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.
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 4 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 16, 2025
A significant reason we've been able to begin reporting on the weekly progress of Michigan's volleyball teams this fall was the addition of Michigan Power Ratings as a contributor to the sport's MHSAA Tournament format for the 2024 season.
MPR is used to seed the top two teams in every District, and requires all to report their schedules and scores throughout the regular season. Those ratings take into account not only a team's success but also its strength of schedule, and MPR is constantly updating as matches finish and results are published to the MHSAA website.
Check out the Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) page for more details, but also note that rankings referred to below instead reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart d. Fowler (25-19, 26-24, 11-25, 25-13) The Irish (11-3-3) were ranked No. 8 last week but have jumped two spots after defeating the formerly top-ranked Eagles (9-3-1).
2. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern d. Byron Center (25-16, 25-17) This Huskies win arguably sticks out most from a Makayla Kohn Memorial Tournament run that also included victories over Forest Hills Central, Traverse City St. Francis, Edwardsburg and host Caledonia, with the 5-0 day sending FHN to 16-5-0 overall.
3. Hudsonville d. Grand Rapids Christian (25-22, 26-28, 25-17, 20-25, 15-12) West Michigan is powerful as usual, and these are two of the best again with Hudsonville (9-2-0) an honorable mention in Division 1 last week and Grand Rapids Christian (7-4-0) No. 2 in Division 2.
4. Northville d. Bloomfield Hills (25-22, 25-20) Although Northville lost to White Lake Lakeland on Saturday, downing Division 1 No. 3 Bloomfield Hills and also Division 2 No. 3 North Branch at the Motor City Power Series showed what the Mustangs (4-2-0) can do.
5. Battle Creek Lakeview d. Plainwell (25-23, 26-24) Lakeview (14-3-4) finished 3-0-3 at its invitational, with sweeps of Portage Northern and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep its other wins.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Bloomfield Hills Marian (23-1-0) Although No. 2 Marian did absorb its first loss of the season last week in three sets against No. 3 Bloomfield Hills, it also has a win over Bloomfield Hills this season and its opponents have won 62 percent of their matches this fall – making the entirety of Marian’s work even more impressive. The Mustangs also have wins over No. 5 Utica Eisenhower and No. 10 Brighton with their first meeting with No. 4 Farmington Hills Mercy set for Wednesday.
Grand Haven (21-3-0) The No. 6 Buccaneers opened this season with a loss to Brighton and have fallen only twice more, to top-ranked Rockford and No. 8 Forest Hills Northern. They also have a win over Forest Hills Northern and this weekend went 6-0 at their Grand Haven Invitational, defeating honorable mention Zeeland East in the championship match after losing the first set. The Bucs also have victories over honorable mention South Lyon East, Grand Rapids Christian and Division 2 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
DIVISION 2
Imlay City (17-4-0) The No. 5-ranked Spartans are coming off a 3-1 Motor City Power Series weekend, with wins over Division 1 Saline and Lake Orion and Division 2 Goodrich and the loss in three sets to South Lyon East. Their only other losses were to Brighton, Utica Eisenhower and Division 3 top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, and they’ve also defeated Division 2 No. 7 Frankenmuth as they’ve powered up their schedule again this fall.
Tecumseh (19-1-0) A two-set loss to Division 3 No. 2 Roscommon is all that’s stood between the reigning Division 2 runner-up and perfection this season, with wins over honorable mention Parma Western and Division 3 No. 4 Kingsley among factors in Tecumseh’s No. 9 ranking this week. The Southeastern Conference power is coming off of a 6-0 run at the Mason invitational during which it didn’t lose a set.
DIVISION 3
Kingsley (21-4-0) After last season’s run to the Division 2 Regional Finals, Kingsley is ranked No. 4 in Division 3 and powering through its schedule with its only losses twice to Roscommon (see below), once to Tecumseh (see above) and to Flat Rock. The Stags finished 5-0 at their invitational over the weekend, highlighted by a two-set win over No. 9 McBain that included a 31-29 opener. Kingsley also has a win over Essexville Garber, which ended its season a year ago, an earlier three-set win over McBain and two-set victories over Division 3 honorable mention Manton and Division 4 No. 9 Onekama.
Roscommon (23-1-0) The Bucks have gone from losing their District opener in 2022 to reaching the Regional Finals the following season and Quarterfinals last fall, and they’re on the move again. Roscommon’s only loss this fall came in three sets to No. 7 Traverse City St. Francis on Sept. 4, and they have the wins over Kingsley noted above plus two more over McBain and Tecumseh. The Bucks won all five of their matches at Saturday’s Grayling Invitational comfortably.
DIVISION 4
Crystal Falls Forest Park (14-1-0) After reaching the Division 4 Semifinals in 2022 and 2023, Forest Park was stopped by Hancock in a Regional Final last season. The Trojans avenged that loss Saturday with a 25-17, 25-17 win over the Bulldogs in the championship match of The Rock Invitational at Gladstone. Only Division 3 No. 10 Saginaw Valley Lutheran has put up even 20 points against Forest Park this fall – once in the Trojans’ two-set win at the season opening Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart Invitational, and then one more time when Forest Park fell to Valley Lutheran in that tournament’s semifinals.
Suttons Bay (11-0-0) After finishing 17-13 a year ago, Suttons Bay has almost equaled that win total over this season’s first month. The Norsemen won the McBain Northern Michigan Christian Invitational to start this fall and most recently have four-set wins over Buckley and Frankfort, defeating the latter Monday after losing the first set. Onekama next week and Traverse City St. Francis next month will be among biggest tests as Suttons Bay continued to build on its fast start.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Wednesday – Farmington Hills Mercy (5-1-1) at Bloomfield Hills Marian (23-1-0) – These rivals met three times last season, with Mercy sweeping all three matches.
Thursday – Calumet (4-3) at Hancock (12-2-2) – The Copper Kings swept both matches between these Western Peninsula Athletic Conference rivals last season.
Saturday – Cristi Curtis Memorial Invitation at Byron Center – The Division 1 honorable mention Bulldogs (14-3) will welcome a solid field that includes Division 2 honorable mention Edwardsburg (12-6), Fruitport (11-4-1), Mattawan (8-8) and Grand Rapids West Catholic.
Saturday – Battle by the Bay at Essexville Garber – The Dukes (12-6-2) will host Clare, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (11-3-3) and Beal City (14-2).
Monday – Flat Rock (16-4) at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (12-1-1) – The Rams haven’t gotten a lot of attention during their successful start, but could earn it with another impressive showing.
PHOTO A Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart setter passes to a teammate during the Irish's match against Carson City-Crystal earlier this month. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)