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March 12, 2012
Check out our must-know scores and news from March 5-10.
(Click on links for coverage.)
Gymnastics
Where no team has gone before: Grand Ledge indeed accomplished what no team had before Friday by winning its fifth-straight MHSAA team championship. Senior Christine Wilson and junior Sara Peltier then won the Division 1 and 2 individual titles, respectively, on Saturday. (Second Half Team) (Second Half Individual)
Swimming and Diving
Celebratory dip: Saline isn’t the first boys swimming and diving program to win three straight MHSAA championships. But it’s definitely the program of the day after claiming another Division 1 title Saturday and breaking four records -- including two all-division/class records -- in the process. (Second Half)
Hockey
Consider it avenged: There are few better ways to go out than with a championship after falling in the Final the year before. That’s how Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice and super senior Mackenzie MacEachern finished off this season Saturday, beating Grosse Pointe South 4-1 after falling by the same score in the 2011 championship game. (Second Half)
Girls Basketball
Only one can move on: Detroit Martin Luther King won its third and final meeting this season against Detroit Pershing to move on to this week’s Class A Quarterfinals. King had lost to Pershing by five during the regular season, then beat Pershing by three in the Detroit Public School League Final before defeating Pershing again 54-53 on Thursday in a Regional Final. (Mlive.com)
Boys Basketball
Another championship down, two to go: Top-ranked and reigning Class B champion Lansing Sexton eliminated what was perceived heading into the postseason as one of the biggest obstacles standing between the Big Reds and a repeat. They downed No. 4 Lansing Catholic 66-56 in a District Final on Friday to improve to 22-1. (Lansing State Journal)
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
Seaholm Runs Title Streak to 3, Standout Pair Win Multiple Events
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 20, 2021
ROCHESTER – After Fenton senior Gracie Olsen won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title in the 200-yard individual medley two years ago as a sophomore, she fell just short of repeating as a junior, finishing second in that event.
Needless to say, that added some motivation on top of the energy she already had competing at the Finals in the first place.
“This is the most exciting meet of the year, and that includes club swimming and everything,” said Olsen, who will swim in college for Indiana. “I think it has the most energy. This whole thing in general motivates me the most.”
Olsen reclaimed her title in the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.58, but she did more than that.
Olsen also won the 100 Butterfly in a time of 54.19, winning that event for the third time and finishing off her high school career with six individual Finals titles.
“I had no idea this would happen,” Olsen said. “I think everything that happened the last four years led up to this.”
Olsen wasn’t alone in winning two individual titles.
Portage Northern junior Hannah Williams won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:50.28, then won the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:03.76.
“Coming in, I just wanted to swim my best,” Williams said. “I knew I would really be proud of myself if I left everything out in the pool.”
While Olsen and Williams were the individual standouts of the day, the best team was once again Birmingham Seaholm.
The Maples easily won their third-straight Finals title and fourth in the past six years, earning 314.5 points.
Grosse Pointe South was second with 241 points, while Grand Rapids Northview was third with 191 points.
Seaholm became the first team in Division 2 to win three straight titles since Holland did so from 2011-13.
Seaholm head coach Karl Hodgson said there actually was a different dynamic trying to win three in a row as opposed to two consecutive.
“It’s just more difficult,” Hodgson said. “It gets harder each time and is a relief. It feels great.”
As expected, Seaholm swept the three relay events.
While depth and team achievement have been at the forefront of Seaholm’s success the past three years, the Maples did have an individual that stood out more than most this fall.
Junior Samantha Clifford won the 100 freestyle in a time of 51.02 and was second in the 200 freestyle behind Williams.
Clifford also anchored winning teams for the Maples in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays.
Portage Northern had another individual winner at the meet besides Williams. Angelina Baker set an LPD2 Finals record in the 500 freestyle, with a time of 4:54.97.
The 50 freestyle saw a rare tie for first, with Jenison sophomore Grace Albrecht and Ann Arbor Skyline senior Claire Kozma touching with identical times of 23.94.
Lily Witte of Dexter won diving with 503.55 points and also placed in the 50 freestyle, finishing 16th.
In the 100 backstroke, Skyline junior Lily Cleason won in a time of 55.77.
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.