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: 9/17/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 17, 2021

1. BOYS SOCCER Division 2 top-ranked Richland Gull Lake handed a first defeat this season to Division 1 No. 14 Portage Central, 4-1 – Kalamazoo Gazette

2. VOLLEYBALL Division 1 top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian swept No. 6 Farmington Hills Mercy in their first of what likely will be a few matchups this season – Oakland Press

3. BOYS SOCCER Jack Spencer broke the Elk Rapids shutout record with his 40th in goal as his Division 3 No. 8 Elks downed No. 13 Boyne City 2-0 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

4. GIRLS GOLF Gibraltar Carlson shot a 365 to win the Southgate Anderson Invitational by 11 strokes – Monroe News

5. BOYS SOCCER Division 2 No. 6 Fruitport earned an important 1-1 draw with Division 3 No. 2 Holland Christian – Grand Haven Tribune

6. BOYS SOCCER Hartland earned its first win over Brighton since 2006, 2-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

7. GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING Trenton – an honorable mention in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – opened its new natatorium with a 105-60 win over Dearborn Edsel Ford – Southgate News-Herald

8. VOLLEYBALL Beaverton came back after losing the first set to defeat Gladwin in five – Midland Daily News

9. VOLLEYBALL Fenton defeated reigning league champ Holly for the first time in three years, 3-0 – WJRT

10. BOYS SOCCER Division 3 No. 12 Frankenmuth won by shutout for the second day in a row, this time 3-0 over Freeland – Saginaw News

Also of note …

MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl has been named to the Board of Directors for the National Association of Sports Officials. He previously served from 2011-15 including as board char in 2015 – NFHS