Class D Preview: New Champ to Emerge
March 14, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For two straight seasons, Pittsford didn’t lose a game.
But the Wildcats ended up in Class C this school year, and that means we’ll have a new champion in D this weekend – with a mix of familiar and new faces making the charge.
Waterford Our Lady and Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart are regulars for the final weekend of the season, and both have won Class D titles this decade. Adrian Lenawee Christian and Chassell have far less experience at this level – in fact, this is Chassell’s first trip to the Semifinals – but between them they are a combined 49-2 this winter.
Semifinals and Finals this weekend will be played at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids.
Class D Semifinals – Thursday
Chassell (25-1) vs. Waterford Our Lady (20-4), 5:30 p.m.
Adrian Lenawee Christian (24-1) vs. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (25-0), 7:30 p.m.
Class D Final – Saturday, 10 a.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Class D and Class A). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit and streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports Go! app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
ADRIAN LENAWEE CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 3
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Jamie Salenbien, first season (24-1)
Championship history: Class D runner-up 2010.
Best wins: 62-31 over honorable mention Athens in Quarterfinal, 63-33 (District Semifinal) and 61-42 over honorable mention Morenci, 63-47 over Ida, 52-38 over Dexter.
Players to watch: Bree Salenbien, 6-2 fr. F (21.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 3.5 spg, 3.1 bpg); Dani Salenbien, 5-9 soph. G (13.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.7 apg, 3.8 spg, 46 3-pointers).
Outlook: Lenawee Christian is nine wins better than a year ago and will play its first Semifinal since 2010 under Jamie Salenbien, who formerly led Onsted to league titles all three of his seasons as head coach from 2011-13. This team has just one senior and seven underclassmen, with Bree Salenbien one of the most intriguing freshmen in the state. She followed her sister Dani with 37 3-pointers entering this week, and sophomore guard Libby Miller had 33. The schedule was filled with larger teams – the lone loss came by a point to Class A Monroe, while Class B Ida was a league champion and Dexter pulled off one of the biggest District upsets in Class A.
CHASSELL
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 6
League finish: First in Copper Mountain Conference Copper Country
Coach: Brandi Hainault, sixth season (79-57)
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 58-41 over No. 4 Gaylord St. Mary in Quarterfinal, 52-46 over No. 2 Munising in Regional Semifinal, 58-55 (OT) over Bark-River Harris in Regional Final, 62-35 over Ewen-Trout Creek.
Players to watch: Milly Allen, 5-3 sr. G (15.5 ppg, 3.7 apg, 4.0 spg); Sydney Danison, 6-1 sr. C (13.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg).
Outlook: Chassell won its first Regional title last week, and after going 5-16 in 2014-15 has upped its win total for the third successive season. The Panthers have eliminated two top-five teams over the last two weeks and sandwiched the close win over Bark River-Harris (18-6) between them. They haven’t lost since opening night to Class C L’Anse. Junior guard Jenna Pietila adds another 9.6 points and 4.2 assists per game in helping to lead the veteran group.
MOUNT PLEASANT SACRED HEART
Record/rank: 25-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Mid-State Activities Conference.
Coach: Damon Brown (10th season (204-41)
Championship history: Class D champion 2014, runner-up 2016 and 2008.
Best wins: 49-29 over Bellaire in Quarterfinal, 37-20 over Fruitport Calvary Christian in Regional Final, 57-43 over Beaverton, 39-30 and 53-13 over Carson City-Crystal.
Players to watch: Scout Nelson, 5-9 jr. G (13.8 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.7 spg, 4.2 rpg); Sophia Ruggles, 6-0 sr. F (15.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg).
Outlook: The Irish have made the Semifinals for the third straight season returning their entire starting five from last year’s loss to eventual champion Pittsford – seniors Grace Reetz (7.8 ppg), Haydn Terwilliger (6.8) and Megan Nowak (6.1) join Nelson and Ruggles. Terwilliger, Nelson and Ruggles also started for the 2015-16 team. Although Sacred Heart doesn’t have wins over any opponents ranked at the end of the regular season, they saw their share of strong competition. Class C Carson City-Crystal finished 19-4, while Class C Beaverton and Calvary Christian were league champions and Bellaire finished 21-4.
WATERFORD OUR LADY
Record/rank: 19-4, No. 8 (tie)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League A North
Coach: Steve Robak, 11th season (204-65)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2012), runner-up 2013.
Best wins: 42-28 over No. 5 Kingston in Quarterfinal, 51-22 over Marine City Cardinal Mooney in Regional Final, 47-39 over Allen Park Cabrini, 41-40 over Royal Oak Shrine, 51-47 over Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Tiffany Senerius, 5-8 sr. F (14 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 41 3-pointers), Isabelle Kline, 5-8 soph. G (10.5 ppg, 25 3-pointers).
Outlook: After falling in a Quarterfinal last season, Our Lady is back for its third Semifinal in four seasons and seeking its fourth championship over the last nine. The Lakers have won 18 of their last 19 games after an opening stretch that included losses to reigning Class B champion Detroit Country Day and current Class C contender Ypsilanti Arbor Prep. Cardinal Mooney, Cabrini and Shrine ended the regular season unranked, but all three won league titles. Three more players average at least six points per game – seniors Catherine Weddle (6.5) and Kayla Sanders (7.9) and freshman Brooklyn Robak (8.0).
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart's Grace Reetz drives past a defender during her team's Regional championship win last week. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
West Iron Track Champ Shamion Also Finishing 1,000-Point Hoops Career
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 21, 2024
STAMBAUGH — Danica Shamion has enjoyed plenty of success in track & field throughout her high school athletic career.
The West Iron County senior is also quite successful in basketball.
Shamion joined the 1,000-point club here Jan. 23 while scoring 34 in a 63-60 loss to Norway.
“That really felt good,” she said after last week’s 93-41 win over Bessemer on Senior Night. “I’m glad I was able to do that at home. Although, it would have been even better had we won that game.”
The Wykons scored five in double digits against the Speedgirls, led by senior Siena Stine with 20 points. Junior center Sidney Storti added 17 points, and Shamion finished with 16 points and 17 assists.
“Sidney is a real asset to our team,” Shamion said. “I can see the floor pretty well, and the other girls are doing a pretty good job getting open. This was our last home game. It definitely meant something to us.”
Shamion, an All-Upper Peninsula Division 1-3 first-team selection a year ago, twisted her ankle in a season-opening 47-40 triumph over Iron Mountain and missed the next three games.
West Iron was 1-3 going into the holiday break before getting back on track with a 42-28 victory over Kingsford on Jan. 2. That enabled the Wykons to improve to 4-3 before dropping six of their next seven games.
West Iron, which was 5-9 after dropping a 73-55 decision at Negaunee, had won four in a row prior to Thursday’s 46-44 loss at Calumet. But the Wykons bounced back with a 51-49 win over Ishpeming Westwood on Tuesday to get back to .500 at 10-10.
“We were trying to forge our identity and weren’t hitting our shots (earlier in the season),” Shamion said. “Although, we’ve been playing better defense lately. We’re pretty good one-on-one and usually play man-to-man. We try to run the floor and score in transition.
“Negaunee is probably the best team we’ve seen this year, although Ishpeming and Houghton are also very good and Calumet and Westwood are tough,” she added.
In track & field, Shamion set U.P. Division 2 Finals record in the 200-meter dash (26.34 seconds) and 400 (57.18) last season. She also won the 100 (12.79) and placed second in high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches. She is a three-time Finals champion in all three sprint races.
Shamion also made the all-U.P. Volleyball Dream Team in the fall.
She will continue on the track at Central Michigan University after she graduates from West Iron this spring.
“I didn’t know much about their program, but I was interested in what they had to offer,” she said. “The girls on the team are nice, which is part of the reason why I chose Central. It’s a relief to have that decided.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) West Iron’s Danica Shamion (24) blocks a shot during her team’s game at Ishpeming on Jan. 15. (Middle) Shamion maintains possession of the ball. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)