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.)
Bloomfield Hills' Persistence Pays Off with Dream Finish, 1st Championship
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 17, 2022
EAST LANSING – Ava Badallo momentarily made her dream come true by scoring in the first half of Friday's Division 1 soccer championship game at Michigan State’s DeMartin Stadium.
But an offsides penalty nullified what would have been a rare goal against one of the state's stingiest defenses.
Undaunted, the Bloomfield Hills senior forward scored again off a great assist from Brooke Green at 5 minutes, 44 seconds into the second half – just the eighth goal Northville had given up all season. The Black Hawks could sense the upset against the unbeaten Mustangs.
Ultimately the game went to a shootout, and it was one more Badallo goal that put Bloomfield Hills up 4-1 and clinched an overall 2-1 victory over the previously-unbeaten Mustangs – earning the Black Hawks' their first Finals championship in girls soccer.
“I think the goal they disallowed was an indirect kick,’’ said Badallo. “We finally got it going and … it was kind of a letdown, but we knew this game was going to be a struggle.
“We finally got those goals. We ended up finishing up in the PK. I don’t even know how to explain the feeling. I’m so just happy Jenica (Opdahl) came up with those big saves. I was able to go in there with a lot of confidence.’’
Opdahl, Bloomfield Hills’ sophomore keeper, said she used a ploy to confuse the Northville shooters.
“I stood to one side leaving one side of the net wide open,’’ she said. “So, I knew they were going to shoot it that way. It worked.’’
Drew Martin, Esther Rosett and Emma Merchant scored during the shootout before Badallo’s clincher. Caroline Meloche scored Northville’s shootout goal.
“I can’t even believe it,’’ said Merchant, whose goal made it 3-1. “We practice penalty kicks every single day, 15 minutes every practice. To see all our hard work pay off is indescribable.’’
It was a battle of stingy defenses colliding in a struggle that lasted through regulation and overtime.
The second period of overtime saw Bloomfield Hills’ Avary Hall also put the ball into the net, but the goal was called off because of offsides.
Badallo’s second-period score was her 17th goal of the season, and none had been bigger.
“We always talk about the golden minutes,’’ said Black Hawks coach Alan Zakaria. “I was proud of the resilience we showed. You score a goal and have great energy, and it’s disallowed. Our girls responded in a big way. What a great player (Badallo). Our goalkeeper made some great saves. Unbelievable resilience to pull it out.’’
The Mustangs’ Kate Gonzalez got Northville on the board at the 15:27 mark of the second half with a header off an assist from Lauren Moraitis, her 24th, to tie the game at 1-1.
The Black Hawks (15-2-3) were playing in their first Final and entered the contest having won or tied their last 14 games, while Northville had two runner-up finishes, the most recent in 2014.
Led by nine seniors, the Mustangs hadn’t given up more than one goal in a game all season, posting 16 shutouts on their way to the championship while allowing just seven goals. The Black Hawks posted 11 shutouts this spring.
Bloomfield Hills pressed the action early Friday and had a couple of chances to score but the Mustangs defense, as usual this year, held tough.
Halfway through the first half Northville’s offense started peppering shots at Opdahl, but she was up to the task. Northville played five midfielders in an attempt to put pressure on the Black Hawks’ defense, generating scoring chances.
The Mustangs (18-1-5) had a pair of scoring chances as the second half began to wind down before Gonzalez sent in the equalizer.
“I thought we had some momentum when Kate scored,’’ said Northville coach Jeannine Reddy. “I thought both teams played great. It’s tough to lose that way. It was a good Division 1 state final. Both teams battled. You don’t want that to be your last memory.”
PHOTOS (Top) Bloomfield Hills celebrates its first Finals championship Friday at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) The Black Hawks’ Drew Martin (3) controls play with Northville’s Avery Peters (15) in pursuit.