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.)
South Lyon United's Perfect Run Keyed by Record-Setting Defense, Powerful Attack
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 23, 2026
South Lyon United put together one of the most dominating seasons in MHSAA girls lacrosse history last spring, finishing 21-0 as the Division 1 champion and setting the record for fewest goals given up during one season with 80.
The team also scored 299 to make that single-season list. Reagan Shields was added for seven goals in a game and 55 goals and 89 points for one season, while Shaelyn Perry was added for 58 goals and Gabriela Lucchesi made the single-game assists list with six.
Shields is a junior this school year, and Perry and Lucchesi are seniors. Their team is off to a 9-0 start this season.
See below for several recently-added listings to the girls lacrosse record book, and click the heading to see the record book in full. Several more applications have been received and are in the process of being confirmed.
Girls Lacrosse
Portage United was added for totaling 336 goals in 2021 – ranked sixth-most for one season – and 237 goals in 2023, with highly-productive scorers leading the way. Calista Richmond made the goals (69), assists (61) and total points (130) lists in 2021, and Lauren DeHaan also made the single-season goals list (54) that spring. Stella Hensley made the goals (63) and points (90) lists in 2023, as did goalie Jozette Rimkus with 179 saves. Richmond went on to play at Trine, Simkus played at Charleston (W.Va.) and Hensley plays at Central Michigan.
A trio of Lake Orion standouts made the records for work in 2022, led by Quinn McElroy and her 61 goals over 16 games. Morgan Vasquez was added for 50 goals and seven in one game against Utica Eisenhower, and Paige Walker finished her varsity career with 470 career saves despite playing only three seasons because 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. McElroy plays at Grand Valley State, and Vasqez played at Kalamazoo College.
Several more entries from the last 15 years of Lake Orion history have been added, with 2018 grad Ali Lazzara leading the way with eight including with the fifth-most career goals, 293, from 2015-18. Darcy Muns was added six times including for 178 career goals from 2014-16, and three goalies also ranked high on lists – Maria Davila (269) and Susan Osborne (263) for the second and third-most saves in one season, respectively, and Davila (474) and Tiffany Smrtnik (407) for the fifth and ninth-most career saves, respectively. Muns went on to play at Albion College.
Holly’s Tatum Stuemke and Ortonville Brandon’s Lainey Lasky were among the first from the 2024 season to make the record books. Lasky scored seven goals for Holly/Ortonville Brandon and Stuemke had 22 saves in a 9-8 over Flushing on April 8 of that season. The goalie for the Holly/ Brandon team, Stuemke also made 15 saves in an April 9 game against Swartz Creek and 17 in an April 29 win over Lake Fenton/Goodrich. Both were seniors, and Lasky plays now at Saginaw Valley State.
Emma Rushing led a high-scoring Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard team in 2023 that netted 308 goals over 22 games to make the team record book. Rushing made individual lists eight times including with 124 goals and 137 points total, and a high of 11 goals in one game. Teammate Lilli Vera also made the single-season goals (67) and points (85) lists, and Annika Anderson joined her on the goals list with 57 and also made the single-game assists list with five in one contest. Goalie Mel Karls was added as well for 166 saves over 22 games that season. Rushing plays at Benedictine College in Kansas.
During her first two seasons at Farmington Hills Mercy, goalie Mackenzie Conway posted two of the top 16 saves totals in MHSAA history. After beginning with 186 as a freshman in 2022, Conway tallied the third-most as a sophomore with 230 over 16 games in 2023. She plays now at Brown.
East Grand Rapids’ Olivia Shaw made the records five times as a junior in 2023 – three times for single-game goals, with a high of nine. She also made single-season lists with 71 goals and 85 points over 26 games. Vivian LaMange graduated from East Grand Rapids in 2024 with 21 record book listings, including for 300 career goals (ranking seventh all-time), 203 career assists (ranking second) and 503 career points (ranking fifth). She began her college career at Robert Morris and plays currently at Massachusetts.
Rochester Adams made the single-season goal list in 2023 with 244 over 18 games, and a pair of standouts were added multiple times in leading that effort. Lucy Lagman finished her third season with 56 goals and also is on the career goals list with 207 and career points list with 251. Raegan Jerrell finished her second season with 65 goals that spring and had 135 career goals and 225 career points to that point. Both also were added for several single-game achievements, as was teammate Madison Fish for 16 saves in goal against West Bloomfield.
Chase Duncan played an impressive junior season for Troy in 2024 into multiple record book listings, including four for single-game goals with a high of 12 against Whitehouse Anthony Wayne of Ohio. She also made the single-game points list that day with 14, and the season goals (93) and points (118) lists over 18 games. Aly Matuza, also a junior in that spring, made the single-game saves list with 16 and single-season list with 151 over 18 games. Troy as a team made the single-season goals list with 225. Duncan plays now at Maryville in St. Louis (Mo.), and Matuza plays basketball at St. Mary’s College (Ind.).
Troy Athens’ goalie Claire Balintfy capped her varsity career in 2024 with 14 record book listings – including one of the most significant for her position. The senior added 157 saves over 19 games and finished with an MHSAA-record 679 over four seasons and 70 games. She’s continuing her career at Northwood. Morgan Stamatakis made the record book twice as a junior in 2024, for 10 goals in a game against Rochester Adams and 51 goals total for the season. She plays at Detroit Mercy. Katie Malone earned three record book listings last season, including a pair on successive days. She made the single-season goals list with 81, which included eight in back-to-back games in April.
Madeline Kreiger finished her Grandville career in 2024 all over the record book, with 15 listings total. Most notably she ended with 242 goals over four seasons and 63 games, ranking 14th in that category. She totaled 294 career points and had a high of 11 goals among her single-game entries.
The goals piled up by Mileena Cotter in 2024 – and throughout her high school career at Salem – will be incredibly tough to match. Cotter graduated with 68 record book entries, as a senior tying her single-game record of 18 goals, setting the single-season scoring record with 213 over 19 games, and setting the career scoring record of 470 over just 49 games over four seasons. She also made the single-game assist list for the first time, set the single-season points list record with 231 and finished third on the career points list with 506. She’s continuing at Syracuse.
Claire Marosi capped her high school career in 2024 by leading Grand Rapids Catholic Central to the Division 2 championship. She also finished among the all-time leading scorers in Michigan, totaling 10 record book listings including the third-most single-season goals (160 in 2024), career goals (418) and career points (515) over her four seasons and 72 games played. She’s continuing her career at Northwestern.
Bloomfield Hills’ Ella Lucia finished her career in 2024 with 45 entries in the MHSAA girls lacrosse record book, adding season entries as a senior with 118 goals, 43 assists and 161 points and finishing her career sixth on the goals list with 304, sixth on the assists list with 156 and tied for sixth on the points list with 460 over 74 games. Teammates Aubrey Agbay, also a senior that season, made the single-season goals list with 63, and they were joined by another senior teammate Sydney Butler, who finished with 171 saves that spring and second on the career list with 646 over four seasons and 83 games. As a team, Bloomfield Hills made the single-season goals list with 287. Lucia is playing ice hockey at Harvard.
Solei Ewing reached the single-season goals list with 73 and points list with 90 for the Black Hawks in 2025, and teammate Lainey Stewart also made the goals list with 51. Goalie Brooke Sanders made single-game and season saves lists. Bloomfield Hills again made the team goals list with 266. All three were seniors.
Then-junior Janie Mitter set a Howell record with eight goals in a 2025 game against Canton.
Grand Rapids Northview became one of only five teams to be listed for scoring at least 25 goals in a game when it did so in a 25-9 win over Holland West Ottawa on April 30, 2025.
Hudsonville’s Scarlett Coulter has reached the career goals record list with 171 over her first three seasons and with one more to play. She made the single-season list last spring for the second time, with 79 goals, and also the total points list for one season with 106. Coulter also made the single-game goals list with nine against Grandville. Anniston Farrell, now a junior, joined Coulter on the single-season goals list with 55. Farrell has committed to continue at Radford (Va.).
Lansing Catholic’s Vivienne Hagen earned eight record book entries during her sophomore season, including for 86 goals and 108 total points over 16 games, with a high of 12 points in a win over Tecumseh. Teammate Josie Sarata joined her on the single-game goals list. Hagen is a junior this spring and has committed to Longwood (Va.), and Sarata is a senior and has committed to Charleston (W.Va.)
PHOTO South Lyon United's Reagan Shields (7) leads an attack during last season's Division 1 Final.