Sophomores Shine in 'Slugfest' as Frankenmuth Reaches 1st Final Since 1996
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 17, 2023
EAST LANSING – Frankenmuth scored only 37 points Friday, but it was enough to win a defensive slugfest.
And, at least for coach Joe Jacobs, it was a thing of beauty.
“The game was exactly what we wanted,” said Jacobs after his team held on for a 37-30 win over Goodrich in Friday’s first Division 2 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
“We wanted a slugfest. We’re a very good defensive team, and our emphasis tonight was always knowing where their shooters were.”
Frankenmuth sophomore guard Clare Conzelmann was the star on both ends of the court, using her length to get into the passing lanes and disrupt the Goodrich shooters, then converting two traditional three-point plays during the final 3:27 en route to a game-high 15 points.
Conzelmann’s stellar play helped the Eagles soar into the Finals for the first time since 1996. Frankenmuth, 25-2 and champion of the Tri-Valley Conference 8, advanced to Saturday’s 6:15 p.m. championship game against the Grand Rapids West Catholic vs. Lansing Catholic winner.
Conzelmann said she benefitted from Goodrich focusing its defense on shutting down junior guard Mia McLaughlin (Ferris State commit) and 6-foot-1 senior Lexi Boyke (Central Michigan signee).
“A lot of their focus was on Mia and Lexi,” said Conzelmann, one of three sophomore starters for Frankenmuth. “They wanted to try and make other players score. Today, my shots went in, which was great. Sometimes they don’t.”
Frankenmuth led 6-4 after the first quarter, then scored five quick points to open the second quarter on a bucket by Boyke and a 3-pointer by McLaughlin.
But the story of the first half, and the whole game for that matter, was the Eagles’ stifling 2-3 matchup zone defense.
Goodrich (24-4), which is one of the state’s best 3-point shooting teams and scored 60 or more points in three of its first five tournament games, went a stretch of 8 minutes and 5 seconds in the first half without scoring a point. The Martians, who shot 26 percent from the floor for the game and just 4-of-13 from behind the arc, had a similar scoreless stretch of 5 minutes and 35 seconds to open the fourth quarter.
Goodrich coach Jason Gray, in his 24th year, said Frankenmuth’s defense was the best they faced all season.
“Their guards are long and they were getting their hands out and throwing us off,” said Gray, who led the Martians to back-to-back Class B titles in 2012 and 2013.
“We weren’t able to get inside and kick it out, like we like to do. We hung around, but we were never able to take the lead, which might have changed things.”
Goodrich junior Alexis Kosmowski certainly did her part, scoring a team-high 14 points as the Martians stayed within striking distance, trailing by just three points, 22-19, entering the fourth quarter.
That was when a pair of sophomores stepped up for Frankenmuth.
In addition to Conzelmann’s two traditional three-point plays, sophomore forward Izzy Bernthal added a crucial mid-range jumper and then an offensive rebound and putback in the final minute to seal the win. Bernthal finished with six points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Goodrich senior Riley Place, who entered the game with 77 3-pointers, was held to just one on Saturday and six points. Her younger sister, sophomore Ella Place, also scored six points.
The Semifinal win was especially sweet for Boyke, who missed all of last season after injuring her knee in the opening game. She contributed six points and five rebounds, and was happy to be playing instead of watching from the bench.
“It feels good to be on the court with my teammates,” said Boyke. “Yes, I am very thankful for the opportunity.”
PHOTOS (Top) Frankenmuth's Clare Conzelmann (2) brings the ball upcourt with Goodrich's Kayla Hairston (12) providing pressure. (Middle) Goodrich's Kalen Williams (3) and Alexis Kosmowski (11) and Frankenmuth's Lexi Boyke (33) and Izzy Bernthal (4) work for position as they await a rebound.
Jokela Caps LL-H Career As 3-Sport Star, Among Track's Most Accomplished Greats
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 26, 2025
ESCANABA — It would nearly be an understatement to say Emily Jokela has enjoyed a stellar high school athletic career.
The recent Lake Linden-Hubbell graduate earned a dozen victories at the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Track & Field Finals during her prep career, winning the 400-meter dash and 300 hurdles four times apiece, taking the 100 dash three times, adding a 200 title as a sophomore and 100 hurdles championship this spring.
Jokela also owns the all-time U.P. Finals record in the 300s at 44.8 seconds and the UPD3 record in the 400 (58.61) set a year ago – with school records in those events as well.
“I started running in fifth grade and fell in love with hurdling,” she said. “All my events were close together. I do weight training four times a week and sometimes go to the Michigan Tech track to get a break from our asphalt surface. The asphalt track is harder on the legs. It’s nice to get on a rubberized track.”
She concluded her prep basketball career here June 12 by leading the West All-Stars past the East, 50-41, at the 39th Annual Upper Peninsula All-Star Basketball Game.
Jokela, who scored 18 points in her final prep hoops appearance at Bay College, was selected Most Valuable Player. She finished her Lake Linden-Hubbell basketball career with a school-record 2,010 points, leading the Lakes through a 17-7 season this winter and earning an all-U.P. Division 4 first-team honor.
Jokela did double-duty this spring, also as a pitcher in softball. Lake Linden-Hubbell went undefeated in the Copper Mountain Conference (10-0) and finished 28-7 overall after dropping a 2-0 decision to Gogebic (Bessemer/Wakefield-Marenisco’s cooperative team) in their Division 4 Regional Final.
“I started playing basketball and softball at a young age,” she said. “I made some of my best friends in basketball. I’m going to miss all the girls I played with for four years. I’m so proud of how far we went in softball. I’m also very happy with how basketball went and quite happy with the way our track & field season went.”
LL-H brought home the Division 3 runner-up trophy from the U.P. Track & Field Finals at Kingsford by scoring 76 points, just eight fewer than Newberry. The Lakes were crowned U.P. champions last season and shared the title with Stephenson in 2023. Jokela was four-time all-state selection and three-time CMC MVP, and scored more than 1,000 points during her career. As a junior she won the 100, 200, 400 and 300 hurdles at the UPD3 championship meet and remains one of only seven girls to win four individuals events at a Finals.
On the basketball court, she was a two-time conference MVP and four-time member of the CMC’s elite team, and selected twice to The Associated Press, Basketball Coaches Association and Detroit Free Press all-state teams. In softball, Jokela was a two-time conference MVP and named CMC Pitcher of the Year.
Jokela earned another high honor in late May, being named her school’s Outstanding Female Athlete. She is bound for Grand Valley State University, where she’ll become a member of the women’s track & field team.
“I met my roommates, and they seem nice,” Jokela said. “It will be a lot more intense in college. I’m really going to have to work hard for everything. I need to work on my endurance. It was a challenge balancing track with softball, but I like being busy.”
Jokela also was a two-time all-state academic selection and a National Honor Society member. After carrying a 3.79 grade point average in high school, she plans to major in health science at Grand Valley.
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.
PHOTO Lake Linden-Hubbell’s Emily Jokela (5) leaps the final hurdle on the way to an impressive win in the 300 at last month’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals in Kingsford. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)