Performance of the Week: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian's Tekalegn Vlasma
November 10, 2023
Tekalegn Vlasma ♦ Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
Junior ♦ Soccer
Vlasma scored twice as WMC defeated Madison Heights Bishop Foley 3-0 in the Division 4 Final, repeating as champion and adding a ninth Finals title overall in the sport. He scored the team’s second and third goals of the game, just three minutes apart 13 and 16 minutes into the second half.
The junior midfielder/forward Vlasma had missed the end of the 2022 season with a torn ACL but returned this fall and was the team’s leading scorer with 26 goals as WMC finished 21-2-3. Vlasma also scored all three in the Warriors’ 3-0 Semifinal win over Leland.
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Past 2023-24 Honorees
Nov. 3: Colton Kinnie, Birmingham Seaholm football - Report
Oct. 27: Lauren Timpf, Macomb Lutheran North golf - Report
Oct. 20: Alena Li, Okemos golf - Report
Oct. 13: Seth Norder, Grand Haven cross country - Report
Oct. 5: Paige Anderson, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Report
Sept. 29: MacKenzie Bisballe, Lake City volleyball - Report
Sept. 22: Jhace Massey, Gladwin football - Report
Sept. 15: Kaylee Draper, Sturgis swimming - Report
Sept. 8: Owen Jackson, Traverse City St. Francis tennis - Report
Sept. 1: Rachel Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
PHOTO Western Michigan Christian's Tekalegn Vlasma, left, makes his move during Saturday's Division 4 Final.
Grand Blanc's Fisher, Caledonia's Olsen Lead Past MHSAA Standouts at Olympics
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 15, 2024
Several past Michigan high school athletes participated during the recent Olympics in Paris – and several did so only a few years after starring for their high schools in MHSAA competition.
Among those who graduated from Michigan schools, Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher and Caledonia’s Alena Olsen provided the most memorable finishes this month.
Fisher, a two-time Lower Peninsula Division 1 cross country champion and five-time champion at Track & Field Finals, won bronze medals in the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000-meter races.
After high school, Fisher went on to win NCAA championships at Stanford, and he still owns the all-MHSAA Finals record in the 1,600 (4:00.28), run in 2015 as a senior. His 14:52.5 in 2014 remains the sixth-fastest 5K time in MHSAA cross country championship history.
Olsen played volleyball and soccer at Caledonia, graduating in 2014, and was part of the bronze medal-winning U.S. rugby team in Paris. She began playing that sport as a freshman at Michigan, where she was a two-time All-America selection.
Also competing this month for the United States were the following (with high school graduation year in parentheses):
- Heath Baldwin, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (2019) – Track & Field (10th in decathlon)
- Adam Coon, Fowlerville (2013) – Wrestling
- Freddie Crittenden, Utica (2013) – Track & Field (sixth in 110 hurdles)
- Aaron Cummings, Grand Haven – Rugby (also played football, wrestled and ran track at Grand Haven)
- Andrew Evans, Portage Northern (2009) – Track & Field
- Hobbs Kessler, Ann Arbor Skyline (2021) – Track & Field (fifth in 1,500)
- Grace Stark, White Lake Lakeland (2019) – Track & Field (fifth in 100 hurdles)
- Abby Tamer, Dexter (2021) – Field Hockey (also played soccer at Dexter)
Additionally, Devin Booker was a member of the gold medal-winning men’s basketball team; he played as a freshman at Grandville before moving to Mississippi. Cindy (Ofili) Sember from Ann Arbor Huron ran the 100 hurdles for Great Britain, Udodi Onwuzurike from Bloomfield Brother Rice ran the 200 meters for Nigeria, Alex Rose from Ogemaw Heights threw the discus for Samoa, and Myles Amine from Detroit Catholic Central wrestled for San Marino.