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].
Gerber Sets Pace as Traverse City Central Girls Take Back Division 1 Title
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
February 25, 2025
HARBOR SPRINGS – Unseasonably warm weather was the only thing that was different from past years at the MHSAA Division 1 Girls Skiing Final, as Traverse City West and Traverse City Central both found themselves atop the standings.
After a series of skilled runs, Central earned the championship Monday at Nub’s Nob thanks in large part to the outstanding skiing of Quinn Gerber.
“The girls were just dialed in,” said Traverse City Central head coach Amy Kudary.
Her crew delivered 31 points in the slalom and 29 in the giant slalom giving the team a combined 60 points, which was 33 better than second-place Traverse City West’s 93 points. Marquette finished third with 97 followed by Clarkston (163), Birmingham (201), Fenton/Linden/Lake Fenton (220.5), Canton (224), Holly/Oxford (240) and Brighton (257).
The championship was the fourth-straight won by either Traverse City Central or West, and Central's first since 2022 after finishing runner-up to the Titans the last two seasons.
Traverse City Central was piloted by Gerber’s giant slalom victory, where she blazed the slopes with a combined time of 54.18. TC West’s Summer Lewandowski took second place with a time of 54.43, while Estelle Dehlin secured third place with a time of 54.47.
Finishing in the top 10 and earning first-team all-state honors were Gerber, Lewandowski, Marquette’s Estelle Dehlin, Fenton/Linden/Lake Fenton’s Maddy Flack, Holly/Oxford’s Finley DeCubber, TC Central’s Avery Taggart, Berkley/Troy Athens’ Tessa Rontal, Clarkston’s Cameron Thomas, Canton’s Rhiana Savoie and TC Central’s Kellan Kudary.
While Gerber also finished in second place in the slalom with a combined time of 73.58 it was Grand Haven’s Neave Rewa who took home the championship with a time of 72.05.
“I came here hoping to do my best and being able to do that is really cool. It's a pretty cool feeling,” said Rewa.
Rewa’s team did not qualify for the Final but Rewa, also a gifted soccer player, was not without her teammates.
“I have two teammates here. It’s cool to have them watch me; it’s really nice,” said Rewa.
TC Central’s Taggart finished in third in slalom notching a time of 74.13.
Taking first-team all-state honors in slalom were Rewa, Gerber, Taggart, Birmingham’s Bianca Srock, Dehlin, Savoie, Marquette’s Lucy Stern, Rontal, TC West’s Olivia Bageris and Dillyn Mohr.
“Our team did really well, it was a good day. I had a pretty good season overall,” Gerber said.
Next season’s championship race could be similarly entertaining – both Gerber and Rewa are juniors with one more year to compete.
Click for full results. Click to watch NFHS Network broadcasts: Slalom | Giant Slalom
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Central’s Quinn Gerber finishes a giant slalom run Monday at Nub’s Nob. (Middle) Canton’s Lucy Savoie races the slalom course. (Below) A skier breaks past a gate also during the slalom. (Click for more from Tori Burley – photos to be added throughout this week.)