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 But because of historical reference, dramatic impact or in rare cases national significance, some stay in our discussions a little bit longer.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.)
Block Party: 2025 Girls Volleyball Week 6 Report
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 1, 2025
Just a few weeks ago, we got this inaugural "Block Party" started. And this week, we've already surpassed the midpoint of the 2025 girls volleyball regular season.
District tournament play begins is just a little more than four weeks, on Monday, Nov. 3. But even now, every match counts as we're in the second year of using Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) to determine seeding of the top two teams in every District. Click to link above to see how teams stack up not only in their entire Division but also in their District with pairings set to be assigned Oct. 26.
Records, results and schedules below are those posted for teams on MHSAA.com. Rankings reflect the latest polls posted by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA).
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Plymouth Christian Academy d. Mendon (25-12, 25-12) A 5-0 day for Division 3 No. 3 PCA (24-5-0) at the Division 3-4 Showdown included this most notable win over the Division 4 top-ranked Hornets (21-3-1).
2. Farmington Hills Mercy d. Utica Eisenhower (17-25, 25-13, 15-13) After losing the first set, Division 1 No. 3 Mercy (12-2-0) rebounded to even the score and then hold off No. 6 Eisenhower (19-2-1) in the match decider at the Motor City Power Series.
3. Mendon d. Battle Creek St. Philip (25-18, 16-25, 25-16, 25-21) Coming off a 3-2 run at the Division 3-4 Showdown, Mendon continued to justify its Division 4 No. 1 status with this win over the No. 3 Tigers (16-9-4).
4. Battle Creek Lakeview d. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (19-25, 25-18, 15-10) Lakeview (25-5-5) finished 4-0-1 at its invitational, with the tie also against the Division 2 No. 6 Cougars (19-8-1) before winning the rematch in three sets.
5. Grand Rapids South Christian d. Frankenmuth (25-16, 28-26) This Motor City Power Series matchup pitted the Division 2 No. 8 Sailors (14-7-0) and now-No. 10 Eagles (9-6-4), who entered the weekend ranked Nos. 8 and 7, respectively.
Watch List
With an eye toward November, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Byron Center (19-4-0) The Bulldogs went 13-2 in September and remain an honorable mention in the latest poll after an open weekend. They most recently went 4-0 at their Cristi Curtis Memorial Invitational, and their losses this fall have come against No. 1 Rockford, No. 5 Jenison, No. 8 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and honorable mention Lowell. Byron Center will get a second chance against Jenison on Oct. 16.
Cadillac (18-3-0) The Vikings have begun another march through the Big North Conference – most notably with a five-set win over Traverse City Central on Monday – and they own solid early wins over Division 3 No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis, honorable mention McBain and Division 4 Ubly. The losses came to Division 3 No. 2 Roscommon, No. 4 Kingsley, and Mount Pleasant, all in weekend tournament play.
DIVISION 2
Kingsford (12-0-0) Despite graduating all-stater Madelynn Kreider in the spring, the honorable mention Flivvers are continuing a pace that took them to a 31-5 finish and District title a year ago. The most notable wins so far have come over Division 4 No. 10 Hancock during a 6-0 day at Kingsford’s season-opening invitational and then Calumet on Sept. 11, and they’ll see Negaunee for a second time Thursday after sweeping the Miners during opening weekend.
Milan (10-4-0) The Huron League is loaded this season with Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central again ranked No. 1 in Division 3 and Flat Rock coming off a win over the Kestrels last week. Add Milan to the mix, with losses only to another league foe New Boston Huron, plus SMCC, Division 2 No. 7 Tecumseh and honorable mention Parma Western. The Big Reds won their first meeting with Flat Rock and have a nice victory over Division 3 honorable mention Bronson as well.
DIVISION 3
Kalamazoo Christian (17-6-3) Coming off last year’s run to the Division 3 Semifinals, the No. 6-ranked Comets are facing a schedule filled with Division 1 and 2 teams. They’ve won 10 of their last 12 matches, the defeats coming two weeks ago at the Battle Creek Lakeview Invitational to Division 1 Portage Northern and Division 2 Chelsea. The only loss to a non-D1/D2 opponent came during a season-opening invitational to No. 5 Pewamo-Westphalia, which K-Christian also defeated that day.
McBain (11-7-0) The honorable mention Ramblers have won nine of their last 10 matches as they settle into Highland Conference play with the biggest coming up Thursday against No. 2 Roscommon – which defeated McBain in tournament play Aug. 29 and also ended the Ramblers’ 2024 run in the Regional Finals. McBain already has avenged an early loss this fall to honorable mention Manton and will see the Rangers again Oct. 28. The other defeats came three times to No. 4 Kingsley and once to Calumet and Cadillac.
DIVISION 4
Fowler (13-5-1) A Regional finalist last season, Fowler will definitely be prepared for top competition during tournament time. The Eagles started this season defeating current honorable mention Onekama and have taken losses to Division 1 Portage Northern, Division 3 No. 3 Plymouth Christian Academy, Division 4 No. 2 Ubly (twice) and No. 5 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart. Fowler also tied and then defeated Division 1 Midland Dow at the start of September. The Eagles will get their next major challenge Thursday at Pewamo-Westphalia.
Ishpeming (12-2-1) An opening draw with Newberry and losses to Negaunee and Calumet are the only flaws during an otherwise excellent start. Ishpeming then defeated Newberry at the Rudyard Invitational and will have a chance to see Negaunee again as well. Unranked at this time, the Hematites could equal last season’s 16 wins by the end of this weekend at the Escanaba Elks Invitational, where most notably they’ll see No. 8 Crystal Falls Forest Park.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these matches and tournaments coming up:
Thursday – Fowler at Pewamo-Westphalia – A pair of top 10 teams top the Central Michigan Athletic Conference standings as P-W (16-5-3) is No. 5 in Division 3 and Fowler (13-5-1) is No. 6 in Division 4.
Saturday – Motor City Power Series at UWM Sports Complex in Pontiac – The most intriguing pool this weekend includes Division 1 No. 2 Bloomfield Hills (23-2-1), honorable mention Dexter (10-1-0), Novi (13-7-0), Saline (13-5-0) and Lake Orion (12-12-1).
Saturday – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep quad – The Fighting Irish (17-10-1) welcome Division 2 honorable mention Edwardsburg (19-7-0), Birch Run (18-6-2) and West Bloomfield (7-4)
Tuesday – Lansing Catholic at Ionia – Lansing Catholic (14-3-1) fell out of the Division 2 honorable mentions this week, but Ionia (19-3-0) moved up to No. 9.
Tuesday – South Lyon at South Lyon East – These neighbors and Milford head into the final week of the Lakes Valley Conference schedule vying for the top spot, with Division 1 honorable mention South Lyon (21-5-0) undefeated in league play and East (23-5-1) with just a loss to Milford.
PHOTOS (Top) Okemos blockers attempt to deflect the ball during a sweep last week of Lansing Waverly. (Middle) Warren Regina sets for a kill attempt against Notre Dame Prep during a Fighting Irish sweep. (Okemos/Waverly photo by Larry Arreguin/Team Arreguin Photos. Regina/Notre Dame Prep photo by Adam Sheehan.