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)
Allen Park Extends Era of Dominance with 5th Title Over 6 Seasons
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Allen Park sure makes it look easy during pressure-packed competitive cheer competitions, and veteran coach Julie Goodwin has an explanation for that.
“All of the hard work goes on during the week, in the gym,” explained Goodwin, who just finished her 21st year as the Jaguars’ coach.
“Today, or any competition we have, we get to dress up and pick up a trophy. But we actually won it in the gym.”
Allen Park picked up yet another trophy Saturday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, winning its second-consecutive Division 2 Finals championship – and the fifth over the past six years.
The Jaguars posted the best score in the eight-team field in all three rounds, taking the lead early and continuing to build on it, finishing with 791.90 points.
Gibraltar Carlson, AP’s longtime conference rival, kept the pressure on the Jaguars all day, taking second at 788.42. Carleton Airport (784.16) took third, and Walled Lake Western (779.68) placed fourth.
Allen Park got the upper hand again over Carlson in one of the state’s best high school rivalries, in any sport.
Consider: It has been 18 years, all the way back to 2007 (Holland Christian), since a school other than Allen Park or Gibraltar Carlson has won the Division 2 cheer title. Carlson has won 11 championships, and AP now has seven over that span.
“We love it,” explained Allen Park senior Abby Obrycki, a returning first-team all-stater. “We are so lucky to have such good competition in the Downriver League to push as all the time. We love being a part of it.”
The Jaguars defeated Carlson at the Regional by more than seven points, but Saturday, the Marauders cut that margin significantly.
Carlson, which won the Division 2 title in 2023 and took fourth last year, trailed by just over two points Saturday entering the decisive third round. The Marauders were in the unenviable position of going first in Round 3, but led by seniors Sofia Lanzini, Maranda Steinmetz and Haley Sanchez, they came up with a stellar final performance.
That meant it came down to Allen Park having to answer under the pressure of thousands of fans on the state’s biggest stage, which it did in impressive fashion once again.
“We call that third round the money round because that’s where you have to win it, even though we had a little bit of a lead going into it today,” said Goodwin, who also has five runner-up finishes in her career. “We had a great week, and it showed in that final round. There was no fear and no nervousness.”
Allen Park scored 321.90 in Round 3, slightly better than Carlson’s 320.80, to provide the final margin of victory.
Other leaders for the Jaguars this season were junior Sophia Ramey, a returning first-team all-stater, and senior Peyton Will, an honorable mention choice.
Allen Park is a young team, losing just five seniors off its 23-girl roster, making a ‘three-peat’ a definite possibility. Other seniors were Leslie Hernandez, Kate O’Riley and Ella Peschke.
Peschke said going out as a back-to-back champion makes the grind and all of the long, six days of practice every week more than worth it.
“It felt great to leave it all out on the mat one more time,” said Peschke. “It’s a great feeling to be a state champion, but it’s an even better feeling to do it with your best friends.”
PHOTOS Allen Park (top) and Gibraltar Carlson compete Saturday during the Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final at McGuirk Arena.