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.”
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
- Sarah Appold, Saginaw Valley Lutheran softball
- Katie Brozovich, Clarkston tennis
- Latipha Cross, Southfield track and field
- Sarita Dotson, Battle Creek Lakeview track and field
- Lauren Hooker, East Grand Rapids lacrosse
- Drake Johnson, Ann Arbor Pioneer track and field
- Jake McFadden, Clare track and field
- Mike Nagy, Manistique golf
- Cullen Prena, Walled Lake Central track and field
- Erika Southworth, Decatur softball
- Nick Stiles, Bath baseball
- Malloy Weber, Northville soccer
- Zack Zingsheim, Lansing Catholic track and field
- Garret Zuk, White Lake Lakeland track and field
- Detroit Western International baseball
- Grand Rapids West Catholic golf
- Grosse Pointe South girls track and field
- Muskegon Mona Shores golf
- Remus Chippewa Hills girls track and field
- Richland Gull Lake baseball
- Stevensville Lakeshore softball
Ishpeming Repeats by Repeat 1-Point Advantage Over West Iron County
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
October 2, 2024
KINGSFORD — Ishpeming’s doubles dominance continued at Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Division 2 Girls Tennis Finals.
That was the driving force last year behind the Hematites’ first U.P. Finals title, and this year, with an entirely new group of doubles players, they did it again. Ishpeming edged West Iron County 13-12 for the Division 2 championship after outpacing the Wykons by the thinnest of margins last year as well.
“It’s really exciting,” Ishpeming’s Janelle Seelen said after winning the No. 3 doubles title match with her twin sister Lydia. “And especially since last year’s seniors, it feels special because they won last year and we could follow that tradition.”
Even their coach, Josh Kitto, is new. He said it was special to win a U.P. title in his first year with the team.
“We’ve got hard workers; they’re coachable,” he said. “They work hard. That’s a big thing is their work ethic is great.”
Ishpeming won Nos. 1, 2 and 3 doubles. Neither the 1 or 2 doubles teams lost a set all day Wednesday. The No. 3 doubles team was the only one seeded No. 1.
The team of Brynn Way-Lanala and Ava LaPin, seeded third, defeated West Iron County’s top-seeded Destiny Lemery and Olivia LaMay 6-3, 6-4 in the final.
LaPin said they never got down on themselves or each other.
“It’s crazy. I didn’t think we’d be here honestly,” Way-Lanala added. “It was a rough start to the season.”
Lilly Ryan and Stella Nerlfi defeated Munising’s Tessa Salo and Tamryn Nolan 6-3, 7-5 in the No. 2 final.
“Me and Stella from the start always worked well together, and I think today we really pulled that through,” Ryan said. “We pulled through our best games today, and I think that meant a lot.”
Janelle and Lydia Seelen downed Norway’s Emily Carlson and Myah Gilroy 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 3 doubles final. They got there by getting past Munising’s Kinley Hall and Keira Albright 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinal.
“With the wind, it was really hard on the one side. We had to adjust and hit harder on the one side and hit shorter on the other side,” Lydia Seelen said.
Munising took home the No. 4 doubles title with Lauren Nelson and Maddy Knuttila defeating West Iron County’s Vivian Holm and Jenna Sunn 7-6 (6-4), 6-1.
Nelson said she and Knuttila talked to each other and cheered each other on while working through their little mistakes.
“I think she had some very good crushes, and I think I had some good shots towards the back that would get behind them to their feet,” she said.
West Iron County won two of the four singles titles.
The Wykons’ Kaitlyn Smith prevailed 6-2, 6-0 over Gwinn’s Miaha Schiefel. Smith had won the No. 3 title last year and Schiefel was runner-up in No. 1 singles last year as well.
“In the beginning, I was a little bit slower, but then I took it to her,” Smith said. “I was good on my forehands, backhands. I came up to the net when I needed to.”
Teammate Kaycee Ingram defeated Ishpeming’s Sophia Nerlfi 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 to take the No. 3 singles crown.
Gwinn’s Brook Chaput took No. 2 singles 6-3, 6-1 over Iron Mountain’s Alysia Wood. Chaput bowed out in the semifinals last year.
“I just felt like I had to do it since I was a senior, and I’m just so happy it finally happened,” Chaput said. “I hit a lot of lobs good today. My serves were actually better than usual. And I just didn’t stay in my head the whole time, which I usually do, and that helped me get through.”
Norway’s Jessa Rossler won the final title of the day, at No. 4 singles. She defeated Munising’s Jolie Ake 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
“It’s pretty crazy. It’s hard to believe because this is my first year playing tennis, so I’m pretty excited,” Rossler said. “My uncle actually joined when he was in high school, and he won a U.P. championship too. It’s just kind of something that I always wanted to try, but I’m really glad I did.”
PHOTOS (Top) Ishpeming celebrates its repeat Division 2 championship Wednesday at Kingsford. (Middle) West Iron County’s Kaitlyn Smith returns a volley during a No. 1 singles match. (Photos by Jason Juno.)