Did you see that? (9/10-9/16)
September 18, 2012
One of the state's premier regular-season cross country events plus some big-time volleyball in the Upper Peninsula highlight the non-football highlights from the week that was Sept. 10-16.
(Click for the Drive for Detroit football report.)
Cross country
Elite meet at MSU: The Spartan Invitational, run at Michigan State's Forest Akers East Golf Course, is arguably the most competitive regular season event in this sport and draws a number of top teams from all over the state for a series of races. Champions on Friday were the Waterford Mott boys and Grosse Pointe South girls in the Elite races, the Ithaca boys and North Muskegon girls in the White division, the Haslett boys and the Spring Lake girls in the Bronze division, and Bloomfield Hills Lahser boys and Jenison girls in the Green division. Click the "Playmakers" link for results and the others for coverage. (Playmakers.com) (Grand Haven Tribune) (Lansing State Journal)
Volleyball
Capital of UP volleyball: Calumet, ranked fourth in Class C this week. defended its title at the Articatz Invitational Autumn Classic in Marquette by winning all 12 of its games. The field also included Marquette, Houghton and Escanaba among others. (Marquette Mining Journal)
Trojans at home above the net: More of the Upper Peninsula's top teams met nearer the Wisconsin border. Crystal Falls Forest Park, ranked No. 6 in Class D, defended its home tournament title with a 2-1 win over No. 10 Lake Linden-Hubbell in the final. (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Golf
Lakeview owns Battle Creek: Lakeview continues to rank among the state's best teams in Division 2, at No. 3 this week. And there's no question it's the best in Battle Creek, as evidenced by a sixth-straight All-City championship won with a score of 176 -- 45 strokes better than runner-up Harper Creek. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Recognition
Clawson names Judy Hacker Field: Hacker, who died in 2011, was a pioneer of girls sports in the southeastern corner of the state during her time at the school from 1963-95. She coached basketball, volleyball, softball, track and field and field hockey at the school. The school dedicated its softball diamond in her name Saturday. (Oakland Press)
Jokela Caps LL-H Career As 3-Sport Star, Among Track's Most Accomplished Greats
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
June 26, 2025
ESCANABA — It would nearly be an understatement to say Emily Jokela has enjoyed a stellar high school athletic career.
The recent Lake Linden-Hubbell graduate earned a dozen victories at the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Track & Field Finals during her prep career, winning the 400-meter dash and 300 hurdles four times apiece, taking the 100 dash three times, adding a 200 title as a sophomore and 100 hurdles championship this spring.
Jokela also owns the all-time U.P. Finals record in the 300s at 44.8 seconds and the UPD3 record in the 400 (58.61) set a year ago – with school records in those events as well.
“I started running in fifth grade and fell in love with hurdling,” she said. “All my events were close together. I do weight training four times a week and sometimes go to the Michigan Tech track to get a break from our asphalt surface. The asphalt track is harder on the legs. It’s nice to get on a rubberized track.”
She concluded her prep basketball career here June 12 by leading the West All-Stars past the East, 50-41, at the 39th Annual Upper Peninsula All-Star Basketball Game.
Jokela, who scored 18 points in her final prep hoops appearance at Bay College, was selected Most Valuable Player. She finished her Lake Linden-Hubbell basketball career with a school-record 2,010 points, leading the Lakes through a 17-7 season this winter and earning an all-U.P. Division 4 first-team honor.
Jokela did double-duty this spring, also as a pitcher in softball. Lake Linden-Hubbell went undefeated in the Copper Mountain Conference (10-0) and finished 28-7 overall after dropping a 2-0 decision to Gogebic (Bessemer/Wakefield-Marenisco’s cooperative team) in their Division 4 Regional Final.
“I started playing basketball and softball at a young age,” she said. “I made some of my best friends in basketball. I’m going to miss all the girls I played with for four years. I’m so proud of how far we went in softball. I’m also very happy with how basketball went and quite happy with the way our track & field season went.”
LL-H brought home the Division 3 runner-up trophy from the U.P. Track & Field Finals at Kingsford by scoring 76 points, just eight fewer than Newberry. The Lakes were crowned U.P. champions last season and shared the title with Stephenson in 2023. Jokela was four-time all-state selection and three-time CMC MVP, and scored more than 1,000 points during her career. As a junior she won the 100, 200, 400 and 300 hurdles at the UPD3 championship meet and remains one of only seven girls to win four individuals events at a Finals.
On the basketball court, she was a two-time conference MVP and four-time member of the CMC’s elite team, and selected twice to The Associated Press, Basketball Coaches Association and Detroit Free Press all-state teams. In softball, Jokela was a two-time conference MVP and named CMC Pitcher of the Year.
Jokela earned another high honor in late May, being named her school’s Outstanding Female Athlete. She is bound for Grand Valley State University, where she’ll become a member of the women’s track & field team.
“I met my roommates, and they seem nice,” Jokela said. “It will be a lot more intense in college. I’m really going to have to work hard for everything. I need to work on my endurance. It was a challenge balancing track with softball, but I like being busy.”
Jokela also was a two-time all-state academic selection and a National Honor Society member. After carrying a 3.79 grade point average in high school, she plans to major in health science at Grand Valley.
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTO Lake Linden-Hubbell’s Emily Jokela (5) leaps the final hurdle on the way to an impressive win in the 300 at last month’s Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals in Kingsford. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)