Michael Dugan
Sports Reporter/Weekend Sports Anchor
Burlington, VT
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Michael joined the WCAX team as the weekend sports anchor in the summer of 2022 after spending almost three years as the sports anchor for WLOX in Biloxi, Mississippi. Before starting his career there, he graduated from Indiana University in 2019.
Despite coming from the warm Gulf Coast, his Illinois roots have him ready for the cold winters. In his free time, he loves playing fetch with his dog, playing basketball in the winter, or spending time on the golf course in the summer. If you have a story idea, feel free to reach out to Michael by sending an email to michael.dugan@wcax.com.
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The Bulldogs return about half of their starters from last year’s squad, with an added jolt here in 2022.
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No, Tiger Stadium doesn’t have a full kitchen on its turf, but don’t be confused if you hear a little dessert talk on the sidelines.
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It’s been a decade since St. Stanislaus missed the postseason. Whatever they’ve been doing has worked. But, of course, that’s not stopping the Rocks program from reaching even higher.
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There’s not much topography on a football field. But that’s not stopping George County’s quest to get to the top.
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New field, new coach, and new era for the Long Beach Bearcats, as Jacob Massey makes his head coaching debut this season.
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Almost 70 years ago, Pat Sapp was born in Ohio. Nowadays, he resides in Biloxi with his family, and his 2002 Paralympics gold medal.
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For fans of college football, the season may technically end in early January, but about a month later, there’s signing day.
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Three-time Olympic medalist Brittney Reese is back in Gulfport to lead the track program she was a part of almost 20 years ago, with a chance to compete again on her old stomping grounds from a different perspective.
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The Mississippi Gulf Coast Sharks is a veteran, minority-owned non-profit athletic and academic program, and they’re holding football tryouts Saturday for kids ages seven through 13.
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At just 12-years-old, gymnast Tyse Love of Gulfport was selected to represent the United States in the World Age Group Games in Bulgaria this fall.
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It’s no secret Mississippi is a force on the baseball diamond at every level. Even at the eight-year-old level.
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Ole Miss fans have begun celebrating, and they’re just getting started.
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One last day of practice on Friday before two - or, maybe three - consecutive gamedays to round out the college baseball season. What a ride it has been, and what a ride it will continue to be through the weekend, between two teams who took slightly different paths to get here.
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A state champion head basketball coach, a Gulfport Sports Hall of Fame member, and former principal of Bayou View Middle School, his resume is loaded. Which means no shortage of memories.
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The Ole Miss signee scored 36 goals and notched 21 assists this past season, and totaled 124 goals and 69 assists throughout her career at GHS.
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His batting average is over .280, and is top-three on the team in most hitting categories. All after an important off-season, when Devanney made some tweaks to his swing, but really dedicated himself to getting in the right headspace.
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The Green Wave have a handful of Magnolia State natives, and making a quick trip over the state line is a prime opportunity for Fritz to meet some new faces and perhaps extend some more recruiting branches to the Coast.
Ole Miss has already exercised the demons of 2021 and 2019 by rolling into Omaha. But with now six appearances on the sport’s grandest stage, they feel it’s probably time they end their stay with a win.
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It’s no secret the Rebels’ season was a roller coaster - peaking at number one and falling down to the bubble come selection day. An uphill battle in the SEC is far from a walk in the park.
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The Great Eight Baseball Classic is underway at MGM Park, featuring Louisiana-based Knights Knation baseball and seven other high school club teams from as far as Texas and Charlotte.
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Mississippi State took its Road Dawgs Tour down to the Coast Wednesday evening, with two new head coaches joining head football coach Mike Leach as faces of the MSU basketball programs.
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Pearl River Central graduate Hayden Dunhurst and Ocean Springs graduate Mitch Murrell hit the road with the Rebels on Wednesday as they left for the College World Series.
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From the last team in, to one of the last teams standing. Ole Miss has seen it all this season, peaking at number one in the country and falling on the wrong side of the bubble near season’s end.
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Tuesday marked the opening of Saints minicamp, where the black and gold had 100 percent attendance, according to head coach Dennis Allen.
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Biloxi native Stan Dellenger spent the majority of his 40-year coaching career in South Mississippi.
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The team won 45 games, the second-most of any Wildcat team in program history, and the final win of the season gave Michael Avalon his 200th as the head coach of PRCC.
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Southern Miss is in the top half of Conference USA in most major hitting categories as a team. They strike out the least. They’re fourth in home runs. They’re fifth in batting average and on-base percentage.
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In his first season with the Tigers, Jay Johnson is back in the familiar territory of the NCAA tournament.
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Up until 2017, Southern Miss baseball fans had waited 16 years to see their Golden Eagles host a regional. Now, they’re hosting again in 2022 for the second time in five tournaments.
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The Rebels really sweat it out Monday before hearing the news that we will make a tournament appearance for the ninth time in the last 10 tournaments played.
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The 20-year-old is the youngest player on the Whitecaps. He is is second on the team in home runs and RBI, and leads the team in batting average, doubles, and hits.
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They’ll join the host Miami Hurricanes, Canisius, and Arizona. Ole Miss will face the Wildcats on Friday at 6 pm central, a rematch from last year’s Super Regional round.
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The first game of the state championships on Thursday belonged to Resurrection nearly from start to finish.
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East Central was crowned the 5A state champion around 10 pm on Thursday, bringing home its first trophy since 2008.
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Mississippi State commit Hollis Porter was named the series MVP.
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The Eagles swept Biggersville, winning 4-0 in the second game of the series.
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Southern Miss will face UAB in the first round of the Conference USA baseball tournament on Wednesday with the first pitch scheduled for 4 pm.
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The Hornets are looking for their third-ever state title in their first appearance since 2009.
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The Pearl River baseball team hosted the Region 23 tournament for the second year in a row, but ran through the competition this time around in perhaps the strongest region in the country to punch its third-ever ticket to the NJCAA World Series (2002, 2019).
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Resurrection is making its second straight trip to Trustmark Park, but its just the program’s second time playing for all the marbles. It’s an eerily similar squad to last year’s south state winner, with just three seniors departing 12 months ago.
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For the second straight season, the Resurrection Eagles are one of the last two teams standing in 1A.
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If you really follow recruiting, you read into the tea leaves from time to time, searching for hints about where someone will sign. You may look at what tweets they liked, or how many times have they talked about your team.
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A year ago, the East Central softball team captured the south state title to advance to the championship round, where they faced powerhouse Neshoba Central, who eventually won the series in two games.
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Picayune’s state championship MVP Dante Dowdell announced his commitment to Oregon Friday afternoon.
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The second round of the SWAC softball tournament at the Gulfport Sportsplex concluded Wednesday evening.
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Over a half-dozen outgoing seniors put pen to paper at Biloxi High School on Wednesday for signing day, as eight student-athletes signed during this signing period.
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Girls basketball leading scorer Marlana Moore signed with Pearl River, and a pair of baseball players in Aaron Daquilla and Harrison Bull signed with Coahoma and MGCCC, respectively.
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After a successful week last year, the SWAC softball tournament returned to the Gulfport Sportsplex on Tuesday for a full week of postseason games to crown the conference’s champion of the 2022 season.
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The SWAC Softball tournament returns to Gulfport beginning Tuesday for four days of tournament action featuring the top eight teams from the conference.
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The basketball season may be well over, but some of South Mississippi’s top talent got together this week for one final contest during the school year for the South Mississippi All-Star Game.
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