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Negaunee Regains Division 1 Supremacy

October 5, 2020

By Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half

NEGAUNEE – The last 12 months have been a roller coaster ride for the Negaunee girls tennis team. 

Last fall, the Miners' dynasty in the Upper Peninsula came to an end at the hands of Marquette after collecting five straight Division 1 titles. Then, like every other tennis team in the state, Negaunee wondered if it would even get a chance at reclaiming its championship thanks to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, on Monday, everything fell into place and the Miners climbed back on top of the U.P. with another D1 championship. Negaunee won the Final with 21 points and took five of the eight flight championship matches, leading to a very pleased head coach Kyle Saari.

"I think we're most happy for the girls above anything else," Saari said. "It was a group that went through last year, and they were hungry. But I think it became a learning experience for many of them, and it's a close-knit senior group that I think also made sure to kind of take the juniors underneath their wing too.

"This group, they overcame a lot in spite of the COVID situation, and then they've had a lot thrown at them throughout the course of the year too. You're going to get everybody's best shot. As the year goes on, the more you win, the bigger the target gets. It was nice that they were able to respond on the last day."

Lexi Mason (No. 3) and Annika Tervo (No. 4) gave the Miners two singles wins, and Negaunee also took three of the four doubles finals. Saari praised Mason, who finished off an impressive undefeated season, along with his No. 1 doubles team.

"Lexi ended up finishing the season off 19-0, and it's a really quiet 19-0," Saari said. "And it shouldn't be because she truly just lets her game kind of talk for her. She doesn't say much; she's quiet. So I'm tremendously proud of her and the effort she put forth.

“The other unique one is Morgan Carlson and Katelyn Lammi at one doubles. They went through all three of their years undefeated as a doubles team. They're good friends, and they're both good athletes. For them to end their careers 19-0 this year too, it's a unique mark to hit."

Menominee finished second with 14 points at what was supposed to be a seven-team meet, but Escanaba didn't compete. Jenna Nolde (No. 1 singles)  and Josie Hofer (No. 2) provided the Maroons' two individual championships. 

"I'm proud of my girls," Menominee head coach Nikki Mathieu said. "My one and two singles, they busted their butts this year and they did awesome. I'm proud of them. They're great."

Westwood, which moved up a division after notching four straight Division 2 titles, was third with 10 points. Its lone championship came at No. 4 doubles.

Marquette (eight points), Gladstone (one) and Kingsford rounded out the standings. 

PHOTOS: Negaunee’s Lexi Mason returns a volley during the No. 3 singles championship match Monday. (Middle) Menominee’s Josie Hofer serves during her title-clinching win at No. 2 singles. (Photos by Ryan Stieg.)

High 5s: 6/5/12

June 5, 2012

Each week, Second Half gives "High 5s" to athletes and a team based on their accomplishments the previous week or throughout the season.

A four-time track champion and a longtime state tennis power once again at the top make up this week's list of high achievers.

Sami Michell
Reed City senior
Girls Track and Field

Michell became the first Lower Peninsula four-time champion at an MHSAA Girls Track and Field Final since 1979 when she won the long jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 200 on Saturday at the Division 3 meet at Comstock Park. Her time of 42.4 in the 300 hurdles broke the all-Finals record that had stood since 1984, and she also set Division 3 Final records in the long jump (18-6.5) and 100 hurdles (13.84) – breaking the record she previously held in the latter. Total, Michell has won eight MHSAA championships during her three-year high school career. She’s also a setter on the volleyball team and the top-ranked student in her class with a 4.0 grade-point average. Her mother Vikki is the coach of Reed City’s girls track and field team, and her father Brent coaches the boys team.

Fantastic 4: “I wanted to win four; I thought about it, but it was kinda crazy when I actually did it. Really, after I crossed the finish line in the 200, I was pretty happy then. Definitely 200 (was the hardest). It was the last one, and I wasn’t seeded first in that one.”

I learned the most about running from: “Both my parents. They both help me in different ways. It’s pretty cool, but it’s hard sometimes. Sometimes listening to them is harder because I think they don’t know what they’re talking about when they do. But just because they’re my parents it’s harder to listen.”

Up next: All I really know is I’m running track someplace. I have no idea where I want to go. A couple of schools down south really seem interested (including Clemson, plus Michigan State closer to home). Stanford seems interested.”

Fun with numbers: “I’m thinking (I’ll study) accounting. I’m kind of a perfectionist. I like the math part of it.”

Air Michell: Despite standing only 5-foot-8, Michell has a vertical jump of nearly 30 inches and just misses being able to touch the basketball rim. “But I can touch the part connected to the backboard. That would be pretty sweet.”

Click to read more.

Birmingham Seaholm tennis

Birmingham Seaholm won only one individual flight, but also had three runners-up in edging Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 27-25 at the top of the Division 2 Final standings Saturday. The Maples won their first MHSAA team championship since 2004, and ended FHN's six-season streak of shared or outright titles. Seaholm had finished runner-up to the Huskies in 2011.

Jackie Meier and Rachel Wilson won what ended up being the deciding match by downing the pair from Forest Hills Northern in the final at No. 3 doubles. Seaholm also gained valuable points by placing seven flights in at least the semifinals.

This spring's previous honorees