10 to Remember from 2011-12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 11, 2012
Second Half's mission in this, its first school year, was to tell the best stories behind the scores and highlights of MHSAA competition.
Of course, every score and especially every championship has a story behind it. The MHSAA awarded 127 team and many more individual championships in 2011-12. Obviously we can't reflect on them all. But these 10 performances were loaded with prestige, drama and accomplishment that made them incredible stories for high school sports fans regardless of hometown or allegiance.
10. Grand Ledge gymnasts earn No. 5
The Comets had to fend off a charge by Canton, but won their fifth-straight MHSAA team title by 0.825 of a point with a final score of 149.400. The fifth-straight title tied the record set by Ludington from 1975-79 and extended Grand Ledge's first-place streak to 75 consecutive events. The next day, senior Christine Wilson and junior Sara Peltier swept the Division 1 and 2 individual titles, respectively.
9. West Bloomfield's Erin Finn joins elite
The Lakers junior said after her Division 1 cross country win that she'd dreamt of winning that title since she learned how to walk. She finished fourth as a sophomore before winning the championship by a little more than a second. After establishing herself as one of the top distance runners in the country in competitions over the winter, Finn finished the school year by winning the 3,200-meter run at the Division 1 Track and Field Final.
8. More and more Morley Stanwood
The Mohawks girls pulled off a rare feat this school year -- after winning their second MHSAA volleyball title in the fall, they added a first-ever girls basketball championship. Both efforts were keyed by seniors Alexis Huntey and Bailey Cairnduf, who had the most and second-most kills in the Class C Volleyball Final and then combined for 45 points and 25 rebounds in the basketball championship game.
That argument was made after Lansing Sexton claimed its second-straight Class B boys basketball championship in dominant fashion. The Big Reds finished 27-1, their only loss by a point to Detroit Pershing, and have won 74 games over the last three seasons -- tied for sixth-most in MHSAA history for that long of a stretch. Guards Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), Anthony Clemmons (Iowa) and Bryn Forbes (Cleveland State) all signed to play at Division I colleges this fall, with junior Jalen Hayes and freshman Trevor Manuel likely joining them in a few years.
Coyotes junior Sami Michell established herself as one of the top hurdlers in MHSAA history at the Division 3 Final by becoming the first Lower Peninsula girl to win four events at a championship meet since Mason County Eastern’s Maria Shoup in 1979. She set Division 3 records in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump, and her 300 time also was the best in MHSAA Finals history, regardless of division or class. She also won the 200.
Top-ranked Grand Haven's latest run at an MHSAA championship seemed all but over when Grosse Pointe South led the Class A final by 18 points with just under 10 minutes to play. But Shar'Rae Davis' fullcourt sprint and score that began with 12 seconds to play gave the Buccaneers a 54-53 win and their first title. It was the third-longest comeback in MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals history.
Livonia Ladywood had been a favorite to win its first MHSAA title all season -- with four-year pitcher Briana Combs in the circle. But when Combs couldn't finish the Semifinal because of an injury, rarely-thrown sophomore Lauren Hayes stepped in. All she did was finish that game and throw a three-hitter against Saginaw Swan Valley in the Final, while also getting three hits and driving in two of the team's four runs in the championship win.
St. Johns senior Taylor Massa finished off one of the most celebrated careers in MHSAA wrestling history with his fourth championship and not one loss during his high school career. Massa claimed the title at 171 pounds this year to go with others at 145, 152 and 160. He became the 15th in MHSAA history to win four titles, ranks 20th with 221 wins and seventh in the national record book for consecutive victories.
Grosse Pointe South's girls running teams had arguably the most dominant school year in MHSAA history, first winning the Division 1 cross country title before doing the same this spring in track and field. And the Blue Devils did it with mostly the same nucleus contributing to both -- particularly juniors Hannah and Haley Meier, sophomore Kelsie Schwartz and freshman Ersula Farrow. Those four combined to run a national record time of 8:48.29 in the 3,200 relay at the Division 1 Final this spring.
1. Short walk, championship run
Second Half was created as a place to tell great stories, Cass Tech made it easy on the first day of the Football Finals. The Technicians arrived at Ford Field after a short walk from their school. They had never played in a Final before and were unranked entering the postseason. They arrived with a strong group of seniors, but also a freshman quarterback named Jayru Campbell who ended up throwing five touchdown passes in a 49-13 win over No. 2 and perennial powerhouse Detroit Catholic Central.
PHOTO: The Morley Stanwood girls basketball team prepares to celebrate as the final seconds tick off in the Mohawks' Class C Final win. (Click to see more photos from High School Sports Scene.)
Painesdale Jeffers Roster Filled with Jets Earns Historic Opportunity
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2025
HOUGHTON — Many talented hockey players have gone through the ranks at Painesdale Jeffers High School.
The team, however, has often been low on numbers.
The situation has changed this winter, and the Jets have a 22-4 record to show for it.
“In the past, we could only skate two lines,” coach Aaron Helminen said. “Now our numbers are up. In the last few years we had 25-27 guys, which gives us some depth. You need numbers to have competition. It makes everybody better because the guys push each other. You have to work harder to keep your spot.”
Although Jeffers is a cooperative hockey program, allowing the Jets to roster players from Chassell, Ontonagon, Dollar Bay, Baraga, L’Anse and Ironwood as well, all 18 of this year’s players are Jeffers student-athletes – which is even more impressive as Jeffers’ enrollment total for classification this school year was just 218.
The Jets began their postseason journey with a 4-1 victory over Calumet in a Division 3 Regional opener last Wednesday. They return to the MacInnes Student Ice Arena at Michigan Tech at 7 p.m. today to face Houghton (18-8), which has won two straight Regional titles.
“We got good shifts from our third line,” Helminen said. “We’re just excited to have an opportunity to play another game. Houghton can skate 3-4 lines. They have a very good team. That will be a revenge game for them.”
The Jets – ranked No. 6 in Division 3 entering the postseason – defeated the No. 2 Gremlins 6-2 in their lone regular-season meeting Jan. 22.
“They’re a very fast and physical team,” Jeffers senior Benton Rajala said. “We have to get guys on the puck and play the body. I don’t recall of Jeffers ever winning a Regional, but I have dreamed about it.”
The Jets, however, did capture a Regional title in 1977. A victory tonight would end their drought.
“It feels great to be moving on,” senior Brit Heinonen said after the Calumet win. “This gets the monkey off our back. Having larger numbers makes a big difference. We have a special group which plays well together. We have good chemistry.”
In last Wednesday’s game, Jeffers outshot Calumet 29-17 with junior goaltender Kasen Helminen stopping 16 shots.
“It feels good to win a playoff game, but I haven’t had much chance to think about it yet,” Helminen said after. “I’d rather have some shots taken at me. Clearing the puck helps me out. In practice, we have one or two drills in which shots are fired at me. I also practice a lot on my footwork.”
What kind of challenges are in store for the Jets tonight?
“They (Houghton) try to beat you with the rushes,” the Jets’ goaltender said. “You have to be aware of their odd-man rushes.
”It would feel great to advance.”
Heinonen had similar thoughts about the Gremlins, who defeated Hancock 5-3 in their Regional opener.
“Houghton has been great for many years,” he said. “Teams around here will battle to the end. In playoffs, anything can happen. We have a good chance.”
The winner advances to the Saturday Quarterfinal contest at Lakeview Arena in Marquette to face the winner of another Regional Final tonight between Escanaba (16-10) and Sault Ste. Marie (11-13-1).
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Painesdale Jeffers’ junior Brogan Turner rips a shot during a game this season. (Middle) The Jets’ Easton Therrian (4) makes his way up ice against Negaunee. (Below) Brit Heinonen advances past the blue line. (Photos by RR Photo.)