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].
Vicksburg's Butler Adds to Legacy as School's 1st Bowling Finals Champ
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
WATERFORD — Vicksburg junior Jordon Butler walked into Century Bowl for the Division 2 Singles Finals on Saturday having already made history.
He later departed after making quite a bit more.
Already the first bowler from Vicksburg to qualify for the MHSAA Finals, Butler now is the first bowler from Vicksburg to win one as well, earning a 400-387 win over DeWitt junior Griffin Lindemann in the championship match.
“I came here and my goal was top 16,” said Butler, who qualified seventh out of the qualifying block. “I got top 16 and I was like, ‘All right, let’s keep working.’”
Butler worked his way all the way to the top, first earning a 427-363 win over Tecumseh senior Palmer Ziemer in the round of 16. He then bowled a first game of 279 en route to a 486-358 win over St. Clair Shores Lake Shore junior Gregg Winters in the quarterfinals.
Butler then earned a 420-359 win over Iron Mountain senior Blake Flaminio in the semifinals.
In the final, Butler started off hot, bowling a 246 to take a 37-pin lead over Lindemann going into the second game.
Butler started off hot again, but he admittedly started feeling some pressure in the middle of the game, which turned into a couple of open frames due to splits.
“I started bowling a little shaky there,” Butler said. “I was getting nervous.”
Lindemann gave himself a chance, getting into a position where if he would have struck out in the 10th frame, he would have won.
However, on the first shot of the 10th, Lindemann bowled a nine, with the 4-pin wobbling a bit, but not falling, to end his hopes.
“Today he was probably 10-15 pins higher than his average,” Vicksburg co-coach Chris Adams said of his champion. “He has got the best mental attitude. Level-headed and always has a smile on his face. That’s who Jordon is.”
As was the case with Butler, Lindemann was making his first appearance at an MHSAA Finals, and was thrilled with how his day went despite falling just short at the end.
Lindemann, who was the No. 12 seed out of qualifying, defeated Carleton Airport sophomore Brayden Siders in the semifinals, 406-323. He also didn’t have a series below 400 until the final.
“I came into this thinking to just bowl my best and if I made the cut, I made the cut,” Lindemann said. “I didn’t expect to get all the way to the finals. I’m proud of myself that I did it.”
While Butler and Lindemann advanced the furthest in the tournament, the game of the day belonged to New Boston Huron senior Nicholas Suemnick, who bowled a 300 in the first game of qualifying.
Last year’s individual champion, Flint Kearsley junior Jameson Vanier, finished 18th in qualifying and missed the cut by 17 pins.