Did you see that?
May 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan high school athletes are accomplishing great things so quickly this spring, we're missing one every once in a while -- which is why we'll kick off this week's "Did you see that?" with a finish from 10 days ago that we found out more about last week.
Girls Track and Field
Moving up fast: The Grosse Pointe South 3,200-meter relay team of Haley Meier, Hannah Meier, Ersula Farrow and Kelsie Schwartz ran a blistering 8:59.69 to lead their team to a championship at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational on April 27. That's nearly six seconds faster than Rochester's all-MHSAA Finals record set in 2010. (Mlive Detroit)
Golf
This time, it’s FHC: Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and No. 2 Muskegon Mona Shores are waging a back-and-forth battle not just to be called west Michigan’s top team, but the best in Division 1 overall. Forest Hills Central won the Ranger Invitational by seven strokes Saturday over Mona Shores. (Grand Rapids Press)
Ram tough: The Capital Area Activities Conference includes four teams ranked either in Division 2 or 3 – Division 2 No. 1 DeWitt, Division 2 No. 4 East Lansing, Division 3 No. 1 Jackson Lumen Christi and Division 3 No. 4 Lansing Catholic. But it was unranked Division 1 team Holt that claimed the CAAC Open by four strokes Friday. (Lansing State Journal)
Soccer
Streak over: Scoring two goals in each half Tuesday, Traverse City Central broke Petoskey’s 35-game Big North unbeaten streak with a 4-0 win over the still first-place Northmen. (Petoskey News)
Football
Changes coming in the PSL: School closings and mergers this June will significantly change the football landscape in the Detroit Public School League, home of reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Cass Tech. The formerly four-division league will switch to two divisions. Two schools are closing and two more are forming a new school. (Detroit News)
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].
Caledonia Girls Catch Rival Rockford to Clinch 1st Finals Championship
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2026
WATERFORD — Initially, you probably couldn’t have blamed the Caledonia girls bowling team from being a bit apprehensive about facing Rockford in the championship match at the Division 1 Finals at Thunderbowl Lanes.
“We’ve seen them at two tournaments this year, and there definitely was one last year as well,” Caledonia coach Prescott Holbrook said. “We’ve always lost to them in match play. It’s usually them No. 1 and us No. 2.”
Not this time, as Caledonia picked the perfect time to reverse positions with Rockford.
Caledonia captured its first Finals championship, sweeping a Rockford team that finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the state.
“The fact that we could come in here and knock it out in three is crazy,” Holbrook said. “This is way better than (losing at) all the little tournaments.”
Caledonia was the No. 4 seed out of the qualifying block and started match play with a 3-2 win over Oxford in the Quarterfinals, coming back from a 2-1 deficit.
In the Semifinals, Caledonia then swept No. 8 seed Livonia Churchill, which in the Quarterfinals had defeated the top seed out of the qualifying block, Macomb Dakota.
In the Final, Caledonia started off by beating Rockford 139-126 in the first game, then caught fire late in the second game to earn a 186-136 win and wrapped up the title with a 1471-35 triumph in the third game.
“This is the best feeling ever,” Caledonia senior Addison Luxford said. “To finally be able to click when it mattered most, it’s amazing. I couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”
Caledonia advanced out of the qualifying block at last year’s Finals, finishing 13th. Luxford said having three bowlers back from that squad seemed to pay dividends.
“For some of us to have that experience, it was a lot less intimidating,” she said. “We had that experience. I thought we were able to keep calm, and we were just consistent throughout the whole day.”
Rockford was seeking its first Finals team title and coming off a Semifinal appearance last season.
The Rams were the No. 2 seed out of qualifying, swept Davison in the Quarterfinals and then survived a Semifinal against White Lake Lakeland that was as close as can be.
Lakeland won the first game by one pin and the second game by three to take a 2-0 lead. Rockford won the third game by 25 pins and the fourth by 10 before outlasting Lakeland by four pins in the deciding game.
“They fought hard all day,” Rockford coach Jerry Tarabek said of his team. “Didn’t exactly have the qualifying round we hoped to have, but somehow ended up second. In the Finals, both teams felt the nerves. They just got over them a little bit quicker than we did.”