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)
Marquette Girls Hold Off TC Central, Hold On for 1st Finals Title Since 2020
By
Brian Freiberger
Special for MHSAA.com
February 23, 2026
BOYNE FALLS – Marquette freshman Sydney Kuhl made her presence known as she captured a Finals title in the slalom with a two-run combined time of 68.76 seconds Monday to lead the Sentinels to the Division 1 team championship at Boyne Mountain.
“I definitely did not expect to win the state championship. I tried to calm myself. I just wanted to be happy with how I skied,” Kuhl said. “I'm really happy for all of us. We all earned it.”
Marquette won its first girls ski championship since 2020, ripping the title from the grasp of Traverse City Central and Traverse City West, which combined to win every championship from 2021-2025.
Kuhl won the slalom by nearly a second ahead of Traverse City Central senior Quinn Gerber (69.66) and Grand Haven’s Neave Rewa (70.10) in second and third, respectively. Rewa was the 2025 slalom champion.
The Sentinels also saw solid slalom contributions from Sophie Coxon in fifth place, Estelle Dehlin in seventh, Lyla Isaacson in 17th and Madalyn Croney in 18th to give Marquette the lead after the morning section.
Kuhl led the Sentinels in the giant slalom as well with a fourth-place finish, while Dehlin finished fifth and Coxon finished seventh as Marquette held on for the championship after Traverse City Central came roaring back.
Marquette finished with 56 points, and Central had 62.
Marquette’s lone senior, Jillian Starr, will always remember this journey with her teammates.
“We knew we had a good chance because of the steepness of the hill. That’s what we are used to. We were all at dinner last night talking about how excited we were. I’m so proud of these girls,” Starr said.
Taggart took home first for Traverse City Central in GS with a time of 71.65, narrowly edging her teammate Gerber (72.00). Rewa finished third again in GS.
“I was expecting it to be super close, and we did the best that we could. I think we all performed well.” Taggart said. “I honestly didn't think I would win. I was super nervous, and I didn't do as well as I wanted in the morning (slalom). When I went out for GS. I was going to take a chance for my team.”
Gerber wrapped up her career as a two-time Finals champion and one of the all-time best to race for Traverse City Central.
“We knew it was gonna be cold, which leads to harder snow. ... (Taggart) and I have been battling with each other all year. This was our last race together. We always pushed each other,” Gerber said.
Traverse City West finished third, followed by Brighton in fourth, then Clarkston, Lake Fenton, Northville, Farmington Hills Mercy and Berkley/Athens/Troy rounding out the field, respectively.
(Click for more photos by Adam Sheehan Photography.)