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.)
Rivalry Swings Back to Westwood as Patriots Earn 1st Finals Title Since 2021
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
October 1, 2026
NEGAUNEE — Ishpeming Westwood and Negaunee are 10 minutes apart, so they play plenty of tennis against each other whether it’s routine dual meets or the bigger ones with conference and Upper Peninsula championships on the line.
The Miners have been the one winning those meaningful meets lately with the last four U.P. Division 1 titles to their name.
This, however, was Westwood’s year.
The Patriots won the U.P. Finals on Tuesday for the first time since 2021, the last championship before Negaunee’s streak started, with wins in five of the day’s eight flights.
Their mentality was the key to their success this year, coach Sarah Zindler said, and it showed in the way they went up against the Miners.
“They weren’t scared to play Negaunee; they were excited to play Negaunee,” she said. “They were up for the challenge, they wanted to compete. When they were down in a match, they had that mentality of, ‘I can still win this,’ not the defeated (attitude) after you lose a point. That can sometimes be hard, especially for seniors on a U.P. Finals day where they know it’s their last matches.”
Eliisa Doney is one of those seniors. She talked about seeing Negaunee lifting up trophies in front of them in recent years. So, yeah, this one felt pretty good.
But regardless of the rivalry, she won at No. 2 singles after playing doubles the majority of her career. Her last memories of high school tennis at Westwood are pretty good.
“I’ve never been (a U.P. champion) individually or as a team before, so it’s an incredible feeling that I’ve never felt before,” she said.
Doney played doubles as an underclassmen, missed her junior year with an injury and then filled a spot as Westwood battled other injuries this season. She beat Negaunee’s Addie Chapman 6-2, 7-5 in their flight final Wednesday.
“She just took on the challenge and her first couple matches were a little rocky, but she had that competitive attitude of, ‘I’m gonna figure it out,’” Zindler said. “And now she’s a U.P. champ.”
So are many of her teammates.
Westwood’s Emmi Carlson won No. 3 singles and finished the season with just one loss. Despite that, she trailed Negaunee’s Lucy Rogers 5-2 in the first set of the final.
“And she told us, ‘I got this, I’m gonna win this set 7-5,’” Zindler said. “And she won the set 7-5. And that’s how she’s been all season. If she loses three or four games, she’s like, ‘It’s fine, no big deal, I got this.’”
Carlson won 7-5, 6-2.
Westwood’s Isabel Belpedio beat Negaunee’s Katie Carlson in their final to become the No. 4 singles champion. Belpedio went undefeated in her first year on varsity.
“I played a calm, consistent game,” she said. “I just played my best, and I gave what I had. It feels pretty great … like all the hard work I put in definitely (paid) off.”
“She has also just been steady and confident and knows how to play her game, doesn’t try to do too much and doesn’t let the other girls get in her head,” Zindler added.
The No. 3 doubles team of Emerson Williams and Samiah LaFreniere came out on top over Negaunee’s Bree Helppi and Audrey Hahn in their final despite entering as the third seed. They had lost to Negaunee just last week.
Williams was a part of the winning No. 4 doubles team last year. Since then, she suffered an injury and had to play this entire season left-handed, which is her non-dominant hand.
“They played a great semifinal match, and then in finals just looked like they were confident. They played the net well, they played smart from the back,” Zindler said. “They weren’t the unexpected victory but the wild card that we really needed today for our team.”
The winning No. 4 doubles team was Westwood’s freshmen Jenna Marana and Brie Mahaffey, who just picked up a racket during the summer.
“From the start of the season until now, they have just continually grown and improved,” Zindler said. “I just kept saying, ‘You guys are going to be there, you just got to keep working on it.’ And today, they're the best four doubles team.”
Kingsford junior Aubrie Moore repeated as a U.P. champion with a dominating 6-0, 6-0 win over Escanaba’s Anna Martin at No. 1 singles.
“I’m feeling good, I’m really happy and I’m glad,” Moore said. “It’s my second year, so I’m just really proud of myself. I think I really improved on my serving, and my forehand has gotten a lot better.”
Moore and the entire team played with “We play for her,” shirts with the initials GM in honor of her mom Ginger, who died after battling cancer earlier this year.
“Obviously my mom was by my side the whole time and helped me get through this and win,” Moore said.
Negaunee’s No. 1 doubles team of Paige O’Donnell and Olivia Richards won as juniors.
O’Donnell said Marquette has been tough for them and she was focused on doing well in their match to help out their entire team.
“We played Marquette a couple times, it’s always been super competitive, always super back and forth, usually going to some tiebreakers,” Richards said. “We were kind of expecting that going into it, but we saw their weaknesses in the first set and we knew we had to capitalize on those while also working together.”
Negaunee’s Maia Brunette and Aubrey Harper defeated Escanaba’s Isabella Noblet and Lily Benetti for the No. 2 doubles title.
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming Westwood’s Eliisa Doney sends a forehand during a match Wednesday at No. 2 singles. (Middle) Kingsford’s Aubrie Moore returns a volley at No. 1 singles. (Below) Marquette’s Charlotte Thomsen reaches out to return a shot. (Photos by Jason Juno.)