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)
Marquette Boys Rally with Richardson to Extend Finals Winning Streak
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2026
KINGSFORD — The Marquette boys maintained their stranglehold on the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Track & Field Finals title by scoring 117 points Saturday.
The Sentinels, who won for the sixth consecutive year, were followed by Sault Ste. Marie with 103 points and Houghton with 78.
Minnesota-Duluth football recruit Ford Richardson provided Marquette with firsts in the 300-meter hurdles in a season-best 40.99 seconds and the 400-meter dash at 50.84, and placed second in the 100 (11.2).
Richardson, who will play quarterback for the Bulldogs, also won the 300 hurdles in a school-record 40.15 a year ago.
“I’m pretty happy with that,” he said. “Going back-to-back feels real good. My starts went well today. I’ve been working out since basketball. I’m excited about playing college football this fall.”
The Sentinels continued to show their strength in the distances, led by junior Luke Ballard, who won the 800 (2:02.64) and 1,600 (4:24.26).
Senior teammate Rorik Holmquist was runner-up in the 800 in a personal-best 2:04.14 and the 1,600 (4:25.75) and 3,200 (9:41.97).
“My time was not as good in the 3,200 as I hoped, but I’m happy about my 800 and 1,600,” Ballard said. “The difference in the 1,600 was definitely my kick. Once I got around the last turn, I could open it up pretty easily. It’s always good to see the finish line.”
Sault senior Gabe Litzner, an Oakland University recruit, set a meet record in the 3,200 (9:33.81) which was slightly more than two seconds faster than his previous record from two years ago.
Litzner, however, ran his PR (personal record) earlier this spring at Shepherd where he was clocked at 9:06.22.
“I think I’m a little sick today, but I wanted to come here and win one anyway,” he said. “I’m definitely run down. I had been doing races for five months indoors. I’m just happy to bounce back and get a win. I’ve been getting ahead of myself and thinking more about college than high school. Marquette has a good program, and I’m glad they’re here to push me. The 4x800 (3,200 relay) and 1,600, I’m a little disappointed in that. I really had to grind it out in the 3,200. I’m taking a good 10-day break. I’m super excited to run for Oakland.”
Houghton junior Sam Roth claimed the 100 (11.1) and 200 in a school-record 22.53.
Classmate Michael Solena captured shot put (50-1¼) and discus (139-9).
“I’m just excited because the work I put in has paid off,” Roth said. “Brayden (Goudge) is really good. Having someone who’s competitive to run with in practice helps a lot. My start in the 100 was pretty bad, but I caught up. I’m just glad I could get it done. I just hope there’s good competition next year because that pushes you a lot. I’m just happy everything worked out.”
Gladstone junior Andrew Karl soared to victory at 14 feet in pole vault and Escanaba sophomore Andrew Hamlin won high jump (6-2).
Kingsford junior Gaige Sorenson took long jump (21-5) and Marquette senior Jacob Norman took the 110 hurdles (16.28). Sault Ste. Marie won the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays, and Marquette won the 3,200 relay.
PHOTOS (Top) Marquette's Ford Richardson catches his heel on the last hurdle, but he is still able to get the victory just ahead of Kingsford's Sid Olson. (Middle) In a very close 200, Houghton's Sam Roth, second from left, crosses the finish line ahead of Richardson (4) and Sault Ste. Marie's Kyan Hemenway (6). (Click for more from Cara Kamps/RunMichigan.com.)