Performance of the Week: Okemos' Alena Li
October 20, 2023
Alena Li ♦ Okemos
Junior ♦ Golf
Li carded a 72 to win last week’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional at Currie West in Midland, leading Okemos to an overall 350 score and team championship. The Regional win came shortly after she shot a career-low 66 at the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue Tournament in leading the Wolves to a championship there as well.
This weekend’s MHSAA Final at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West will be Li’s third, and she is expected to again be among contenders in a loaded field. She tied for ninth at the Final as a freshman, when Okemos placed third as a team, and tied for sixth last season as her team finished ninth.
@mhsaasports ⛳️POW: Alena Li #golf #regionals #okemos #letsgo #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports ⛳️POW: Alena Li #tiktalk #questiontime #part2 #chickfila #augusta #night #golf #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
Past 2023-24 Honorees
Oct. 13: Seth Norder, Grand Haven cross country - Report
Oct. 5: Paige Anderson, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Report
Sept. 29: MacKenzie Bisballe, Lake City volleyball - Report
Sept. 22: Jhace Massey, Gladwin football - Report
Sept. 15: Kaylee Draper, Sturgis swimming - Report
Sept. 8: Owen Jackson, Traverse City St. Francis tennis - Report
Sept. 1: Rachel Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Okemos girls golf program.)
Performance of the Week: Midland Dow's Melanie Kolnitys
February 6, 2026
Melanie Kolnitys ♦ Midland Dow
Senior ♦ Basketball
The Chargers’ senior point guard unfortunately finished her season – and high school basketball career – earlier than expected last week. But given the circumstances, it’s difficult to imagine a more incredible ending. Kolnitys entered Dow’s Jan. 28 game against Grand Blanc needing 22 points to reach 1,000, and with knee surgery scheduled for the next day. She scored only two points during the first half, but 20 during the second to reach the milestone on her final basket.
Kolnitys initially had been injured during a soccer game as a sophomore, tearing an ACL and both meniscuses in her right knee. A four-year varsity basketball standout, she played the last few and especially this winter knowing follow-up surgery was a possibility, and although she hoped to make it through her entire senior season, her ability to sprint had been affected enough to require that surgery Jan. 29. Kolnitys would like to return for the end of her soccer season this spring, and will continue her soccer career this fall at Saginaw Valley State. She plans to study biology on a pre-veterinary track.
@mhsaasports 🏀POW: Melanie Kolnitys #dow #basketball #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
@mhsaasports 🏀POW: Melanie Kolnitys #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and X @mistudentaid.
Previous 2025-26 honorees
Jan. 29: Stella Musialowski, Huron Valley United gymnastics - Report
Jan. 22: Baylor Perkins, Grand Blanc swimming - Report
Jan. 15: Delaney Vanier, Flint Kearsley bowling - Report
Jan. 8: Stevie Hall, Detroit Cass Tech basketball - Report
Dec. 18: Ethan Martha, Ishpeming Westwood basketball - Report
Dec. 11: Louis Smith, Three Rivers wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Traverse Smith, DeWitt football - Report
Nov. 28: Elizabeth Eichbrecht, West Bloomfield swimming - Report
Nov. 20: Brady Kieff, Blanchard Montabella football - Report
Nov. 13: Ella Laupp, Battle Creek Harper Creek swimming - Report
Nov. 7: Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Stephen Gollapalli, Lansing Christian tennis - Report
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Midland Dow girls basketball program.)