Did you see that?
March 5, 2012
Check out our must-know scores and news from Feb. 27 - March 3.
(Click on links for coverage.)
Wrestling
We are the Champions, part 2: A group of 56 champions emerged from 896 MHSAA Individual Finals qualifiers -- including St. Johns senior Taylor Massa, who became the 16th in MHSAA history to win four individual championships and the fifth to do so while never losing a high school match. We reported both on Massa separately and on the top stories from our 13 other weight classes. (Second Half)
Competitive Cheer
New winners emerge: Southgate Anderson in Division 1 and Richmond in Division 3 won their first MHSAA cheer championships at the Grand Rapids Delta Plex; Richmond was runner-up in Division 3 last season, while Anderson improved from seventh in Division 1. Gibraltar Carlson and Michigan Center continued their recent successes by claiming the titles in Divisions 2 and 4, respectively. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2-3-4)
Bowling
From no one to No. 1: Eight championships -- four team and four individual -- were awarded over the weekend. And for the most part, favorites prevailed. But the best stories from bowling might have been the Flat Rock girls and Mason boys, who defied expectations in emerging from unranked at the end of the regular season to win their Team Finals. (Second Half Girls Team) (Second Half Boys Team) (Second Half Girls Singles) (Second Half Boys Singles)
Girls Basketball
Unexpected East Lansing: The Trojans are regulars in the later rounds of the MHSAA Tournament. But among Lansing-area teams, Waverly was the biggest contender this winter and ranked No. 2 in Class A at the end of the regular season. But the Trojans extended a six-year postseason winning streak and avenged an early-season loss to the Warriors by winning Friday's District Final, 57-53. (Lansing State Journal)
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Cadillac Girls Take Back Title, Petoskey's Spence Completes Legendary Career
By
Jordan Puente
Special for MHSAA.com
February 27, 2024
HARBOR SPRINGS — The Cadillac girls ski team knew it couldn’t sneak up on anyone at Monday’s Division 2 Final, and rose to the challenge.
Cadillac walked away from Nub's Nob Ski Area and Resort in Harbor Springs with its second championship in three years and fourth-straight top-three finish. The Vikings finished with a combined team score of 72. Harbor Springs finished runner-up with a combined team score of 91.
Mattawan and Paw Paw placed third (107), Bloomfield Hills Marian finished fourth (168) and Norway finished fifth (171).
"A couple of years ago, we snuck up and got a ski title, but this year, we had more of a target on our backs knowing we had a pretty good team to do something special," Cadillac head coach James Netzley said. "It was a little nervous feeling today because of the start."
Netzley said his skiers made it a goal to repeat what they did in 2022 after finishing third last year.
"We said last night that it was going to take a complete team effort if we wanted to do something special today," Netzley said. "That came true, and we relied on every kid on the team."
The Vikings started shaky at the slalom with a couple of falls, but in the end, several skiers pulled through. Senior Onalee Wallis led the Vikings with second-place finishes in the slalom and giant slalom. Wallis finished the slalom with a combined time of 1:12.63 and the giant slalom with a combined time of 51.67.
Wallis's teammate, senior Avery Meyer, finished third in the slalom with a combined time of 1:16.76. Great North Alpine's Grace Rowe finished fourth with a combined time of 1:17.46.
Rochester Adams' Katie Fodale finished third in the giant slalom (52.43), Meyer placed fourth (53.39), and Emma Borgula placed fifth in the giant slalom with a combined time of 53.97.
"They are pretty special kids," Netzley said about Meyer and Wallis. "Both have been first-team all-state for four years in a row, and gotten a top-10 finish since their freshmen year. Not many kids can do that by the time they come in as freshmen and cap off their senior year with outstanding performances."
Petoskey didn't have the outing it had hoped for, but senior Marley Spence stamped herself as one of the best high school athletes in the state after walking away with her fifth-straight D2 individual Finals medal after placing first in both the slalom and giant slalom. Spence finished the slalom with a combined time of 1:12.19 and giant slalom with a combined time of 51.17.
Northmen boys coach Ben Crockett, who leads the program alongside his sister and girls coach Jennifer Crockett, found no disagreement in naming Spence as one of the best individual athletes to come out of Petoskey, let alone the state.
"We've been trying to dig into the history books in Michigan, and she is definitely at the top of her group historically of anybody who has competed in a sport," Ben Crockett said. "She is the best in Michigan, and there is no question about it."
PHOTOS (Top) Petoskey’s Marley Spence races past a gate during the Division 2 giant slalom Monday. (Middle) Cadillac celebrates its second Finals team championship over the last three seasons. (Photos by Sarah Shepherd. Click for all photos.)