Finals Preview: The Home Stretch
November 1, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A total of 992 boys cross country runners will join 961 girls at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
No MHSAA tournament event includes that many athletes from so many communities at one time and in one place. But while the girls races feature a number of standouts from last season, the boys packs will all have new leaders.
All four individuals champions from 2011 graduated. Two of last season's team champions are favored to win again, but not by as much. It's easy to expect some shake-up at the top of all four divisions.
Below are some of the teams and individuals expected to emerge. Click for Saturday's race schedule and links to all qualifiers.
DIVISION 1
Reigning champion: Milford
2011 runner-up: Hartland
2012 top three: 1. Milford, 2. Romeo, 3. Saline
Milford looks good for its second straight title and fourth over the last decade led by two top-five placers from last season’s Final – junior and reigning runner-up Brian Kettle and senior Cody Snavely, who finished fifth. Milford placed six of the top 10 at a Regional that also included No. 7 Hartland and honorable mention Pinckney. Romeo comes to MIS this weekend with its top four from last season’s 15th-place team; they finished third-sixth at their Regional. Three of Saline’s top seven from its 2011 fourth-place finisher are back, and posting five of the top 14 allowed it to win a Regional that also included No. 8 Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Individuals: Kettle finished only three seconds behind White Lake Lakeland’s Garret Zuk (now at Michigan State) last season, and Lake Orion senior T.J. Carey should be in the mix again after taking fourth at the 2011 Final and winning his Regional in 15:18. But watch out for Waterford Mott senior Nathan Burnand, the winner at this season’s MSU Spartan Invitational and the sixth-place finisher at the 2011 Final.
DIVISION 2
Reigning champion: Mason
2011 runner-up: St. Joseph
2012 top three: 1. St. Clair, 2. St. Joseph, 3. Grand Rapids Christian
St. Clair took four of the top five and six of the top 10 spots at its Regional, led by winner and senior Brennan Shafer and freshman runner-up Buddy Brosky. They’re joined by three of the top five from last season’s seventh-place Final team. St. Joseph brings back four of its top six after finishing second at last season’s Final, and senior David Berry won his Regional as the Bears placed five among the top nine. Grand Rapids Christian took fifth last season with a senior-dominated group, but led by now-senior Wuoi Mach’s 14th-place finish. He paced five Eagles among the top 15 at their Regional. Reigning MHSAA champion Mason is ranked only No. 6, but returns fourth-place Tanner Hinkle, sixth-place Alex Whitmer and 25-place Mason VanDyke from last season’s title-winning team.
Individuals: After the top two, the next eight placers last season were juniors. Cedar Springs’ Connor Mora took third, and after two MHSAA track championships in the spring looks like the favorite to add one in cross country after winning his Regional in 14:54. But Big Rapids senior Clark Ruiz was runner-up in that Regional at 15:16.5, and Hinkle won his Regional in 15:30.9.
DIVISION 3
Reigning champion: Grandville Calvin Christian
2011 runner-up: Lansing Catholic
2012 top three: 1. Marlette, 2. Grandville Calvin Christian, 3. Benzie Central
Marlette finished 11th last season without a senior, and four of the top six from that race are back this weekend, led by senior and seventh-place finisher Jacob Bowman. Grandville Calvin Christian won its second-straight Final last season by placing four among the top 10, and only fifth-place Zac Nowicki is back from that group – although total, Calvin Christian has four of its top seven from that team returning, and the team took seven of the top 21 spots in dominating its Regional. Benzie Central, the 2009 champion, finished fourth last season with two seniors at the top but returns the next three from last season’s top five.
Individuals: Nowicki won his Regional last week and should among those at the front. The favorites likely are Mason County Central junior Chase Barnett, last season’s runner-up and winner of his Regional in 15:24.7, and Erie Mason senior Nick Raymond. He finished fourth at last season’s Final and won his Regional in 15:15.
DIVISION 4
Reigning champion: Concord
2011 runner-up: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
2012 top three: 1. Concord, 2. Pewamo-Westphalia, 3. Saugatuck
Concord won last season’s championship on the shoulders of individual champ Spencer Nousain, but he was the lone senior and four of that top seven lead this top-ranked team. The Yellow Jackets took five of the top 10 at a Regional that also included No. 10 Mendon. Pewamo-Westphalia finished eighth in Division 3 last season and brings the top six from that team into Division 4 this weekend after claiming six of the top 19 spots at a Regional that included No. 4 Breckenridge and No. 8 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart. Saugatuck’s 11th-place finish last season came without a senior, and four of the top six are back led by last season’s individual runner-up, now-senior Sean Kelly.
Individuals: Kelly finished five seconds off Nousain last season, but finished only second at his Regional to Fremont Providence Christian senior Nick VanderKooi – who ran a 15:49 last weekend. Evart senior David Zinger took third in that same Regional after also taking third at last season’s Final. VanderKooi took 11th last fall.
PHOTO: Lake Orion's T.J. Carey (98), Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills' Jeff Bajema (215) and Milford's Cody Snavely (89) run near the front during last season's Division 1 Final at Michigan International Speedway. All three finished among the top eight and will be back this weekend. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com)
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- MHSAA News
Field Hockey Debut, Tennis Finals Change Among Most Notable as Fall Practices Set to Begin
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 8, 2025
The addition of girls field hockey as a sponsored postseason championship sport and a revised schedule for Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals are the most significant changes to fall sports as practices are set to begin Monday, Aug. 11, for an anticipated 100,000 high school athletes at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools.
The fall season includes the most played sports for both boys and girls; 36,210 football players and 19,679 girls volleyball players competed during the Fall 2024 season. Teams in those sports will be joined by competitors in girls and boys cross country, field hockey, Lower Peninsula girls golf, boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving, Upper Peninsula girls tennis and Lower Peninsula boys tennis in beginning practice next week. Competition begins Aug. 15 for cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer and tennis, Aug. 20 for swimming & diving and volleyball, and Aug. 28 for varsity football.
Field hockey is one of two sports set to make its debut with MHSAA sponsorship during the 2025-26 school year; boys volleyball will play its first season with MHSAA sponsorship in the spring.
There are 37 varsity teams expected to play during the inaugural field hockey season. There will be one playoff division, with the first MHSAA Regionals in this sport beginning Oct. 8 and the first championship awarded Oct. 25.
To conclude their season, Lower Peninsula boys tennis teams will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event Oct. 15-16, followed by Division 1 on Oct. 17-18, Division 2 on Oct. 22-23 and Division 3 played Oct. 24-25.
Also in Lower Peninsula boys tennis, and girls in the spring, a Finals qualification change will allow for teams that finish third at their Regionals to advance to the season-ending tournament as well, but only in postseason divisions where there are six Regionals – which will be all four boys divisions this fall.
The 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field will be played this fall over a three-day period, with Division 8, 4, 6 and 2 games on Friday, Nov. 28, and Division 7, 3, 5 and 1 games played Sunday, Nov. 30, to accommodate Michigan State’s game against Maryland on Nov. 29 at Ford Field.
Two more changes affecting football playoffs will be noticeable this fall. For the first time, 8-Player Semifinals will be played at neutral sites; previously the team with the highest playoff-point average continued to host during that round. Also, teams that forfeit games will no longer receive playoff-point average strength-of-schedule bonus points from those opponents to which they forfeited.
A pair of changes in boys soccer this fall will address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline. The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
A few more game-action rules changes will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.
- In volleyball, multiple contacts by one player attempting to play the ball will now be allowed on second contact if the next contact is by a teammate on the same side of the net.
- In swimming & diving, backstroke ledges will be permitted in pools that maintain a 6-foot water depth. If used in competition, identical ledges must be provided by the host team for all lanes, although individual swimmers are not required to use them.
- Also in swimming & diving – during relay exchanges – second, third and fourth swimmers must have one foot stationary at the front edge of the deck. The remainder of their bodies may be in motion prior to the finish of the incoming swimmer.
- In football, when a forward fumble goes out of bounds, the ball will now be spotted where the fumble occurred instead of where the ball crossed the sideline.
The 2025 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 29 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 28 and 30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 18
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 24 or 25
L.P. Finals – Nov. 1
Field Hockey
Regionals – Oct. 8-21
Semifinals – Oct. 22 or 23
Final – Oct. 25
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
District Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
District Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Regional Finals – Nov. 14 or 15
Semifinals – Nov. 22
Finals – Nov. 28 and 30
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 26
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 31 or Nov. 1
Regional Finals – Nov. 7 or 8
Semifinals – Nov. 15
Finals – Nov. 22
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11
Finals – Oct. 17-18
Boys Soccer
Districts – Oct. 8-18
Regionals – Oct. 21-25
Semifinals – Oct. 29
Finals – Nov. 1
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 13
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 21-22
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Oct. 1, 2, 3, or 4
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 8, 9, 10, or 11
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 15-16 (Division 4), Oct. 17-18 (Division 1), Oct 22-23 (Division 2), and Oct. 24-25 (Division 3)
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 3-8
Regionals – Nov. 11 & 13
Quarterfinals – Nov. 18
Semifinals – Nov. 20-21
Finals – Nov. 22
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.