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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:

Oak Park's Carrie VanNoy, center, leads the 100-meter hurdle race Saturday at East Kentwood.

Oak Park's Dynasty Continues to Thrive as Knights Claim 9th Title in 11 Seasons

By Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com

May 31, 2025

KENTWOOD – Brandon Jiles calls it a cycle, but there's probably a more apt description.

Maybe something that includes mention of a dynasty after the Oak Park girls track & field team Saturday collected its ninth Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals title in 11 years, including third in a row.

Oak Park finished with 86 points to outdistance 47 points from Detroit Renaissance’ 47 at East Kentwood.

It's fine to describe a cycle as part the explanation for the domination, which began in 2014 with an upending of three-time reigning champ Grosse Pointe South. As for the titles, Jiles offers an explanation that includes discipline, training, commitment and mental toughness. Put it all together – plus the development of a monster crew of sprinters – and it becomes apparent how Oak Park has rolled at this level for more than a decade.

"You combine those things with talent and parents who buy in, and that's our culture," Jiles said. "We just do it with a lot of hard work, discipline and talent. Every year is different because the competition is different, and more years means more experience.

"It's part of a cycle. You lose a little each year, but you also gain a little every year. Then you work harder to stay on top. You develop and learn. I think of myself as more of a teacher than coach."

Holland West Ottawa was third Saturday with 46 points, West Bloomfield fourth at 32 and Rockford fifth with 31 points.

Whatever Jiles is trying to sell to younger athletes about striving to replace graduated talent, they apparently are buying. In fact, senior Carrie VanNoy, who won the 100 hurdles (13.7), 300 hurdles (42.59) and was part of two winning relays, offered another piece of the puzzle to Oak Park's success: family.

"We push each other to do their best, and that helps make you great," she said. "The biggest thing is that we're like a family. Everyone pitches in to work hard and be better. Like a family."

Sophomore Nevaeh Burns, who was in on four top-four event finishes, said the program depends on younger performers stepping up to replace seniors. She won the 400 (54.34), was part of the winning 1,600 relay (3:43.52) and 800 relay (1:37.8), and placed fourth in the 200.

"The only difference between these teams is age. When you lose people, you gain others. It's a big deal," she said. "It's just something you have to do. You know your time is coming."

While Oak Park was sprinting to its team championship, there were numerous outstanding individual performances, including West Bloomfield junior Kamryn Tatum winning a third-consecutive 200 title (23.55) in an event that featured all nine runners clocking in under 25 seconds. She also won the 100 (11.66).

Midland Dow's Victoria Garces and Holland West Ottawa's Helen Sachs set the pace in the 1,600. "The times in the semis were good, but I still believed in myself and thought we'd all do well," said Tatum, who looks at the three 200 titles three different ways. "My freshman year I was nervous, but I had run in high school with older kids so it was no big deal. My sophomore mindset was I had a little trouble believing in myself. But then I got baptized and put my faith in God, and I'm fine."

Traverse City Central sophomore Lorelai Zielinski topped last year's runner-up finishes in the discus and shot by winning both Saturday with tosses of 155-1 and 46-11¾, respectively. Zielinski credits taking the next step to offseason sharpening of technique, throwing herself into weightlifting 2-3 times a week and the bounce from a successful indoor season.

"I was seeded No. 1, had thrown personal best already and I was excited for this," she said. "It was amazing. I was second in both last year, so I thought it would be amazing to win."

Brownstown Woodhaven’s Maya Justice won the long jump (19-5¼) to complete an unlikely season which was nearly wrecked after an ACL injury during a soccer game May 11. Headed to Kent State next season for soccer and track, Justice admitted there were dark moments during the rehab.

"There were a bunch of ups and downs," she said. "It was terrible because I had been doing the best I ever had in track. There were times when it seemed I couldn't get any better, but in the end I got stronger and faster."

Victoria Garces of Midland Dow won the 1,600 (4:48.74) despite, in her words, only "going all out once" this season. The Division 1 cross country champ in the fall, Garces said the 1,600 event ultimately seemed natural to her.

"I took the lead after the first lap, it felt good, and I just kept going," she said. "My legs felt good, and I wanted to get two wins. The mile didn't take that much out of me."

Other champs included two firsts from Holland West Ottawa from Helen Sachs in the 3,200 (10:16.56) and Collette Wierks in the 800 (2:11.65). West Ottawa also won the 3,200 relay (9:01.69). Greta Caprathe of Rockford took the high jump (5-6), and Isabel German of Lowell won the pole vault (13-0).

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Oak Park's Carrie VanNoy, center, leads the 100-meter hurdle championship race Saturday at East Kentwood. (Middle) Midland Dow's Victoria Garces and Holland West Ottawa's Helen Sachs set the pace in the 1,600. (Click for more from Carter Sherline/RunMichigan.com.)