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 But because of historical reference, dramatic impact or in rare cases national significance, some stay in our discussions a little bit longer.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.)
Portage Central Counts on Keeper One Last Time to Lock Up 1st Finals Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2025
GRAND LEDGE — No one should be blamed for being a little confused when first glancing at Portage Central senior Gunnar Thorhallsson.
At 6-foot-8 with a wingspan over seven feet, many probably look at Thorhallsson and ask how long he’s been playing basketball, only to find out something surprising.
“I do not play basketball,” he said. “I was a former basketball player and wasn’t very good at it, so I decided to stick to soccer.”
It became clear to all who saw the Division 1 Boys Soccer Final between Portage Central and Ann Arbor Huron on Saturday why Thorhallsson is indeed a soccer player.
Arguably the state’s best goalkeeper all season, Thorhallsson showed why once again, pitching his 18th shutout of the fall to lift Central to a 1-0 shootout win (4-2 in the penalty kick portion) over Huron in a battle of two teams making their first appearances in a Finals championship game.
Thorhallsson made 11 saves in regulation and overtime, one in the shootout and then saw another Huron shooter miss the net on his attempt, most likely affected by Thorhallsson’s wingspan.
“I’ve been saying all season long he’s the best goalkeeper in the state,” Central head coach Tim Halloran said. “We left him out to dry a few times. He had to save us, and he did countless times. In the penalties, part of the fact is we have to be so precise to beat him in practice because he’s so great.”
Following a scoreless regulation and overtime, Huron’s Philip Leucht and Central’s Carter Seim both converted kicks in the first round of the shootout.
Thorhallsson then made a save to start the second round, and Max Bailey gave Central a 2-1 lead with a successful conversion.
Chris Zou and Marshall Neumann then traded successful conversions to make it 3-2 Central after the third round.
Central then finished it off on a miss by Huron and a successful conversion by Jayce Handley to start the celebration for Mustangs, who completed an unbeaten season at 24-0-2.
“When we got here, we were dumb little freshmen,” Thorhallsson said of the senior class. “We didn’t know what this program was all about. But the coaches developed us into great players. We formed a special bond over the past four years, and to be able to end on a high note like this is awesome.”
Thorhallsson said he and his teammates in front of him on defense have the nickname “strap city.”
“We strap them,” he said. “We don’t let the offense get anything on us. We’re always there. They can’t escape us. We just hold it down in the back, and that’s why they weren’t able to score tonight.”
Huron ended up outshooting Central, 20-9, but couldn’t find the back of the net against Thorhallsson.
“The physical attributes, they go on the page and you can kind of see them,” Huron head coach Luis Gomez-Dominguez said of Thorhallsson. “But the reflexes, that’s something you don’t put on the stat sheet. The goalkeeper did an unbelievable job keeping his team in the game.”
But even in defeat, advancing farther than it ever has was a source of pride for Huron.
“Being here is unbelievable,” Gomez-Dominguez said. “I think these boys raised the bar for the people coming up after them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Portage Central keeper Gunnar Thorhallsson makes a save during his team’s Division 1 championship victory Saturday night. (Middle) AJ Giebel (4) controls possession for the Mustangs with Huron’s Nasser Diarra in pursuit. (Below) Central’s Eli Greenwald (19) and Huron’s Malic Kasham compete for a loose ball. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)