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Mendon’s Rowan Allen (33), Brynley Jungers (12) and Brooke Gerth (6) get ready to start an inning Saturday at Secchia Stadium.

Mendon Closes 2026 Season with Now-Familiar Finish - as Division 4 Champion

By Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com

June 13, 2026

EAST LANSING – There’s nothing like repeating as a state champion.

Just ask the Mendon softball team, which downed Brown City 6-2 to repeat in Division 4 on Saturday at Secchia Stadium.

But getting there, especially for the first time, is special, too, as Brown City learned during a first-of-its-kind season for the program.

Mendon, which won its first Finals title a year ago, got on top early against the Green Devils, scoring two runs in each of the first, second and fourth innings. The Hornets then turned things over to pitcher Rowan Allen, who allowed only three hits, walked two and struck out 14.

It was a big day for Allen after what she described as an inauspicious start.

“I didn't feel good when I woke up this morning,” she said. “But once we got to the Final, I started feeling good.”

Jadyn Samson (15) rounds third base as her coach signals her home.The Hornets (32-3) were feeling better after taking a 6-0 lead. “I felt good when we were six runs up,” Mendon co-coach Steve Butler said. 

Allen contributed to the good feelings with a two-run double in the second inning. She went 2-for-2 at the plate and scored three runs. 

Brown City made a bid in the seventh inning, scoring a pair of runs before Allen got out of trouble with a final strikeout.

For the Green Devils, it was a season to savor. They had never gotten past the Regional rounds before.

“Last year, we didn’t have Maddie,” Brown City coach Scott Parr said, referring to senior pitcher Maddie Hohne, who missed last season with an injury. “That kid is tough. It’s going to be tough to replace her.”

Hohne struck out 10 for Brown City (26-12).

Mendon will need to replace Allen, too. She kept the Green Devils at bay. 

“She has a phenomenal changeup,” Hohne said.

After Brown City scored in the seventh inning, Allen put the final touches on a repeat title.

“I knew I had to buckle down,” Allen said. “I knew I couldn’t give up. My defense was behind me. I just had to finish.”

Senior shortstop Jadyn Samson also had two hits and scored three runs, and senior center fielder Taya Bingaman had two hits and drove in a run. Senior catcher Cienna Nightingale also drove in a run; those three and Allen were the team’s only returning starters from a year ago.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Mendon’s Rowan Allen (33), Brynley Jungers (12) and Brooke Gerth (6) get ready to start an inning Saturday at Secchia Stadium. (Middle) Jadyn Samson (15) rounds third base as her coach signals her home.

Tony Coggins serves as PA announcer during a 2022 Division 3 volleyball match at Kellogg Arena.

In Memoriam: Tony Coggins (1971-2023)

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 24, 2023

The MHSAA and Holly school communities are grieving this week after the sudden loss of Tony Coggins, a shining light in his educational community and an enthusiastic supporter of school sports as a public address announcer for several of our largest championship events.

But while that cheerful tone has been quieted, it surely will not be forgotten by the many fortunate to enjoy an event in the presence of that voice and the joyfulness he brought into every arena, press box and classroom.

Coggins, 51, died Saturday. He is survived by his wife Kristy and children Emma and Bradlee, among several family and friends from his local and greater sports communities.

Tony CogginsHis career as a PA announcer began during his freshman year of high school in 1985, when his father Dale Coggins – Flushing’s athletic director at the time – couldn’t find anyone else to announce middle school football games. That was 39 years ago, and this fall Tony Coggins was in his 24th announcing at Holly, where he taught and served as an administrator in addition to his role as “Voice of the Holly Bronchos” for football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, competitive cheer and swimming & diving over the years.

Coggins has been a mainstay among MHSAA Finals PA announcers over the last decade in football, basketball, softball and most recently volleyball. He lent his voice to college sports at University of Michigan as well. “Tony was a huge part of our Finals events. It’s hard to imagine it being the same without him,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said.

As part of the run-up to the MHSAA public address announcers clinic in 2018, Coggins said this about what drew him to the microphone:

“I have zero athletic ability whatsoever, which is interesting because my father was an all-state running back. But I enjoy being involved, and I've always been the one for history and statistics and knowing what's going on,” Coggins said. “This is a way for me to be involved. It's a way for me to use a talent I've been given; public speaking has always come pretty naturally for me.

“So I worked at my craft to get better. I got better from watching the people around me, from studying the people I like, and the people – if I saw someone I didn’t care for – I'd make a note and say to myself, ‘Don't do that.’ I take feedback from people very personally, and I mean that in a good way. If somebody takes the time to come up and say, ‘You did this well; I think you should change this,’ that means they care about the program also. We all have the same goal in mind, and that's to make the experience good for the high school student and the parents, the fans, that come there.”

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at St. John Vianney, 2415 Bagley Street in Flint. There will be visitation from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, and at the church from 10 a.m. Saturday until the time of the Mass.