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.
New Leader, Another Championship Result as Country Day Takes Back Title
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
HOWELL – Detroit Country Day is the Division 2 boys lacrosse champion for the fifth time in program history.
Also for the fifth time, the Yellowjackets won the title with a different coach.
JD Hess stepped into the role in 2026 after DCD had reached at least the Semifinals the last four seasons, and won it all in 2024.
On Saturday, Hess’ Yellowjackets overcame a four-goal deficit to rally and beat Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 14-12, at Howell Parker.
“It feels great. I walked into an unbelievable situation with this team,” Hess said. “Senior heavy, bunch of studs, lots of talent, but I think the difference that showed today was our character and the way that we rally and play for each other. It feels great. I’m trying to enjoy this moment, watching these guys celebrate. I’m super happy for them. These guys worked really hard and deserve this.”
Trailing 9-5 midway through the second quarter, Country Day (20-1) would net the last two goals of the half on scores from seniors Keaton Yearego and Addison Davis.
Those goals ultimately helped spark a six-goal rally that started in the third quarter and ran into the fourth to put the game in Country Day’s favor.
“We have been a really good third-quarter team all season, so in the locker room we were pretty composed and calm,” Hess said. “We decided this is where we live, we live in the third quarter. Then, we started winning faceoffs and we got a couple stops on defense. Our defense showed up big time in the second half, and we felt like if we could get the ball to our offense, they were going to put it in the back of the net.”
Another senior, Luke Fisher, came up with the two goals that tied the score at 11-11 and seemed to shift all the momentum over to the Yellowjackets.
“I’m just so blessed,” Fisher said. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was a little kid and they have always had my back. I just wanted to help us pull through as a team in that moment.”
From there, junior Rhys Kenney and senior Preston Cook gave DCD the lead for good in the fourth quarter. Both finished with a team-high three goals.
“Those are two of our studs,” Hess said of Cook and Kenney. “They mean a lot to us. Preston Cook has really come on at the end of the season. He’s had an incredible playoff run. Reese has been, if not the best player, one of the best players in the state all season. That’s what we expect from those two guys.”
The game was tied on five occasions during the first half before the Rangers (11-12) broke open the score as part of a five-goal rally over four minutes of play. Blake Teliczan put FHC up 6-5 while Elliott Fricano scored twice during the run to make it 9-5.
“We had seen Country Day had been off to a few slow starts the last few games, so we wanted to punch them in the mouth early and try to get up on them and hold on to that lead,” Forest Hills Central coach Andy Shira said.
Teliczan had five goals and an assist for the Rangers, while Finn Brunink and Fricano each scored three times.
The Rangers nearly capped off a remarkable turnaround this season. FHC started 2-10, with a 17-8 loss to Country Day and 19-5 loss to East Grand Rapids. The Rangers then rallied to win nine of their next 10, including avenging the defeat to EGR in the Semifinal, 14-13.
“This team’s never given up at any point throughout the year. We had a rough start, but the kids really stayed together and did everything we have been preaching since January. When you’re (2-10), it’s easy to fold, but these kids and the amount of passion they have, their accountability, and the effort they put in was tremendous. We just came up short at the end of it.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day’s Micah Zacks (10) considers his options on offense during his team’s Division 2 championship win Saturday. (Middle) The Yellowjackets’ Rhys Kenney rips a shot. (Below) Forest Hills Central’s Blake Teliczan (8) and Elliott Fricano (24) celebrate a moment. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)