Did you see that?
April 16, 2012
Check out our must-know scores and news from April 9-14.
(Click on links for coverage.)
Baseball
Milestone victory: Johannesburg-Lewiston coach Rick Guild won his 700th game, becoming the ninth Michigan baseball coach to do so according to the MHSAA record book. Guild took over the Cardinals program in 1975. (Gaylord Herald Times)
No-no No. 2: Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s Alex Daar threw his second no-hitter of this young season, striking out 15 in a 4-0 win over Livonia Clarenceville. He also struck out 15 in his first no-hitter this spring. (Detroit News)
Softball
One day, two no-hitters: Saginaw Valley Lutheran pitchers Sarah Appold and Kelsey Schaus combined to no-hit Flint Southwestern for the day on Saturday. Appold threw a no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader, striking out 14, while Schaus did the same in the second game while striking out 11. (Saginaw News)
Soccer
Hornets sting Mason: In a matchup of reigning District champions in Divisions 3 and 2, respectively, Williamston downed Mason 3-1. Both teams likely will be ranked when the first polls are released this week. The Hornets are 4-1, with their lone loss to Birmingham Marian, and with Hudsonville Unity Christian and a tournament including Flint Powers Catholic, Detroit Country Day, Frankenmuth, Plainwell and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard coming up over the next two weekends. (Lansing State Journal)
Tennis
West Ottawa wins at Lowell: Holland West Ottawa, which tied for 12th at last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final, edged currently-ranked Division 3 No. 8 Grand Rapids Catholic Central 47-44 to win the Lowell Invitational. (Holland Sentinel)
Media
Thanks, Jim: Longtime Port Huron Times-Herald sports editor Jim Whymer retired from the paper after more than 33 years. An enthusiastic advocate of high school athletics, Whymer has been a tireless presence both in his community and statewide serving as a voting member of various Associated Press committees for football and basketball rankings and all-state teams. (Port Huron Times-Herald)
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Hoffman Adds To Record-Setting Day, Holland Christian Claims 1st Finals Win
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — What’s up with all these incredible times being run by Michigan high school cross country girls this fall?
Times that once seemed unapproachable are being run fairly regularly by the top girls in the state. Times that once guaranteed a spot on the all-state podium are no longer fast enough.
Otsego senior Emma Hoffman won the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship with a time of 16 minutes, 50.1 seconds Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. It was a Division 2 record and the fourth-fastest time ever at MIS, but only the second-fastest time on a day in which Ann Arbor Pioneer sophomore Natasza Dudek ran a course-record 16:09.5.
Dudek’s time is the fastest in the nation this year and Hoffman’s 16:20.6 in her home invitational is fourth.
Gaylord senior Katie Berkshire was second with a time of 17:03.0 that ranks third in Division 2 history and 11th overall at MIS.
“It’s crazy to have that happen here,” Hoffman said. “Michigan’s getting really, really good at running. Cross country times are getting crazier and crazier every year.
“Watching girls from our state and other states hit those times it’s like, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I do that?’”
It was a surreal race in which Hoffman had a large lead over Berkshire, who in turn had a large lead over a talented pack of runners with sub-18 credentials.
“My coach preaches all the time to get out hard and relax,” said Hoffman, who won 10 of 11 races this season, the only loss being to Dudek. “So, I just knew going into this to just continue that. All season it’s been a lot of solo races. I just had to get out hard. Why change it on a day you don’t need to change it?”
Hoffman was second at the Finals as a freshman and junior, taking 17th as a sophomore.
Berkshire was 5.6 seconds behind Hoffman at the mile and 9.9 seconds back at the two mile. She kept pushing ahead, hoping to reel in one of the nation’s top runners.
“I was just trying to close that gap,” Berkshire said. “It was really hard to. I don’t know if I really succeeded in that or not. I tried to keep the mindset of, ‘Hey, I could win, so I’m going to keep pushing myself forward.’ I didn’t win, but I think it’s just the motivation of trusting myself and I can keep going. I’m just going to try my hardest. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but at least I can say I gave everything I had.”
Hoffman hoped to take home two championships, but her team finished second in a close battle with fourth-ranked Holland Christian – which scored 113 points to beat top-ranked Otsego by six.
It was the first MHSAA Finals championship for the Maroons, whose best finish was third place last season.
Avery Engbers was sixth in 18:05.0, Eliana Stob 17th in 18:29.1, Annika Stob 33rd in 18:45.1, Layla Geurink 42nd in 19:03.8 and Ellery Lampen 54th in 19:17 for Holland Christian.
PHOTOS (Top) Otsego’s Emma Hoffman surges toward the finish of Saturday’s Division 2 Final at MIS. (Middle) Holland Christian’s Avery Engbers (484) leads a pack during the closing stretch. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)