Did you see that? (10/22-10/28)
October 30, 2012
Qualifiers for the final week of the boys soccer and cross country seasons were determined over the weekend, while volleyball teams finished up league tournaments before serving up District play beginning today.
Soccer
Unity Christian downs 1 and 2: No. 3 Hudsonville Unity Christian became the highest-ranked team left in Division 2 by defeating No. 2 Ada Forest Hills Eastern in a Regional Semifinal and then top-ranked Spring Lake in the Regional Final. (Grand Rapids Press)
Hornets win first Regional: Williamston’s boys had never won a Regional game before last week, but ended it with their first Semifinal berth after a 2-0 win over No. 10 Frankenmuth in Division 3. (Saginaw News)
Cross country
Seaholm girls, Mott boys win: The top-ranked Birmingham Seaholm girls put seven among the top 11 at Saturday's Division 1 Regional at Waterford to finish ahead of No. 7 Northville and claim the championships. The Waterford Mott boys, ranked No. 6, put five among the top 13 to win their race. (Oakland Press)
Volleyball
No. 1 in league, No. 1 overall: Richland Gull Lake secured the top ranking in Class A heading into the MHSAA tournament by winning the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference tournament Saturday. The Blue Devils beat No. 7 Mattawan in the semifinal before taking down Niles in the championship match. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Marysville ready for playoffs: The Class B No. 5 Vikings won their home invitational Saturday, beating No. 10 Croswell-Lexington in three games in the championship match. (Port Huron Times-Herald)
Swimming and Diving
Records fall: Division 2 No. 9 Midland Dow broke all three relay pool records as it hosted rival Midland on Thursday. The Chargers won 141-42 to move to 13-0 in dual meets this fall. (Midland Daily News)
Tennis
Jenshak, Erickson named Players of the Year: Escanaba’s Codi Jenshak and Iron River West Iron County’s Kylee Erickson played three times this season and won the MHSAA Division 1 and 2 Upper Peninsula No. 1 singles championships, respectively. They were named Co-Player of the Year in the Upper Peninsula last week. (Escanaba Daily Press) (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Buckley's Harrand Repeats, Livingston Leads Whitmore Lake Run in MIS Debut
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — Whitmore Lake freshman Kaylie Livingston is the next great thing in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 cross country, but those ranks still belong to Buckley senior Aiden Harrand.
Harrand parlayed her Michigan International Speedway racing experience and veteran savvy into a second straight individual championship Saturday, as well as a Division 4 course record.
Harrand and Livingston ran together most of the race before Harrand pulled away slightly down the stretch to win in 17:38.9. Livingston was second in 17:44.7, also eclipsing the previous Division 4 mark set by four-time champion Kirsten Olling of Breckenridge in 2013.
“It was a little nerve racking, because she’s a good athlete, but I have — I don’t want to say seniority — but I’ve been here longer. I have experience being here,” Harrand said. “I was freaking out, but I knew in the end I could probably hold my own.”
It was the fourth top-five finish for Harrand, who was fifth in 2020 and second in 2021 before winning the last two years.
Understanding the unique characteristics of the MIS course may have given her an edge against a runner who appears primed to take the next three Division 4 crowns.
“Definitely the finish, because I know the finish is longer than a normal finish,” Harrand said. “I feel like I had a little bit of an advantage in that aspect of when to kick it in and when to keep holding it.”
Livingston had a phenomenal freshman season, winning 10 of 13 races heading into MIS. Her three second-place finishes were to runners who placed high in Division 3.
“Running this course was great,” Livingston said. “I’ve been coming here since I was really little, watching everyone run. It was nice to run here for the first time and run against Aiden.”
Although the individual victory eluded her grasp, Livingston got a championship as the top runner for a Whitmore Lake team that scored 78 points to win the team title by 34 points over Johannesburg-Lewiston.
The Trojans put five runners in the top 49, with sophomore Carina Burchi taking sixth, sophomore Sofia Robertson 20th, senior Natalie Meadows 30th and sophomore Elodie Weaver 49th.
Ranked third in Division 4 before the meet, Whitmore Lake won its first team championship since 1996. The Trojans have won four MHSAA titles.
“It was great,” Livingston said. “We worked really hard all season. All the girls put in all the work. I’m just happy to see it pay off.”
PHOTOS (Top) Buckley’s Aiden Harrand approaches the finish Saturday on the way to her second-straight Division 4 championship. (Middle) Whitmore Lake’s Kaylie Livingston led her team’s title win with an individual runner-up finish. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)