Sailing Into MHSAA History
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 11, 2012
Along with their clubs and cold-weather gear, and everything else necessary to win a tournament, a sign has accompanied the Muskegon Mona Shores girls golf team on every road trip this fall. It hangs in the team van and reads “Team Before Me,” and is signed by every member.
Each of the Sailors’ top six players, individually, could top most lineups in the state. But the sign serves as a reminder of what they can accomplish together.
Next weekend, Mona Shores can make MHSAA history.
The Sailors – recipients of a Second Half High 5 this week – are one of four Lower Peninsula teams that have won three straight MHSAA championships since the first Finals were played in 1973. A week from Friday, at The Meadows at Grand Valley State, Mona Shores will attempt to become the first team to win four in a row – keyed by four competitive seniors who played for the first three championship teams and have pushed each other toward one more fantastic finish.
“That’s what’s kept the adrenaline going with them. They want to beat each other, and they want to beat each other bad,” said Mona Shores coach John Brainard, who’s finishing his 16 seasons. “But still, they understand that it’s the team before me. We hang that note card up in the van before we go, and we’ve been trying to keep with that team concept.”
Seniors Morgan Smith, Hailey Hrynewich, Britni Gielow and Kelsey McKinley all have earned all-state recognition during their tremendous run, and all four were part of the lineups that won those first three MHSAA titles.
The 2009 team shot a two-day 666 at Michigan State's Forest Akers East to win Division 2 by 15 strokes, with then-senior Brooke Adamczak fourth individually, Hrynewich fifth and Smith sixth.
In 2010, the Sailors shot a 699 at Forest Akers West and won Division 2 by 26 strokes – this time with Hrynewich second individually and Smith fourth.
Mona Shores made it three straight last fall with a 27-stroke win, shooting a 661 at Katke-Cousins Golf Course at Oakland University. Smith finished third individually and Hrynewich tied for fifth, as all five Sailors shot 172 or lower.
The four seniors were beneficiaries of a good boost coming into high school, as Mona Shores was coming off a tie for fourth at the 2008 Division 2 Final. But this group was an obvious difference-maker; prior to 2008, Mona Shores hadn’t qualified for the Finals in at least a decade, and had never won an MHSAA title.
“If you would’ve asked me when they were freshmen four years ago, I would’ve said they were acquaintances,” Brainard said of his seniors. “But they’ve become competitive with each other, and they’ve grown and become friends.”
Mona Shores has won all of its events this fall, with tremendous scores along the way. The Sailors set their team record, 296, while playing in the O-K Black postseason tournament at The Meadows. At a jamboree earlier this season, Smith shot a 34 to break the individual nine-hole record, only to have Hrynewich card a 33 that same day – and then a 32 later on. Those two are tied for the school record for 18 holes at 70 strokes, both shooting that score at The Meadows – Hrynewich at the O-K Black preseason tournament and Smith at the postseason championship when the Sailors set their team record.
Good golf has become a part of Mona Shores culture. The boys team – featuring Hrynewich’s twin brother Reed – finished third at the Division 1 Final this spring. Brainard pointed to Oak Ridge Golf Club and the Muskegon Country Club because of how they've welcomed youth golfers, and the community's junior programs are thriving and filling the high school programs with talent.
The boys program has won four MHSAA titles, and it’s difficult to imagine the girls not equaling that total and extending their streak next weekend. Hailey Hrynewich won Wednesday’s Regional at Bowen Lake Links with a 76, followed by Smith with a 79 and Gielow and McKinley among those tied for third with 81s. Sophomore Rylee George’s score didn’t count toward the team title, but she finished 13th with a 93.
Hrynewich and Smith have taken their turns finishing first and second for the Sailors all season and sport stroke averages that again compare with the state's elite. Hrynewich averages 37 strokes for nine-hole matches and 74.8 for 18-hole events, while Smith – who has committed to play at Oakland next season – is averaging 38.8 and 76.1, respectively.
Right behind are Gielow (39.6/81.5) and McKinley (41/80.9). George (43.8/88.9) and freshman Sami Pyman (46.7/91.6) are among those expected to move up the lineup next fall, and have provided solid punch playing behind their older teammates.
Brainard said he and his seniors had a laugh recently remembering how some shot in the 90s and even north of 100 during freshman tryouts four seasons ago. But they’ve all improved significantly during this run, and they all know what it will take to finish what can become an unprecedented run.
“Yesterday we met at 7 (a.m.) to get in the van and go, and if it was a month ago that we had to meet at 7, they would’ve been dead tired,” Brainard said. “But they were flying high.
“They understand it. With golf, yesterday was the day they had to perform. Of all the tournaments and meets that we do, we want to win (now) and do the best that we can.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Mona Shores senior Morgan Smith lines up a putt during last season's Division 2 Final at Katke-Cousins Golf Course. (Middle) The Sailors, including coach John Brainard, accept their third-straight MHSAA championship trophy after last season's win.
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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.