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].
Today in the MHSAA: 2/16/26
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 16, 2026
1. BOYS BASKETBALL Brooklyn Columbia Central clinched its first league title in boys basketball since 1983, downing Michigan Center 59-56 in the Cascades Conference finale – WLNS
2. BOYS BASKETBALL Gobles clinched its first championship in 25 years with a 54-46 win over Galesburg-Augusta in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Central – Kalamazoo Gazette
3. BOYS BASKETBALL Detroit Martin Luther King finished a perfect run through the Detroit Public School League with a city championship-clinching 68-63 win over Detroit Cass Tech – Detroit News
4. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saline avenged its lone Southeastern Conference Red loss by defeating Temperance Bedford to clinch the league title – Saline Post
5. BOYS BASKETBALL Auburn Hills Avondale clinched its first Oakland Activities Association title with a 58-44 win over Clarkston – Oakland Press
6. GIRLS BASKETBALL Jackson Lumen Christi held on for a 48-36 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s to claim the Catholic High School League Bishop title – Oakland Press
7. BOYS BASKETBALL Onsted downed Ida 46-35 to wrap up a fifth-straight Lenawee County Athletic Association title – Adrian Daily Telegram
8. GIRLS BASKETBALL Holt defeated East Lansing 50-35 to secure the outright title in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue – Lansing State Journal
9. BOWLING Wyandotte Roosevelt’s girls and boys teams finished perfect championship runs in the Downriver League – Southgate News-Herald
10. BOYS WRESTLING Holland’s Andreas Valkema reached 150 career wins on the way to a second-place finish at his Division 2 District – Holland Sentinel
Also of note …
GIRLS BASKETBALL Detroit Renaissance downed Mumford 63-37 to win the Detroit Public School League city championship – Detroit Free Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Rockford, Grand Rapids South Christian, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Holland Christian all clinched shares or outright titles in the O-K Conference – Grand Rapids Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Morenci’s Emersyn Bachelder and Adrian’s Ella Salenbien both reached 1,000 career points – Adrian Daily Telegram
BOYS BASKETBALL East Lansing downed Holt 71-36 to clinch the outright Capital Area Activities Conference Blue championship – Lansing State Journal
BOYS BASKETBALL Saginaw Heritage downed Mount Pleasant 58-29 to clinch the Saginaw Valley League North title – Saginaw News
BOYS BASKETBALL Center Line defeated Warren Mott, and a Marine City win helped the Panthers claim the Macomb Area Conference Silver title outright – Macomb Daily
BOYS BASKETBALL Royal Oak Shrine downed Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 41-28 to clinch the Catholic High School League St. Anne championship – Oakland Press
BOYS BASKETBALL Isaiah Theodile scored his 1,000th career point during Kalamazoo Central’s 85-46 win over Battle Creek Central – Kalamazoo Gazette
BOWLING The Division 2 No. 10 Fruitport boys finished a championship run in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver – MuskegonSports.com