'Prepapalooza' Kicks Off 3-Week Celebration

May 31, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Nearly 30,000 athletes will take part over the next six days in what will again be the busiest week of the MHSAA calendar, with teams in all nine spring sports competing for District, Regional or Finals championships at sites across both peninsulas.

The first Finals champions of this spring will be awarded Wednesday in Upper Peninsula boys tennis (UPDATE: both U.P. tennis Finals have been moved to Thursday due to rainy weather concerns), followed by six more in Upper Peninsula boys and girls golf Thursday. Four divisions of Lower Peninsula girls tennis start their two-day tournament Friday, and on Saturday, more than 7,000 athletes will join them competing in four Lower and three Upper Peninsula Track & Field Finals.

In addition, baseball, softball and girls soccer teams begin District action tonight, with most of those tournaments wrapping Saturday. Girls and boys lacrosse teams continue Regional play this week, and Lower Peninsula boys golf teams will play Regionals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Second Half again will serve as your home for all MHSAA Finals coverage, with correspondents providing stories and photos, along with full results, from all of the Upper Peninsula Finals this week and then all 18 LP and UP Finals this weekend, Lacrosse and LP Golf Finals on June 14, and Baseball, Softball and Soccer Finals being played June 19-21.

Check back as well for video highlights from most competitions and sign up to watch all broadcast tournament action over the next three weeks for only $9.95 on MHSAA.tv. All schedules, lists of competitors and tournament brackets updated with scores real-time can be found on MHSAA.com. Keep connected as well with the MHSAA’s social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

PHOTO: The Unionville-Sebewaing softball team celebrates last season's Division 4 championship.

 

P-W Power Trio Combines for 56 Points to Send Pirates to Saturday

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 12, 2026

EAST LANSING — Pewamo-Westphalia head coach Dominic Schneider knows his team is dangerous enough when seniors Grady Eklund and Trent Piggott are playing well at the same time.

But add sophomore Logan Farmer to that mix? It’s a three-headed monster that Schneider said takes his team to another level.

“He’s a great counterpart for Trent and Grady,” Schneider said of Farmer. “It’s hard to guard us when we have all three guys cooking like they were.”

That certainly was on display in Thursday’s Division 3 Semifinal against Flint Elite, where Eklund, Farmer and Piggott combined for 56 points in a 63-37 Pirates win.

P-W (26-2) advanced to the Division 3 championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2019. The Pirates will meet Pontiac Arts & Technology at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

As has often been the case this year, Eklund led the way, scoring 27 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. 

Farmer finished 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field, while the 6-foot-5 Piggott, the team’s best interior presence, provided 10 points and 14 rebounds. 

Elite’s Kaydin Banks (20) elevates to defend P-Ws Trent Piggott near the basket. It was a little bit of vindication for Pewamo-Westphalia, which lost in the Semifinals last year to eventual champion Riverview Gabriel Richard. 

“I wouldn’t say a lot felt different,” Eklund said. “Same place, same time of year, different opponent though. We liked our odds going into this game, and we finished it.”

Making its first appearance in a Semifinal, Flint Elite finished 21-5. Sophomore A.J. Smith scored 17 points to lead the way for the Warriors. 

Coming off an emotional overtime win over Onsted on Tuesday, Flint Elite head coach Greg McMath said that game might have emptied his team’s tank a bit.

“I thought we came out weird,” McMath said. “We played a great game in the Quarterfinals the other night. Went to overtime. I don’t think we were able to come out with the energy we have been playing with. I don’t think we really had the legs. But we have to credit our opponent. I think they took that away. They took away a lot of our first options, and we didn’t ever get to our second option on offense.”

Trailing 26-14 at halftime, Flint Elite started the third quarter off strong, scoring six straight to cut the Pewamo-Westphalia lead to 26-20. 

But the momentum was short-lived, as Pewamo-Westphalia countered with a 14-2 spurt to take a 40-22 lead with 1:20 to go in the third. 

The Pirates ended up taking a 44-31 lead into the fourth quarter and kept it growing from there. Eklund hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Pirates a 50-31 lead with 6:25 left, and then a layup with 4:23 remaining to put Pewamo-Westphalia up 55-33. 

“They were on a mission, Schneider said of his players. “It didn’t matter that this was a Semifinal game on the Breslin Center floor. They were going to get the job done.”

Leading 15-10 after the first quarter, Pewamo-Westphalia went on a 9-0 run to start the second, taking a 24-10 lead with 2:30 remaining until halftime.

Flint Elite didn’t score in the second quarter until there was 1:57 remaining until the half. 

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Grady Eklund (10) drives to the basket while defended by multiple Flint Elite players Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Elite’s Kaydin Banks (20) elevates to defend P-Ws Trent Piggott near the basket. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)