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.
'Trojan Legend' Ream in 37th Year Providing Care as TC Central's Athletic Trainer
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 25, 2026
Traverse City Central’s athletic trainer Amy Ream is exemplary – if not becoming the exception.
“I've been doing it for the 37 years,” Ream said. “It's probably not the norm anymore – especially being at the same location.”
Ream graduated in 1987 from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in sports medicine. Her first job was with the Trojans, and it likely will be her last.
Ream also has earned a teaching certificate since joining the staff and added teaching sports medicine classes at Central and Traverse City West to her daily duties.
“It’s been very rewarding ... seeing somebody that has torn their ACL and then the next year, they're able to come back … or someone struggling with an ankle sprain and taking them a couple weeks versus a couple days and they come back,” Ream said. “That's part of the reason why we do it. Being around the kids, they bring all the energy and they’re a joy to be around.”
John Sonneman has been near the Trojans for the past 61 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director and administrator. Nowadays, he’s the very recognizable voice of the Trojans as the public address announcer for football, soccer and track.
Sonneman has seen Ream, whose services are contracted through Munson Medical Center, pretty much do it all since she came on board.
“Amy is a real gem – she's a real pro,” said Sonneman. “She handles herself so well with the students. If you need a ‘ball boy’ she's the ball person. If you need somebody in volleyball to run a line or something like that, she'll do it. She isn't just a trainer.”
The Central coaching staff agrees. Fourth-year Central soccer coach Gavin Richmond can’t imagine getting through a game without Ream on the sidelines. Ream serves all of Central’s home varsity and junior varsity soccer matches.
“Amy’s always happy, she's always smiling, and the kids all love her, and she's just an incredible human being,” Richmond pointed out. “It's a privilege to work alongside her. I really love it when she's out there on the sidelines with us. It gives me a kind of sense of comfort knowing that anybody that might get hurt is going to get looked after. She's just a true, true, true professional. She’s a Trojan legend.”
Ream has a very busy schedule, attending all Central home football contests, including for freshman and junior varsity. During the same season she’s at Central’s freshman, JV and varsity volleyball home matches.
Ream sees athletic training as one of the best work-life balance careers. “Most of the time you can still have a good work-life balance, which is really nice,” she said.
This winter she’ll support boys and girls wresting, basketball and ice hockey before taking on the Trojans’ lacrosse, baseball, softball and track programs in the spring.
“I don't normally see tennis or golf, but I am there if they need some help,” Ream acknowledged. “I am at the school during sixth hour. There are some kids that come in for treatment if they don't have sixth hour, for taping or whatever, so that they're ready to get out.”
Ream won’t single out a sport as her favorite. But she will admit leans toward football in the fall, hockey in the winter, and softball in the spring.
“Spring depends on the day, but my kids played softball, so its softball,” she admitted. “And, we’re definitely getting more into boys and girls lacrosse.”
Being an athletic trainer has provided Ream opportunities to work at Ford Field, Little Caesars Arena and Comerica Park. Central’s basketball team played an exhibition game at Little Caesars, and West and Central played an outdoor hockey game at Comerica. But the Trojans reaching the MHSAA Division 2 11-Player Football Final at Ford Field in 2021 stands out most.
It happened while COVID-19 restrictions were still in place, and Ream said the pandemic led to schools reducing their athletic training staffs around the state. The sports medicine class she teaches is aimed at recruitment.
“We're trying to recruit – we always already need athletic trainers,” Ream said. “After COVID, athletic trainers were let go and some of them went on to different careers.”
With COVID restrictions in place, Ream was at Ford Field as the Trojans fell to Warren De La Salle Collegiate. That marked the final game of a stellar playing career for Central’s Josh Burnham.
Burnham and Ream embraced after the tough loss during which Burnham had put the Trojans on the board midway through the fourth quarter with a five-yard touchdown run. He also had eight tackles. Burnham went on to play four years at Notre Dame, helping the Irish reach the college football playoffs. He’s using a fifth year of college eligibility to play this season for Indiana, the reigning national champ.
If Ream had a bucket list, getting back to Ford Field would most likely be on it. She has hopes 25-year coach Eric Schugars can lead the Trojans to a return trip. Central did qualify for the playoffs last year and are off to a 2-2 start this fall. The Trojans will look to improve their playoff chances when they host Midland Dow, also 2-2, Friday at Thirlby Field.
Ream has no immediate plans to retire, but the Trojans are nonetheless prepared for it to happen someday. Justin Thorington, the Trojans athletic director, is a 2003 graduate of Central and recalls vividly Ream being a big part of the school’s athletics during his time as a student.
“I love Amy, and I want her to stay as long as she wants to stay and not any longer than she feels like she needs to stay,” Thorington said. “If she told me ‘Hey, I'm hanging ’em up at the end of the year,’ of course we would be like ‘what are we going to do? How are we going to replace her?’ But we would just be so happy for her. I hope she stays another 10 years if she wants to.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Central trainer Amy Ream escorts an injured Traverse City West player off the field during Thursday’s game. (Middle) Ream prepares ice for Central’s James Crigier during a junior varsity game at West. (Below) Ream and Josh Burnham embrace after the latter’s final high school football game, at Ford Field. (Top photo by Jan-Michael Stump/Traverse City Record-Eagle. Middle photo by Tom Spencer. Football photo by TC Rick Photo.)