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)
Preparation Pays Off Again as University Liggett Returns to Reign
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2025
MIDLAND – Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett believed this fall's tough regular-season schedule would prepare the team for any other contenders it might face with a title on the line at this week's Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals.
The Knights were indeed ready. They fought off determined Jackson Lumen Christi on Tuesday, claiming the crown with 31 points by stretching its lead during the championship flights. The Titans had 21 points, and Maple City Glen Lake finished third with 19.
Liggett had most recently won Division 4 in 2022 and finished runner-up in 2023.
"The theme for the season was 'play the ball,''' said coach Mark Sobieralski, finishing his 44th year. "And not worry about who you are playing against, and let everyone play Liggett. You have to use that to your advantage because of the history of the school.
“The kids bought it. The worst thing you can do is look at the draw and say ‘I have to play the No. 1 seed,’ or ‘I've got to play this guy or this guy.’ You can't worry about that. You just have to play the ball. That's all you can control.”
The Finals field was a little bit different this time, with 2024 champion Holland Christian playing in Division 3 this season. Liggett led second-place Lumen Christi 26-20 heading into Tuesday’s semifinals.
Seniors Niko Cooksey and Griffin Marchal, second-seeded at No. 1 doubles, captured the team’s first flight championship with a 6-1, 6-1, victory over top-seed Casey Jackson and William Gibbons from Traverse City St. Francis.
"Coach always has us play a competitive schedule during the regular season,'' Cooksey said. "Our year has been great, actually. We get the hardest schedule. Our (No.) 1 doubles has been good. We've lost to some good teams, but we've beaten some good teams. We beat the No. 2 seed in Division 2 (Birmingham) Seaholm, so that was a big win. We've just been playing within ourselves.''
"It was a tough match (today), but I think the tough schedule we played during the season helped,'' Marchal added. "Before this, beating Seaholm was the highlight of the season. The state title is the goal.''
Lansing Christian junior Stephen Gollapalli avenged his only loss this season by downing Lansing Catholic sophomore and top-seeded Noah West 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in the No. 1 singles final.
West had defeated Gollapalli 6-4, 6-3 at their Regional before Gollapalli turned the tables.
"It was really tough, and I'm just glad I was able to stay strong,'' said Gollapalli. "The last hours were tough. I was battling cramping. My coaches were really good. My mom was up there cheering and gave me some will to fight.
"I had a three-setter in the semifinal, and to tell you the truth, I just kept grinding. I got off to a fast start by winning the first set, and that helped. He's a fantastic player. He wasn't just going to give it to me.''
No. 2 singles also went three sets with Grand Rapids West Catholic’s fourth-seeded freshman Crew VanBeynen facing Berrien Springs’ second-seeded senior Phil Seo. Seo prevailed 6-2, 1-6, 7-5.
Edwin Seo of Berrien Springs (no relation) captured No. 3 singles with a 6-4, 6-4, victory over Jason Gonerka of Jackson Lumen Christi.
Liggett won No. 2 doubles with Landen Maltby and Charlie Laethem defeating Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian's Hudson Tolsma and Jaben Bell, 6-1, 6-0. No. 4 singles also went to Liggett as Justin Platt outlasted Glen Lake’s Porter Martin 6-3, 6-2.
The Lakes won No. 4 doubles with top seeds Levi Lamb and Luke Selby handling Theo McEldowney and Nolan Curtis of Jackson Lumen Christi 6-1, 6-3.
The Liggett No. 3 doubles team of Rene Quint and Lucas Ferguson defeated Jackson Lumen Christi's Holden Luce and Brogan Kelly 7-6 (8-6), 5-7, 6-2.
"My dad and I put in so much effort in tennis,'' said Quint. "To finally have it pay off. … Last year I lost my first round in a rat tail. To come back this year and be able to win means so much.''
(PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.)