10 to Remember: Spring 2013
June 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nine teams won their first MHSAA championships this spring. Birmingham Brother Rice's boys lacrosse team won its ninth in a row.
And those are only among the toppers of the long list that made memorable moments during this season's Finals, which finished up the school year two weekends ago.
Locking down the 10 most significant performances is impossible. But endeavoring to do so, here are one person's guess at those that will continue to be discussed most in the years to come.
Among those that just missed this list: Brother Rice boys lacrosse, St. Ignace's girls track and field team after winning its fourth straight team title, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett's baseball team after its extra-innings Final win over Beal City, Grandville Calvin Christian's girls soccer team after winning a rematch of last season's Division 4 Final and Port Huron Northern's girls tennis team after it emerged from a loaded field to win the Lower Peninsula Division 1 title.
Sami Michell Shines Once More
In her final high school meet, Reed City senior Sami Michell won four more MHSAA Finals individual titles to finish her career with 12 – two more than the previous Lower Peninsula record. A year after becoming the second female to win four events at one Finals meet, she did so again by finishing first in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles, the 200 dash and the long jump. She scored 40 points to claim the team runner-up trophy for her school. Click to read more.
Best Class of All-Time?
That could be the argument for this season’s girls track and field seniors, as twins Hannah and Haley Meier and Erin Finn joined Sami Michell, Detroit Country Day's Kendall Baisden and a host of others in finishing their careers. The Meiers already are members of a national record-holding relay (which set its milestone in 2012), and Hannah won two more Division 1 individual titles (setting all-Finals records) while Haley placed in the same two races and joined her sister on two winning relays. West Bloomfield’s Finn, considered as well one of the nation’s top high school distance runners, finished third to the Meiers in the Division 1 1,600 before cutting nine seconds off her 2012 time in setting an all-Finals record in the 3,200. Click to read more.
Warriors Earn First Title for Winning Coach
Bay City Western’s baseball team strung together two 1-0 shutouts by pitchers Brett Adcock and then Connor Foley to claim its first MHSAA baseball championship – and the first to go with coach Tim McDonald’s other 563 wins over the last 21 seasons. The 1-0 championship game victory over Brother Rice was Western's 35th straight of the season; Western finished 42-2. Click to read more.
Gull Lake Soccer Makes Mark
Richland Gull Lake hadn’t played in a girls soccer Final since 1999, but survived two overtimes against reigning champion Bloomfield Hills Marian to win the Division 2 championship game 1-0. The title was Gull Lake’s first since 1992 and came against a program that not only won in 2012, but three of the last five Division 2 championships. Click to read more.
Upper Peninsula Ace Shoots Record Round
Snow and rain put a damper on a good portion of the girls golf season in the Upper Peninsula this spring. But no U.P. female golfer has ever finished as strongly as Marquette’s Avery Rochester. She claimed her second straight individual Finals championship with a U.P. Finals-record 69, which was three under par at Portage Lake Golf Course in Houghton. Her score also was just one more stroke than the all-Finals record of 68 shot by Grandville’s Stacy Snider in 1998. Click to read more.
7 ... 2 ... 1 ... Champion Tecumseh
Tecumseh entered the MHSAA Tournament after finishing the regular season an honorable mention in the Division 2 softball coaches poll. But the Indians defeated No. 1 Stevensville Lakeshore in the Quarterfinal, reigning champion and No. 2 Livonia Ladywood in the Semifinal and No. 7 Saginaw Swan Valley in the Final to claim their first championship since 2008. Click to read more.
Bishop Foley Sets Baseball Bar
Madison Heights Bishop Foley claimed its third straight Division 3 baseball championship to become the first in MHSAA baseball history to win that many consecutive titles. Bishop Foley is 112-8-1 over the last three seasons and finished 35-2-1 this spring. The Ventures outscored their Bailey Park competition by a combined 18-5 over Finals weekend – getting junior Garrett Schilling to 15-0 for this season and 31-0 for his career with a 6-0 Semifinal win. Click to read more.
Done Deal for Dundee
The Dundee softball team eliminated two-time reigning champion Clinton on the way to Bailey Park this spring, and then beat three-time champion Unionville-Sebewaing in the Division 3 Final to claim its first MHSAA championship in the sport. In the process, Dundee finished 45-1 – setting an MHSAA record for wins in a softball season. Click to read more.
Troy Moves Up to No. 1
After two-straight Division 1 runner-up finishes, Troy earned its first girls soccer championship since 2003 with a 2-1 Final win over Grandville. The Colts had been outscored a combined 3-0 in the last two MHSAA Division 1 Finals, and began this season 3-6-2 before rattling off 15 wins and a tie on the way to claiming the championship. Click to read more.
Tie-Breaker After Heart-Breaker
The Battle Creek Lakeview boys golf team had finished one stroke behind Birmingham Brother Rice at the 2012 Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final, and found itself tied with Plymouth this month after the final round was complete. But thanks to a fifth-player tie-breaker, Lakeview claimed its first MHSAA championship since 2008. Click to read more.
D4 Preview: New Contenders in Mix as Hudson Seeks to Reign Again
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 3, 2022
For five straight seasons, Hudson has finished first or second at the MHSAA Division 4 Competitive Cheer Finals – with the Tigers winning back-to-back championships the last two seasons.
They’re likely the team to chase again Friday at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex. And an intriguing mix of contenders will attempt to do so.
Pewamo-Westphalia is the only other past champion among the eight finalists, and Montrose and Mason County Central are making the trip for the first time. Beal City is back for the first time in a long time and has posted the highest score not by Hudson in the division, while Addison, Adrian Madison and Lawton are returning finalists aspiring to continue to climb.
Division 4 competition begins at 2 p.m. Friday. Tickets cost $10 and may be bought at the Delta Plex, and all four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable with a subscription. More information, including the spectator seating chart, is posted at MHSAA.com.
Below is a look at all eight finalists:
ADDISON
League finish: Second in Cascades Conference.
Coach: Haley Miller, second season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 714.54 at Regional.
Team composition: Five total (four seniors, one sophomore).
Outlook: The Panthers finished fifth last season and third in 2020, and have built toward this weekend with three of their top four scores this season coming over their last four competitions. Senior Jenah Hamlin earned a Division 1 all-state honorable mention last season.
ADRIAN MADISON
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Sarah Kope, third season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 721.26 at Regional
Team composition: 14 total (five seniors, three juniors, three sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Madison is coming off its second-straight fourth-place Finals finish, and two of the team’s top three scores have come during the postseason. The Trojans have finished first or second in all of their competitions this winter. Junior Kaylee Paulette made the all-region first team last season and seniors Lillian Wager, Julia Mohr and Inessa Aranda are past all-state honorees.
BEAL CITY
League finish: First in Highland Conference
Coach: Bailie Erway, fourth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 756.59
Team composition: Nine total (four seniors, one sophomore, for freshmen).
Outlook: The Aggies won their District and finished runner-up at their Regional to reach the Finals for the first time since 2001. They’ve broken 700 points four times this winter. Seniors Kyleigh Konwinski and Zeta Zeneberg earned all-District recognition last season.
HUDSON
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association.
Coach: Kelly Bailey, 25th season
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), six runner-up finishes.
Top score: 760.14.
Team composition: 21 total (two seniors, 10 juniors, six sophomores, three freshmen).
Outlook: Hudson won its second straight and third championship in four seasons a year ago, finishing seven points ahead of the field. The Tigers have scored 750 or more points in seven competitions including the District and Regional as they’ve won all of their events this winter. Senior Maize Sholl and juniors Logan Parks and Cheyenne Eichler made the all-state first team last season, while juniors Annalyse Ames, Isabella Moreno and Ellevera Bean made the second team and sophomore Rylie Bloomer earned an honorable mention.
LAWTON
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference
Coach: Holly James, ninth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 708.62 at District.
Team composition: Nine total (four juniors, four sophomores, one freshmen).
Outlook: A Lawton team that also was young a year ago has continued to build, earning this second-straight trip to the Finals after finishing seventh in 2021. The team’s top score coming into the Finals is six points higher than a year ago, and Lawton has won all of its competitions while going over 700 points in four of its last six meets. Junior Mikayla Reynolds made the all-state second team last season, and junior Rylee Oxley earned an honorable mention.
MASON COUNTY CENTRAL
League finish: Second in West Michigan Conference
Coach: Cheri Stibitz, 15th season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 720.6
Team composition: Nine total (one senior, six juniors, two sophomores).
Outlook: Stibitz started the Spartans’ program in 2009, and this will be their first trip to the Finals – after also making their first to Regionals. Mason County Central won five invitationals during the regular season and never placed lower than third until coming in fourth (but advancing) last weekend. Juniors Brooke Wood, Geralyn Soberalski and Sarah Houghton and sophomore Emily Adams earned all-Regional recognition in 2021.
MONTROSE
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Sabrina Urmetz, eighth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: N/A, but scored 724.26 at District.
Team composition: 13 total (six seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Montrose has advanced to the Finals for the first time, after finishing third at a Regional that had the top four scores in the division last weekend. The Rams had just missed the Finals with a fifth-place Regional finish a year ago. Senior Bree Owens and junior Felicity LaVigne earned all-Regional honorable mention in 2021.
PEWAMO-WESTPHALIA
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Coach: Staci Myers, 15th season
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), 12 runner-up finishes.
Top score: 680.76.
Team composition: 14 total (two seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, seven freshmen).
Outlook: The Pirates are coming off their second-straight Finals runner-up finish after winning Division 4 in 2019. Half of this team is freshmen, but P-W is anchored by athletes who have made one or more runs at the championship. Senior Halie Myers and junior Emma Flanigan made the all-state second team last season – both also received all-state recognition in 2020 – and sophomore Marissa Harp earned an honorable mention.
PHOTO Hudson competes during Round 3 of last season's Division 4 Finals at Breslin Center. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)