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.)
Lumen Christi Rises to Historic Occasion, Marks it with Milestone Victory
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2026
EAST LANSING – Jackson Lumen Christi girls basketball coach Scott Stine thought the moment got to his team early Saturday during the Division 3 Final at Breslin Center.
But he knew eventually the Titans would rise to meet it, and as the moment became even bigger, they did just that.
Lumen Christi pulled away from Pewamo-Westphalia in the fourth quarter, winning 52-36 in a game that was tied after the third.
“We went in at halftime, regrouped, and did what we needed to do,” Stine said. “They’ve been challenged all year, so being tied up going into the fourth quarter, it wasn’t anything new for us. As I told them coming into the game, when we get into that moment I have complete confidence in them, because they’ve been there and done that.”
While the Titans have been there and done that this season, they had never been here or done what they did Saturday, as the title was the first in program history. Prior to this season, Lumen Christi had never been to Breslin, or anywhere else, for a Semifinal.
“I think it means a lot to all of us. We’ve dreamed of this ever since we were freshmen,” Titans senior forward Paige Lefere said. “We haven’t had the best teams our freshman and sophomore year. Last year, we got pretty close (Quarterfinals), so being able to do it this year means a lot to us. We knew if we worked together, we could get here.”
While the final weekend of the season was new for the Titans, it wasn’t new for Stine, who coached Ypsilanti Arbor Prep to three Division 3 titles over the past four years.
When he arrived at Lumen, he said the team did not shy away from big goals, as making history as the first girls basketball team to win a title was the aim.
“I think from the beginning we knew this was going to be special,” Lumen Christi senior wing Lily Ganton said. “That’s credit to Coach Stine, Coach Jibri (Taylor), Coach (Don) Ward, Coach (Andy) Hawley, Coach Brenna (Wrozek). They’re special. They’re a special group of coaches, and they really push us to be our best. You don’t get that from a lot of teams. As a senior and a three-sport athlete, I’ve been on a lot of teams and this is something special. They really came in and it was all gas, no brakes.”
Sophomores Kenna Hunt and Lucy Wrozek led the way for Lumen Christi on Saturday, playing all but the final seconds when all five starters were pulled for a curtain call. Hunt had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Wrozek had 14 points.
They combined for 12 of the Titans’ 16 points during the fourth quarter, starting with a Hunt 3-pointer 18 seconds in that gave them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I thought it was pretty big, it really was just a momentum shift,” Hunt said. “We got momentum right off the start of the fourth quarter, which was awesome. I gotta give credit to my teammates (for) making me available for that type of shot.”
Pewamo-Westphalia coach Steve Eklund said he knew Hunt would find her points Saturday, but his Pirates were focused on not letting someone else join her. Unfortunately for them, Wrozek did.
“We knew one player wasn’t going to beat us,” Eklund said. “At halftime we went in incredibly happy; I think Wrozek had two or three points. None of their other players had really gotten involved offensively. I thought we were getting a little shaky offensively turning the ball over, but I thought, ‘We’re in a good spot.’ So, fourth quarter, Wrozek got it going a little bit. She’s a real nice complementary player to Hunt.”
The fourth quarter explosion went well beyond the sophomores for the Titans (25-3), who didn’t miss a shot (4-of-4) from the field in the final frame, and were 9-of-12 from the free-throw line, while the Pirates were 0-of-9 from the field.
Lumen Christi also had three steals and forced five Pirates turnovers.
“I think they stopped thinking so much and started playing like pitbulls,” Stine said. “The effort on the glass in the second half was much better. We just settled down a little bit. It’s hard to stop these two guards (Hunt and Wrozek) in man-to-man, so we were able to create some matchups even in the third quarter. We just stuck with it, and the kids made great plays.”
Senior Elly Bengel scored 12 points to lead Pewamo-Westphalia (26-3), which was trying to pull off the same double it did in 2019, when both the boys and girls won Finals titles in the sport. The PW boys won the Division 3 title a week ago.
“It’s been so amazing,” Bengel said. “This team is so special to me, and I’ll never take this for granted.”
PHOTOS (Top) Lumen Christi players meet on the floor in celebration of their Division 3 championship Saturday. (Middle) The Titans’ Lucy Wrozek (14) makes a move around a P-W defender. (Photos by Keionna Banks and Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)