Class D: Athens Finds a Way
March 15, 2012
EAST LANSING – Athens has strung together six straight District titles, but always fell just a bit short of reaching the Finals at Breslin Center.
For a few reasons, this wasn’t supposed to be the season the Indians took that next step.
They graduated 11 players last spring. Add in the necessary blend-in of an exchange student, two sophomores and a freshman who play significant roles.
But coach Calvin Quist might’ve found a championship combination – of at least a historical one.
Athens downed Crystal Falls Forest Park 61-48 in Thursday’s second Class D Semifinal and will play in its first MHSAA championship game Saturday morning.
“It means everything in the world. Just to be part of a great tradition,” Athens junior Leia Fuller said. “It’s unexplainable. Going this far, you really don’t know what it feels like. You just want to go the further step, just want to go more and more.”
Athens (21-5) will take on No. 7 and two-time reigning champion Waterford Our Lady (22-4) at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Don’t expect the Indians to be intimidated.
No player measures taller than 5-foot-8, but the Indians proved again that doesn’t matter much if they don’t let opponents get the ball up the floor.
Relying on a stifling defensive press, Athens had 19 steals and took advantage of 23 total Forest Park turnovers. Trojans sophomore Alexis Gussert was outstanding – hitting 14 of 24 shots for 34 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, five blocks and three steals – but the rest of her teammates combined to shoot only 20 percent from the floor.
“I’m speechless. We had a pretty good game plan, and these young ladies executed it well,” Quist said. “This is the deepest team I’ve had in all the (seven) years I’ve coached. I have nine players and any of the nine could start. And that too was part of our plan, because we didn’t think they had much depth. So our plan was to get the ball and go.”
The Indians outscored Forest Park 19-5 in the second quarter to take a 35-15 lead into halftime and cap what Quist called one of the team’s best first halves this winter.
But the second half saw the Trojans (21-6) make a courageous comeback.
Keyed by Gussert’s offensive punch – she hit one of her 3-pointers from just in front of her team’s bench – Crystal Falls cut the deficit to eight, 56-48, with 42 seconds to play. But the Trojans couldn’t come all the way back.
“You’ve gotta keep it up, get it into your head that you can do this,” Forest Park senior Audrey Sholander said. “Being a senior, you don’t want to give up that game. You don’t want to come out with a loss. But regardless, we just knew what we had to do.
“We’ve had close games all season long. We know how to get back in the game, know we have to work hard. In the end, they just outplayed us. So it was a tough loss, but we tried our hardest.”
Sophomore Payton Wood led Athens with 13 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore Leo Plaisir added 10 points. Nine players scored for the Indians, and seven had at least five points.
“We pass it around. We know our game and we know what shots we can take,” Wood said. “That teamwork seems to have gotten us through this game.”
Click for the box score. Watch the game and both teams' postgame press conferences at MHSAA.tv.
PHOTO: Athens freshman Allison Fuller looks for an open teammate Thursday. (Photo courtesy of Hockey Weekly Action Photos)
Zion Christian Earns 1st District Title, Celebrates Much More During History-Making Run
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2025
BYRON CENTER – An elusive District title was always the main goal for the Zion Christian girls basketball team.
The Mountaineers accomplished that first-time feat this season, and didn’t stop there.
They made even more school history by following with a Regional title and advancing to Tuesday’s Division 4 Quarterfinals for the first time before closing their season at 20-7.
“We had it as a goal to win Districts the last several years, so it was hard to look at the beginning of the season beyond all that,” Zion Christian coach Derek Foltice said. “But I think we knew with this group of girls and the potential we had that we could have a pretty special season if they committed to playing defense and all those little things they progressively have done.”
This postseason provided plenty of firsts for Zion Christian, a tiny school located in Byron Center which plays in the Alliance League.
The Mountaineers knocked off Wyoming Tri-unity Christian to claim the District crown, and then routed St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran, 63-40, for their first Regional win.
“This has been insane,” Zion Christian senior Sam Deutschmann said last week. “If you were to tell me at the beginning of the season that I would be in this moment right now with my team, I wouldn't believe it.
“This has been such a roller coaster year and all of our hard work is just paying off right now.”
In the Regional Final against Climax-Scotts – which finished 19-6 – the Mountaineers’ magical run continued when junior Jayda Steenbergen dropped in a game-tying 3-pointer during the final seconds to send the game to overtime. She then drained another 3-pointer to propel her team to a 38-37 victory.
“Nothing was planned on that play and Audra (Kaptein) made a great pass, and I was wide open,” Steenbergen said. “The thrill of that was great.”
Added Foltice: “We didn’t have any timeouts, and the girls just made a play. Jada made a huge shot, and then in overtime we had to get some big stops on defense. It was hanging on for dear life after that.”
Foltice enjoyed watching the girls celebrate with family and friends after another historic win.
“This is new for us, and the girls are just going out and not overthinking and enjoying the moment,” Foltice said. “It was fun to see the reaction from the girls and the rest of the students.”
After dealing with a bout of sickness in February, the Mountaineers regrouped and entered the MHSAA Tournament on a six-game winning streak.
They opened with Muskegon Catholic Central, which had defeated them earlier in the season, and avenged that loss to move on.
“You just have to take it one game at a time,” Foltice said. “It was such an accomplishment to win our District playing two good teams, and it’s been fun to continue to play.”
Steenbergen said the team was hopeful to finally make it out of Districts this season.
“We’ve always been in a District that we didn’t have a chance (of winning) so it was fun to get into a District that we knew we could win,” she said. “And then we won Regionals, and it provided us with so much confidence and brought our team closer.
“We are so blessed to be in the spot we’re in, and the wins have been so crazy and so close. It’s just been so much fun, and it’s brought our school and community together.”
Despite a 54-26 loss to Concord in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal, the postseason journey allowed Foltice and his team extended time together.
“One of the most exciting things is just the fact that we get to keep on playing and keep on building on what we’ve been working toward,” Foltice said. “It’s been fun to see them click more and more as the season has gone on. I’m thankful that I get to coach them, and it’s a special group of unselfish and hard-working girls. To be able to spend a couple more weeks with them has been icing on the cake for the season.”
While the end was disappointing, the Mountaineers reflected on the success of the program’s first 20-win season.
“It’s been amazing and just a blessing to get as far as we did,” Deutschmann said. “I love these girls, and I love this team. I couldn’t think of a better year.”
Audra Kaptein, a junior guard and the team’s leading scorer, joined Steenbergen and Deutschmann on the all-conference first team. Sophomore Kenley Doezema was the team’s leading rebounder and an all-conference honorable mention pick, while junior Sadie Knott had a solid postseason.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Zion Christian celebrates winning its first District title earlier this month. (Middle) Jayda Steenbergen directs her team’s offense. (Below) The Mountaineers take a team photo after claiming the program’s first Regional title. (Photos courtesy of the Zion Christian girls basketball program.)