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)
Boss Sets Pace as Charlevoix Golf Delivers Memorable 1st-Time Championship
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 6, 2026
EAST LANSING – Bryce Boss admits he wasn’t sure which he wanted more heading into Saturday’s second round of the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Boys Golf Final at Forest Akers West.
"Winning the state title,” Boss said after Charlevoix clinched its first team championship in the sport. “A hundred times out of a hundred. It’s way more fun to win as a team than as an individual.’
The Rayders – who will move to Division 3 next season – rolled with a two-day score of 645 strokes, besting second-place Muskegon Western Michigan Christian by 17.
The championship capped an emotional season for the Rayders, whose season was cut short last year by a vehicle crash that seriously injured several team members and coach Doug Drenth.
“I’m really grateful,” Drenth said, blinking back tears. “Four guys who scored today were in the accident, and how they played today meant a lot. These are fine young men, with fine parents. I’m proud of all of them.”
Drenth achieved a rare double Saturday. While continuing to recover from his injuries this past fall, he coached the Charlevoix boys cross country team to the Division 3 team title.
“I’ve had a lot of help,” Drenth said. “My (golf) assistant, Bruce Beaudion, deserved a lot of credit, too.”
Boss had a chance at that individual championship as well, when Alcona’s Giovanni Paluch three-putted on the final hole of regulation, forcing a playoff.
Both posted scores of 149 heading into the tiebreaker.
But after they tied on the first playoff hole, Paluch prevailed on the second
“I was hitting everything to the left,” Boss said. “Kinda hard to win that way.”
PHOTOS (Top) Charlevoix’s Bryce Boss punches out of a sand trap during his second round Saturday at Forest Akers West. (Middle) Alcona’s Giovanni Paluch putts Saturday; he won the individual championship in a playoff. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)