Did you see that?
June 4, 2012
Saturday annually is the busiest high school sports day on the MHSAA calendar.
The Spring Finals match began with Girls and Boys Track and Field and Girls Tennis Finals at sites all over both peninsulas. There were Regionals for both boys and girls lacrosse, which finish up this weekend. And, of course, there were Districts galore for softball, baseball and girls soccer.
Here's our sampling of some of the highlights:
Girls Track and Field
19 records fall: It was quite day across the seven MHSAA Girls Track and Field Finals, with 19 records broken, and two athletes – Reed City’s Sami Michell and Norway’s Dani Gagne – winning four individual events apiece. (Second Half)
Coast to coast: The Grosse Pointe South 3,200 relay was responsible for one of two all-Finals records, and ran a time of 8:48.29 that also surpassed the national record for that event (but may or may not stand as the national record, depending on what other times were run and will be submitted after this spring.) (Detroit Free Press)
Boys Track and Field
LP filled with first-time champs: Lake Orion in Division 1, Auburn Hills Avondale in Division 2 and Lansing Catholic in Division 3 won their first MHSAA team championships. Also, nine records fell across the state. (Second Half)
Quite a comeback: Marquette trailed Gladstone by 27 points at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final with four events to run. But the Redmen outscored Gladstone 42-0 over those events to win their third straight championship. (Marquette Mining Journal)
Girls Tennis
Southeast sweep: Detroit suburban schools claimed all four MHSAA Lower Peninsula team championships – Grosse Pointe South in Division 1, Birmingham Seaholm in Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood in Division 3 and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart in Division 4. (Second Half)
Freshman reigns: Utica freshman Davina Nguyen beat both the first and second seeds on her way to claiming the individual championship at No. 1 singles in Division 1. Nguyen was seeded fifth. (Macomb Daily)
Boys lacrosse
Cranbrook comes out on top: Cranbrook-Kingswood, ranked No. 3 in Division 2, emerged from a Regional that also included No. 4 Haslett/Williamston and No. 5 East Grand Rapids, beating the latter 8-4 in the Final. (Bloomfield Patch)
Girls lacrosse
EGR plays to top ranking, again: Rivals East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Catholic Central met in one of the multiple close Regional Finals, with the top-ranked Pioneers downing No. 2 GRCC one more time, 11-9. (Grand Rapids Press)
Baseball
It’s Holt, again: The Rams claimed their second championship in a week over rival Grand Ledge – both have been ranked in Division 1 this season. Two weeks ago, Holt split with the Comets to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. Standout Justin Alleman gave up two hits and struck out 18 as Holt also won Saturday to claim a District title. (Lansing State Journal)
Softball
In the end, it’s Mattawan: The season-long battle for statewide Division 1 and Kalamazoo-area supremacy was decided in part at Saturday’s District at Portage Central. Reigning MHSAA champion Mattawan emerged as the winner from a field that included top-ranked Portage Central – which was upset by Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in a semifinal. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Soccer
AAGR moves on: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, No. 8 in Division 3, shut out No. 7 Jackson Lumen Christi 3-0 in the Division 3 District final at Brooklyn Columbia Central (AnnArbor.com)
Story in Photos: 2024 Volleyball Division 2 & 3 Semifinals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 22, 2024
BATTLE CREEK – Four more finalists earned opportunities Friday to play one more match on the last day of this season at Kellogg Arena.
Two Semifinals went four sets and two went all five as the Division 2 and 3 fields were reduced to just two teams apiece.
Saturday’s Finals will see the following face off at Kellogg Arena:
10 a.m. – Division 4 – Clarkston Everest Collegiate (37-0-1) vs. St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic (33-3-1)
Noon – Division 1 – Northville (40-2) vs. Rockford (40-9)
2:30 p.m. – Division 3 – Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (38-4-1) vs. Traverse City St. Francis (35-12-3)
4:30 p.m. – Division 2 – Detroit Country Day (35-1) vs. Tecumseh (57-2-1)
A first-time champion is guaranteed in Division 2, as neither Country Day nor Tecumseh has won a Final before and the former will be playing in its first championship match. St. Francis, Northville and Our Lady of the Lake also will be playing for first titles, while Everest will be playing for a repeat in Division 4 and Monroe St. Mary and Rockford to add to past successes.
Hockey Weekly Action Photos captured the following from Friday’s action.
Essexville Garber’s Audrey Ball connects as Tecumseh’s Lauren Kilbarger (4) and a teammate put up a block in Division 2. Tecumseh advanced with an 18-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-19, 15-13 victory. Ball finished with 27 kills as the Dukes closed the season 43-13-2.
Detroit Country Day’s Leah Green (14) unleashes a spike toward a Battle Creek Harper Creek block during the Yellowjackets’ 25-14, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23 victory in Division 2. Green had six kills and four blocks.
Harper Creek’s Camille Robinson (10) sends a kill attempt toward the Country Day side of the court. Robinson finished with 15 kills as the Beavers ended the season 52-5.
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Felicity Mugler winds up for a kill attempt with Cass City’s Shelby Ignash putting up a block in their Division 3 Semifinal. Mugler had eight kills in the 25-12, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21 victory, and Ignash finished with 22 kills and four blocks.
Cass City’s Lexi Champagne (12) sends a ball toward the blocks of St. Mary’s Olivia Beaudrie (2) and McKenna Payne (11). Beaudrie had three blocks and Payne two for the match, and Champagne finished with four kills and 13 digs for the Red Hawks (37-10-1).
Traverse City St. Francis’ Landry Fouch winds up for a kill attempt during her team’s 26-24, 24-26, 21-25, 25-19, 15-7 win over Kalamazoo Christian. Fouch finished with 13 kills.
Reagan Zuiderveen sets for a Kalamazoo Christian teammate. She finished with 40 assists and 15 digs as the 2023 champion Comets closed this season 31-9-2.
TOP PHOTO Tecumseh’s Maddy Vanblack (2) elevates for a kill attempt during her team’s five-set win over Essexville Garber in Division 2. Vanblack finished with 11 kills and 19 digs.