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.
MHSAA Senior Assistant Director Frushour to Receive NFHS Citation
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 23, 2026
Andy Frushour, a senior assistant director for the Michigan High School Athletic Association, is one of eight high school association leaders who has been selected to receive a Citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) during this summer’s annual meeting.
The Citation is one of the NFHS’ highest honors and recognizes recipients for their contributions to the NFHS, state high school associations, athletic director and coaching professions, the officiating avocation and fine arts/performing arts programs.
Frushour is in his 25th year at the MHSAA and currently directs the association’s efforts in marketing, girls and boys soccer, and student services. His tenure has been most notably defined by his leadership in making the MHSAA a national trendsetter in digital initiatives and communication, and he has spearheaded several pioneering efforts to bring student voices into decisions affecting their activities.
After beginning his tenure in the communications department, Frushour created the MHSAA’s marketing and brand team – which remains unique among state associations and aims to tell the story of school sports. The team tackles everything from media communications, sports information, website content and social media to ticketing, corporate sales and merchandise. As part of his digital branding contributions, Frushour has served as the lead contributor on every website redesign since 1999, created the Michigan Power Rating (MPR) formula now used for seeding in eight MHSAA Tournament sports, and led Michigan’s efforts to exclusively use digital tickets for postseason events.
“Sometimes the most valuable player on a baseball team is the utility player – somebody who plays but also excels at a number of different positions. For the last 25 years, Andy clearly has done that – from student leadership, to running a sport, to branding, to business decisions,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “He’s someone who is competent, respected and has become a huge part of MHSAA history during his 25 years with us.”
Frushour also has steered the MHSAA to adopt a more prominent focus on students through the creation of several popular programs, including the Student Advisory Council, a series of annual interactive sportsmanship summits and captains clinics, and the Battle of the Fans student section competition. Building off that work, he has developed and created four free NFHS Learn courses geared toward team captains.
Frushour also has served on NFHS committees for soccer, student services, summer meeting and strategic planning, and spoken at several summer meetings and one NFHS winter meeting, and at the National Athletic Directors Conference.
After graduating in 1995 from Mason High School (Mich.) – where he played baseball and golf – Frushour attended Hope College, where he majored in business administration and minored in communications, graduating in 1999. He received an MBA in sports business from Arizona State in 2003.