10 to Remember: Winter 2014-15
April 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As one might imagine, six straight weekends of MHSAA Finals produce enough highlights to distract us from our seemingly endless Michigan winters.
As explained to preface “10 to Remember” many times before, all championships are lifetime memories for those who achieved them. Those listed below are just one person’s thoughts on which moments from this season will continue to be discussed most in the seasons to come.
10. Brother Rice Rides Team Effort to Repeat
Birmingham Brother Rice repeated as Lower Peninsula Division 1 swimming and diving champion, and did so by winning by more than 100 points for the second consecutive season. But what made this Warriors finish so impressive was that it didn’t include a single individual championship – they won the opening and closing relays of the meet and took seven second-place individual finishes along the way.
9. Kearsley Sweeps Bowling Championships … Again
Flint Kearsley varsity bowlers are guaranteed one other title this season – MHSAA champions. Both the girls and boys teams won team titles in Division 2, just as they had in 2014. The Kearsley girls again defeated Bay City Western in the championship match, this time by a mere 30 pins, 1,242-1,212. The Kearsley boys also earned their title by defeating Bay City Western, and by only seven pins – 1,351-1,344.
8. Rockford/Sparta Owns the Weekend
Rockford hosted the MHSAA Gymnastics Finals, making the cliché “bringing home the title” a short trip – twice. The Rams, a co-op with Sparta, won the team competition by 1.750 points over reigning champion Canton; Rockford’s only other MHSAA gymnastics championship also was the first in any sport in school history, in the Lower Peninsula in 1989. Juniors Madi Myers and Morgan Korf led the effort with the third and fourth-highest all-around scores of the Team Final – and Korf came back the next day with a stunning move to take the Division 1 individual championship. She had finished 18th in Division 1 as a sophomore.
7. Breckenridge Returns to Cheer Elite
In its second season back as a competitive program, Breckenridge added to its stature as one of the most powerful competitive cheer programs in MHSAA history by claiming the Division 4 championship by nearly 24 points over runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia. Breckenridge has won eight MHSAA titles in cheer, but didn’t have a team for six seasons because of low participation until bringing back the program for 2013-14.
6. Cowboys Lasso First Basketball Title
First Detroit Western International won its first Detroit Public School League championship since 1922. Then it made its first MHSAA Semifinals since 1974. The Cowboys capped this season with its first MHSAA Final victory, a nail-biter 62-59 over Saginaw Arthur Hill in Class A. Western also defeated Detroit Catholic League A-B champion Detroit U-D Jesuit in the Semifinal, and finished the season 26-0.
No team traveled farther to the MHSAA Basketball Finals than the Calumet girls – and it can be argued that no team came from farther away in expectation to become an MHSAA champion. The unranked Copper Kings traveled more than 500 miles to arrive at the Breslin Center, then defeated top-ranked Laingsburg in a Class C Semifinal and perennial power Flint Hamady in the championship game to claim its first MHSAA title in the sport.
4. Skatzka, Olson Become Latest of the Greatest
Richmond’s Devin Skatzka and Davison’s Lincoln Olson pushed the list of MHSAA four-time individual champions to 21 by finishing their careers with big victories. Olson actually was the 20th, winning his match at 135 pounds by technical fall in Division 1. Skatzka then became No. 21 with four MHSAA titles, with a technical fall in the 160-pound match in Division 3.
3. Brighton Claims First Title in Final Match
Few Finals in any sport this winter carried the drama of Brighton’s 31-25 win over Hartland in Division 1 wrestling. Bulldogs 112-pounder Lee Grabowski entered the final match carrying his team’s three-point lead but facing the scenario that if he lost even by decision, and the team score went to 28-28, Brighton would lose the tie-breaker. Oh, and Grabowski was facing an opponent he’d lost to twice in league competition earlier in the winter. Grabowski won a 4-2 decision this time, and Brighton won its first team title.
2. Godwin Heights, Powers North Central Cap 3-Season Surges
Wyoming Godwin Heights and Powers North Central made the MHSAA record book by adding to a pair of the most successful three-season runs in boys basketball history – and capping them with championships. Godwin Heights won its first MHSAA title, downing Detroit Henry Ford 85-68 in the Class B Final, to finish the last three seasons a combined 74-5. North Central, meanwhile, downed Morenci 67-47 in Class D to win its first title since 1984 and cap a three-season 75-5 run.
1. Record Comeback Sends Saints Home as Champs
St. Ignace trailed undefeated Pittsford by 20 points two minutes into the Class D Final when it launched a comeback equaled by only one other team in MHSAA girls basketball history. The Saints tied the score with 35 seconds to play in regulation and continued the rally in the extra period to claim a 64-60 title-clinching victory. Detroit Cass Tech, in the 1987 Class A Final, also had come back from 20 down in the third quarter to win. The championship was St. Ignace’s fifth in girls basketball.
PHOTO: St. Ignace basketball players celebrate after the Saints tied the largest comeback in MHSAA Finals history on the way to claiming the Class D title. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Lumen Christi Starts Fast, Surges Ahead to Earn 1st Finals Appearance
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 19, 2026
EAST LANSING – Jackson Lumen Christi showed in Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal that it isn’t just a two-person team.
Titans first-year coach Scott Stine anticipated that Niles Brandywine would try and take away his two talented sophomores, Kenna Hunt and Lucy Wrozek, so he turned to a senior starter to provide an early spark.
Lily Ganton buried a pair of 3-pointers during a 14-0 run to start the game, and it paved the way to a convincing 51-33 victory.
“The first 10 minutes of play we played lights out, we made shots,” said Stine, who guided Ypsilanti Prep to three Division 3 titles over the last four years before taking over at Lumen Christi this school year. “They came out in a kind of a funky defense and if you read the newspaper, you guys can change that narrative. We are more than just two players.
“Lily and I had a conversation that if they came out and tried to do a triangle (defense) or something similar, I let her know that I had all the confidence in the world in her and to let it fly. She came out there and really showed that she's a great basketball player.”
Ganton finished with 13 points, with three 3-pointers total.
“You never know how the game is going to go, but it’s great when Coach puts that confidence in you and my teammates trusted me to go out and knock down shots,” Ganton said. “If they leave me open then I’m going to shoot the ball, and it was nice to get that early lead and some cushion in a game like this.”
The Titans (24-3), who were making their first appearance in the Semifinals, now will play in their first Final at 4 p.m. Saturday against Pewamo-Westphalia.
“It’s pretty amazing, but it really shows all the hard work that we’ve put in is paying off,” said Hunt, who filled the stat sheet with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and seven steals.
“We still have one more game so we are going to lock in on that game, but it is truly a blessing to be able to be in this position and get this opportunity to play at an amazing place with this team and coaching staff. It’s the best thing I could ask for.”
Lumen Christi led 18-3 after the first quarter and stretched it to 29-10 at the half.
The Titans, who led by as many as 22 during the second half, registered 17 steals and scored 24 points off turnovers.
“Since the day I've had them they said they wanted to be champions,” Stine said. “And we are still one game away from that, but I told them I know what it takes and I’ve been here and I know what it looks like to win. They have done every single thing I've asked of them.”
The Bobcats, who were making their third-straight trip to the Semifinals, had previously won all of their tournament games this winter by double digits.
However, the slow start, coupled with 23 turnovers, was too much to overcome.
“Rough start, probably bad coaching, but it’s really hard to contain Kenna and Lucy and there’s a reason they are Division I prospects,” Niles Brandywine coach Josh Hood said. “They’re tough to defend, but we could’ve thrown in the towel in the second half and we didn’t.
“We battled, and I’m proud of the girls. Three times in a row here is pretty impressive.”
Freshman Zaya Price led the Bobcats with 18 points and nine rebounds.
PHOTOS (Top) Lumen Christi’s Kenna Hunt works to get to the basket with Brandywine’s Lily Gill (11) defending Thursday. (Middle) Lucy Wrozek (14) looks for an open teammate while Mackenna Price (10) pursues. (Photos by Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)