Did You See That? (April 22-28)
April 30, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The clouds finally began to break last week. And as expected, teams in every spring sport quickly got started catching up on what they'd had to put off most of this month.
Read on for some of the top headlines from all over the state, plus our favorite story – which highlights a pair of officials who will be recognized this weekend for their dedication to high school athletics.
Good Read of the Week
Father/Daughter rule the diamond: Ralph Burr will be among those celebrated by the MHSAA this weekend for 50 years of service as an official. But the past 20 have been his favorite – his daughter and umpiring partner Jackie will be recognized this weekend for her two decades of service. (Muskegon Chronicle).
Softball
McClure strikes again: Manchester pitcher Katie McClure moved into ninth in MHSAA history with 511 career strikeouts after totaling 27 more at Saturday’s Concord Invitational. Her team won the event by beating the host 3-1 in the final. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
One vs. One: In what has become arguably the best softball rivalry in the state, Stevensville Lakeshore swept Mattawan 4-2 and 9-4 on Thursday in a matchup of top-ranked teams. Lakeshore is ranked No. 2 in Division 2, while Mattawan holds the top spot in Division 1. (St. Joseph Herald-Palladium)
Another Clinton ace: That’s Cami Prater, who has taken over for graduated standout Tierney Nelson and no-hit the No. 5-ranked host at Saturday’s Springport Invitational. Prater hit a home run as Clinton won last season’s Division 3 championship game. (Adrian Daily Telegram)
Snowbirds down No. 1: Gaylord St. Mary scored in the bottom of the seventh inning to upset Division 4 No. 1 Onaway 2-1 a week ago before settling for a hard-earned split. (Gaylord Herald-Times)
Girls Lacrosse
“Play Day” perfection: Rockford hosted its fourth “Play Day” on Saturday, and the Division 1 top-ranked Rams finished it with wins over No. 2 Hartland and No. 3 Brighton. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, No. 2 in Division 2, also beat Hartland, along with Troy Athens and Division 2 No. 3 Ann Arbor Pioneer. (Grand Rapids Press)
Boys Golf
Upper hand, DCC: Detroit Catholic Central won what is one of the most competitive regular-season events every spring, claiming the Division 1 portion of the Traverse City Central Invitational by edging reigning champion Muskegon Mona Shores. Mona Shores finished third and DCC sixth at last season’s MHSAA Division 1 Final. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Baseball
Long time coming: Gladstone earned its first wins 4-3 and 5-0 over Negaunee on Friday, and those also happen to be the program’s first victories in more than a half century. The Escanaba Daily Press reports this as Gladstone’s first baseball team in 54 years. (Escanaba Daily Press)
East Lansing rises at Dow: East Lansing needed just about every one of its 16 runs over the final two games of Saturday’s Midland Dow Invitational, but came away with the championship after beating Division 3 No. 4 Saginaw Nouvel 8-7 in the final. East Lansing advanced with an 8-6 win over Dow. (Saginaw News)
Weisenberger throws no-no again: Sanford Meridian had three wins after Thursday, and two were no-hitters by pitcher Jonah Weisenberger. He threw his second in that night’s opener against Beaverton. (Midland Daily News)
Portage Northern rallies: The Huskies look like they could be an emerging force again from the Kalamazoo area, and moved to 5-2 by winning their home invitational Saturday. Portage Northern defeated Division 4 No. 2 Gobles in the championship game. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Track and Field
Hornets buzz: Williamston’s boys, who tied for ninth at last season MHSAA Division 2 Final, won the Spartan Classic at Michigan State University, finishing eight points ahead of Division 1 power Rockford. Reigning Division 1 girls champion Grosse Pointe South won its side of the meet by a much more significant 51 points. (Playmakers.com (full results), Lansing State Journal)
All-Battle Creek is all Lakeview: Battle Creek Lakeview continues to dominate its city’s track and field scene, and again won its all-city meets Friday. The girls won despite not running standout Sarita Dotson, who was out with an injury. (Battle Creek Enquirer).
Football
Stoney Creek celebrates Fisher: A Rochester Hills Stoney Creek football coach remembered Thursday how Eric Fisher was 6-foot-1 and 150 pounds as a high school freshman. That night, Fisher was selected first in the NFL draft out of Central Michigan University by the Kansas City Chiefs. (Detroit News)
Northville Extends Team Title Streak, Jenison's Conner Joins All-Time Elite
November 2, 2024
BROOKLYN — Ethan Powell is grateful to be part of three team championships with Northville at MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals, but sometimes he wonders if things could’ve turned out better his freshman year.
The Mustangs finished fourth that season with 204 points in a meet won by Kensington Lakes Activities Association West rival Brighton with 141.
Powell finished 94th that year in 16 minutes, 41.28 seconds after running times of 16:19.88 and 16:24.8 in the first two meets of Northville’s championship season.
“My freshman year, we had a chance to win it, too,” Powell said. “I underperformed. I was part of the reason we didn’t win it. We took fourth that year. I was just really bummed out.”
Powell never left Michigan International Speedway feeling that way the rest of his career.
He led Northville to its third consecutive Division 1 championship Saturday by a dominant 99-169 margin over Saline.
The Mustangs are the first Division 1 boys team to win three titles in a row since Milford from 2011-13. Powell is the only runner who was in the Finals lineup for all three championships.
Northville was ranked No. 1 all season, winning the KLAA championship by a 36-68 margin over a Brighton team that finished third Saturday. The Mustangs’ league included four of the top 10 teams in the Division 1 Final.
“Last year, it was honestly a tougher year, especially after Portage (Invitational) where we took sixth or seventh or whatever,” Powell said. “We came back and were able to win it last year. It was honestly an amazing feeling doing it back to back.
“This year, we’ve just been grinding. Some people don’t really understand the behind-the-scenes part of it. Every day, it’s work. It’s making sure we’re doing what we’re doing, not slacking off. We have this saying: ‘Don’t bite the bait, don’t take the cheese.’ We’re making sure not to get too boastful or too ahead of ourselves, knowing anything can happen.”
Potential trouble struck for the Mustangs when senior Ishaan Kundapur fell about 200 yards from the finish line and struggled to get going again. He finished as the team’s fifth and final scoring runner in 84th place.
“I’m really happy he ended up finishing,” Powell said. “It looked like he wasn’t going to finish. He ended up pushing through and finishing. That’s a moment where, honestly, it can be a game-changer and turn the tables.”
Northville had four runners make all-state by finishing among the top 30, including three in the top 10. Powell was seventh in 15:24.8, junior Ben Hartigan was ninth in 15:27.7, sophomore Brandon Cloud was 10th in 15:29.0, senior Nick Barretto was 25th in 15:41.7 and Kundapur was 84th in 16:14.5.
The battle for the individual championship was won by Jenison senior Seth Conner, whose time of 14:54.5 ranks 11th in the 29-year history of the Finals at MIS.
The names ahead of him include three Olympians, most notably Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher. Like Fisher, a two-time bronze medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, Conner played soccer and ran cross country early in his high school career.
Conner didn’t make it to MIS as a freshman as Fisher did, finishing 45th at Regionals, but he gave up soccer to focus on running after that.
He never envisioned becoming a Finals champion.
“Oh, no,” he said. “I was a soccer player, so freshman year I came in and didn’t really have any goals. Nobody probably would’ve seen this coming. Last year, I was like, ‘I’m gonna win state. Let’s see what happens.’”
Conner had a comfortable lead as he cruised down the final stretch at MIS, having made a decisive move about halfway through the race. Canton junior Aiden Pengelly charged from behind to nip Milford junior Kyle O’Rourke at the finish line to take second place by one second in 15:01.0.
“I was really nervous about it, especially after MI Speed Rating ranked me lower for the Regional race,” Conner said. “I just kind of gave it all to God. ‘Hey, listen, this is making me really nervous. I know you’re going to take that from me. I can just focus on my hard work.’ That’s what I did. Going into the race, I wasn’t really that nervous, just very confident and excited.”
PHOTOS (Top) Northville’s Ethan Powell powers toward the finish as his team’s top placer Saturday at MIS. (Middle) Jenison’s Seth Conner sees the finish line ahead as he leads the Division 1 Final. (Click for more from Dave McCauley/RunMichigan.com.)