10 to Remember: 2012-13 Finals
June 27, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Championships are culminations of season-long journeys, concluding with the most exciting competitions of the year but steeped in back stories that make those crowning achievements mean so much more.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association awards 127 team championships each school year. Anyone picking 10 favorites could come up with at least 13 different lists.
So the list that follows likely won’t agree with many others. But here’s one person’s take on the 10 most incredible MHSAA Finals performances – focusing mostly on the final competition but with some back story built in – from the 2012-13 school year. (Click on headings for full stories.)
10. Special teams lead to special accomplishment for Brother Rice
Birmingham Brother Rice and Muskegon had combined for 12 MHSAA football championships entering the Finals. But in winning their eighth, the Warriors also accomplished a first in 44 seasons under coach Al Fracassa – their first back-to-back titles. They went ahead in the eventual 35-28 win on a cross-field lateral that turned into a 91-yard kickoff return with 2:13 to play.
9. Lakewood volleyball ends championship wait ...
Lake Odessa Lakewood coach Kellie Rowland has won 787 matches during her 15 seasons over two tenures leading the program, and frequently had brought the Vikings to the cusp of their first MHSAA title. They finally got it by defeating perennial power North Branch in three games in the Class B championship match.
8. ... and so does Bay City Western baseball
The Warriors earned coach Tim McDonald his first MHSAA championship game victory to go with 562 more wins over 21 seasons. Bay City Western won 1-0 in both the Semifinal and then Final over Brother Rice to secure its first baseball title and a 42-2 finish.
7. “Core 4” leave Mona Shores with four more
Seniors Hailey Hrynewich, Morgan Smith, Britni Gielow and Kelsey McKinley finished their high school careers as starters on four MHSAA championship teams, including the one that won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final this school year by 41 strokes. Hrynewich and Smith both posted top-five individual finishes as Mona Shores shot a two-day 666 at their final championship tournament.
6. Grand Ledge gymnastics sets the bar
Number six on this list makes sense for the Comets, who won their sixth straight MHSAA team championship to set the all-time longest title streak in the sport. They did so with the fifth-highest score in MHSAA Finals history – 149.350 – and despite graduating the Division 1 all-around champion the spring before.
5. Seniors say good-bye at LP Division 1 Final
Grosse Pointe South’s Hannah Meier and West Bloomfield’s Erin Finn brought national acclaim to the Detroit suburbs over the last two years with dominating performances in track and cross country. They finished their careers at the LP Division 1 Track & Field Final, where Meier set all-MHSAA Finals records in the 800 and 1,600 and Finn set an all-Finals record in the 3,200. In the fall, Finn and Meier finished first and second, respectively, at the LP Division 1 Cross Country Final.
4. Fowlerville standout reaches the stars
Gladiators senior Adam Coon, once an aspiring astronaut now turned aspiring aerospace engineer, became the 17th wrestler in MHSAA history to win four individual Finals championships. And he became the first to do so at the two heaviest weights, earning his titles at 215 and 285 pounds. He graduated with a career record of 211-3 and a 194-match winning streak.
3. Swimming with speed in Saline
Saline also won its fourth straight MHSAA title, in Lower Peninsula Division 1, anchored by seniors David Boland, Josh Ehrman, Michael Bundas and Adam Whitener. Combined, they hold four Finals individual and two relay records, and Ehrman graduated with all-Finals records in the 200-yard individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Those four also leave with the 200 medley relay all-Finals record – with their time of 1:30.01 good for third-best in the national record book.
2. Michell sits atop MHSAA medal count
Reed City’s Sami Michell is one of two girls in MHSAA history to win four events at a Track & Field Final – a feat she accomplished both this season and last. And she finished her career this month with 12 individual titles overall, two more than the previous Lower Peninsula record. She graduated with LP Division 3 Finals records in both hurdles races and the long jump, and her 300 hurdles time of 42.23 is an all-Finals record.
1. Football Finals end in overtime classic
The most exciting MHSAA Football Final likely was the last of Thanksgiving weekend – a 40-37 overtime win by Grand Rapids Christian over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s that gave the Eagles the Division 3 title. And at least on this list, it counts as the most exciting of all the buzzer-beating, one-point, by one millimeter endings to the MHSAA’s 127 Finals this school year.
The Saturday night crowd at Ford Field was treated to an incredible performance by Eagles receiver Drake Harris, who had eight catches for a record 243 yards and touchdown and was nearly unstoppable as Grand Rapids Christian drove down the stretch. Quarterback Alex VanDeVusse threw for 307 yards, fourth-most in MHSAA Finals history, as the frazzled nerves of fans, players and coaches alike hung on every play. St. Mary’s ran for 459 of the single-team Finals record 579 yards of total offense; the teams combined for another record of 1,033 total yards between them. And at the end, the game was decided on a 27-yard field goal by Joel Schipper, who had connected on a 28-yarder with four seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime.
PHOTO:Saline swimmers take a celebratory dip after claiming their fourth straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship.
Talented Mercy Lineup Earns Repeat, Shows No Signs of Slowing Down
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2024
ROCHESTER — It was only fitting that the Farmington Hills Mercy girls swimming & diving team jumped into the deep end of the Oakland University pool after repeating as Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Saturday.
That's because it was the depth of the team that propelled the Marlins to a dominating performance.
“There was no pressure on us at all,” coach Mike Venos said. “Just go take care of your own business and no matter what, we’re going to walk out of here successful.”
The Marlins won celebrated winners in two relays and an individual race. And when they didn’t finish first, they were placing, finishing with 375.5 points, well ahead of second-place Grosse Pointe South (255) and third-place Birmingham Seaholm (244).
“The thing I love about Mercy is that it’s a true team effort,” Venos said. “We scored multiple girls in almost every event. We do this as a team.”
If there was a surprise, Venos said, it came from sophomore Campbell Shore, who won the 100-yard freestyle in 51.41 seconds. She entered the weekend with the fourth-fastest seed time in that race.
“Winning that was great,” he said.
The Marlins’ total was 50 points better than last year’s, easily holding off any challenges.
For Grosse Pointe South, it regardless was a school-record performance for a team that missed a chance to add to its total due to a disqualification in the 400 freestyle relay.
But South coach John Fodell didn’t dwell on what might have been.
“We had a little bump in the road (Friday) with the DQ, but today the team came together and really swam to get second, and they really battled for that,” he said.
It marked a leap forward for South, which finished fifth last year.
“We started off the meet by winning the medley relay, which was huge,” Fodell said. ‘Whitney (Handwork) won the 50 free (23.71) and Caroline (Bryan) won the butterfly (54.92). So those were nice things that got the motivation going.”
“We came in knowing it was going to be a battle for second, so we were really focused on that,” Handwork said.
Fenton’s Tess Heavner repeated as a double champion, setting a school record and earning All-America status in the individual medley (2:01.07) and also earning All-America in winning the backstroke (54.61).
”The backstroke was the finishing touch, because I had to wait for a long time in between (events),” she said, “I was happy I was able to keep it up and finish strong in that. I really like the IM and the backstroke. They kind of stress me out, but they're probably two of my favorite events.”
Several younger athletes joined Bryan in impressing. Freshmen Aubrey Yarker of Hastings (diving) and Amelia Malarz of Midland Dow (breaststroke) also won individual titles. Ann Arbor Skyline sophomore Adrienne Schadler earned All-America consideration in winning the 500 freestyle (4:54.41) and All-America recognition in winning the 200 freestyle (1:48.79).
But Mercy also served notice that it will be reckoned with in 2025, with just three seniors on this year’s roster.
But that’s a long way off.
One of those Mercy seniors, captain Katie Schwab, tried to articulate how it felt to repeat.
“That feeling is just indescribable,” she said. ‘Like the energy that was here today. It’s more than words can describe, and my heart is just so full being a part of this team.
“We have a really good, strong team, and we're going to be really strong for the next couple of years," she added. "I’m really excited to see where this team goes.”
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Avery Tack swims to a runner-up finish in the 200 individual medley Saturday at Oakland University. (Middle) Grosse Pointe South’s Caroline Bryan powers to the championship in the butterfly. (Below) Skyline’s Adrienne Schadler swims to one of her two individual titles. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)