Did you see that? (10/29-11/4)
November 5, 2012
We had champions upon champions upon champions last week, whether they were winners of MHSAA Finals in cross country and soccer, Districts in volleyball or league champs in swimming and diving.
Girls cross country
Favorites make good: Reigning individual champions Erin Finn of West Bloomfield, Julia Bos of Grand Rapids Christian and Kirsten Olling of Breckenridge all repeated Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, with Macomb Lutheran North's Gina Patterson joining the group. Second Half talked to all four. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Boys cross country
Taking two titles: Highland Milford and Concord won both the MHSAA Lower Peninsula team championships in their respective divisions Saturday and also had the top individuals in those races. Second Half provided same-day coverage from every race. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Soccer
Headed west: A year after Detroit-area teams claimed all four MHSAA LP boys soccer championships, Grand Rapids area teams took back three. East Kentwood, Hudsonville Unity Christian and Grand Rapids South Christian won titles, while Hamtramck Freedom International kept one on the east side of the state with its first Finals win. Second Half covered them all. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Volleyball
Hang that banner: Bay City John Glenn won its first volleyball District championship in the 47-year history of the school, beating Essexville-Garber in four sets to claim a Class B title. John Glenn had to come back after dropping the first game. (Bay City Times)
Hang that banner, part II: Three Rivers also won its first volleyball District championship, downing Vicksburg in four games to claim the Class B championship. (Sturgis Journal)
Copper Kings, once again: After finding itself only two points from the District championship in 2011, and then giving up the final five to lose it, Calumet defeated rival Houghton in three games to take back the trophy after two straight Houghton wins. The Copper Kings are ranked No. 4 in Class C. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette)
West Iron ends near-decade of dominance: Iron River West Iron County had last won a District title in 2002, before nine straight by rival Iron Mountain. But the Wykons knocked out the Mountaineers in a Semifinal and came back from match point to score the final five and beat Ironwood for a Class C championship. (Escanaba Daily News)
Swimming and Diving
Holland still rules: Coming off their first MHSAA championship in 2011, the Dutch continue to roll and piled up seven O-K Green records in winning that league championship meet. Cassie Misiewicz and Holly Morren each set two individual marks. (Holland Sentinel)
Double Dow: Midland Dow won the Saginaw Valley League championship meet with 638 points, more than double that of the runner-up. The title was Dow's seventh straight. (Midland Daily News)
Wrestling
Longtime Napoleon coach steps down: Todd Anderson announced his resignation after running the program since 1990-91. His father Don Anderson started the program in 1967. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Tennis
Forman is Mr. Tennis: Troy senior Brett Forman, the MHSAA Division 1 champion at No. 1 singles as a sophomore and runner-up this fall, was named Mr. Tennis by the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association. He finished his career with a 77-8 record. (Oakland Press)
Story of the Week
Kirsten fights on: A little more than a year ago, doctors found cancerous tumors throughout Kirsten Longstreth's body, including multiple in her lungs. But the Beaverton senior had fought back to nearly knock the cancer completely out, and while continuing to play sports including volleyball this fall. (Midland Daily News)
Country Day Scores in Record-Setting Fashion to Claim 1st Title Since 2014
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 8, 2024
ANN ARBOR – Heading into Saturday’s MHSAA Division 2 Final, Detroit Country Day coach Chris Garland attributed a lack of offense to why his Yellowjackets came up short in the 2022 and 2023 championship games.
That issue was corrected this time around.
Detroit Country Day put up the second-most goals in D2 Finals history, defeating Ada Forest Hills Eastern 18-7 to claim its first championship since 2014 and fourth overall.
“We have so many skilled players. We are a complete team with tremendous depth,” Garland said of the offense. “We just want to keep putting the ball in the hands of our offense. If you stop one of them, we have another guy that can come at you. We showed that (Saturday).”
One player that Forest Hills Eastern didn’t have an answer for was Country Day sophomore Keaton Yearego. He matched a MHSAA Finals record with six goals, three coming during a 5-0 rally in the second period that put the Yellowjackets ahead for good at 8-4.
“I have a lot of confidence in my team, and my coaches have a lot of confidence in me and allow me to play my game,” Yearego said. “I have some great senior attackmen around me that help me do my thing. Today was just my day.”
The Hawks (16-5) tried to set the tone early, posting the first two goals of the game when junior Jackson Arnold and senior Will Morgan each found the net during the opening minutes.
“I loved the energy. The boys came out to play right from the get-go,” Forest Hills Eastern coach Antonio Boggiano said. “We knew right away that we weren’t happy just getting to this moment. We actually wanted to compete for the championship.”
The Yellowjackets (19-2) didn’t let the early deficit affect them and answered with three straight goals, two coming from senior Oliver Aaron.
“We’ve faced that kind of challenge before. It’s nothing new for us. We’re a resilient team,” Aaron said. “When you have a strong bond with your teammates and can rely on them, you can bounce back from those slow starts.”
The Hawks answered with the last goal of the first period from junior Bradyn Campbell. Senior Preston Hoexum then found the net to open the second to put Forest Hills Eastern up 4-3.
That’s when Country Day got rolling offensively. The Jackets scored 14 of the next 16 goals over 26 minutes of play.
Most of the scores came unassisted, as the Yellowjackets won individual battles to get open looks at the net.
“We have a lot of offensive threats on our team, so if one way isn’t working, we know we have other options,” Yearego said. “We really just executed well and showcased how many different ways we can score. It was an unbelievable performance.”
The offensive dominance showed in a 49-22 shot advantage for Country Day. The score could have been even more in favor of DCD, but Hawks goalie Camden Klaes made 15 saves in net.
Morgan and Campbell both finished with two goals to lead Forest Hills Eastern, which made its first Finals appearance since 2021.
“I’m just proud of the boys, just for overall the season we have had,” Boggiano said. “We met in October and said right then and there that we were going for this ring. We came up a little bit short, but I’m just extremely proud of (the team). They overcame a lot of adversity.”
Aaron finished with four goals for Country Day to go with Yearego’s six. Preston Cook, Caden Daley and Rhys Kenney all found the net twice.
PHOTOS (Top) Country Day goalie Kellen Curby makes a save during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) Country Day and Forest Hills Eastern players scramble for the ball. (Below) DCD’s Joe Norton (21) works to get into the open.