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.)
Arbor Prep Wins Semifinal Rematch of Last Season's Division 3 Decider
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2025
EAST LANSING — Ypsilanti Arbor Prep junior Angela Meggisson said she was thinking about one thing when she stepped to the free-throw line with two seconds left and the score tied during Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal against Niles Brandywine.
“I was just thinking this is on me,” Meggisson said. “I was just thinking about my team and helping my team.”
Meggisson certainly did that, knocking down both free throws to give Arbor Prep a 31-29 victory over Brandywine and another trip to the championship game.
The Gators will look to win their second title in a row and third over the last four years when they face Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game.
The Semifinal was a rematch of last season’s Division 3 Final, also won by Arbor Prep, 33-30.
After rebounding a missed open 3-point attempt by Brandywine with just more than a minute left Thursday, the Gators worked the clock down to 16.8 seconds left and called timeout.
Then, on a scramble for a loose ball inside the 3-point line in the waning seconds, Meggison picked up the ball and was fouled while she heaved it toward the basket as the final seconds ticked down.
Following the free throws, Brandywine couldn’t get off a shot attempt before the buzzer sounded to end the game.
It was yet another defensive struggle between Arbor Prep and Brandywine.
“Our programs have a lot in common,” Arbor Prep head coach Scott Stine said. “Both teams pride themselves in defense.”
Brandywine held a 17-9 lead at halftime after Arbor Prep shot 3 of 22 from the field during the first two quarters.
The message from Stine to his team in the locker room was simple.
“There’s no 8-point play,” he said. “But you all have the heart of a champion. We’re going to go out there and grind it out, and nobody is going to remember the first half.”
It was a much better offensive showing from Arbor Prep during the third quarter, as the Gators hit 5 of 7 shots and took a 22-21 lead into the fourth.
Meggisson tied the game at 29-29 on a basket with 3:22 left, and those were the last points until her free throws that won it.
Meggisson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds and senior Eliza Bush added nine points for Arbor Prep (16-12), which held a 33-15 rebounding advantage and had 17 offensive rebounds.
Brandywine senior Adeline Gill scored 16 points to lead the Bobcats (27-1), who lost for the first and only time this season.
“We have 13 girls in there who are hurting really bad,” Brandywine head coach Josh Hood said, adding later that despite the tough foul call at the end, it wasn’t the reason why his team lost.
“If we would’ve made a couple more 3s and stopped two of their backdoor sets there in the second half, we would have won the game.”
PHOTOS (Top) Arbor Prep’s Jourdin Lewis (14) makes a move toward the lane while Brandywine’s Adeline Gill (0) turns back to defend during their teams’ Semifinal on Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Gators and Bobcats players contend for a loose ball.