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High 5s: 11/14/12

November 19, 2012

All three of this week's honorees have achieved some sort of first-time stardom this fall, either individually or as a team. And both Carli Snyder and Alex Grace will be back next fall to continue building on these accomplishments. 

Carli Snyder
Macomb Dakota junior
Volleyball

(UPDATED 11/19) Snyder, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter, was an all-stater her first two seasons of high school. But she will be remembered even more for leading Macomb Dakota this fall to its first MHSAA championship in any girls sport. The Cougars defeated Temperance Bedford in three games in Saturday's Class A Final at Kellogg Arena. Snyder unofficially finished this season with 913 kills, good for seventh in the MHSAA record book since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004-05. Her 31 kills against Bedford were third-most for a Final during that time. Snyder already has committed to sign with the University of Florida next year. She likely will be among frontrunners for next fall's Miss Volleyball award. 

Title talk: "We wanted this thing so bad. Every girl on this team wanted it so badly. Megan (Manierski) was setting the ball perfectly. She made it very easy to get kills. ... Just talking about this moment, this gym, it makes you just want to play harder than you ever have."

Winning recipe: "We've been a competitive team in practice and in games all year, so I think that helped us at that moment (in three close Finals games) when we just didn't want to lose. We refused to lose. ... We support each other no matter what. And we hustled so hard."

Shake it up: "We have some secret handshakes with other people, but mine are very complex. I don't know how we went about that. Megan and mine is from "Parent Trap," and then Megan Downey and mine, we just made it up at team dinner. We make it a bit more complex than it needs to be, but it's fun. And it's a great thing to calm us down for a game when we've played a bad one before."

Had to be a Gator: "I like warm weather. I love the coaches. I actually called Florida for my recruiting phone call because I was kinda bored one day at home and I was like, 'I got a letter from them.' I fell in love with the coaching staff, and I told my mom that I needed to go on a visit down there. It's incredible, and when I went down there I was even more in love. Even on the phone, I knew this is where I would end up. It's just that feeling. You know when you get that feeling, and it's incredible."

Click to read more.

Alex Grace
Saginaw Swan Valley sophomore
Football

The Vikings' leading rusher is also one of the leading rushers in the state this season heading into Saturday's Division 4 Semifinal against Detroit Country Day. Grace has gained 2,091 yards plus run for 27 touchdowns, and needs only 109 yards and three more scores to make the MHSAA record book in both categories. He ran for 182 yards and three scores in the Vikings' Regional Final win over Croswell-Lexington. Grace took over as Swan Valley's running back this season after the graduation of his brother Johnathan, who rushed for 1,790 yards last season and now plays at Michigan Tech. Both brothers ran on Swan Valley's 400-meter relay that finished runner-up at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Track and Field Final in the spring. Alex is 6-0 and 185 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

I'd like to run like: "Even my brother. I like to look at myself as close to him. Professionally, (Minnesota Vikings back) Adrian Peterson. He's a tough runner, fast. He's strong."

Underdogs again: "The last game against Croswell, they were the No. 2 team and we were predicted to lose. But we came back and beat them. I use that underdog feeling to work harder each day."

Best brotherly advice: "Work hard, and if there are doubters, don't let them get you down."

Science and math: (My favorite classes are) biology and economics. They just come easy to me. I enjoy it."

Click to read more. 

Flint Beecher football

The Buccaneers, coached by former Michigan State and NFL standout Courtney Hawkins, were one of the final teams selected for the playoffs, at 5-4 after a 3-4 start. But Beecher advanced to this week's Division 7 Semifinal against Detroit Loyola by eliminating reigning champion Saginaw Nouvel, 19-15, in last week's Regional championship game. Beecher, now 8-4, has made the playoffs six straight years. The first of that run came in Hawkins' second as coach and after 12 straight losing seasons. 

Click to read more. 

Previous 2012-13 honorees:

Kalamazoo Christian’s Max Nobis follows his putt as it approaches the cup.

5 All-Leaguers + No Seniors = Big Things Ahead for Kalamazoo Christian Boys Golf

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

May 26, 2026

KALAMAZOO — In spite of a team loaded with sophomores, juniors and even a contributing freshman, Kalamazoo Christian coach Brian Seifert is optimistic heading into today’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Golf Regional at Centreville’s Island Hills Golf Course.

Southwest CorridorSeifert has reason for that optimism.

His top five golfers, none of them seniors, all earned all-conference honors in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and the sixth golfer barely missed it.

“In high school golf, you want a solid three guys for sure that can help you go really low,” Seifert said. “Four makes you a wild card and I’ve got four, five and six that can really play golf. It’s pretty fun to watch.”

Two of those golfers, junior Brixton DeVries and sophomore Ian Riggs, were instrumental in the Comets’ fifth-place finish at last year’s MHSAA Division 3 Final.

DeVries said one important thing to remember in tournament play is “don’t let a bad shot get to you. You’ve got to stay mentally there the entire time.”

Riggs added, “It’s a team effort. Every shot counts, short putts, everything counts. Staying level-minded through your round is definitely a big thing with our team.”

He also said he noticed there are a lot of good golfers competing, but “you’ve just not got to worry about the scores and play your game.”

Seifert said Riggs has been working on his game and also takes lessons.

“He’s really improved this year, and to be named SAC (Most Valuable Golfer) as a sophomore is really nice,” he said.

A third all-conference golfer, Max Nobis, returned this year from a devastating injury and also earned all-conference honors along with sophomores Hart Hoekzema and Owyn Webb. Freshman Cade Van Dusen just missed league recognition.

Nobis joined the golf team, transferring from Hackett Catholic Prep, after recovering from an injury suffered while playing club soccer a year ago.

Clockwise from top left: Kalamazoo Christian boys golf coach Brian Seifert, junior Brixton DeVries, sophomore Ian Riggs and junior Max Nobis.“I got slide-tackled in one of our games and ended up snapping my fibula and tibia in half,” he said. “Broke both.

“I had surgery two weeks later and have a metal rod in my leg.”

Nobis did physical therapy twice a week for a month, then continued on his own at the gym.

Seifert said he is happy Nobis is far enough removed from the injury and healthy enough to golf.

“He’s worked on his game and figured out how to navigate injury and golf at the same time,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting him. It was a real bonus to get Max.”

DeVries said in spite of losing two seniors to graduation, he thinks this year’s team is even better than last season’s contender.

“I feel like our whole team is good at leading,” he said. “We all contribute.”

Learning from last year’s road to the Finals, DeVries said the keys to playing well are “showing up and helping the rest of the team. You learn that you have to really show up at practice and be there mentally and physically.”

Seifert said the junior has not had a bad round all season.

“He’s going to give me something I know we can count on, consistent leadership,” Seifert noted. “You need that in golf to set the pace. That pulls everybody along.”

Riggs said a key to success is to “keep grinding even if I have a bad first hole, fifth hole. You’ve got 18 holes of golf to play, so you just have to keep grinding until the last hole.”

While the Comets aren’t looking past Regionals, if they qualify for the Finals, their confidence should increase.

Division 3 will be hosted at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek, where the Comets shot a school-record 305 two weeks ago.

“As a coach I try to schedule our matches on courses where we know there will be significant play, and Bedford Valley is one of them that we go to once or twice because it’s always in the mix,” Seifer said. “Understanding the course better is really important, and being successful on it, I like our chances right along with everyone else’s.”

Pam ShebestPam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Christian’s Max Nobis follows his putt as it approaches the cup. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Kalamazoo Christian boys golf coach Brian Seifert, junior Brixton DeVries, sophomore Ian Riggs and junior Max Nobis. (Action photo courtesy of Seifert; headshots by Pam Shebest.)