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 But because of historical reference, dramatic impact or in rare cases national significance, some stay in our discussions a little bit longer.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.)
North Branch Class of '24 Finishes Decade Together with Finals Repeat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 18, 2023
BATTLE CREEK – A decade’s worth of team volleyball came to an end Saturday afternoon for eight North Branch seniors.
So while the Broncos had just won their second-straight Division 2 title, the tinge of sadness to the tears streaming down their faces was understandable.
“All of us started, a majority of us eight seniors started when we were 8 years old in North Branch volleyball club,” Broncos senior Alana Deshetsky said. “No one, pretty much, left until they were in high school and played one or two years at a different club. We were all trained here and all played with each other since we were 8, so I think we have a deeper connection than most other teams.
“We pulled up a picture this weekend from our first year, and pretty much all of us girls were in it. It was really sad to see girls that I’d played with forever, and I won’t play with again. Most teams end on a low, but when you end on a high, you want it to keep going.”
While they won’t get to keep things going after the 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 win against Grand Rapids West Catholic at Kellogg Arena, this group has left a legacy that will never be forgotten at a program that was already considered one of the state’s elite.
For the first time in program history, North Branch won back-to-back titles. That came after a runner-up finish in 2021, giving a class that had been major contributors since they were freshmen three Finals appearances in four years.
And, as freshman, they lost in five sets to the eventual Division 2 champion, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
“I think it was something (coach Jim Fish) definitely saw the potential in us,” senior libero Hailey Green said. “We were freshmen. In that game our freshmen year, we were just trying to hang with Notre Dame Prep. I think our junior year it kind of hit us. Like, ‘Oh, we’re in the state finals.’ It definitely hit us last year.”
Fish definitely saw it early. When they were eighth graders, Fish coached them in a summer tournament in Ohio. It was a tournament that featured a varsity and JV division, and for the first time in his career, Fish chose to coach the JV group.
“(People) said, ‘Why are you coaching them?’ And I said, ‘Because I know what we’re going to be doing,’” Fish said. “We’ve been working with this group for a long time. As good of players as they are, they’re nicer kids. They’re team academic all-state, individual academic all-state. Phenomenal kids in the community.”
North Branch (56-4-1) spent the entire season ranked No. 1 in Division 2, and Fish scheduled the best competition he could find throughout the state – and even in some adjoining states – to keep his group sharp.
It worked, as did playing with a target on their backs the entire season.
“These teams scouted us very hard all season long,” Deshetsky said. “Our last tournament, I think we looked around and there were five cameras on our court scouting us for the postseason. This postseason was very difficult, because teams knew us as much as they could have, inside and out. They knew what we would do, because when you’re at the top, you’re the target, and everyone was coming for us.”
North Branch defeated the No. 2 team Grand Rapids Christian in Thursday’s Semifinal, but didn’t let down at all in the Final.
Aubree Deshetsky led the North Branch attack against West Catholic with 14 kills, while Clara Gyomory had nine. Adrienne Greschaw had 31 assists. The Deshetsky sisters led the defense, as Aubree had 19 digs and Alana had 13.
Brooke Tietz had seven kills to lead West Catholic, while Emma Tuttle had six. Alivia Mott had 11 assists, while Amelia Gagnon had 12 digs and Grace Steiner had 10.
“It was a great match – North Branch is a super good volleyball club,” West Catholic coach Megan Eversman said. “I think our kids gave a fight as hard as they could fight against that team. I’m just really proud of all of their efforts that they had.”
While North Branch had loads of experience at Kellogg Arena, West Catholic (38-10-6) was making its first Finals appearance.
“I’m just really proud that our team could get here,” Tuttle said. “I think we worked really hard this season to get here, and for our last season, I’m really proud.”
PHOTOS (Top) North Branch players celebrate their repeat Division 2 title win at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) Grand Rapids West Catholic's Mia Henne (4) sends a kill attempt into the block of Kaela Chingwa (10) and Clara Gyoromy (14). (Below) Adrienne Greschaw sets the Broncos' offense. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)