Did you see that?
April 30, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's only the end of April. But a number of Michigan's contenders already are in championship form.
Check out our best of results, news and notes from the week that was April 23-28.
Boys Track
What a toss: Walled Lake Central junior Cullen Prena tossed the discus an incredible 187 feet, seven inches, to win the event at the Oxford Invitational by nearly 36 feet. In fact, the toss would've won every MHSAA Final dating back to 2003. Earlier in the week he broke the Oakland County record as well. He also won the shot put at Oxford. (Oakland Press)
Girls Track
South still on top: Reigning MHSAA Division 1 champion Grosse Pointe South earned a strong early win at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational ahead of a field that included annual powers Rockford and Williamston and a strong DeWitt team. Bay City Western won the boys meet. (Playmakers.com)
Baseball
Flint Final set: Goodrich’s Bob Foreback and Davison’s Timm Rye will bring more than 1,000 victories worth of experience into this season’s Greater Flint Area Baseball Tournament championship game when their teams face off on Memorial Day. The two will meet after emerging from the field this weekend. (Flint Journal)
How do you score that: Most telling lines from the Kalamazoo Gazette’s story about Comstock turning a triple play and three double plays in one game came from Comstock coach Rich Bailey: “We have not played particularly good defense. In fact, our defense has been a problem. The skill is there; the execution hasn’t been.” (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Girls Soccer
Poll position: Rochester Adams continued to affect the Division 1 rankings while moving up itself. Adams likely helped to knock rival Rochester out of this week’s honorable mentions with a 2-0 win Thursday. The Friday before, Adams downed then top-ranked Troy 4-1. The Highlanders have opened 7-0 and are ranked No. 3 in Division 1. (Oakland Press)
Boys Basketball
Flint Powers coach moves on: Tim Herman led the Flint Powers Catholic boys basketball program only seven seasons, but they were seven of the Chargers’ most memorable. Herman resigned his post last week after more than 100 wins and the team’s only MHSAA championship, in Class B in 2009. (Flint Journal)
Football
Michigan's finest take next step: At least nine former MHSAA athletes were drafted by NFL teams (by my count) over seven rounds Thursday through Saturday. They were:
- DE Nick Perry (Detroit Martin Luther King/University of Southern California) Green Bay, first round
- DT Mike Martin (Detroit Catholic Central/University of Michigan) Tennessee, third round
- QB Kirk Cousins (Holland Christian/Michigan State University) Washington, fourth round
- WR Keshawn Martin (Westland John Glenn/Michigan State University) Houston, fourth round
- CB Chris Greenwood (Detroit Martin Luther King/Albion College) Detroit, fifth round
- S Trenton Robinson (Bay City Central/Michigan State) San Francisco, sixth round
- LB Audie Cole (Monroe/North Carolina State University) Minnesota, seventh round
- RB Edwin Baker (Oak Park/Michigan State University) San Diego, seventh round
- K John Potter (Grand Haven/Western Michigan University) New York Jets, seventh round
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
Top-Placing Pair Paces Grand Rapids Catholic Central Team Win
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
June 10, 2023
EAST LANSING — Teams that have been chasing Grand Rapids Catholic Central the past three years in the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Boys Golf Tournament got some bad news in Saturday's Final:
The Cougars won their second crown in three years, easily besting second-place Lansing Catholic by 35 strokes. GRCC shot 306 to take a 17-stroke lead Friday, and cruised to the title with a 308 on Saturday at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West.
And they may not be done dominating just yet.
The Cougars won the LPD3 title in 2021 and finished second last year, which gave the fuel for this season.
"They had a mission, and they had a goal," GRCC coach Kim Napieralski said. "They accomplished it."
They did so in part due to a team meeting after Friday's strong showing.
"We had a comfortable lead (Friday), but this morning the conversation during our team meeting was we still needed to go out and play well," Napieralski said. "We needed to finish strong, and luckily we got the job done."
That they did. Co-captain Matthew Sokorai earned the medalist honor with a 141, and co-captain Will Preston was second at 146.
"It feels great, obviously," Sokorai said of being on a team champion for the second time in three years. "But you've got to think about how you got there. Not just the ending, but there's a lot of hard work involved. It wasn't just one person. It was a whole team that played well."
More news that might keep opponents awake for another year: Both Sokorai and Preston are juniors, and the Cougars lose only one senior from this year's champion.
Still, Preston said he didn't think about winning this year's title until the latter part of the second round Saturday.
span>"We knew we were in a good spot (Saturday morning), but it wasn't until late in the round today that we really had it." he said. "When you count four scores, anything can happen."
<Lansing Catholic, also nicknamed the Cougars, was the only other team to shoot below 320 on the weekend, recording a 318 on Saturday to finish at 649. Saginaw Swan Valley was third at 652.
Lansing Catholic coach Matt Golzynski was pleased with his team's finish.
"We got off to a slow start (Friday) and it snowballed," Golzynski said. "We absolutely finished on an up note. I'm extremely proud of the work they put in this year and the job they did. It's been a great experience for us."
GRCC's precision on the course is matched by the team's close bond.
"There's no team in the state that's closer than us," Sokorai said. "We stay in hotels, we go out to eat, we do everything together. I feel like that's a huge part."
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Matthew Sokorai, left, receives his individual championship medal Saturday at Forest Akers West. (Middle) Teammate Will Preston putts; he finished second individually. (Below) Lansing Catholic’s Lansing Catholic’s Tomas Rampe tees off during the second round. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)