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.)
Bolstered by Bonnema, Kalamazoo Christian Adds 2nd Win of 4-Year Finals Run
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING – Kalamazoo Christian girls soccer coach Jay Allen was asking a lot of senior midfielder Jordyn Bonnema during Saturday’s Division 4 Final at Michigan State University.
Bonnema was tasked with tracking Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s Kerith Short around the field, and making sure the Knights’ leading scorer didn’t get free.
Just as Allen expected, Bonnema did her part, and then some.
The Kalamazoo Christian senior scored a pair of goals and made life difficult for Short in the Comets’ 4-1 victory at DeMartin Stadium.
“She’s just a pure athlete,” Allen said. “She was bound and determined to win. It’s not just in soccer – it’s golf, it’s in basketball, it’s in the classroom, she’s a 3.9 student. The kid doesn’t know a loss. She’s driven.”
The title was the sixth in program history for the Comets, and second in three years. They were making their fourth-straight Finals appearance, having lost in a shootout a year ago against Jackson Lumen Christi.
For Bonnema, who had played in all four of those Finals, walking away as runner-up again was not an option.
“This is my last time in the black and gold, or purple and gold, and it’s bittersweet, but I just wanted to give it my all,” she said. “This has been such a long ride. Soccer was my first sport, I picked it up when I was 3 years old. To be here, stepping on the field for maybe the last time in my life, there can be no regrets. So I was just coming into the game with that mentality, that this might be the last time I’m ever going to lace up the cleats, so making sure I left nothing behind and leave it all on the field. I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to play for such an amazing program and with my best friends.”
Bonnema scored the second and third goals for Kalamazoo Christian, twice giving her team a two-goal lead in the second half. Izzy Suloff and Laila Rashid also scored, while Avery Lambarth had two assists and Rachel Miller had one.
Kalamazoo Christian keeper Kailey Triemstra had nine saves. Most came on shots from outside the box, as the Comets defense, led by Maysen Steensma, did a good job of limiting opportunities for the Knights.
“I give them a lot of credit; they were defensively really solid,” Liggett coach David Dwaihy said. “They were really organized. They’d bend, but they didn’t break. They did all the things championship teams do defensively, and their goalie was there for them when they needed. Full credit to them, they deserve that. I thought that we did give them a good game, though, and I thought we represented ourselves really well and played with a style we can feel really good about.”
Short did score the lone goal for Liggett, bending in an Olimpico off a corner kick, after she had created the best scoring chance of the afternoon for her team, cutting inside on a defender and getting off a shot that deflected wide.
It was clear, though, each time she touched the ball that the Comets were determined to not give her any space to work.
“Our gameplan was Jordyn Bonnema,” Allen said. “Jordyn Bonnema was told you just can’t let her beat us. Jordyn just shadowed her, made sure she didn’t get clean looks, and that’s where we were at. We also fall back on Maysen Steensma, who is a solid brick wall back there, and kind of organized things. It was just a group effort.”
Kalamazoo Christian, which arrived late to the 2024 Final after its bus broke down, got off to a quick start Saturday, scoring within the first three minutes. Suloff collected the ball near the top of the box, created space to her right and fired a shot over the head of Liggett keeper Aline Rahaim, who had six saves on the day.
The second half opened much the same, as Bonnema scored less than three minutes in, charging into the box and getting on the end of a cross from Lambarth, making it 2-0.
While that looked to have killed momentum Liggett had been building through the end of the first half, the Knights found their answer five minutes later with Short’s goal.
“I think in the first half it helped us; in a weird way, I think it kind of woke us up,” Dwaihy said. “While playing from behind, we were a little more relaxed, and that ‘Let’s play to win’ vibe, as opposed to playing not to lose. It really favored us for the rest of the half. The next 37 minutes, we worked our way into the game and got some chances, but more importantly, we held a lot of the possession. That was key, because as we started to lose that in the second half, tired legs started to set in and the game got away from us.”
Bonnema made it a two-goal game again, scoring with a header off Miller’s corner with 10:14 to play.
“It’s for sure a little more reassuring, but we’re still back on defense and for sure not ready (to celebrate) until the clock hits zero,” Bonnema said. “It was nice to have a little bit of a gap, though, for sure.”
When Rashid followed up Lambarth’s shot and made it 4-1 with 7:05 to go, however, the die was cast, and it was clear the Comets would be lifting the trophy.
“This senior class has been here four times, so to end their senior year like this is special for them,” Allen said. “They are just such a hard-working group, and with all the hard work they put in, we were knocking off teams we shouldn’t have been and we got here. This week, and the last two days of practice, you could tell they wanted it, and we didn’t quit for 80 minutes.”
PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Christian players celebrate during their Division 4 championship win Saturday at DeMartin Stadium. (Middle) The Comets’ Jordyn Bonnema (21) marks University Liggett’s Aubrey Hermann. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)