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.
Grand Haven Makes Good on Season-Long Expectations by Completing Title Run
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
BATTLE CREEK — The Grand Haven High School boys volleyball team has had the proverbial target on its back since entering the season ranked No. 1.
That target proved tough to hit.
The Buccaneers closed out a 41-1 season Saturday at Kellogg Arena with a 3-1 victory in the Division 1 Final over previously-unbeaten Lake Orion. Grand Haven’s 25-19, 25-11, 29-31, 25-18 victory gave the Bucs the first MHSAA Division 1 Finals trophy in boys volleyball.
“They accomplished exactly what they wanted when they started the year,” said Grand Haven coach Jim VanTol. “We knew we were the team to beat all year, and they came into every match knowing that. They got exactly what they came for and what they wanted. They practice hard, they play hard and they like each other, which helps a lot.”
Grand Haven was paced by the inaugural Mr. Volleyball Award winner Caleb Cryst and the power hitting of juniors Alfredo Ellis and Maddox Krugler and sophomore John Cryst.
In between the second and third sets, senior Caleb Cryst was presented with the Mr. Volleyball trophy.
“It’s so special,” he said. “Bringing (the championship) home with Maddox, Fredo, John, all of my teammates. I’ve played with them for years, and that’s our goal.”
VanTol said Cryst is the “perfect guy” to be awarded such an honor and not just because of his volleyball skills, which he will take to Defiance College next year.
“He’s not just a great volleyball player; he’s so good as a leader and motivator on the team,” Van Tol said. “He just loves volleyball and lives and breathes volleyball, and that trophy should go to a guy like that.”
In the opening set, Lake Orion showed why it entered the Final with an unblemished 23-0 record. With seniors Jan Ludvik and Kuba Wolski handling just about all of the outside hitting duties, the Dragons carved out an 18-14 lead.
John Cryst helped right the Grand Haven ship with three kills, and with the score tied at 19-19, he served the next six points with a kill by Caleb Cryst sealing it.
The Bucs then put on a clinic of how to stop Lake Orion’s attack by blocking just about everything that came their way from Ludvik or Wolski. Grand Haven rolled to a 20-6 lead en route to the 25-11 win.
“This is an incredible season to get to the last game of the season like this and be undefeated until today,” Lake Orion coach Tony Scavarda said. “We just wanted the opportunity to go up against the best team in the state. I think we made a good showing. We had one bad set, but other than that we were very competitive.”
Ludvik and Wolski got rolling in the third set, roaring out to a 17-9 lead on Ludvik’s sixth kill of the set.
“We said before the third set just to have fun, enjoy the moment and embrace it,” Ludvik said.
When it seemed as though a fourth set was moments away, Grand Haven punched back with senior Owen Jiang and Caleb Cryst combining for three block-kills that along with two Krugler kills made it 25-24 with senior Carson Moroney serving match point.
Ludvik’s falling away hit rolled along the top of the net and fell on the other side in-bounds to make it 25-25, and Lake Orion survived two more match-point serves as the score reached 29-29. A Grand Haven service error and a Ludvik kill gave Lake Orion life.
“It’s one of those things, every team we play pretty much knows where the ball is going but not every team can stop it,” Scavarda said. “They had the talent and size to slow us down out there. Our guys still got their kills when they needed to and kept us competitive. They definitely made it tough on us because they’re very good on the other side of the net.”
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team nudging ahead by more than two points until the Bucs turned a 14-13 deficit into an 18-15 lead. They closed the match on a 12-4 run with a Lake Orion serve into the net ending the match.
Grand Haven had reached three straight state championships in boys volleyball (under the coaches association’s previous direction), falling short each time.
“I feel a lot of adrenaline. I don’t feel like it’s hit me yet,” Caleb Cryst said. “Winning that last point it’s kind of surreal. I’ve been on the opposite side of that the past three years, and to be here feels amazing.”
While Saturday marked the end of Cryst’s high school career, the Bucs return plenty — and will likely have that target etched squarely on their backs again next spring.
“Most of our power guys are back, and our youth program is very strong,” VanTol said. “Our eighth-grade class has two or three or four guys who will push these guys for starting spots.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Haven hoists its championship trophy Saturday afternoon at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Lake Orion’s Cole Essmann (6) leaps to block a Grand Haven kill attempt.