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].
Hoffman Adds To Record-Setting Day, Holland Christian Claims 1st Finals Win
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — What’s up with all these incredible times being run by Michigan high school cross country girls this fall?
Times that once seemed unapproachable are being run fairly regularly by the top girls in the state. Times that once guaranteed a spot on the all-state podium are no longer fast enough.
Otsego senior Emma Hoffman won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship with a time of 16 minutes, 50.1 seconds Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. It was a Division 2 record and the fourth-fastest time ever at MIS, but only the second-fastest time on a day in which Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Natasza Dudek ran a course-record 16:09.5.
Dudek’s time is the fastest in the nation this year and Hoffman’s 16:20.6 in her home invitational is fourth.
Gaylord senior Katie Berkshire was second with a time of 17:03.0 that ranks third in Division 2 history and 11th overall at MIS.
“It’s crazy to have that happen here,” Hoffman said. “Michigan’s getting really, really good at running. Cross country times are getting crazier and crazier every year.
“Watching girls from our state and other states hit those times it’s like, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I do that?’”
It was a surreal race in which Hoffman had a large lead over Berkshire, who in turn had a large lead over a talented pack of runners with sub-18 credentials.
“My coach preaches all the time to get out hard and relax,” said Hoffman, who won 10 of 11 races this season, the only loss being to Dudek. “So, I just knew going into this to just continue that. All season it’s been a lot of solo races. I just had to get out hard. Why change it on a day you don’t need to change it?”
Hoffman was second at the Finals as a freshman and junior, taking 17th as a sophomore.
Berkshire was 5.6 seconds behind Hoffman at the mile and 9.9 seconds back at the two mile. She kept pushing ahead, hoping to reel in one of the nation’s top runners.
“I was just trying to close that gap,” Berkshire said. “It was really hard to. I don’t know if I really succeeded in that or not. I tried to keep the mindset of, ‘Hey, I could win, so I’m going to keep pushing myself forward.’ I didn’t win, but I think it’s just the motivation of trusting myself and I can keep going. I’m just going to try my hardest. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but at least I can say I gave everything I had.”
Hoffman hoped to take home two championships, but her team finished second in a close battle with fourth-ranked Holland Christian – which scored 113 points to beat top-ranked Otsego by six.
It was the first MHSAA Finals championship for the Maroons, whose best finish was third place last season.
Avery Engbers was sixth in 18:05.0, Eliana Stob 17th in 18:29.1, Annika Stob 33rd in 18:45.1, Layla Geurink 42nd in 19:03.8 and Ellery Lampen 54th in 19:17 for Holland Christian.
PHOTOS (Top) Otsego’s Emma Hoffman surges toward the finish of Saturday’s Division 2 Final at MIS. (Middle) Holland Christian’s Avery Engbers (484) leads a pack during the closing stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)