Performance: Pittsford's Record Winners
March 23, 2017
Jaycie Burger & Maddie Clark
Pittsford seniors – Basketball
Burger and Clark capped an incredible run Saturday leading Pittsford to a 71-31 win over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary that capped a second straight perfect season, second straight Class D championship run, and gave them an MHSAA record 103 career wins in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week."
The Performance of the Week has recognized one athlete every week since it’s start during the 2015-16 school year, but splitting up Burger and Clark is impossible. They’ve led the Wildcats to a 103-2 record, and in addition to the two titles also a championship game appearance (and runner-up finish in Class D) in 2015 after they lost only one game as freshmen in a Class C District Final. Both scored 1,000 points during their careers, and Clark also grabbed 1,000 rebounds. This season, Burger, the point guard, averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 assists per game, with 73 3-pointers. Clark, the forward, averaged 16.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game. Clark was named Class D "Player of the Year" by The Associated Press, and Burger also made the all-state first team. Both are 5-foot-9, and both will continue at Hillsdale College – Burger playing basketball but Clark playing volleyball.
They’ve been best friends and teammates since elementary school, and their successes extend past the basketball court. Clark made the Class D all-state first team in volleyball and Burger earned an honorable mention, and Clark won the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals discus championship as a sophomore and finished runner-up last season while Burger ran track her first two years of high school and made the Finals as part of relays to end both. Burger carries a 4.0 grade-point average and will be one of four valedictorians this spring, while Clark ranks fifth in her class at 3.98. Burger will major in biology with aspirations of becoming a physician assistant, and Clark will major in business at Hillsdale.
Coach Chris Hodos said: “I’d like to have them for four more years. They’ve done a great job for me, obviously. As freshmen, they were Class C, we lost to a really good team, or else we could’ve gone a little ways there. They’re just great kids. I remember watching them when they were in second grade; they were making left-handed layups in second grade, and you don’t see that, so you knew it was going to be a special group. They want to do everything the right way. … It’s really nice that they’re going (to Hillsdale) because it’s 10 miles from my house, so I can go watch them play at home games. I’m glad they’re both going to a great college, getting a great education, because they’re so smart.”
Performance Point: “I was just so happy to come off the court one last time, and to come off the court and know that we couldn't have done anything more,” Burger said. “There wasn't another game to be played. We came off, we were undefeated, we won the state championship, and there was nothing more we could've done. To know that we left it all on the court and gave every oomph we've got, it’s a great feeling.”
Perfect ending: “It’s been phenomenal. It’s surreal,” Clark said. “Could you ask for anything more? It was perfect. These last two seasons, we have been perfect. And that's doesn't happy very often, and I'm really thankful for my team and everyone; they make me a better player, and I'm going to miss them a lot.”
One more time: “Maddie’s my best friend in the whole world,” Burger said. “I’m just glad that our last game together, we could both just come out and perform as best as we could. It's really special that we could do that together in our last time ever playing any sport together.”
Record setters: “I didn't know that we could even be in (the record book) until the tournament started and I was like, 'Whoa, this could be real. We could get that.' It's awesome for us. Our goal wasn't records, but we just want to win.” Added Burger: “We played together for a long time. In junior pro, we won a lot too. We played AAU together all through middle school. We played together ever since the second grade. Accomplishing this record was never something we had in our radar. We never thought, 'Oh, I want to go undefeated all my high school career,' but we did want to win. We're competitors, and that was very important to us. We just practiced hard, and as it became closer, it became a goal. But all in all, we just wanted to win.”
To become champions: “I would say practice. Get in the gym, definitely, do your skills,” Burger said. “Every day we have a 20-minute skill period in practice … so I just think if you’re a little kid, you need to work on your ball handling, layups and try to get your shot so it’s one-handed.” Clark: “And you need to work hard, and believe in yourself.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Pittsford's Maddie Clark works for an opening near the basket during Saturday's Class D Final against Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary. (Middle) Teammate Jaycie Burger makes a move toward the basket.
Signature 2nd Quarter Surge Sends Kingston into 1st Girls Hoops Final
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 21, 2024
EAST LANSING — It was hard for even Kingston head coach Jay Green to come up with an explanation.
For some reason this year, the second quarter has often been big for his team.
“It’s just kind of been our quarter,” Green said.
That proved to be the case again Thursday in the second Division 4 Semifinal at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center. While the other three quarters against Frankfort were pretty much even, Kingston dominated the second quarter en route to a 56-33 win.
The Cardinals advanced to Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship game against Ishpeming, a matchup of teams making their first appearances in a Final.
Trailing 12-11 at the end of the first quarter, Kingston began turning a close game into a lopsided one.
The Cardinals scored 24 of the first 26 points of the second period, forced seven turnovers and made 7 of 9 shots from the field in outscoring Frankfort 24-4 over those eight minutes to take a 35-16 halftime lead.
“They just rose to the occasion,” Green said. “We’ve had a lot of good second quarters over the year. We just kept the pressure on defensively. We got a lot of offensive rebounds, and when you are getting extra shots time after time, it’s just kind of a snowball effect. Sometimes that happens in basketball. We got on a nice run.”
Frankfort couldn’t cut the deficit during the third quarter and went into the fourth trailing 48-25.
“We’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” Green said. “We were excited Tuesday to break that Quarterfinal hurdle and get down here. There’s just that overall desire to do the best you can, do your best and be relentless throughout.”
Sophomore Molly Walker scored 22 points, and senior Delaney St. George added 11 to lead Kingston, which had a 33-18 rebounding advantage.
“We just had to come out fast, and if we played hard defensively, things would happen offensively,” Walker said. “It started to come together for us.”
Junior Savina Anhalt scored nine points to lead the way for Frankfort, which finished 22-6.
“(Kingston’s) a great team,” Panthers head coach Tim Reznich said. “They’re really physical, they’re really strong and they wore us down.
“We had a great start. When they gained their composure, they really started pounding the glass and took over there. That’s where it got us. Once we dug that hole, we just didn’t have the energy to come out of it. But they’re a great team, and I wish them the best.”
Kingston will turn its attention to Ishpeming, which also enters Saturday with a 27-1 record and was ranked No. 1 in Division 4 entering the postseason.
“It will be a great challenge,” Green said. “They are the type of team with height and this and that. But we’ll be ready, and we’ll give them our best shot.”
PHOTOS (Top) Kingston players celebrate their Division 4 Semifinal win Thursday night at Breslin Center. (Middle) Kingston’s Gracy Walker makes a move to the basket with Savina Anhalt defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)