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].
McCarthy Makes Good in Finals Return with 2nd Championship
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MUSKEGON – On Saturday at Northway Lanes, Alex McCarthy’s performance seemed to indicate that March madness has already begun.
McCarthy emerged as the six seed to win the Division 4 Singles Finals championship, after previously winning the 2023 title as the 10th seed.
“I believed in myself and just had to execute, and I did,” said the Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central standout.
After winning it all in 2023, McCarthy did not reach the Finals as a junior – which he used as motivation entering this season.
“I wanted to redeem myself, and I did. It feels pretty good,” said McCarthy.
The senior collected 1,815 pins in the tournament including 499 in the final round against Houghton Lake’s Maison Christian, who tallied 351 pins.
“He's done fantastic, and this year it’s very special because obviously it’s the 100th MHSAA championship plus he was the conference champion, plus Regional champion, now state champion,” said Saginaw Nouvel head coach Brian Montini.
Exceptional bowling from Le’Veon Greewade of Taylor Trillium Academy and Jonesville’s Andrew Sackett led them to the semifinals as well.
McCarthy’s championship run was aided by an unconventional strategy that ended up paying off.
“I made a switch on the fly to the gem, and it worked out. I found a groove,” said McCarthy.
McCarthy’s growth since his first championship as a sophomore was evident when looking at the pin differential that he produced this year. The 1,815 pins he knocked down were 198 more than during his 2023 championship run.
As McCarthy’s career came to a close, the two-time champion reflected upon his career and offered words of advice to incoming freshmen.
“Never lose faith and just keep grinding,” he said. “Keep working, and you never know what could happen.”