Reigning Champ Sets Pace in D3 Repeat
November 2, 2013
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
BROOKLYN — Amber Way of Charlevoix made up a lot of ground since last year, but couldn't quite close the gap entirely against Gina Patterson of Macomb Lutheran North.
Patterson repeated as the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls cross country champion, but had to win a ferocious duel with Way to do so on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. The two runners went back and forth until Patterson edged ahead in the final quarter mile to win in 18:02.7. Way took second in 18:04.2. Nobody else was within 31 seconds of the frontrunners.
"I could feel her the whole way," Patterson said. "This race is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's a race I'll never forget."
Patterson ran faster (17:43.4) and won by a more comfortable margin of 16.4 seconds last year – when Way finished in fourth place in 18:13.6.
In critiquing her performance last year, Way thought she wasn't aggressive enough early in the race, causing her to lose contact with the leaders.
"I knew I could've done better," Way said. "I was too far in the back. That was a big goal of mine, not to get way behind the pack."
Way took the lead at the mile mark on Saturday, but felt the pace was a little too hard.
"I just wasn't ready for that quite yet, but I did my best," she said.
As they battled in the final mile, Patterson was aware of Way's track speed. Way took second in the 3,200-meter run at the MHSAA LP Division 3 track and field meet in 2012 with a time of 11:07.63. In that same race, Patterson was fifth in 11:28.71. Way then set the meet record in winning that event this spring in 10:48.48.
"I was extremely worried," Patterson said. "She's a great, great competitor and has a great kick. She almost won the two mile last year in track, so I know she's definitely a real strong competitor."
Patterson said she felt relaxed coming in as the reigning champion.
"I am really blessed to have such a great school to represent, teammates, family and friends," she said. "There was really no pressure. They just encouraged me to do my best and hope that I can represent my school well. I'm so thankful to everyone to have their support."
Shepherd won the team championship with 120 points, outscoring runner-up Benzie Central by 66.
It was the second MHSAA championship for the Bluejays, who were the 1994 Class C winners. Since then, their best finish was fifth place the following year. They were ninth, 12th and ninth the past three years in the MHSAA Finals.
Shepherd had only one senior last year, but overhauled its lineup with the inclusion of three fast freshmen. Senior Kaylie Rhynard was the team's No. 1 runner once again, placing seventh overall in 18:55.5. She was followed by the three freshmen, as Katelyn Hutchinson was 12th in 19:12.8, Kylie Hutchinson 44th in 20:15.0 and Rachel Mathers 47th in 20:20.4. Junior Taylor Thrush (49th, 20:21.6) completed the scoring.
PHOTO: Macomb Luthern North's Gina Patterson (right) chases Charlevoix's Amber Way on the way to winning Saturday's Division 3 Final at MIS. (Click for more from RunMichigan.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.