10 to Remember: Spring 2015
June 25, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The close of June officially ends of another school year. And this season’s MHSAA Finals provided another strong finish with a number of memorable moments sure to be recalled for years to come.
Below is one person’s list of the 10 most significant, drawn from the title-earning performances of 129 teams and hundreds of individuals this spring.
10. Rockford Holds On for Third Straight Girls Lacrosse Title
The Rams saw an 8-1 lead dissolve to a one-goal advantage after Bloomfield Hills Marian scored in the 22nd minute of the second half of their Division 1 Final. Rockford goalie Katie Elwell turned away a shot to tie the game with 55 seconds left, and her team won a jumpball deep on its side of the field with 36 seconds to play to hold on to a 10-9 victory – and claim a third straight MHSAA championship. Rockford is one of three programs to win four MHSAA titles during the 11 seasons of tournament sponsorship. Marian is a two-time runner-up.
9. Hartland Baseball Goes 10 Innings to Win First MHSAA Title
Hartland scored in the first inning of the Division 1 Final in pursuit of its first MHSAA championship in the sport – but then didn’t score again until the bottom of the 10th inning. Junior pitcher John Baker threw all 10 innings for the Eagles, allowing only five hits and striking out 11 batters, and he also had two hits and drove in the game’s first run. Portage Northern also was making its first MHSAA Final appearance in baseball.
8. Northville Girls Tennis Joins First-time Champs; Nguyen Joins Elite
The Northville girls tennis team was one of 32 teams over all sports that won their first MHSAA championships during the 2014-15 school year. The Wildcats finished an impressive five points ahead of Midland Dow, winning three doubles and two singles flights. Utica’s Davina Nguyen, meanwhile, finished as one of the most accomplished champions in MHSAA history, becoming only the sixth player to win at least three titles at No. 1 singles. Nguyen also won in Division 1 as a freshman and junior.
7. Cranbrook Kingswood Regains Boys Lacrosse Title on Last-Second Winner
Johnny Wagner scored 177 goals over his three-season varsity career for Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, but his last had to be the most spectacular. Three days after sending the Cranes to the Final with an overtime game-winning goal, Wagner scored in the Division 2 championship decider with 10.5 seconds to play to give his team the final edge in a 10-9 victory over Okemos. The winner was his fifth goal of the game.
6. Gull Lake Girls Soccer Wins Again on Shootout Success
The only shots to find the net in the Division 2 Final came during an overtime shootout won by Gull Lake to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 victory and their third straight MHSAA championship. That’s not to say the game lacked for excitement, with the teams combining for 37 shots. Gull Lake had also won its Regional Semifinal in a shootout and finished the spring 25-1-1. Fenton was making its first MHSAA Finals appearance in the sport, seeking its first title in any sport since 1993.
5. Warren Regina Softball Stuns After Slow Start
Teams that open 3-11 usually don’t finish as championship contenders – but those teams don’t have the MHSAA’s winningest coach, Diane Laffey, running the show to go with a strong group of upperclassmen who emerged from a competative Detroit Catholic League Central. Regina won its sixth MHSAA title and first since 2007 by downing favored Caledonia 5-0 in the Division 1 Final. Senior Marissa Tiano struck out nine batters in giving up only two hits after giving up only four hits in a 7-1 Semifinal win over Mattawan.
4. DeWitt Boys Golf Sticks Winning Shots; Carlson Goes All-Time Low
DeWitt senior Geoffry Croley birdied off the flagstick on the No. 18 hole at Forest Akers East to help the Panthers edge Cranbrook Kingswood 594-595 and claim the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title, its first since 2011. His younger brother, freshman Joey, made par on his final hole (No. 16) to also help secure the win. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s Nick Carlson finished his high school career with a second individual title and the all-time low 36-hole score in MHSAA Finals history, a 134, to edge Matt Harmon’s 135 for East Kentwood in 2001.
3. Saline Unbeatable in Claiming First Girls Soccer Title
The Hornets compiled one of the most impressive seasons in MHSAA girls soccer history in making their first Final and then winning it. Saline gave up a mere four goals – tied for third-fewest in MHSAA history – in 25 games and finished with a 22-0-3 record capped by a 4-0 win over Grand Blanc in the Division 1 championship game. The team’s 22 shutouts also rank tied for third in MHSAA girls soccer history. Senior Taylor Mulder set a school record with 43 goals this season with her second of this game.
2. Legend of Beaubien Grows with Monroe St. Mary Softball Title
Meghan Beaubien already was known by those who follow softball statewide – not many sophomores get a chance to commit to the University of Michigan so early. But what she and the Kestrels did in winning the program’s first MHSAA championship was pretty legendary. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central outscored its postseason opponents by a combined 29-0 over seven games, beating Bronson 2-0 in the Division 3 Final with Beaubien taking a perfect game into the seventh inning and hitting a two-run homer.
1. Fisher, Saline Finish Strong in Boys Track and Field Final
The Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final was filled with notable finishes – including a pair that will be listed in the national record book next month. Saline won its second MHSAA title in the sport and first since 2006, finishing ahead of East Kentwood – champion five of the last six seasons. The Hornets were keyed by a 3,200 relay of Logan Wetzel, Josiah Humphrey, Austin Welch and Kevin Hall that finished in 7:38.97 to rank among the best all-time in U.S. high school history Grand Blanc senior Grant Fisher posted the second-fastest 1,600 time in U.S. high school history, going 4:00.28.; he graduated with five individual MHSAA Finals titles. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills’ Donavan Brazier also re-set the all-Finals record in the 800, running 1:48.98.
PHOTO: Grant Fisher, far right, set an MHSAA all-Finals record in the 1,600 that also ranks as the second-fastest in U.S. high school history. (Click to see more from RunMichigan.com. Photos by John Brabbs.)
Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Girls Report Week 2
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 18, 2023
As holiday breaks bring some rest from school and work, Michigan girls basketball teams are smashing the pedal to the floor right into the new year.
In addition to 26 multi-day tournaments and one-day showcases, many contenders have lined up matchups with other championship hopefuls. Among those: Rockford, Frankenmuth and Goodrich all reached last season’s Semifinals or Finals and are playing two games over the next three weeks against opponents that also finished last season at the Breslin Center.
Picking just five matchups to highlight until our next report Jan. 8 was pretty much futile. But we’ve selected a few noted below, along with our regular reports on teams that caught our attention over the last week.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. West Bloomfield 67, Salem 27 In a rematch of a Division 1 Semifinal from last season, West Bloomfield opened in a big way as part of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association/Oakland Activities Association Challenge.
2. Grass Lake 50, Tecumseh 40 The Division 3 Warriors (4-1) avenged last season’s 78-49 loss to Division 2 Tecumseh (2-2).
3. Detroit Edison 62, Detroit Country Day 53 These two Division 2 contenders met at the Best of Michigan Holiday Classic, with Edison moving to 2-0 by handing Country Day (4-1) its only defeat.
4. Sault Ste. Marie 50, St. Ignace 34 This Straits Area Conference matchup is arguably the best in the Upper Peninsula, and the reigning league champion Blue Devils (3-1) ran their winning streak over the Saints (3-1) to three.
5. Williamston 45, Haslett 43 Last season’s Capital Area Activities Conference Red runner-up Hornets (2-2) earned an early edge on reigning champion Haslett (2-3), which has three defeats by a combined nine points after going 22-2 last winter.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (4-0) Kenowa Hills jumped from 10-12 in 2021-22 to 16-9 last season, and is continuing to build. A 50-48 win over Kent City on Dec. 8 was an immediate attention grabber, and that had followed a 15-point win over Grandville Calvin Christian after the Knights had fallen to Calvin by 12 last winter.
Macomb Dakota (4-0) The Cougars have won all of their games by double digits, with their last two victories also the lone losses this season for Utica Ford and Dearborn. Dakota lost to Ford by 18 and six points last season on the way to finishing 14-11 overall.
DIVISION 2
Alma (4-0) The Panthers broke a string of three sub-.500 seasons in going 13-10 last winter and gave a hint of what they could do with a late two-point win over Saginaw Swan Valley after losing to the Vikings by 30 a month earlier. This season’s start has included a 10-point win over Swan Valley, and last week Alma handed the only losses so far to Gaylord and Bay City John Glenn.
Livonia Clarenceville (4-0) The Trojans have won a combined 29 games over the last two seasons, finishing third two years ago and tying for second last winter in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Red. After three double-digit wins to start this season’s campaign, Clarenceville may have earned its most notable in downing Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 39-37 on Friday – the Cranes’ lone loss.
DIVISION 3
Elk Rapids (4-0) The Elks entered this winter a combined 55-9 over the last three seasons including 21-4 a season ago. Opening with wins over a pair of Big North Conference opponents, Petoskey and Alpena, was solid, but perhaps bested last week with a 49-39 win over reigning Division 4 champion Maple City Glen Lake and 32-22 victory over Traverse City St. Francis – which also won 21 games last season and finished one ahead of Elk Rapids to take the Lake Michigan Conference title.
Ovid-Elsie (5-0) The Marauders ran their Mid-Michigan Activities Conference winning streak to 34 games with Friday’s 53-46 victory over New Lothrop, having claimed the last two league titles and also topping 20 wins overall the last two winters. Ovid-Elsie’s wins over the Hornets and Otisville LakeVille Memorial this season remain those teams’ only defeats.
DIVISION 4
Alcona (4-0) The Tigers bounced back from a 2-3 start last season to finish 15-7 and share the North Star League Big Dipper title with Oscoda and Rogers City, and they’ve already avenged two of those early losses with wins the last two weeks over Hillman and Posen. Alcona also handed Tawas its only defeat so far, 44-33 on Friday.
Ishpeming (3-0) Thursday’s 54-28 win over Calumet was Ishpeming’s first over the Copper Kings since December 2018 and came after the Hematites extended their winning streak over rival Westwood to four going back two seasons. Both are indicative of the team’s improvement from 5-10 to 12-9 to 16-7 last season.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Thursday – Frankenmuth (3-0) at Rockford (3-0) – The reigning Division 2 runner-up Eagles will follow up a Tuesday rematch with Goodrich from last season’s Semifinals by hitting the road to face the reigning Division 1 champion.
Friday – Grass Lake (4-1) at Saline (4-0) – Saline finished 21-4 last season, and one of those losses was 48-38 to the Warriors.
Friday – Lansing Catholic (2-1) at Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (4-0) – FGR has some notable wins already this winter, and downing the reigning Division 2 champion Cougars would be the Irish’s best achievement yet.
Dec. 27 – Grand Rapids West Catholic (2-0) vs. Rockford (3-0) at Cornerstone University – West Catholic’s 61-54 win over Rockford at last season’s Cornerstone Holiday Tournament was the Rams’ lone defeat of the season.
Dec. 29 – Hemlock (4-0) vs. Goodrich (4-0) at Romulus – This matchup of last season’s Division 3 champion Huskies and the Division 2 semifinalist Martians is the headliner from the Michigan Hardwood Classic.
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PHOTOS (Top) St. Louis' 4-1 start has included last week's 48-30 win over Lakeview. (Middle) Davison opens last week with a 36-28 win over North Branch. (Top photo by High School Sports Scene; middle photo by Terry Lyons.)