Did you see that?
May 21, 2012
Track and field, tennis and lacrosse teams have begun their marches toward MHSAA championships, but a number of sports are making offseason news as well.
Here's our sampling of some of the most intriguing from all over the state last week.
Track and Field
Setting up a showdown: In perhaps the most notable race of last week’s Regionals, Birmingham Seaholm’s Aubrey Wilberding edged Southfield’s Latipha Cross in the 400-meter dash in Division 1 at Farmington. Wilberding ran the race in 56.48 seconds, 19 hundredths of a second faster than Cross, who set an all-Finals record in the race in 2011. Click the link next to each Regional site for results. (MHSAA)
Soccer
Shooting for 67: Lake Fenton sophomore Jordan Newman scored a combined eight goals in the semifinal and championship games of the Genesee Area Conference tournament to lead her team to the championship. She has 54 goals this season – only 13 shy of the MHSAA single-season record with Districts beginning next week. (Tri-County Times) (Flint Journal)
KVA belongs to Kalamazoo Christian: The Kalamazoo Valley Association soccer championship came down to two of the top teams statewide in Division 4 – and No. 2 Kalamazoo Christian edged No. 3 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central 1-0 in the final. The two were flip-flopped in the rankings heading into the game. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Athletes of the Year
Pinning down a major award: St. Johns wrestler Taylor Massa and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek's Gabby Yurik received the annual Michigan Student-Athlete of the Year Awards from the Detroit Athletic Club, from a group of nominees including Holland's Courtney Bartholomew, Birmingham Marian's Jaynie Pulte, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett's Madison Ristovski, Plainwell's Lauren Saar and Charlotte's Raychel Wolever, and Grand Blanc's Zachary Carroll, Saginaw Heritage's Evan Chiplock, Bay City Western's Matt Costello, Lowell's Gabe Dean and Oxford's Prescott Line.
Golf
Plymouth rocks: The Wildcats topped a field that included 17 state-ranked teams in claiming the East Lansing Invitational with a two-round score of 595. The tournament was played at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers West and East. Scroll to the bottom of link for full results. (Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association)
Tennis
Match points: Five of the top seven ranked teams in Division 2 emerged from two suburban Detroit Regionals to advance to the Division 2 Finals: No. 1 Birmingham Marian, No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Andover, No. 3 Birmingham Seaholm and co-No. 7s Bloomfield Hills Lahser and Farmington Hills Marcy. Click next to each Regional site to see who qualified for their respective Finals. (MHSAA)
Softball
Perfect, again: Breckenridge’s Sam Willman threw her fifth perfect game this season, striking out 18 and 64 for the day as her team won the Montrose Snowball Tournament on Saturday. She also threw a perfect game two days before. (Midland Daily News)
Stacking numbers: Decatur senior pitcher Erika Southworth won her 100th game last week, then notched her 1,000th strikeout two days later. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Basketball
Detroit mourns coach: Southeastern High girls coach Lisa Blackburn died Saturday at the age of 52. She was a former Detroit Pershing star who went on to play at the University of Detroit. (Detroit News)
Stolz legacy ends: Longtime Okemos boys basketball coach Dan Stolz retired with a record of 428-99 and a winning percentage of .812 in 18 seasons at Okemos and five at Williamston. Stolz took over the Chieftains program from his father Stan, who coached the varsity from 1968-93. (Lansing State Journal)
Wrestling
New coach at St. Johns: The reigning three-time Division 2 MHSAA team champion now will be coached by assistant Derek Phillips, who was promoted last week to take over for the recently-resigned Zane Ballard. (Lansing State Journal)
Media
Longtime editor announces retirement: The state’s print media will wave good-bye to another valuable member when longtime Escanaba Daily Press sports editor Denny Grall retires in two months. He’s been putting pen to paper for 42 years and is especially legendary across the Upper Peninsula. (Escanaba Daily Press)
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].
Schafran Strikes Gold Close to Home Claiming Grass Lake's 1st Singles Bowling Title
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2026
JACKSON – Marielle Schafran will not have to travel far to reminisce about what turned into a magical day on the lanes.
The Grass Lake High School junior became the first individual bowler in school history to claim an MHSAA Finals championship, winning the Division 3 singles title Saturday at JAX 60 — a short drive west of her school.
“It’s an amazing feeling being in my hometown, winning states,” she said. “I never thought I’d be here, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my family, friends and coaches.
“Now every time I come here it’ll remind me of it.”
She’ll likely linger a little longer at lanes 13 and 14, the site of the championship match against Otisville-LakeVille Memorial senior Myla Upthegrove. Schafren found herself in a 10-pin hole after the first of two games in the final despite rolling five strikes.
Trailing 180-170 and coming off a spare and open frame in the first two frames of the second game, Schafren rolled a six-bagger and eventually finished with 233 to Upthegrove’s 194 for a 403-374 victory.
The individual title helped ease the sting of the top-ranked Warriors falling in the Semifinals of the team event the day before to eventual champion Milan.
“I came in with a fresh mindset and knew that it’s a new day and everything’s different each day,” she said. “Just come in, make my spares and make good shots.”
Grass Lake coach Lindsey Torcolacci said it took a bit of convincing on her part to show Schafren that a Finals title was attainable.
“Today she came in and she wasn’t sure,” Torcolacci said. “I told her, ‘You’ve got this. You’ve been working for this for a while.’ We’re so proud of her.”
Schafren qualified 11th of 16 with a total of 1,088 after closing with games of 219 and 190. She opened match play with scores of 181 and 188 to beat Bronson freshman Audrey Shiery then secured a 389-317 victory over Flat Rock junior Diane Percha in the quarterfinals.
She advanced to the championship with games of 241 and 202 for 443 — the best two-game total of any competitor in the bracket — to defeat Grand Rapids West Catholic senior Ashley Van Linden.
Upthegrove qualified eighth with a total of 1,138 that included three games north of 200. She rolled 225 and 206 to win her first-round match over Ogemaw Heights senior Elena Martinez then pulled off a huge upset in the quarterfinal by sidelining top seed Maggie Smith of Milan, who dominated qualifying with a six-game total of 1,350 on scores of 247, 212, 203, 232, 207 and 249. Her score was 143 pins clear of second-seeded Averie Via of Ishpeming Westwood.
Upthegrove won 383-360 to advance to the semifinals where she defeated Madison Heights Bishop Foley senior Jacey Thibodeau 380-349.
“Honestly I was very surprised,” Upthegrove said of her runner-up finish. “I didn’t think I’d make it this far. It was a lot of fun.”