Did you see that? (10/15-10/21)
October 22, 2012
Three MHSAA fall sports came to an end over the weekend, and the tournament for a fourth has begun. Those finishes highlight the non-football best from the week that was Oct. 15-21.
Golf
Rankings play out: The Lower Peninsula girls season came to a close with all four top-ranked teams claiming championships. Plymouth won its first MHSAA title in any sport in Division 1, while Mona Shores became the first Lower Peninsula girls golf team to win four straight by doing so in Division 2. Ada Forest Hills Eastern made it two titles in three seasons by winning Division 3, and Lansing Catholic won its third straight in Division 4. Second Half covered them all. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Tennis
Dynasties continue: Three of four top-ranked teams also won MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals over the weekend, with the other champion hardly unfamiliar with first place. Ann Arbor Huron was ranked only No. 3 before winning Division 1 for the third time in five seasons. Midland Dow won its fourth straight Division 2 title and Ann Arbor Greenhills won its fifth straight in Division 4. But the biggest headline goes to Detroit Country Day, which tied Ann Arbor Pioneers’ dominance in 2002 with 39 points in claiming the Division 3 title. Second Half also covered all four of these Finals.(Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Cross country
One streak ends, another begins: The Upper Peninsula season came to an end with its Finals for three divisions. Calumet’s Tara Kiilunen led her team to the Division 1 girls title by winning the individual championship for the fourth consecutive season. On the boys side, Sault Ste. Marie won its first title in 11 years thanks to the individual Division 1 championship of freshman Parker Scott, who finished this season undefeated. Second Half covered all the races. (Girls Finals) (Boys Finals)
Soccer
Powers emerge in Division 1: Lower Peninsula Districts whittled the number of teams still alive down to 64 – 16 in each of four divisions. And the two toughest Districts to navigate were arguably in Division 1. Top-ranked East Kentwood beat Caledonia 6-0 to win that District, but only after the Falcons knocked out No. 2 Rockford in a semifinal and the Rams did the same to No. 7 Okemos in an opener. Rochester Stoney Creek, ranked No. 4, emerged from a district at Rochester that included No. 9 Utica Eisenhower and honorable mention Troy Athens by beating Rochester Adams 2-1 in the title game – after Adams upset Eisenhower in a semi. (Grand Rapids Press) (Oakland Press)
Hudson Meets Challenge Again in Extending Championship Streak to 4
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2023
MOUNT PLEASANT – Hudson High School is going to need a bigger trophy case, and soon, the way its winter sports teams are piling up championships.
Hudson’s competitive cheer team won its fourth-straight Division 4 title Thursday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, and the Tigers now have finished either first or second in the state seven years in a row.
“Do you want me to cry?” said 26th-year Hudson coach Kelly Bailey when asked about her emotions shortly after her team’s dominant 771.04-point performance, more than 25 points ahead of the field.
“We gave them some tough stuff each round and that added to the pressure, but they wanted the challenge and they wanted to do it. They pulled it off.”
Hudson’s cheer program is engaged in a healthy competition with the school’s wrestling program, which just five days earlier won its 10th Division 4 team championship over the past 14 years.
That kind of simultaneous success for two programs at the same school, in the same season, is remarkable – and the orange-and-black-clad Tigers fans were out in force Thursday afternoon in Mount Pleasant, just like they were last Friday in Kalamazoo.
Hudson produced the highest score in all three rounds of the Final, never allowing the other seven teams to gain momentum in an upset bid.
“There was a lot of pressure to win it again,” said Hudson senior Annalyse Ames, one of four returning first-team all-staters for the Tigers. “But I was more excited than nervous. I knew we would go out on the mat and kill it.”
The challenging routines led the way to the 771.04 winning score, which was close to the team’s season-best of 774.94, and much higher than its score at its Regional (740.38) and its season-average score (750.42).
Other returning all-state first-teamers for Hudson this winter were senior Cheyenne Eichler and juniors Rylie Bloomer and Victoria Hawkins. Seniors Ellie Bean, Shantzee Henderson and Isabella Moreno were second team all-state and junior Paige Clark was honorable mention in 2022.
Hudson’s roster was filled with upperclassmen, with seven seniors and seven juniors on the 19-athlete roster.
Emotions were all over the board for Hudson’s seniors, who never were outplaced by a Division 4 school in any competition during their four-year careers.
“I feel like I’m on top of the world and super sad at the same time,” said Eichler.
Gibraltar Carlson has the competitive cheer Finals record with six consecutive titles from 2011-16. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (2014-18) and Rochester (1999-2003) both won five straight championships.
Michigan Center, which was up in Division 3 in 2022 and didn’t make the Finals, came back strong this winter and capped it with a runner-up trophy Thursday.
The Cardinals, who won the Cascades Conference and took second at their Regional behind Hudson, took second again at 745.20 points – just shy of their season-best of 745.94.
“I am so proud because these girls rose to a level today that they have not had all season,” said Michigan Center coach Jessica Trefry, who shares the head coaching duties with Bree Cash. “Hudson is an amazing team, but I can say that we brought our best today.”
Michigan Center, which has won five Finals championships, finished runner-up for the second time.
Adrian Madison (741.16) took third, followed by Hart (739.56) and Merrill (730.20).
Hudson, a small community in southeast Michigan with fewer than 3,000 residents, was for a long time best-known for its 72-game winning streak in football from 1968 to 1975.
But, no question, Hudson’s competitive cheer and wrestling programs have put the town back on the map.
“We feel the pressure to keep it going, for sure,” said Bailey, who is assisted by Lyndsi Bailey and Jacque Marry. “But the Finals is a little different, because once we’re here, we’re done learning and we’re done fixing.
“I told them just to go out there and have a blast.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson is 16 athletes strong during this round of Thursday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Michigan Center competes on the way to its runner-up finish.