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.
Preview: Power Pair Returning for Finals Rematch, New Individual Champs Set to Soar
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 5, 2026
Hartland breaking past perennial power Rockford to win last season’s MHSAA Finals team gymnastics championship seemed to put those two on a collision course to meet again with this season’s title on the line.
Seven teams scored at least 140 points at their Regionals last weekend. But Hartland and Rockford put up the top scores by solid margins and should again be favorites at Friday’s Team Final at Milford High School.
The individual competitions Saturday are guaranteed new champions, as both 2025 winners graduated. Hartland’s Alexis Fundich was a close second in Division 1 last season but will have to hold off a group that includes other past placers and a few top challengers competing at the Finals for the first time. In Division 2, nearly half of last season’s top 10 could make a run at climbing to the podium’s highest step.
Team competition begins at 4 p.m. Friday, with individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 beginning at noon Saturday. For information on purchasing tickets, Finals rotations for both days and Regional results, go to the Gymnastics page – and see below for several contenders to watch:
Team
Farmington United: The program with the third-most Finals team titles in MHSAA history finished second in 2024 and third last winter and will be in pursuit of a first championship since 2019. Farmington won its Regional last week at Birmingham Groves by less than a point ahead of Huron Valley United, 143.500-142.675, but finishing first on vault (36.850) and bars (35.325) and also topping 36 points on beam.
Hartland: The Eagles won last season’s team title by 2.05 points ahead of Rockford, and the title was the program’s first since 1999. They posted the highest Regional score in the state last week, 147.750, to win at East Lansing by nearly seven points and with scores of 36.150 on bars, 36.825 on vault, 37.200 on beam and 37.575 on floor – the beam and floor scores exceeding what they posted at last year’s Final.
Rockford: The Rams own the record for most Finals championships – seven – and saw their three-year championship streak end with a runner-up finish last winter. But they certainly could make it four titles in five years this week after winning their Regional week with a 146.275 at their home gym. A 36.900 on beam and 37.450 scores on vault and floor were especially notable.
Division 1
Mikayla Dicks, Farmington United senior: She will compete at her first MHSAA Finals after finishing second all-around at her Regional with a 36.900 and first places on vault (9.55) and bars (9.625).
Olivia Flatt, Hartland junior: She competed on three apparatuses at last season’s Final with high places of fifth on beam and vault, and will compete all-around this time after finishing third at her Regional with a 36.375 while tying for first on beam (9.5).
Alexis Fundich, Hartland senior: The reigning all-around runner-up missed the championship last season by only a few tenths of a point and won floor. She returns after winning her Regional all-around with a 37.950 and first places on bars (9.675), beam (9.5, tied) and floor (9.825).
Kate Gostlin, Hartland senior: She will graduate having competed at Finals all four years of high school, and improved all-around from 23rd as a sophomore to 12th last season with a championship on vault. She should make another big jump all-around after finishing second to Fundich at their Regional with a 36.600 – which included a win on vault (9.8).
Isabella Janiga, Tecumseh sophomore: The Brooklyn Columbia Central student competes for Tecumseh as part of a cooperative program and finished 14th all-around last season. She’ll return after winning her Regional all-around last week at 36.300 with a first place on beam (9.425).
Grace LaFlure, Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills senior: She will also compete at the Finals for the first time after finishing second all-around at her Regional with a 36.225 that included a first place on bars (8.85).
Stella Musialowski, Huron Valley United senior: She could make a run at the all-around championship after improving from tied for 15th as a sophomore to sixth last season and winning her Regional all-around last week with a 37.225 that included a first place on floor (9.55).
Elise Watkins, Rockford senior: She’s made an impressive progression from competing on two apparatuses in Division 2 as a freshman, to finishing 18th in Division 1 all-around as a sophomore and competing on three apparatuses in Division 1 as a junior. She will enter her last Finals coming off a Regional-winning 36.425 all-around that included first places on beam (9.425) and floor (9.625).
Division 2
Taliya Andrews, East Lansing Catholic DeWitt junior: She competed on Division 1 floor as a freshman and returns to the Finals after finishing a close second at her Regional in all-around at 36.150 with a first place on floor (9.45).
Baylee Bartlett, Grand Ledge senior: She could make a run at the all-around title after finishing sixth a year ago and third last week at her Regional with a 35.200 that included a tie for first place on beam (9.3).
Rae DeFrang, Rockford junior: She won her Regional all-around at 36.900 with a first place on bars (9.15) and second places on the other three apparatuses. She finished 12th all-around at last year’s Final.
Reese DeFrang, Rockford junior: She’s the reigning Division 2 vault champion and will compete all-around at the Finals for the first time after finishing third at her Regional with a 36.025 and winning vault (9.6).
Phoebe Elder, Haslett United senior: She went from competing on three apparatuses as a sophomore to finishing 11th all-around in Division 1 last season, and could make another jump into contention after winning last week’s Regional all-around with a 36.325 and a first place on bars (9.375).
Isabel Galindo, Plymouth senior: After tying for eighth all-around last season, she enters this weekend as a contender coming off a Regional championship score of 35.200 with a first place on vault (9.175).
Lillian Green, Rockford junior: She finished third all-around at last season’s Final and heads into this weekend after scoring a 36.275 Regional all-around to finish second with first places on floor (9.3) and beam (9.3).
Olivia Lothian, Lowell junior: She went from competing on two apparatuses as a freshman to finishing fifth all-around last season. She placed fourth behind the Rockford trio at their Regional with a 35.350 and top-11 places on every apparatus.
Aubrey Woodman, Farmington United junior: She’s won bars at the Finals both of her first two seasons and could contend for the all-around title this weekend after winning her Regional with a 35.700 and another bars title (9.0).
PHOTOS (Top) A gymnast performs her bars routine during last season’s MHSAA Team Final at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. (Middle) Haslett United’s Phoebe Elder competes on floor exercise during the Division 1 individual meet. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)