Did you see that?
May 14, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's league championship time for many MHSAA teams, especially with tennis and track and field Regionals coming up later this week. And the week that was May 7-12 provided for a good share the first of many championship-level opportunities to shine.
Tennis
Streak stopper: The Fenton tennis team ended Holly's 29-season league title run by edging the Bronchos by a point in Tuesday’s Metro League championship tournament. The Flint Journal reported that Madison Ballard became the first Fenton No. 1 singles player to win a league championship in 24 seasons. (Tri-County Times)
Softball
On the rise: Division 1 No. 5 Portage Central swept top-ranked Mattawan -- putting Portage Central ahead by two games at the top of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West standings. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Strike 75: Fennville’s Selena Beltran-Pena had strikeouts for 25 of 30 outs in two five-inning wins over Martin. Beltran-Pena threw a no-hitter in the opener and a one-hitter in the second game. (Holland Sentinel)
Tuned up: Saginaw Swan Valley beat three ranked Division 3 teams – No. 2 Saginaw Valley Lutheran, No. 4 Tawas and No. 7 Unionville-Sebewaing – as part of a round-robin brought on by a delay at the Hemlock Invitational that forced the tournament to break up into smaller groups of games. Swan Valley is ranked No. 3 in Division 2. (Saginaw News)
Track and Field
Down to the wire: Two of the state’s best boys and girls teams compete in the O-K Red, and Friday’s conference championship meet no doubt provided at least a partial preview of next month’s MHSAA Division 1 Finals. The top-ranked Rockford girls edged No. 2-ranked East Kentwood, while the top-ranked East Kentwood boys ran away from the No. 3 Rockford boys and the rest of the field to win that league title. (Grand Rapids Press)
Record Breaker: Jackson High’s Cierra Pryor won the 100 meters and also the long jump at Friday’s Siena Heights Invitational, with her jump of 19 feet, 1.5 inches breaking a 31-year-old school record. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Just getting started: Richland Gull Lake freshman Kirsten Taylor also broke her school's long jump record, which had stood since 1978, with a leap of 18-5. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Still undefeated: Norway’s Dani Gagne had won all 24 events in which she’d competed through Friday, including winning the 100, 200, 400 and long jump at the Norway Miners Co-Ed Meet. Her long jump of 17-0.5 broke her school record in that event set a year ago, and her 58.61 in the 400 broke another school record set during the early 1980s. (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Baseball
Best of the Best: Richland Gull Lake, ranked No. 3 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 10-4 in the championship game of its Best of the Best Invitational. Gull Lake also beat No. 5 St. Clair during the event. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
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].
Notre Dame Prep Accepts Challenge, Caps Undefeated Season Back on Top
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep has been so close, so many times over the past six years.
This year, second-year coach Jocelyn Welsh challenged her talented team to take it to the next level.
“I pushed them past their comfort zone every day in practice,” explained Welsh, who took over the Notre Dame program in 2023 after serving as an assistant at Division 1 powerhouse Rochester Adams. “Staying at your comfort zone is not going to get you any better. You have to do the things that are uncomfortable, and these girls were willing to do that.”
That chip on their shoulder proved to be the difference Saturday afternoon, as the Irish posted the best score in all three rounds to claim a decisive victory at the Division 3 Competitive Cheer Finals at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena.
Notre Dame Prep won with a three-round total of 784.22, holding off a challenge from Grosse Ile (781.62). Perennial power Richmond (778.52) placed third, and Armada (768.96) was fourth.
The victory capped an unbeaten season for the Irish, who were the favorites coming in after winning District and Regional titles.
Notre Dame is certainly one of the state’s top programs, having won five consecutive Division 3 titles from 2014 to 2018. However, the Irish have not won since that streak was snapped – finishing second four of the past six years, including the past two behind Croswell-Lexington.
“We should have won it last year, but we didn’t get it done,” said Notre Dame senior Paige Marlinga, a returning second-team all-stater. “Not winning it last year really lit a fire under us.”
Senior Leila Mains, a returning honorable mention all-state choice, said that ever since this team’s first summer practice, breaking through and ending the six-year title drought was the team’s sole focus.
“Our expectation was to get here and to win,” said Mains, one of seven seniors on the 28-athlete roster. “We finished the job today, and it feels great.”
Notre Dame has battled Richmond for supremacy in Division 3 for years, and the Blue Devils were in the mix again Saturday. One team that was not there was two-time reigning Division 3 champion Croswell-Lexington, which placed fifth in the loaded Hartland Regional on Feb. 22.
Stepping up to challenge ND this year was Grosse Ile, a historically strong cheer program which has won two Finals titles but hasn’t finished in the top two since 2010.
“When I took over the program eight years ago, my goal was to re-establish that standard of getting here and competing for the title,” said Grosse Ile coach Angie Raithel.
The Red Devils have risen to the challenge, finishing third last season and second this time – going before Notre Dame in Round 3 and putting the pressure on the favorite with an inspired final-round routine.
“We had a lot of fun choreographing a difficult Round 3,” said Raithel, whose team was led by seniors Marissa Trombley, Virginnia West, Arianna Bianchi and Avelinn Flynn. “We are working toward that top spot, but second place is awesome and we are proud to carry this trophy back to the island.”
The title was Notre Dame’s sixth overall, along with five runner-up finishes. The previous five titles all came under longtime coach Beth Campbell.
Leading the Irish back to the top this winter was senior Grace Kinkade, a returning first-team all-stater, and second team choices Gabrielle Phillips, Jenna Robin and Marlinga. Sophomore Eva Thomas was a returning honorable mention choice.
The Irish led from wire-to-wire Saturday, taking control after Round 1 and then capping the day by executing a challenging Round 3 under extreme pressure.
“We decided at the beginning of this year that we were really going to push ourselves – to be more like a Division 1 team, to be honest,” said Welsh. “We won it with an incredible Round 3, which was very difficult.
“But that’s what these girls wanted.”
PHOTOS (Top) Eventual champion Pontiac Notre Dame Prep competes during Saturday's Division 3 Final. (Middle) Grosse Ile takes the mat during its run to a runner-up finish.