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: 11/17/21
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 17, 2021
1. VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart advanced to the Semifinals for the first time with a sweep of No. 5 Traverse City Christian – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
2. VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip went five sets to get past top-ranked Adrian Lenawee Christian in a Division 4 Quarterfinal – Battle Creek Enquirer
3. VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central came back after losing the first set to defeat No. 3 Pewamo-Westphalia in four in Division 3 – Monroe News
4. VOLLEYBALL Indian River Inland Lakes will make its first Semifinal appearance after defeating Ironwood in Division 4 – Cheboygan Daily Tribune
5. VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Hudsonville finished a season sweep of No. 4 Rockford with a four-set win in Division 1 – FOX 17
6. VOLLEYBALL No. 5 North Branch will return to the Division 2 Semifinals after a sweep of No. 8 Cadillac – Flint Journal
7. VOLLEYBALL Honorable mention McBain held on 15-10 in the fifth set to defeat No. 6 Calumet in a Division 3 Quarterfinal – Cadillac News
8. VOLLEYBALL Allen Park Inter-City Baptist came back after losing the first set to defeat No. 7 Ubly in four in Division 4 – Southgate News-Herald
9. VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Ann Arbor Skyline is headed back to the Semifinals for the second time in three seasons thanks to a 3-1 win over No. 7 Northville in Division 1 – Ann Arbor News
10. VOLLEYBALL With its top hitter back from injury, top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep advanced in Division 2 with a sweep of No. 4 Detroit Country Day – Detroit News
Also of note …
VOLLEYBALL Three-time reigning Division 2 champ and current No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian moved to within two more wins of a fourth title with a sweep of honorable mention Niles – Grand Rapids Press
VOLLEYBALL Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian also will be returning to Kellogg Arena after a sweep of honorable mention Davison in Division 1 – Oakland Press
VOLLEYBALL Top-ranked Muskegon Western Michigan Christian advanced in Division 3 with a win over Watervliet – Grand Haven Tribune
VOLLEYBALL No. 10 Macomb Dakota advanced to the Division 1 Semifinals with a sweep of Dearborn Divine Child – Macomb Daily
VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Reese will be making its first Semifinal appearance since 2010 after defeating Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 3-1 in Division 3 – WJRT
VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Lake Odessa Lakewood will return to the Division 2 Semifinals after a sweep of Onsted – Lansing State Journal