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].
Preview: Reigning Gymnastics Champs Lead Title Chase Again, But Challengers Await
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 7, 2025
The reigning MHSAA Gymnastics Finals team champion appears as strong as ever heading into this weekend’s meet, and the Division 1 individual champion is back after another dominating Regional performance as well.
But both are set to face fierce challenges again at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills.
Rockford is seeking a fourth-straight team title and scored the highest score at any Regional last week – but with surging Hartland less than a point off the pace.
Individually, Farmington United’s Leah Hodge is seeking a Division 1 repeat and will lead a chase that could include Rockford’s Ava Ezell and Hartland’s Alexis Fundich among several others. Farmington also will go for the individual sweep as Sophia Yee is a strong contender in Division 2.
Team competition begins at 2 p.m. Friday, with individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 beginning at noon Saturday. For information on purchasing tickets, Finals rotations for both days and Regional results, go to the Gymnastics page – and see below for several contenders to watch:
Team
Farmington United: Last season’s runner-up was most recently champion back-to-back in 2018 and 2019 and finished only two tenths of a point behind Rockford a year ago. Farmington United won its Regional by 5.4 points last week with a total of 145.925, paced by a 37.050 on floor exercise and at least a 35.200 on all four apparatuses.
Hartland: The Eagles are pursuing a first team championship since 1999 and coming off a Regional title last week won by more than nine points with a score of 149.175. Hartland made a nice run last season at the Final, finishing fourth but only 1.425 points off the lead. The Eagles scored at least 36.325 on every apparatus at last week’s Regional and broke 37 on three of them.
Northville: The Mustangs placed fifth last season, and they are seeking their first championship after most recently making a run with a runner-up finish in 2018. They won last week’s Regional at Salem with a 144.875, nearly four points more than the field and with scores of at least 35.100 on all four apparatuses and a high of 37.100 on balance beam.
Rockford: The Rams have won three straight team championships and are coming off a Regional win by nearly 14 points last week with a score of 150.05. They went over 38 points on both vault (38.1) and floor (38.425) and approached that total on beam (37.925) while placing the top three in Division 1 all-around and top four in Division 2.
Division 1
Ava Ezell, Rockford senior: She’ll compete at her first MHSAA Finals coming off a Regional all-around championship by nearly two points and sweeping all four apparatuses. She scored a 38.700, finishing first on vault (9.7), bars (9.525), beam (9.75) and floor (9.725).
Alexis Fundich, Hartland junior: She’s set multiple school records this season and won her Regional all-around last week with a score of 37.975 that included first places on beam (9.7) and floor (9.625 - tied). She tied for sixth on beam at last year’s Final.
Kate Gostlin, Hartland junior: Gostlin finished fifth all-around at her Regional with a 36.200 that included a championship on vault (9.8). She placed 23rd all-around at last season’s Final with a third on vault.
Abby Griffen, Hartland junior: She finished third all-around last season with third places on bars and beam and enters this weekend coming off a third-place all-around Regional finish (37.450) that included top-four places on all four apparatuses.
Leah Hodge, Farmington United senior: The reigning Division 1 champion did so with a 38.000 all-around last year that included a first place on bars and second on vault. She won her Regional last week by nearly two points at 38.075 with firsts on bars (9.6), beam (9.45), and vault (9.6).
Leah Koch, Rockford senior: She’s finished Regional all-around runner-up two seasons in a row, this time with a 36.725 that included second places on vault (9.6) and bars (8.525) and third places on floor (9.45) and beam (9.15). She won vault and finished 11th all-around at last year’s Final.
Noelle Licari, Northville senior: After tying for first all-around at her Regional last season, Licari won it outright this time with a 36.625 that included a championship on vault (9.25) and top-five places on the other three apparatuses. She placed 19th all-around at last year’s Final.
Stella Musialowski, Huron Valley United junior: A Regional runner-up for the second-straight season, she scored a 36.375 all-around last week finishing at least third on every apparatus and with a championship on floor (9.475). She tied for 15th all-around at last year’s Final.
Taylee Nadolski, Vassar senior: A Bay City Central student participating as part of a cooperative team, she’s coming off a 37.750 to finish Regional all-around runner-up to Fundich and after tying her to win floor (9.625) and finishing first on bars (9.6). She finished fourth on floor at last year’s Final.
Keira Sadler, Linden/Fenton/Lake Fenton senior: She improved from 12th all-around as a sophomore to 10th last season while tying for sixth on bars and beam. She’s coming off a fourth-place all-around Regional finish (36.775) that included a second on beam (9.5) and tie for third on floor (9.4).
Division 2
Reese Beauleaux, Adrian junior: She edged Livonia Stevenson’s Leah Ciavaglia by five hundredths of a point to win their Regional all-around last week with a 34.925, paced by a second place on floor.
Avi Einfeld, Rockford senior: She finished 15th all-around at last year’s Final with two top-nine (with ties) apparatus placings, and she was a Regional all-around runner-up last week (36.000) with a shared championship on vault (9.4) and second place on floor.
Lillian Green, Rockford sophomore: She finished third all-around at her Regional last week (35.850) thanks in part to a second place on beam.
Sydnee Schrauben, Rockford senior: She placed fourth at her Regional last week with a 35.800, just two tenths of a point out of second and with a championship on bars (8.85).
Kate Tracey, Rockford senior: The returning Division 2 Final champion on beam will compete this time coming off a Regional all-around title, as she scored 36.650 last week with a win on beam (9.7) and third place on bars.
Morgan Thomas, Fowlerville/Pinckney/Morrice/Webberville senior: She won her Regional all-around title with a 35.925 that included championships on beam (9.35) and floor (9.525).
Lucy Tull, Grosse Pointe United senior: She placed 14th all-around at last year’s Final and second at her Regional last week with a 35.350 that included top-three (with ties) finishes on vault, beam and floor.
Sophia Yee, Farmington United senior: She improved from 16th all-around at the Final as a sophomore to fifth last season and is coming off a second-straight Regional title as she scored a 35.925 all-around with a win on beam (9.45) last week.
PHOTO Rockford’s Leah Koch competes on balance beam during last season’s MHSAA Team Final at Kenowa Hills. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)