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)
Standout Pair Cards Personal Bests to Lead Mercy's Repeat Title Charge
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
EAST LANSING – Farmington Hills Mercy might have had a lead going into the second round of the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Girls Golf Final at Forest Akers East, but longtime head coach Vicky Kowalski had quite a quandary.
Kowalski didn’t have her No. 1 player, junior Maeve Casey, available to play.
Casey shot a team-best 73 and was in second place individually after the first day, but wasn’t even in the state for the second day.
“She’s a Triple AAA hockey player for Little Caesars,” Kowalski said. “She got on a plane last night to go to a hockey tournament (in Minnesota). We had to put a sub in.”
But not even not having its top player couldn’t stop Mercy from achieving some program history.
Thanks to other players stepping up, Mercy won its fourth Finals title overall and repeated as champion for the first time in Kowalski’s 47 years as head coach.
The Marlins finished with a two-day score of 636, 17 shots ahead of Catholic League rival Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Mason was third with 657.
The Marlins entered the day with an 8-shot lead over Cranbrook. The Mercy player who made up for the loss of Casey the most was senior Abby Slankster, who shot a 2-under-par round of 70, a round Kowalski said was her all-time best.
Kowalski said junior Macy Morphew also shot her best score, contributing an 81 to the cause.
Junior Lila Polakowski shot a 79 and senior Brinley Nay added an 89 for Mercy during the second round.
“I’m just so happy that our girls played so well today,” Kowalski said.
In outlasting Cranbrook, Mercy capped off a season that featured a lot of back-and-forth between the two teams.
“Some of the tournaments we went to, we’d be ahead, and some they’d be ahead,” Kowalski said.
Cranbrook moved up to Division 2 this year after winning the Division 3 championship in 2021 and finishing runner-up last year.
Sophomore Sydney Behnke led Cranbrook with a two-day total of 156 (75-81), while senior Mackenzie Behnke was right behind at 157 (79-78).
“When we moved up to D2, we thought we would be able to compete,” Cranbrook head coach John Minnich said. “We did compete. It was not the finish we hoped for. Mercy beat us at the Catholic League championship, and they beat us at Regionals. They’ve been just a little bit better than us all year.
“I’m really proud of my team. They played great.”
Also playing great was Coopersville senior Lauren Davis, who was the medalist with identical scores of 70 for a two-day total of 140 in chilly and rainy conditions.
Davis finished four shots ahead of Dexter sophomore Avery Manning.
“My putting was super solid,” Davis said. “That was the biggest help for me.”
Davis capped off her career winning it all after finishing fifth last year.
“My state tournaments have been weird,” she said. “My first year we had only one day (because of a COVID-19 format change). My second states’ year I was playing great and was at the top, but then on my third-to-last hole I had a 10. Last year, I had one bad round. It’s good to put it all together this year.”
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy's Abby Slankster drives during Saturday's second round at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final. (Middle) Coopersville's Lauren Davis celebrates her medalist honor. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)