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 But because of historical reference, dramatic impact or in rare cases national significance, some stay in our discussions a little bit longer.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.)
Mercy Adds to Championship Streak with Must-Win Victory in Final Relay
By
Brad Emons
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2025
YPSILANTI – It takes a really good angler to reel in those Farmington Hills Mercy Marlins.
Grosse Pointe South had them on the hook for most of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 2 girls swimming & diving championship meet at Eastern Michigan University’s Jones Natatorium. South led 301-297 entering the final event – the 400-yard freestyle relay – and needed to win it to clinch the program’s first Finals championship.
But the Marlins were able to hit the wall first as Avery Tack, Campbell Shore, Lyla Collins and Ella Hafner clocked a 3:26.05 to earn Mercy its third-straight Division 2 title and 14th championship overall, by a slim margin of 337-335.
South’s 400 relay quartet of Whitney Handwork, Quinn Ryan, Mischa Eng and Caroline Bryan made a valiant effort, settling for second place in 3:27.68.
“I not only think we were physically ready, but also mentally, we had our momentum going and we were ready to swim fast because we knew who we are and we were able to finish strong because we were in a good spot,” said Hafner, who swam Mercy’s anchor leg. “We had done it before, and we knew we could do it again”
Rounding out the top five team finishers were Birmingham Seaholm (260.5), Birmingham Groves (155.5) and Ann Arbor Skyline (155).
“It was fun,” said Mercy coach Michael Venos, who notched his sixth Finals title. “This is my 42nd year coaching, and these are still my favorite meets. Win or lose they left it all in the pool, and as a coach that’s all you could ever ask for.”
With a two-point differential in the final standings between the top two teams, every point scored was pivotal.
“Quite honestly, I hoped we’d tie,” Venos said. “I don’t think anybody deserved to lose this meet today. I was really hoping for a tie, and I thought that would be really cool because those South girls swam lights out all year. And you don’t want to get to a meet like this and go home disappointed.
“It was one of those team efforts again. I don’t know if we could have done it without the whole team. I just felt the girls pulled each other up and kept scratching and clawing.”
Meanwhile, for the Blue Devils it was their fourth runner-up finish over the last seven years.
“It was as close as it could possibly get, the whole way,” Grosse Pointe South coach John Fodell said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. We were down on psych sheet at one time by 20 points and we just kept battling back, battling back the whole meet. We pulled off some upsets. It goes back and forth. Just battle the whole time, and that’s all you can ask of the girls. It was the whole team. Everyone was trying to move up one spot.”
The teams battled back and forth throughout the day, with South taking a 294-285 lead after piling up a 49-4 advantage in the 100 backstroke thanks to a first from Ryan (56.08), a third by Eng and a sixth from Corinne Stencel.
In the final individual event of the day, Birmingham Groves’ Vivian Chase and Birmingham Seaholm’s Payton Garn tied for first in the 100 breaststroke with times of 1:02.76. Mercy got a seventh (12 points) from Clare Hafner while Nicole McEnroe earned a second in the consolation heat (seven points).
Coming out of Friday’s prelims slightly faster, South’s foursome of Eng, Nicole McEnroe, Stencel and sophomore Ryan Quinn opened Saturday with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay (1:45.22) with Seaholm placing second (1:46.96).
Skyline junior Adrienne Schadler then defended her title in the 200 freestyle and broke her own Division 2 Finals record in the process with a time of 1:46.85.
In one of the premier matchups of the meet, Mercy junior Avery Tack defended her title in the 200 individual medley (2:04.64) by holding off Bryan (2:05.59).
The 50 freestyle final proved to be a thriller as well as South senior Whitney Handiwork (23.24) defended her title by a razor thin margin over South Lyon’s Emma Klotz (23.26).
The 1-meter diving final saw Rochester Adams junior Morgan Rea score 431.75 points to defeat out Grand Rapids Northview’s Katelyn Allen (400.65), Skyline’s Teagan McCallion (383.05) and defending champion Aubrey Yarger of Hastings (379.75).
“My freshman year I actually failed to dive, and I got last,” Rea said. “And then last year I had a back injury, so this is my first year back. I had trust in my training, definitely, through all my good coaches.”
Rea came through with three clutch three dives.
“Probably after my back one-and-a-half half I had a pretty good feeling, definitely,” Rea said. “I had pretty good confidence in my abilities to dive.”
Reigning champion Bryan and Stencel went 1-2 in the 100 butterfly for the Blue Devils with times of 54.59 and 56.44, respectively, to close the gap on Mercy, 179-170.
After finishing runner-up in the 50 freestyle, Klotz then came through with a victory in the 100 freestyle (50.70) to edge Handwork (50.92) and Tack (52.01). Klotz, headed to Bowling Green State University, brought home her first individual Finals title after finishing runner-up three times.
“I swam a best time (in the 50), which was great, and Whitney (Handwork) had a great swim again, so it was a really fun race,” Klotz said. “It fueled me for the 100 more. The past few years it’s been hard to come back being second in the 50, but I thought my mindset was a lot better.”
The tide then turned back in favor of the Marlins as they outscored South, 37-1, in the 500 freestyle as Skyline’s Schadler completed her individual repeat double with a D2 Finals record time of 4:48.50. Mercy’s Hafner was runner-up (4:49.90), but the Marlins also got a big fourth place from Collins (5:06.69).
In the 200 freestyle relay, South (1:34.61) edged Mercy (1:34.92) for first. The Blue Devils’ foursome included Handwork, Stencel, McEnroe and Bryan.
All of it built toward the dramatic finish in the final race.
“She was amazing,” said Mercy senior Clare Hafner, referring to her sister’s anchor leg on the 400 freestyle relay. I think she had a lot of challenges to overcome today. It was insane how she pushed through it. I’m so proud of her.
“We slipped up a little bit on the second relay (200 freestyle), but everybody knew we needed to win that last one to win the meet and pulled it together. All of those girls did amazing. I’m so proud of them. Even Gabriell (Mannino) in her 100 back (13th with four points), she moved up a spot, which really helped.”
For Mercy’s Violet Schwartz, who swam the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays, along with the 100 butterfly (sixth), it was quite a send-off.
“As a senior in high school, what a better way to go out in a high school career with winning,” she said. “It’s really an honor. Just being with these girls is just the most amazing experience ever. They are so empowering. They all have the drive – that last relay was just amazing.”
Mercy senior 1-meter diver Sophia D’Orazio scored 11 points with an eighth-place.
“It was a little stressful, but having the whole team behind me really, really helped out, and I came out and finished my last dive to stick it and it was one of the best I’ve done,” she said. “It was really exhilarating today. This was my last diving meet today, and it was a great way to go out.”
And on the other side, it was bittersweet moment afterward for Handwork. Last year, Mercy scored 375.5 points, while South had 255, but this time the Blue Devils were right there.
“I think it’s just hard because of how hard we worked and how much we wanted it, but we are really still proud of ourselves,” Handwork said. “I mean, we closed a 120-point gap from last year, so there’s a lot to be proud of. I’m a senior, so I’ll come back and cheer them on. But yeah, I’m hoping they come back and swim even better.”
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Avery Tack swims to a championship in the 200 individual medley Saturday. (Middle) Caroline Bryan swims to first place in the 100 butterfly for Grosse Pointe South. (Below) Ann Arbor Skyline’s Adrienne Schadler races to a repeat and meet record in the 500 freestyle. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)