LocalSportsJournal.com

Western Michigan Christian High School is in the market for new varsity basketball coaches, following Friday’s announcement that boys coach Kyle Mastenbrook and girls coach Glenn Karsten have been relieved of their duties.LSJ Logo incert

While school officials say wins and losses had nothing to do with the decision to replace the coaches, both teams struggled to varying degrees in the recently completed season.

The boys team finished with a 4-17 record while the girls team was 12-11.

WMC has a strong basketball tradition, particularly the boys team, which has won nine state championships.

The Warriors won Class C state titles in 1958, 1962, 1965 and 1970 under Coach Elmer Walcott and Class D state titles in 1992, 1999, 2008, 2009 and 2010 under Coach Jim Goorman.

Mastenbrook had just completed his fourth year with the boys team while Karsten had just finished his third.

“From the entire WMC community, I would like to say thank you to both Kyle and Glenn for the time they spent serving the WMC basketball programs,” said WMC Athletic Director Josh Glerum in a prepared statement.

“They were both incredibly devoted to their positions and the WMC student-athletes they coached. Wins and losses do not factor into challenging decisions like these. In each instance, our administrative team felt that change was necessary for our programs to continue to advance.”

A coaching search will begin immediately and interviews will take place in late April, according to Glerum.

Interested candidates can email Glerum at [email protected].

Mastenbrook and Karsten said they were grateful to have played a role in the WMC basketball program.

“I consider myself blessed to have been able to serve as the basketball coach at Western Michigan Christian High School,” Mastenbrook was quoted as saying in the school press release. “I am thankful for the opportunity and experiences. I enjoyed being able to work with the guys.

“Most of all, I enjoyed being able to help and see how the players grew as Christian men.”

Karsten addressed his team earlier this week, and told the players the following, according to the press release:

“I hope from our time together, you have learned lessons about your faith and life that you will use forever. Thank you all for the opportunities I have had here to be a part of this girls’ program in some capacity since 2004. I have many, many great memories.”

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