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.)
Lowell Follows Lone Senior to Inaugural MHSAA Boys Volleyball Championship
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
BATTLE CREEK — Drew Davidson left Kellogg Arena on Saturday with the first Division 2 Finals championship trophy awarded by the MHSAA for boys volleyball – and also with a pocket full of timeouts.
Davidson’s Lowell boys volleyball team defeated Grand Rapids South Christian in the best-of-5 final, 3-1. Despite an up-and-down, back-and-forth match with Lowell prevailing 25-23, 25-20, 23-25 and 25-18, Davidson called no timeouts during the Final.
“I like seeing them get flustered and see how they respond,” Davidson said. “You saw in the third game where we responded poorly and couldn’t side out, and then what happened in the fourth game? We responded and came back out and finished the job off.
“For a young team, it’s not always going to be perfect, but to see how they respond to getting flustered, I like to see that.”
Saturday’s historic championship marked a culmination of more than two years’ work since the May 2024 announcement of the boys volleyball tournament joining the MHSAA postseason schedule.
That fact was not lost on Davidson nor his younger brother Max, the lone senior on a team that had collected three consecutive state volleyball championships (awarded previously by the coaches association) entering Saturday’s Finals.
“It’s the first and the fourth for us,” Drew Davidson said. “It’s Max’s senior year so he’s won every year, so that’s kind of a cool way to send him out. With it being an MHSAA sport now, it’s just makes it even better to bring the first one home and have that on the record books.”
Max Davidson led a team of 11 total — including six freshmen — and turns the setting reins over to freshman Issac Kissinger.
“I don’t have to worry about the program after I leave,” Max Davidson said. “I know Issac can take over. He’s definitely better than when I was a freshman, so I can’t imagine how good he’s going to be as a senior. And all the other freshmen who came in and filled really big roles, they did a really good job.”
They needed to in order to defeat a talented and senior-laden South Christian team for the third time this season. The Sailors had a lead in every set and the first set knotted at 23-23 before Lowell won the last two points.
The second set was back and forth as well, with neither team holding a lead larger than two points until consecutive aces by Lowell junior Lincoln Pollema put the Red Arrows up 19-16. South Christian tied it at 19-19 before Lowell scored six of the next seven points, including the set-winning kill by Kissinger.
The third set featured just about everything from both sides — with South Christian jumping out to a 17-11 lead, a Brock Hoekwater one-armed dig finding the floor on the other side the final point of four straight.
Drew Davidson did not call timeout, and his team responded on Pollema’s serve, scoring eight in a row for a 19-17 lead. With the score tied 23-23, seniors Jack Borisch and Carson Joldersma each had kills to close the set for South Christian.
“We’ve played Lowell three times, but we stood in it with them today, and I thought we played an incredible match,” South Christian coach Mya Udell said. “I just can’t be more proud of the guys, how they worked together and how they’ve come together. They’ve been a huge support for each other, and it’s just been great to be a part of.
“We took a set off Lowell, and they’re an incredible team.”
Lowell jumped out to a 19-11 lead in the fourth set before a South Christian timeout ignited a six-point run that included three straight Joldersma kills — but did not result in a Lowell timeout.
Instead, the Red Arrows took serve on a kill by Kissinger, got two Jaeger Smith kills and with freshman Teylon Compton serving, closed it out with a Kissinger kill and block kill by junior Josh Wolfers.
“That was a crazy game. South Christian brought it,” Drew Davidson said. “They played really well, so that was fun to come against and have to overcome. The boys did eventually.”
The Sailors lose seven seniors from this year’s runner-up squad that finished 28-14-2, and Udell said the group leaves behind a lasting legacy.
“I think for them, their legacy is they can always be known for that first season, making it to a state championship and having a great record,” she said. “But they’re also great men. They love the Lord, they care about others and they’re going to do great in the real world.”
Lowell, which finished the season 27-6, likely will not be a stranger to the MHSAA Finals. Of the 11 players on the roster, four are juniors and six are freshmen — with six additional freshmen on the way.
“We’ve been playing four, five, six freshmen, so it’s super exciting to see those guys grow,” Drew Davidson said. “The opportunity they get to play with the older kids and then what that’ll do for next year, that’s exciting.”
PHOTOS (Top) Lowell players huddle on the court during their Division 2 championship win Saturday at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) The Red Arrows’ Will Selent elevates during a serve.