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: 2/27/23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 27, 2023
1. WRESTLING Lowell ran its Finals championship streak to 10, Dundee earned its sixth-straight title, Hudson repeated as well and Detroit Catholic Central finished first for the first time since 2020 at the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals – MHSAA.com
2. BOYS BASKETBALL Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice claimed its first Detroit Catholic League tournament championship since 1990 with a 68-63 win over Detroit U-D Jesuit – Detroit Free Press
3. BOYS BASKETBALL Hamilton delivered its first league title since 1988, claiming the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue with a buzzer-beating win over Coopersville – WZZM
4. COMPETITIVE CHEER Allen Park moved back ahead of Gibraltar Carlson to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Southgate News-Herald
5. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Northville claimed the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
6. COMPETITIVE CHEER Pontiac Notre Dame Prep was first and Richmond second at their Division 3 Regional – Macomb Daily
7. BOWLING The North Farmington boys and Lake Orion girls won Division 1 Regional titles, North Farmington after a just-miss a year ago – Oakland Press
8. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Midland Dow ran its Saginaw Valley League championship streak to four – Midland Daily News
9. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Battle Creek Lakeview claimed its third-straight Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship – Battle Creek Enquirer
10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Alix Bleau’s buzzer beater gave Big Bay de Noc a 48-45 win over Kinross Maplewood Baptist and the Northern Lights Conference championship; Maplewood clinched the boys title against Hannahville – Escanaba Daily Press
Also of note …
HOCKEY Alpena tied a program record for wins and advanced to a Division 2 Regional Final with a 5-0 shutout of Traverse City Central – Alpena News
GIRLS BASKETBALL Petoskey finished a repeat run in the Big North Conference with a 58-47 win over Traverse City Central – Petoskey News-Review
BOYS BASKETBALL Cadillac and Traverse City Central shared the Big North Conference title, and Boyne City and Traverse City St. Francis are co-champions in the Lake Michigan Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle
GIRLS BASKETBALL Ithaca earned a share of the Tri-Valley Conference 10-2 title with a win over Saginaw Nouvel – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
BOYS BASKETBALL Durand downed Chesaning 67-56 to create a three-way championship with those two and Ovid-Elsie in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference – Owosso Argus-Press
BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Ludington swam to the Coastal Conference championship – Ludington Daily News
GIRLS BASKETBALL Brethren finished an outright West Michigan D League title run with a 41-40 win over Manistee Catholic Central – Ludington Daily News
BOYS BASKETBALL Gavin Pebble went over 1,000 career points in Gaylord St. Mary’s win over Johannesburg-Lewiston – Petoskey News-Review
BOYS BASKETBALL Kaden Hansel broke a 34-year-old single-game scoring record for Indian River Inland Lakes in a win over Central Lake – Cheboygan Daily Tribune