Did you see that? (9/17-9/23)
September 25, 2012
The crowning of a new MHSAA soccer scoring champion and some statewide showdowns in golf and volleyball headline the best of the week that was Sept. 17-23.
Soccer
Chatfield fills it up: Senior Aaron Chatfield, a forward for Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian, scored both of his team's goals in a 7-2 loss Friday to Elk Lake, but in doing so set the MHSAA career scoring record. He now has 174 goals, two more than former record holder Soony Saad of Dearborn. (Petoskey News)
Golf
Cougars edge Bulldogs: Two-time reigning MHSAA Division 4 champion Lansing Catholic edged Brighton 327-336 at the East Lansing Invitational on Sept. 17 at Walnut Hills Country Club. There were nine ranked teams in the 17-team field. Brighton is ranked No. 2 in Division 1. Lansing Catholic's Jacqueline Setas shot a 70 to take the individual medalist honor, and two of her teammates tied for second.
Volleyball
Blue streak: Richland Gull Lake downed Portage Central in three sets to win the Portage Central Invitational's gold division and a tournament the featured four teams ranked in Class A plus reigning champion Rockford and reigning Class B champion Fruitport (in A this season). Gull Lake moved up to No. 2 in Class A from No. 4 after the weekend, and Portage Central is No. 6. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Tennis
Ludington on the move: The Orioles have moved up from No. 8 to No. 6 in the Division 4 rankings after downing formerly-No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and No. 10 Almont at Saturday's Almont Invitational. (Mlive.com)
Cross Country
Flivver flies on: Kingsford's Dan Kulas claimed the individual championship at the Stephenson Invitational on Saturday in 16:58. He's won four straight races. (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Basketball
Pershing coach steps down: Detroit Pershing boys basketball coach A.W. Canada has resigned, but will remain with the program as an assistant. The Doughboys are regularly in contention in Class A, last winning the MHSAA title in 2009 after also making the Final in 2008. (Detroit News)
Story of the Week
Spring Lake setter lifts Lakers: It's been a little more than a year since Emily Blahnik's mother Brenda suffered a horrific fall that left her with a skull fracture, brain trauma and spinal cord injuries. But with her teammates and community in continuous support, Blahnik has remained a big part of Spring Lake's volleyball program. The Grand Haven Tribune has been covering this story throughout, and Nate Thompson provides us with this update. (Grand Haven Tribune)
Grand Rapids Speedsters Dominate Division 2 Girls Cross Country Final
November 4, 2023
BROOKLYN — Emily Tomes of Grand Rapids Catholic Central might be the first MHSAA cross country champion to go all season without winning a meet until it mattered the most.
There are two good reasons for that.
First, she runs in the Grand Rapids area, which is a hotbed for high school cross country. Her biggest league rival, Selma Anderson of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, was the runner-up in the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final on Saturday.
Second, she was adjusting all season to a significant change in her training volume.
As a result, she had five second-place finishes in nine races and didn’t run faster than 18:25.5 until her conference and Regional meets.
“I ramped up my miles, so my legs felt tired for a lot of my races,” Tomes said. “So, that’s why I recently started running sub-18. My legs started to get used to the mileage. I was just trying to wait until this meet. This is when I was going to try to run my best.”
Tomes was the Division 2 champion, running a time of 17:31.4 on a Michigan International Speedway course that yielded fast times all day.
She won a kick down the stretch against St. Joseph senior Gail Vaikutis, who took second in 17:33.6.
“I feel like I do rely on my kick quite a bit, but I just knew it could help me pass those girls and it gives me a lot of confidence moving forward, ” Tomes said. “I have a couple postseason meets, so I’m really looking forward to those.”
It was anyone’s race when a pack of five runners reached the two-mile mark within one second of one another. It was a two-runner race coming down the straightaway, with Tomes passing Vaikutis in the final tenth of a mile.
“I don’t normally run in packs,” Tomes said. “This season kind of started off slower for me, so I wasn’t used to racing with these girls. I know they know how to run really fast. If I could just let them carry me along, it would help me out.”
Grand Rapids Christian won the team championship with a score of 112 points. Last season’s champion Otsego was second with 131.
The Eagles won their seventh MHSAA championship and first since 2014.
Senior Natalie VanOtteren, who defeated Tomes by 17 seconds at Regionals, led Grand Rapids Christian by placing fifth in 17:58.2. Sophomore Lilah Poel was 20th, sophomore Ellie Scholma 30th, senior Payton Holtz 31st and senior Naomi Nelson 65th for the Eagles.
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Emily Tomes, left, breaks away from St. Joseph's Gail Vaikutis during the closing stretch of the Division 2 Final. (Middle) Natalie VanOtteren leads Grand Rapids Christian's team title run with a fifth-place finish. (Photos by Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)