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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:

Arbor Prep’s Jourdin Lewis (14) makes a move toward the lane while Brandywine’s Adeline Gill (0) turns back to defend during their teams’ Semifinal on Thursday at Breslin Center.

Arbor Prep Wins Semifinal Rematch of Last Season's Division 3 Decider

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 20, 2025

EAST LANSING — Ypsilanti Arbor Prep junior Angela Meggisson said she was thinking about one thing when she stepped to the free-throw line with two seconds left and the score tied during Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal against Niles Brandywine.

“I was just thinking this is on me,” Meggisson said. “I was just thinking about my team and helping my team.”

Meggisson certainly did that, knocking down both free throws to give Arbor Prep a 31-29 victory over Brandywine and another trip to the championship game.

The Gators will look to win their second title in a row and third over the last four years when they face Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game.

The Semifinal was a rematch of last season’s Division 3 Final, also won by Arbor Prep, 33-30.

After rebounding a missed open 3-point attempt by Brandywine with just more than a minute left Thursday, the Gators worked the clock down to 16.8 seconds left and called timeout.

Gators and Bobcats players contend for a loose ball.Then, on a scramble for a loose ball inside the 3-point line in the waning seconds, Meggison picked up the ball and was fouled while she heaved it toward the basket as the final seconds ticked down.

Following the free throws, Brandywine couldn’t get off a shot attempt before the buzzer sounded to end the game.

It was yet another defensive struggle between Arbor Prep and Brandywine.

“Our programs have a lot in common,” Arbor Prep head coach Scott Stine said. “Both teams pride themselves in defense.”

Brandywine held a 17-9 lead at halftime after Arbor Prep shot 3 of 22 from the field during the first two quarters.

The message from Stine to his team in the locker room was simple.

“There’s no 8-point play,” he said. “But you all have the heart of a champion. We’re going to go out there and grind it out, and nobody is going to remember the first half.”

It was a much better offensive showing from Arbor Prep during the third quarter, as the Gators hit 5 of 7 shots and took a 22-21 lead into the fourth. 

Meggisson tied the game at 29-29 on a basket with 3:22 left, and those were the last points until her free throws that won it.

Meggisson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and senior Eliza Bush added nine points for Arbor Prep (16-12), which held a 33-15 rebounding advantage and had 17 offensive rebounds. 

Brandywine senior Adeline Gill scored 16 points to lead the Bobcats (27-1), who lost for the first and only time this season.

“We have 13 girls in there who are hurting really bad,” Brandywine head coach Josh Hood said, adding later that despite the tough foul call at the end, it wasn’t the reason why his team lost.

“If we would’ve made a couple more 3s and stopped two of their backdoor sets there in the second half, we would have won the game.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Arbor Prep’s Jourdin Lewis (14) makes a move toward the lane while Brandywine’s Adeline Gill (0) turns back to defend during their teams’ Semifinal on Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Gators and Bobcats players contend for a loose ball.