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 But because of historical reference, dramatic impact or in rare cases national significance, some stay in our discussions a little bit longer.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.)
TC Christian Girls Follow Anchor to Title Win Securing School's D4 Sweep
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2024
MUSKEGON – Competing for a state title is not a given, let alone winning one.
Traverse City Christian’s Rebekah Burch has bookend championships now in girls bowling – won as a freshman and as a senior – and she was a big reason for the Sabres’ second title in program history Friday.
In the 10th frame, Burch fired two strikes and followed with nine pins on her final ball to rally the Sabres. In a five-game thriller, Traverse City Christian defeated Bronson 3-2 to capture the Division 4 Finals championship at Northway Lanes.
It’s the second state title in four years for the Sabres’ girls, who shared in the excitement with their boys team Friday as Traverse City Christian pulled the championship sweep with a victory on that side as well.
“It’s so surreal. Like, today, I was going into it and I couldn’t even believe that it happened. When I was in (ninth) grade, I couldn’t believe that it happened,” Burch said. “It’s just crazy and I thank the Lord for everything that he has provided me with, giving me these opportunities.”
Traverse City Christian finished first in the 16-team qualifying block with a total score of 3,066, while Bronson was second at 3,005. Both teams edged their Quarterfinal opponents by 3-2 margins (TCC over Ithaca, Bronson over Ravenna), and both won Semifinal matches 3-1 (TCC over Jonesville, Bronson over Allen Park Cabrini).
The championship match was fittingly a back-and-forth battle with Traverse City Christian and Bronson alternating wins in the first four games. Bronson won the first (158-153) and third (125-100), TCC won the second (178-160) and fourth (166-154). That set the stage for the dramatic final game, which the Sabres rallied to win 191-184 thanks in large part to Burch’s heroics.
“It was mainly just keeping up the energy. Mrs. Radtke, my coach, she always says, ‘It’s not over ‘til it’s over.’ And that’s kind of been one of the main things we’ve been saying throughout the season,” Burch said. “It’s not over ‘til it’s over, ‘til that last ball is thrown.’ Just keep on going until it’s over.”
Traverse City Christian coach Andy Radtke had his doubts at moments during the championship match. But having an anchor bowler like Burch, who was allowed to bowl on the Sabres varsity team as an eighth-grader because of the small-school exemption, meant that anything was possible.
And Burch delivered.
“They never quit. Every time I thought we were out of it, all of sudden, ‘No, we’re not,’” Andy Ratdke said. “Started adding up (the score), ‘Wait a minute, if Rebekah strikes, we win.’”
Burch’s strikes and those of her teammates were the big separator between the teams, according to first-year Bronson coach Leah Friedel, who said her team felt good throughout the match until the very last frame.
Bronson was aiming for a fourth Division 4 championship in six years.
“We had spares, but they had the strikes, which overtook us in the end,” Friedel said.
“This has been an amazing season. We went undefeated before getting here, so I am super proud.”
Traverse City Christian’s boys bowling team seized its first state championship in the middle of the afternoon. As soon as the Sabres wrapped it up, TCC coach Brent Wheat hustled down several lanes to get caught up with the girls in their Semifinal match versus Jonesville.
Wheat, who calls himself the “mechanical guy” of the three Sabres coaches, had to calm himself down and re-focus on the girls team.
“I had to try and calm down, focus on what they had going on, and try and help them get through to the Finals,” Wheat said. “I would love to say it’s me (who was more riled up) but I’m not the one up there throwing the ball. I know what that feels like, too.”
Traverse City Christian traveled to Muskegon on Thursday, practiced at Northway Lanes, and stayed overnight.
The MHSAA Singles Finals are Saturday, and four members of the Traverse City Christian girls team will be competing along with three from the Sabres’ boys squad.
In Wheat’s mind, anything that happens Saturday is a bonus.
“We knew Bronson had a really tough team and if we were able to make it to the Finals, we figured it would probably be against them,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a hurdle in the Finals just because they have a lot of good bowlers. They’re mechanically sound, they’re good spare shooters.
“We got hot there at the end of the game. Our anchor bowler, Rebekah, she’s been with us since eighth grade because we’re such a small school, we’re able to have eighth-graders in our program. She was able to come through big and bury two big strikes to win it.”
Burch was in disbelief about Traverse City Christian sweeping girls and boys titles a mere 90 minutes apart.
“Oh, it’s so cool,” she said with a hearty laugh. “It’s so exciting.”