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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

Richmond’s Katie Shuboy looks to her dugout after one of her two doubles Saturday.

Shuboy Caps Memorable Richmond Run by Pitching Blue Devils to 3rd Finals Title

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

June 14, 2025

EAST LANSING — Spending her entire life in the Richmond community, Katie Shuboy can pinpoint exactly when she wanted to become part of the tradition-rich softball program at the high school. 

“I’ve always gone to Richmond schools, and I remember watching my cousin (Erin Shuboy) win a state championship (in 2016) and watching the 2021 team win it,” Shuboy said. “I knew I wanted to do that one day.”

That one day turned out to be Saturday, as Shuboy helped guide Richmond to its third Finals title with a 3-0 victory over Paw Paw in the Division 2 championship game.

A senior pitcher who has signed to play next for Ferris State, Shuboy tossed her second 1-hit shutout of Finals weekend, striking out 12 and walking two.

It was also her third-straight shutout to end the season after a 6-0 win over Goodrich in a Quarterfinal and a 2-0 blanking of Escanaba during the Semifinals. 

“I decided I wanted to pitch when I was about 10,” Shuboy said. “I really wasn’t that great. But my Dad has really helped me with everything. We throw every single day, and I wouldn’t be here without him.”

Paw Paw entered the game with one of the state’s most potent offenses, with five players batting .434 or higher. 

Paw Paw’s Elizabeth Vanderburg makes a play.Shuboy and her coaches went over scouting reports and tendencies of Paw Paw’s hitters, but the plan was pretty much doing what she has all year. 

“You can only overthink it so much,” Shuboy said. “You just really have to go out and do what you normally do.”

Howard Stuart, who just completed his 47th year as Richmond’s only softball coach, said Shuboy definitely ranks as one of the all-time greats at the school. 

“I’ve had some pretty good pitchers that won state titles in 2016 and 2021,” Stuart said, referring to the Division 2 title in 2016 and the Division 3 crown in 2021. “She’s like them. All of them have a lot of speed and a lot of movement.”

Paw Paw head coach Mike Mottl certainly was impressed with Shuboy’s performance.

“She was really good at painting the corner,” Mottl said. “She had good control of her fastball, and she also had a nice rise ball that didn’t really start high or finish high. When a rise ball is at the middle and then finishes up, it’s really hard to lay off of. She did a phenomenal job.”

The silver lining for Mottl and the rest of the Paw Paw community though was looking at the roster when peeking ahead to next year.

“No seniors,” Mottl said with a wry smile knowing his squad should be a title contender again in 2026. 

But 2025 belonged to Shuboy and Richmond, which jumped on Paw Paw early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. After hitting a leadoff triple to left field, freshman Kendall Nader scored on an RBI bunt single by junior Audrina Nader. 

Following a double by Shuboy that put runners on second and third, junior Anna McKiernan scored Nader with an RBI infield single to make it 2-0 Blue Devils. 

The game remained that way until Richmond got some insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by junior Emma Bambrick that made it a 3-0 game. 

In addition to her pitching dominance, Shuboy finished with two doubles to lead Richmond’s seven-hit output.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Richmond’s Katie Shuboy looks to her dugout after one of her two doubles Saturday. (Middle) Paw Paw’s Elizabeth Vanderburg makes a play.