Paying Tribute with Diamond Donation
May 14, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Rochester Adams and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood baseball players and coaches both had loved ones on their minds when they took the field at Comerica Park earlier this month.
And they paid tribute to those loved ones over their hearts and across the backs of their jerseys.
Together, the teams raised more than $3,500 for the Coaches vs. Cancer research initiative.
Instead of its usual brown and yellow, Adams wore jerseys of light blue with a green ribbon as the middle “A” in its name across the front in honor of those suffering with lymphoma, including 2011 graduate and former standout Matt Williams.
Cranbrook-Kingswood wore dark blue jerseys with a pink ribbon as the “A” in Cranbrook and with lime green writing on the back as the Cranes remembered longtime coach Jack Sanders, who died in 2012 after also battling lymphoma.
Sanders’ was among names adorning the backs of jerseys, along with other cancer victims the players and coaches knew.
Adams won the May 1 game, 18-3. Click to read more from the Oakland Press’ Keith Dunlap, who leading up to the game detailed both Williams’ fight and Sanders’ longtime contributions.
Net finder
Lake Fenton’s Jordan Newman will finish her high school soccer career later this spring as the top goal-scorer in MHSAA girls soccer history.
The Blue Devils’ senior forward broke the career record on April 28, scoring her 169th goal against Perry to pass the mark set by Newaygo’s Jaleen Dingledine from 2004-07. Newman also is a four-year varsity player.
Click to read more on her record run from the Flint Journal's Eric Woodyard.
5 K, 1 IP
The MHSAA doesn't keep a record for most strikeouts in an inning. But if it did, there’s a great chance Brighton’s Garrett Russell would top the list.
Against Ann Arbor Pioneer on April 5, Russell struck out five batters in an inning.
Yes, five.
Here’s how:
Russell struck out the first two batters of the inning swinging, leaving one out to get. He then struck out that third batter as well, but that batter reached first base because the third strike turned into a wild pitch.
The fourth batter of the inning was the only one to not strike out – he walked, putting runners on first and second base with two outs. Those runners advanced to second and third base, respectively, on a wild pitch thrown to the fifth batter of the inning.
That fifth batter then struck out swinging (which made it four strikeouts in the inning), but that third strike turned into a passed ball – and that batter ended up on first base, loading them for the sixth hitter of the inning.
But Russell found enough for one more K, striking out that sixth hitter swinging on a 2-2 pitch.
His line for the inning: 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 bases on balls, 5 strikeouts.
Brighton went on to sweep the doubleheader 12-4 and 11-1.
Family ties
Basketball clearly runs in a pair of families who have come through Corunna High School.
This winter, brothers M.J. and Mikhail Myles both scored their 1,000th career points – M.J., a senior, on Jan. 3 and Mikhail, a junior, in the team’s District Semifinal on March 5.
On Feb. 18, senior Payton Birchmeier became the fifth player in girls program history to score her 1,000th point – despite scoring only four points as a freshman before suffering a season-ending knee injury in her first high school game. She became the first Corunna girl to score 1,000 since her sister Megan finished accomplishing the feat in 2010.
Payton Birchmeier went on to play her final three seasons also on varsity, and M.J. Myles also was a four-year varsity player. Mykhail Myles has played three on varsity with next season still to play. The Myles' stepsister Klarissa Bell this winter finished an outstanding career at Michigan State University and won the Miss Basketball Award as a senior at East Lansing High School in 2010, and stepbrother Devlin Bell also was a Trojans standout.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rochester Adams players congratulate each other during their May 1 game at Comerica Park. (Middle) The Adams' first baseman and a Cranbrook-Kingswood base runner await the next pitch. (Photos courtesy of Rochester Adams baseball.)
Work Pays Off as GR West Catholic, Elk Rapids' Springstead Claim 1st Finals Wins
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2026
BATTLE CREEK – The first Finals championship for the Grand Rapids West Catholic boys golf team was months in the making.
Not even a little rain during the final eight holes of Friday’s first round, nor two accidental fire alarms going off in the middle of the night at the team's hotel could deter the Falcons from achieving their goal at the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final.
West Catholic fired a team score of 311 over the final 18 holes Saturday at Beford Valley Golf Course to take home the first-place trophy. The Falcons held a five-stroke lead after the first day of competition after recording a 314 and finished the two-day 36-hole tournament in first with 625 strokes.
"I know we had an individual win a state title before, but as far as I can remember this is the only time we've won state as a team,” Grand Rapids West Catholic coach Daniel Karamol said. "We started working back in November when the snow was starting to fly. ... We overcame some sickness and a couple injuries during the season, but we were able to overcome it. The kids knew they had the talent, and this meant a great deal to them after they won Regionals a couple weeks ago. I thought the most crucial factors this weekend was our steady play, avoiding critical mistakes and the boys charted and prepared very well. Understanding that every stroke counted was a big key as well."
West Catholic rode the solid play of seniors Owen Kotowski (78-75, 153), Alex Bartish (74-80, 154) and Callahan Peterson (85-79, 164) along with a career weekend from freshman Brendan Morgan (77-77, 154) and sophomore Aaden Stellini (87-86, 173).
Bartish added that the team title required him and his teammates to give of their time unselfishly.
"Many of the guys on this team have a billion things to do besides golf. It was all about playing for one another and not ourselves. This is a very positive group of guys and I'm just proud to be a Falcon. You have to play each hole individually and not get caught up in thinking you have six hours of golf that you have to play," said Bartish, who will next major in pre-law and play men's golf at Calvin College.
Kotowski, who will major in sports management and play his collegiate golf at Davenport University, stated the key has been the team's togetherness.
"All of the guys have worked hard. We support one another and this weekend everyone went insane once we knew Brendan had broken 80," Kotowski said.
Traverse City St. Francis (319-319, 638) finished as runner-up followed by Kalamazoo Christian in third (329-314, 643). Jackson Lumen Christi (325-322, 647) and Grand Rapids North Pointe Christian (334-319, 653) concluded the top five finishers.
The individual medalist honor went to Elk Rapids' sophomore Blake Springstead after he recorded back-to-back rounds of 73 and ended his first appearance at the Finals with a low total of 146.
"I missed qualifying for state my freshman year by one stroke and it kind've upset me,” Springstead said. “I used that as motivation, and I was really focused at Regionals this time and won that by seven strokes.
“I play around 10 junior tournaments each summer. I think wedges are my strongest clubs, but I've really been working on improving my drives and being more calm on the course. It feels really great to win state as a sophomore, but I hope to win it a couple more times.”
Springstead turned to his putting game to wrap up the title over the final three holes.
"On the third-to-last hole I hit my first putt too far and had a two-foot breaker and ended up making that one. Then on my second-to-last hole, I made a 15-foot putt. I had a 60-foot putt on the last hole that I hit within six feet of the cup, then I dropped it in on my next try," Springstead said.
Elk Rapids head coach Hayden Carpenter called Springstead a long-time student of the game.
"Blake's consistency from the fairway to the green is his biggest strength. He is very competitive and can grind it out and make back-to-back birdies if he needs to,” Carpenter said. “He gutted it out today with some incredible putts. He is a big leader on our team for being one of the younger guys."
Other top individual finishers included Jackson Lumen Christi’s Brandon Kulka (73-74, 147) in second place, Ann Arbor Greenhills’ Keating Holland, Lumen Chriti’s Gabe Cooper (73-77, 150) and Grandville Calvin Christian’s Will Orme (79-71, 150) all tied for third; and Kotowski (78-75, 153) and Saugatuck's Grant Schrotenboer (84-69, 153), who tied for the sixth.
(Click for more photos from High School Sports Scene.)