10 to Remember: 2013-14 Finals
July 10, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Every championship leaves a lasting impression with the athletes and coaches who achieved it and the communities that cheered them on.
That makes picking the 10 most notable finishes from this school year's MHSAA Finals a no-win scenario. But here's one person's carefully-considered opinion:
10. Unranked Eaton Rapids finishes No. 1 for the first time
The Greyhounds capped this year’s Girls Basketball Finals with a 51-38 win over Grand Rapids South Christian in the Class B title game that closed the weekend. But that statement alone barely scratches the surface of the story. The championship was the first for Eaton Rapids, which started five seniors and entered the tournament unranked but eliminated No. 6 Ypsilanti Arbor Prep, No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic and then the top-ranked Sailors during the season’s final week.
9. Western sweeps first Finals at Michigan State
The Baseball and Softball Finals moved to Michigan State University this spring, and the Bay City Western baseball and softball teams both took home championship trophies. The Warriors baseball team, after winning its first title in 2013, became the first in Class A or Division 1 to repeat in defeating Grosse Pointe South 6-2. The softball team won its first MHSAA championship by defeating Portage Central 4-2 after also making – and leading late – in the 2013 Final before losing by a run to Mattawan.
8. Sacred Heart overcomes, comes back for first title
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart couldn’t have been favored by many in this season’s Class D Girls Basketball Final with one senior, making only its second championship game appearance and going up against Crystal Falls Forest Park and recently-crowned Miss Basketball Lexi Gussert. But the unranked Irish finished on a 14-3 run over the final three minutes to get past the top-ranked Trojans 56-53 and win their first MHSAA title.
7. Canton gymnastics finishes long championship journey
The Canton gymnastics team claimed its first MHSAA title by edging Grand Ledge by 2.4 points after finishing runner-up to the Comets each of the last three seasons. The Chiefs also had finished Finals runner-up in 1996 under coach John Cunningham, who took over the program in 1979 and has coached the sport since 1968. Grand Ledge had won 106 straight competitions including the last six MHSAA Finals.
6. Big Reds regain top spot in Class A hoops
With Mr. Basketball Deshaun Thrower and 2015 candidate Deyonta Davis setting the pace, Muskegon finished only the second perfect season in Class A in the last 24 seasons with a 91-67 Final win over Bloomfield Hills that earned the Big Reds their first MHSAA championship since 1937. Thrower had 21 points, and Davis had 26 and 13 rebounds.
5. Brother Rice sends Fracassa out as champion once more
The Warriors made coach Al Fracassa a back-to-back MHSAA football champion for the first time with a 38-21 victory over Muskegon in a rematch of the 2013 Division 2 Final. Brother Rice also finished 14-0 as Fracassa finished a career during which he built a 430-117-7 record dating to 1969. His wins rank first in MHSAA football history.
4. New Lothrop wrestlers end Hudson’s reign
The Hornets won their first MHSAA title since 2004 by edging Hudson 32-22 in the Division 4 Final at Kellogg Arena. New Lothrop’s title win also ended an MHSAA-record five-season championship run by the Tigers, who tied the Davison teams of 2002-06 for the longest string of consecutive titles.
3. Stars finish final title runs with 4
A pair of mid-Michigan athletes capped four-year varsity careers by joining the elite champions in their respective sports. Breckenridge runner Kirsten Olling became the fifth girl in MHSAA history to win four Lower Peninsula individual championships, claiming her latest and last in an LP Division 4 Final record 17:44.9. St. Johns senior Zac Hall became the third wrestler in three seasons and 18th in MHSAA history to finish with four individual championships. He defeated Greenville’s Alec Ward 12-2 in the Division 2 140-pound championship match to close this season 52-0 and his career 198-2.
2. St. Philip adds to all-time accolades
The Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball program ranks first in MHSAA Final appearances (27) and championships (19), but further cemented itself among the all-time elite by winning its eighth straight MHSAA title – good to tie Marysville’s 1997-2004 teams for the longest championship streak in MHSAA history. The Tigers did so this season by defeating Waterford Our Lady in three games in Class D, and despite graduating seven from its 2012 championship team.
1. Trenton wins one more for Turner
Trenton’s hockey team defeated Hartland 8-3 in the Division 2 Final to earn the program’s 14th MHSAA championship and first since 2010 – and send out coach Mike Turner with one more crowning achievement on the most notable career in MHSAA hockey history. Earlier this winter, Turner set the record for coaching wins. He finished 628-126-52 over 28 seasons stretching across two tenures.
PHOTO: Trenton hockey players celebrate during this season's Division 2 championship trophy.
5 All-Leaguers + No Seniors = Big Things Ahead for Kalamazoo Christian Boys Golf
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
May 26, 2026
KALAMAZOO — In spite of a team loaded with sophomores, juniors and even a contributing freshman, Kalamazoo Christian coach Brian Seifert is optimistic heading into today’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Golf Regional at Centreville’s Island Hills Golf Course.
Seifert has reason for that optimism.
His top five golfers, none of them seniors, all earned all-conference honors in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and the sixth golfer barely missed it.
“In high school golf, you want a solid three guys for sure that can help you go really low,” Seifert said. “Four makes you a wild card and I’ve got four, five and six that can really play golf. It’s pretty fun to watch.”
Two of those golfers, junior Brixton DeVries and sophomore Ian Riggs, were instrumental in the Comets’ fifth-place finish at last year’s MHSAA Division 3 Final.
DeVries said one important thing to remember in tournament play is “don’t let a bad shot get to you. You’ve got to stay mentally there the entire time.”
Riggs added, “It’s a team effort. Every shot counts, short putts, everything counts. Staying level-minded through your round is definitely a big thing with our team.”
He also said he noticed there are a lot of good golfers competing, but “you’ve just not got to worry about the scores and play your game.”
Seifert said Riggs has been working on his game and also takes lessons.
“He’s really improved this year, and to be named SAC (Most Valuable Golfer) as a sophomore is really nice,” he said.
A third all-conference golfer, Max Nobis, returned this year from a devastating injury and also earned all-conference honors along with sophomores Hart Hoekzema and Owyn Webb. Freshman Cade Van Dusen just missed league recognition.
Nobis joined the golf team, transferring from Hackett Catholic Prep, after recovering from an injury suffered while playing club soccer a year ago.
“I got slide-tackled in one of our games and ended up snapping my fibula and tibia in half,” he said. “Broke both.
“I had surgery two weeks later and have a metal rod in my leg.”
Nobis did physical therapy twice a week for a month, then continued on his own at the gym.
Seifert said he is happy Nobis is far enough removed from the injury and healthy enough to golf.
“He’s worked on his game and figured out how to navigate injury and golf at the same time,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting him. It was a real bonus to get Max.”
DeVries said in spite of losing two seniors to graduation, he thinks this year’s team is even better than last season’s contender.
“I feel like our whole team is good at leading,” he said. “We all contribute.”
Learning from last year’s road to the Finals, DeVries said the keys to playing well are “showing up and helping the rest of the team. You learn that you have to really show up at practice and be there mentally and physically.”
Seifert said the junior has not had a bad round all season.
“He’s going to give me something I know we can count on, consistent leadership,” Seifert noted. “You need that in golf to set the pace. That pulls everybody along.”
Riggs said a key to success is to “keep grinding even if I have a bad first hole, fifth hole. You’ve got 18 holes of golf to play, so you just have to keep grinding until the last hole.”
While the Comets aren’t looking past Regionals, if they qualify for the Finals, their confidence should increase.
Division 3 will be hosted at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek, where the Comets shot a school-record 305 two weeks ago.
“As a coach I try to schedule our matches on courses where we know there will be significant play, and Bedford Valley is one of them that we go to once or twice because it’s always in the mix,” Seifer said. “Understanding the course better is really important, and being successful on it, I like our chances right along with everyone else’s.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Christian’s Max Nobis follows his putt as it approaches the cup. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Kalamazoo Christian boys golf coach Brian Seifert, junior Brixton DeVries, sophomore Ian Riggs and junior Max Nobis. (Action photo courtesy of Seifert; headshots by Pam Shebest.)