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.)
Eichbrecht Stacking Championships at Midpoint of West Bloomfield Career
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 28, 2023
WEST BLOOMFIELD — When she started high school swimming last fall, West Bloomfield sophomore Elizabeth Eichbrecht didn’t know what expectations to have, given she knew full well the high level of competition there was throughout the state.
Well, after two seasons, it’s safe to say Eichbrecht has blown any expectations she had out of the water, pun intended.
At the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals on Nov. 17-18 at Eastern Michigan University, Eichbrecht won her third and fourth individual championships.
She won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:48.08, more than three seconds ahead of the next finisher. The winning time qualified for All-America recognition and bested her first-place time from the 2022 Finals by 0.34 seconds.
Later on, Eichbrecht won the 500 freestyle in a time of 4:47.66, more than 11 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Her All-American time in that event was more than five seconds better than her winning time in 2022.
Two years, four Finals titles. Not too shabby.
“Yes it’s surprising, because there are so many fast girls and we are all very competitive,” Eichbrecht said.
Eichbrecht already holds six school records – in all four freestyle events, the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly.
She also owns Oakland Activities Association records in the 200 and 500 freestyles and the 100 butterfly.
“I like the distance events more, mainly because I don’t have to all-out sprint,” Eichbrecht said.
West Bloomfield head coach Ronson Webster said the big reason why Eichbrecht was even better this year as a sophomore after making such an impact as a freshman wasn’t necessarily because she was bigger and stronger, although those were contributing factors.
Mainly, her success this year was the validation that she belonged after such a great freshman season.
“She gained more confidence this year going into her races,” he said. “She focused on racing her race and not who was next to her. Meeting the time we worked for was the goal. Winning is a bonus.”
While Eichbrecht excels at so many events, her specialty has been the 200 and 500 freestyles, which is stating the obvious given the Finals titles she has won in those events.
“Her training is very specific as it is for every swimmer on our team,” Webster said. “Everyone is trained differently. Her technique is very important and specific to her event and body size. Since she is shorter, she can’t swim the same as a tall person. Having the right technique designed for the swimmer and the correct race plan goes a long way.”
Eichbrecht next will focus on her club season for Supernova Swim Team based out of Farmington Hills, and she already is looking forward to competing at the Winter Junior Nationals in Columbus from Dec. 6-9.
By the time her career is over, it’s safe to say Eichbrecht might be the best all-time from a West Bloomfield school that’s not known as much for swimming as other Oakland County powers such as Farmington Hills Mercy or the Birmingham schools. But Eichbrecht is relishing putting her school on the swimming map with all her success so far.
“I love swimming at WB,” she said. “My teammates are amazing, and they work super hard. I’m super proud of all the work they put in this season, and I can’t wait for next season.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties
PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield’s Elizabeth Eichbrecht swims the winning 200-yard freestyle Nov. 18 at Eastern Michigan University. (Middle) Eichbrecht talks with runner-up Yan Yee Adler from Ann Arbor Pioneer after also winning the 500 freestyle. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)