last year, talking with coaches and with the kids,” said former BHS assistant principal Brian Pruett, now the principal of  Moccasin Elementary School. “They said ‘we’re gonna be back, we’re gonna win this.’ You can say that but these kids legitimately said, no, we are going back. We are gonna win this and they did. There’s not many teams that can say, ‘we did what we said, we’d do.’”

 

Like father like son

Bringing a state title back home puts Drew Glavin in an exclusive group of Buchanan athletes, a group that also includes his father, Darin.

Darin Glavin helped the Bucks earn the Class C state championship with a 3-2 win over Grandville Calvin Christian in 1985.

“The journey’s been amazing,” “Ever since we were younger, he’s always brought up his state championship around springtime and likes to make jokes. But it’s been a fun journey

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Darin said. “You always have the only one but just watching him, we knew there was something potential for greatness from those guys. I couldn’t be happier. His mom and I were so proud. I guess now I have to put the cassette tapes away. I can’t show him the old WNIL tapes from the ‘80s. He’s got his own legacy now.”

For Darin, seeing his son win a state championship was a moment that was hard to describe.

“You watch that last strike and it’s just emotion. Raw, fatherly emotion,” he said. “It’s a feeling that I hoped I would have and now… I can’t explain it.”

Baseball isn’t done with Drew, who will be playing for Kalamazoo Valley Community College next year. While he looks forward to continuing his play on the field, he relished being able to celebrate both with his community and with his team in what may be the last time it is fully assembled.

“This is an amazing experience,” Drew said. “Having the community out here and all the fans here cheering us on is amazing. At the state final game, there were so many people there and it’s just awesome to see that; we love it. Here with all the guys, we’ve made great memories today.”

“Coach probably said it best, there are 14 players on that team and 28 parents,” Darin said. “It is a community effort to raise a championship team and Buchanan did it right this way.”

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