10 to Remember: Fall 2014
December 12, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This fall saw the start of numerous championship legacies all over the Michigan, the continuation of a few more and the end of one that likely will be recalled for decades to come.
All championship runs are memorable for those fortunate enough to achieve them. But because of historical reference, dramatic impact or in rare cases national significance, some stay in our discussions a little bit longer.
Below is one person’s thoughts on the most memorable finishes from this fall’s MHSAA Finals.
10. Novi, East Kentwood Rise to the Top
Among a number of first-time champions this fall, the Novi boys tennis team and East Kentwood girls golf team celebrated taking final steps after some recent close misses. Novi had finished second at the 2013 Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final, by a point, as Ann Arbor Huron won its third straight title. The Wildcats clinched their first ever this season, by eight points, while the East Kentwood golfers finished 22 strokes better than their LP Division 1 field after finishing 10th and sixth the last two seasons, respectively. Senior Emily White capped her high school career with a 51-foot putt to win the individual title.
9. Saline Clinches on Final Swim
The Saline girls swimming and diving team trailed reigning champion Farmington Hills Mercy by a half-point entering the final event of the LP Division 1 Final. But the Hornets outpaced Mercy by three seconds in the 400-yard freestyle relay to move ahead and claim the team championship by 5.5 points. Saline had finished runner-up to Mercy by 20 points in 2013.
8. St. Mary’s Football Keeps Promise
From an incredible story point of view, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 7-0 win over Muskegon in the Division 3 Football Final was easily the most memorable of the fall. Showing immense courage, Eaglets running back Brandon Adams took the field only two days after his mother died after fighting cancer. He scored the game’s lone points midway through the first quarter.
7. Kestrels Give Coach Best Retirement Gift
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Diane Tuller coached teams to 595 wins over 17 seasons – and in her final match took the Kestrels to their fifth MHSAA championship. St. Mary downed Schoolcraft in four sets despite dropping the first to claim its third Class C title in five seasons. The Kestrels became the eighth team to win at least five MHSAA titles, claiming all five under Tuller’s guidance.
6. Concord’s Hersha Joins Elite Company
Only 14 runners in MHSAA boys cross country history have won at least three individual championships. Concord’s Jason Hersha became the latest, claiming the LP Division 4 title in 15:23.0, the second-fastest time in LP Division 4 Finals history. He became only the third to win three boys titles since team and individual qualifiers began running the same race in 1996; he also finished first as a sophomore and junior.
5. Canton Never Loses on Division 1 March
Just one on-target kick can change a soccer game. That makes Canton’s undefeated run to this season’s Division 1 boys championship even more impressive. Finishing without a loss in any sport is something – but the Chiefs defeated Rochester Adams 1-0 in the Final to end 24-0-3 and as the 13th undefeated champion in MHSAA boys soccer history. Canton posted 16 shutouts this fall.
4. Spring Lake Surges to First Championship
Despite trailing annual power Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood by six strokes after the first round, Spring Lake rolled through the second at the LP Division 3 Girls Golf Final to best the field by a final margin of 18 strokes and claim the school’s first MHSAA golf championship. The achievement was a crowning one for the program started by George Bitner, who has coached at the school since 1968 and fielded his first girls team in 1980.
3. Fisher Finishes Among Fastest in MHSAA History
Grand Blanc senior Grant Fisher finished his high school career with a second straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship – and the third-fastest time since the Finals moved to Michigan International Speedway 19 seasons ago. Fisher finished in 14:52.5, 1.5 seconds off the second-fastest time in MHSAA Finals history since 5K (3.1 miles) became the distance in 1980. The only runners who have come in faster than Fisher went on to the Olympics (Dathan Ritzenhein) and top American finishes (twice) at the Boston Marathon (Jason Hartmann).
2. St. Philip Stands Alone with 9 Straight Titles
Battle Creek St. Philip continued its near-decade dominance of Class D, but this time with another historical twist. The Tigers downed Leland in four sets in this season’s Final to win their ninth straight MHSAA championship – setting a record for consecutive titles after formerly being tied with the Marysville teams from 1997-2004. St. Philip entered the postseason ranked No. 3 in D but defeated both No. 2 Mendon and the top-ranked Comets during the final week.
1. Monroe St. Mary Ends Ithaca’s Record Run
Much of the credit for this topping the list goes to Ithaca, which brought a 69-game winning streak into the Division 6 Football Final. The streak was the longest active streak nationally among 11-player football teams, and a win would've allowed the Yellowjackets next fall an opportunity to break the MHSAA winning streak record of 72. But St. Mary controlled the clock with a workmanlike running game and held an Ithaca offense averaging 43 points to nearly a quarter of that in winning 22-12.
PHOTO: The East Kentwood girls golf team raised its first MHSAA Finals championship trophy this October. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Tradition, Big North Competition Drive Petoskey's Quest to Extend Finals Streak
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
January 24, 2025
At least one thing is certain in boys skiing this winter. Traverse City West and Traverse City Central will not stand in the way of Petoskey winning another Finals championship.
Actually, and almost most certainly, they’ll help the Northmen make good on their potential.
West and Central, perennial contenders for the Division 1 title, provide regular, tough competition that should help the Northman as they set the sites on a sixth-straight Division 2 championship. West and Central regularly challenge the Northmen as participants in their five Big North Conference meets.
Central won the D1 championship last year, snapping a run of three straight by West. Marquette, which won a second straight in 2020, was the last school to win the D1 championship before the Traverse City teams’ domination.
Petoskey hopes to get at least one win over both the Titans and Trojans during the regular season as the Northmen pursue the BNC title before hitting the slopes of the Regional at Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls and the Final at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs. The league scores are cumulative over the season, leading to naming a champion.
“If we have all of our successes coming together in one spot, we definitely have a chance to win one of those conference races” said Petoskey coach Ben Crockett, who began guiding the Northmen in 2019. “The experience of competing against another state champion helps all of our programs to stay competitive when we’re in the state Final.”
Last year the Northmen prevailed in a tougher-than-expected Regional at Crystal Mountain before capturing their fifth-straight D2 Finals championship. That Regional featured Harbor Springs, which finished fifth in the Final, and Gaylord, a familiar Big North opponent, along with Benzie Central, Boyne City, Elk Rapids, Houghton, Ironwood, Maple City Glen Lake, Grayling, Onekama and Petoskey St. Michael. The Regional field this year is almost the same as the Upper Peninsula’s Norway replaces Benzie.
And, Petoskey’s last year’s top performers are all back. The Northman also have added sophomore Eli Dettmer, who returned to Northern Michigan after competing in Maine as a freshman. He is expected to play a key role leading up to February’s Final.
Senior Gavin Galbraith is back after winning the individual Finals title in the slalom and finishing third in the giant slalom last season. Junior Taylor Keiswetter and sophomore Mick Galbraith are also back after placing in the top 10 in the giant slalom. Keiswetter finished fifth, and the younger Galbraith placed eighth.
“A lot of the championship team will be returning, so we think we’re in a pretty good position to defend again,” Crockett said. “Gavin Galbraith will be leading that charge as the returning state champion with the speed to contest for another state championship on the individual level and lead the team as they try to get that sixth.”
While Petoskey will be looking for all four of those skiers to perform well to get back on the podium this winter, that possibility never is taken for granted.
“It is always on our radar, but really on the day I think we’re hoping to have a good performance and everybody ski to their potential,” Crockett said. “We know we have to put in a good effort, and then we have to let the scoring fall where it will.”
Crockett, a 1999 graduate and past Petoskey ski team member, is thrilled to continue as part of the Northmen program. His experience skiing all over North America and Europe during his younger days has been a benefit to the Northmen.
“Skiing was a big part of my athletic career growing up,” Crockett said. “Being able to help this next group of athletes achieve their own goals and dreams has been really fun.”
Last year Orchard Lake St. Mary’s finished runner-up and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (134) finished third at the Final. The Northmen welcome the competition from downstate and the Upper Peninsula.
“There’s definitely good, competitive skiers coming from spots we don’t really see during the year and face off against when we get to the state meet,” Crockett said.
Effort is the key to maintaining the Petoskey legacy, Crockett emphasizes.
“We really try to honor the tradition of having an excellent program at Petoskey,” Crockett said. “We always try to put in the most effort to continue that legacy into the future.”
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) Petoskey’s Gavin Galbraith races during the Harbor-Petoskey Invitational this season at Boyne Highlands. (Middle) Sophomore Eli Dettmer, an addition to the team this season, leans into a turn during a race at the Harbor-Petoskey Invite. (Below) Carter Walkerdine approaches a gate. (Photos by Drew Kochanny/Petoskey News-Review.)