Wayland native follows her aunt’s footsteps
ALPENA, Mich. — In this case, tradition never graduates. Back in the late 1980s, Chris Thurston (Briana Thurston’s Aunt) played basketball for the Alpena Community College Lumberjacks. Briana has decided to continue the family tradition as she recently signed her National Letter of Intent to play for Head Coach Bobby Allen. Even though the Wayland native is following her aunt’s footsteps, the one person that has taught her the game since day one is her father.
“My dad played basketball and has taught me all throughout my life,” said Thurston. “Since then, I’ve always enjoyed playing basketball and wanted to continue that.”
Despite Wayland Union falling short to Grand Rapids South Christian in a District Final game, Thurston’s senior season of basketball is something she’ll never forget. She paced the Wildcats to a 14-9 record, giving Wayland Union their first winning season since the 2014-15 season (23-2).
This fall, Thurston plans on majoring in Exercise Science and Kinesiology. In the future, she plans on working as an Athletic Trainer.
