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High 5s - 6/19/12

June 21, 2012

The final High 5s of 2011-12 go to a pair of Ishpeming Westwood golfers who led their team to a rare feat of four straight Finals championships, and perhaps the most unexpected team champion of the spring season -- the Dansville softball team, which downed reigning champion Petersburg-Summerfield in the Division 4 championship game.

Berkley LaFreniere
Ishpeming Westwood senior
Golf

LaFreniere completed her fourth and final season on the Westwood golf team this spring by helping the Patriots to a fourth-straight MHSAA title. She shot a 90 to finish individual runner-up at the Division 2 Final to teammate Megan Manninen. LaFreniere also was a forward on the basketball team and played No. 1 doubles for the tennis team that ended the fall with a third-straight Upper Peninsula Division 2 championship. Three of the golf titles were in Division 2, while the 2010 championship came in Division 1.

Winning ways: "It takes a lot of practice. Obviously the time you put in is what gets you the best results. But I also think it's about having fun."

I learned the most about golf from: "My dad (Paul) is a big golfer. We've had a membership at Wawonowin (Country Club) since I was really little. I would say maybe 10 years old (is when I started), maybe even younger."

If I could play with three others: "Rory (McIlroy) from the PGA, Tiger Woods just because he's the best known, and probably Jack Nicklaus. I just always hear about him when I'm watching golf. They always compare things to him."

Up next: LaFreniere will attend the University of Michigan and study one of the sciences, perhaps biochemistry, on the way to becoming a pediatric oncologist. "When they find a cure for cancer, I want to be part of that."

(Click to read more.)

Megan Manninen
Ishpeming Westwood senior
Golf

Manninen, with LaFreniere, also completed her fourth and final season on the Westwood golf team as part of the Patriots' fourth-straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals winner. Manninen shot an 87 to also win her second-straight and third total UP Division 2 individual championship. A point guard on the basketball team, she'll signed to play hoops this fall at Lake Superior State University.

I learned the most about golf from: "My dad (Kevin Manninen). He's the manager of Wawonowin Country Club and was the manager as Marquette Golf Course. He played at Oakland University and in a couple of U.S. Open qualifiers."

If I could play with three others: "My dad, Jame (Reichardt, her uncle who died May 14) and my grandpa (Harold Reichardt)."

My favorite golfer to watch: "Rory McIlroy. I enjoyed watching him last year in the U.S. Open. He was new, and he was trying to win for his dad because it was Father's Day. I enjoyed watching him a lot." 

My favorite to watch play hoops: "Skylar Diggins, the point guard for Notre Dame. I like her control and leadership."

Up next: Manninen will get the chance to contribute immediately for the Lakers' basketball team, and will major in pre-med with hopes of becoming a physician assistant. "I want to help people, and when I was down at U-M (to visit her uncle at the hospital) I saw a lot of opportunities to do that."

(Click to read more.)  

Dansville softball

On Friday, the Aggies won their first MHSAA Semifinal. On Saturday, the finished the weekend with the Division 4 championship. Dansville was in its third trip to Bailey Park over the last four seasons, and defeated top-ranked and two-time reigning champion Petersburg-Summerfield, 3-2. Not only was it the first softball championship in school history, but also the first MHSAA title in any girls sport. The Aggies had entered the postseason ranked No. 9 and finished this spring 31-5.

This spring's previous honorees

Mendon’s Ally Butler (27) high-fives her coach during Saturday’s Division 3 championship win over Unionville-Sebewaing.

Mendon Ends USA's Title Streak, Starts Own with Commanding 1st Finals Triumph

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

June 14, 2025

EAST LANSING — Mendon wasn’t going to be denied this time – and in the process, the Hornets denied Michigan’s most record-setting softball program from adding another detail to its dominance over the last half-decade.

Seeking its record sixth-straight Finals championship, Unionville-Sebewaing was dethroned by a talented, motivated and determined Mendon team, which won its first championship with an 11-1 victory in the Division 4 Final at Secchia Stadium. 

The game ended with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning after Mendon’s 11th run scored on a throwing error by USA. 

In short, Mendon (35-2) did to USA what USA (20-16) has been able to do so often during its stretch of dominance. 

The Hornets also avenged one-run defeats to USA in the championship game (5-4) two years ago (5-4) and Semifinals (6-5) last year. 

“You just keep working and keep working and you see the kids go through (the losses),” Mendon head coach Steve Butler said. “You come up short one year and then another year. We keep telling them, ‘You got this. You know you have it.’ To see them come through and pull it off and beat a team like that the way we did, it was awesome.”

Mendon started its onslaught by scoring four runs with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. 

With the bases loaded, an infield popup by senior Ally Butler eluded two USA infielders and fell to the ground, allowing two runs to score. 

The Hornets’ Gracie Schultz extends to snag a line drive in left field.Junior Cienna Nightingale then hit a 2-run double to give the Hornets a 4-0 lead. 

Mendon got four more runs in the third, first when Nightengale hit another 2-run double just beyond the glove of the left fielder. 

“All I was doing was swinging and swinging for my team,” Nightengale said. “I had girls in scoring position, and that’s what I did.”

Seniors Elise Allen and Abby Butler each followed with RBI doubles to put Mendon ahead 8-0. 

USA scored its only run on an RBI single by junior Macy Prime in the fifth inning, but Mendon got that run back in the bottom of the inning on an error. 

Mendon put runners on second and third base with one out in the sixth inning, finishing the game off on an RBI sacrifice fly by junior Taya Bingaman and throwing error by USA. 

Steve Butler said it was a moment his team had counted down toward since leaving East Lansing last year. 

“This group, they are motivated,” Butler said. “They know what they want. They’re goal-oriented, and they’ve had their eyes on this since we started.”

For USA, it will try and regroup and start another streak next year. Only four seniors will graduate. 

“I think it’s possible the girls started to feel some pressure from the streak we had going,” USA head coach Marc Reinhardt said. “All good streaks, they have to end sometime. I thought Mendon played a heck of a game. We left a few plays out there that we didn’t make that cost us a few runs. We’ve been dealing with that on and off during the season.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Mendon’s Ally Butler (27) high-fives her coach during Saturday’s Division 3 championship win over Unionville-Sebewaing. (Middle) The Hornets’ Gracie Schultz extends to snag a line drive in left field.