Did you see that?

June 11, 2012

Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The second weekend of this spring's MHSAA Finals is behind us, with four more champions awarded in girls and boys lacrosse. 

Below is our sampling of what struck us most from last week's many highlights as we kick off the final week of the 2011-12 school year.

Girls lacrosse

Birmingham wins thriller: Birmingham United scored the last three goals in Saturday’s MHSAA Division 1 Final to edge Hartland 12-11 in overtime. (Grand Rapids Press)

East Grand Rapids ends perfectly: The Pioneers won their first girls lacrosse championship –17-6 over Okemos in Division 2 – and finished this spring 28-0. (Grand Rapids Press)

Boys lacrosse

Again, it’s Brother Rice: The Warriors continued their hold on the MHSAA Division 1 championship and handed Ann Arbor Pioneer its only loss this season with a 14-8 win Saturday. (Detroit Free Press)

Rangers come back for more: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central scored the final four goals of the Division 2 Final to edge reigning champion Detroit Country Day 7-6. (Second Half)

Soccer

14 goals, 2 wins: Grandville Calvin Christian eliminated two other top-10 teams in Division 4 during last week’s Regional. The No. 4 Squires first defeated No. 8 St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic 7-0, then No. 2 Kalamazoo Christian 7-2 in the final. (Grand Rapids Press)

DeWitt returns: The No. 4 Panthers earned a Division 2 Semifinal matchup with Plainwell by beating No. 5 Grand Rapids Christian 1-0 in their Regional Final. DeWitt fell to Plainwell in a 2011 Semifinal, but returns a number of players from that team. (Lansing State Journal)

Softball

Decade of dominance: The Gladstone softball team earned its 10th-straight Regional championship with 7-0 and 6-2 wins over Tawas and Traverse City St. Francis, respectively. Gladstone won MHSAA championships in 2009 and 2004, and was ranked No. 7 heading into this postseason. (Escanaba Daily Press)

Fantastic first: Swartz Creek won its first Regional by downing Alpena 2-1 in a Division 1 Final at Saginaw Valley State University. The Dragons are 34-6 and also have set a school record this spring for wins. (Bay City Times)

Baseball

Brighton beat Brother Rice: The unranked Bulldogs downed the top-ranked Warriors 4-1 in the Regional Final at Novi. Brighton rode the arm of pitcher Colin Nash, who moved to 8-0 this season. (Detroit News)

Bears also take out No. 1: The top-ranked team in Division 2 also fell, thanks to No. 10 St. Joseph. The Bears downed Richland Gull Lake 6-5 in eight innings before beating Coldwater for the championship. (St. Joseph Herald-Palladium)

Golf

No 300 here: No. 2-ranked Plymouth and unranked Saline and Canton all broke 300 at the Division 1 Regional at West Shore Golf and Country Club in Grosse Ile. Plymouth won the title with a 296, but Saline was only two behind and Canton came in at 299. Canton’s Donnie Trosper, a freshman, won the individual championship with a 67. Saline had beaten those two teams in the District. (MHSAA)

Farmington United's Hodge Closes Historic Run as Repeat Finals Champ

By Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com

March 8, 2025

GRAND RAPIDS – Leah Hodge never really felt like another Division 1 gymnastics championship was in hand Saturday, but she wasn't going to argue with where she stood following the MHSAA Team Final the day before.

The Farmington United senior considered herself as very much in the hunt to become the first gymnast to win back-to-back all-around titles since 2013-14. Maybe, however, just not the favorite to repeat as champion.

"I was nervous, but I felt like things were falling into place. I thought I'd be okay," Hodge said. "I felt like there was less pressure than the (Team Final) because there you're in it for the team."

Hodge had the second-highest all-around score (38.175) in Friday's team competition to Hartland's Alexis Fundich (38.425). But less than 24 hours later, she rebounded to capture the top honor in Division 1 with a score of 38.325 at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. Fundich was runner-up at 38.1.

Hodge closed out a stellar prep career by becoming the first gymnast to win back-to-back Division 1 Finals all-around titles since Christina Shabet of Troy in 2013-14.

Hartland’s Alexis Fundich also competes on floor exercise."Since this is my last high school competition, I think I was more happy than nervous," Hodge said. "It's a dream come true."

Hodge won bars (9.65), took second on vault (9.675), third on beam (9.625) and fourth on floor (9.375) to win all-around.

While she was finishing out her repeat run, Hartland produced quite an encore after winning Friday's team meet. The Eagles' Fundich won floor (9.75) while teammates Kate Gostlin captured the vault (9.725) and Abby Griffen the beam (9.825).

Fundich, a junior, said she couldn't quite match Hodge's prowess, but had an outstanding meet.

"I think I was in a position just to have fun," she said. "I made a couple mistakes, but I was proud of how I did overall."

Gostlin said her season turned around in a meet at Lakeland during the regular season. It was there, she said, that her mindset changed from having a credible season to one capable of winning a Finals title in vault.

"I thought I did real good," she said. "It was a mindset, more confidence. I had a really high score there and began to think I could have some really good scores. I began to feel really good about myself and that's a kind of power, knowing you can do it."

Like Gostlin, Griffen said much of her performance can be explained by a higher confidence level.

Rockford’s Sydnee Schrauben prepares to launch off the vault. "I had a really good meet Friday and felt confident in my routine today," she said. "I was real proud of the team (Friday). You don't really expect a state title, but we were confident we could be in it."

Hartland coach Gavin Kress said a case could be made the Eagles actually took a step forward in terms of nailing routines in the individual meet over the team championship.

"It was a less stressful day. The team is what it's really all about," he said. "I think today is more about them. Yesterday we were confident, and that boosted us for today."

Rockford senior Sydnee Schrauben claimed the Division 2 all-around championship with a score of 36.025 as Rams took the top three places. She was followed by senior Kate Tracey (35.900) and sophomore Lillian Green (35.850).

Rockford also dominated Division 2 championships on the apparatuses. Sophomore Reese DeFrang won the vault with a 9.3, Schrauben won the beam with a 9.6 and senior Avery Renberg won the floor with a 9.5. Schrauben tied for fourth on bars, finished 25th on vault and 30th on floor to build the championship all-around score.

Farmington United junior Aubrey Woodman won the Division 2 bars title with an 8.875.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Farmington United’s Leah Hodge competes on floor exercise during Saturday’s Division 1 Finals at Kenowa Hills. (Middle) Hartland’s Alexis Fundich also competes on floor exercise. (Below) Rockford’s Sydnee Schrauben prepares to launch off the vault. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)