High 5s - 3/13/12
March 13, 2012
Every Tuesday, Second Half honors 2-4 athletes and a team for its accomplishments.
Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer it by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics as a whole.
Christine Wilson
Grand Ledge senior
Gymnastics
Wilson led the Comets to a fifth-straight MHSAA team championship Friday at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. She returned Saturday and won the Division 1 individual championship with a score of 38.400, including a first-place 9.7 on the uneven parallel bars. She set the Division 2 all-around Finals record in winning that championship in 2011. Wilson scored perfect 10.0 scores twice this season, believed to be the first in MHSAA history.
Up next: I will either be attending the University of Michigan or Michigan State University. I like both campuses, and they both have great business programs. I am not sure if I will be competing yet; I would absolutely love to be on MSU's team next year, but I have to get some bigger skills first.
I'm not exactly sure what I want to be (after college), but I have always thought it would be cool to work in a sales management position for a sports company like Nike or Under Armour.
I learned the most about gymnastics from: When I was younger, my coach Carrie Stout from Twistars pushed me to excel and to enjoy the sport; I owe her a huge thanks for that. When I became a high school gymnast, Duane Haring really motivated me to become the best gymnast I could possibly be. He has taught me that there are no limits if you are willing to be dedicated and if you have the drive to win. He has never given up on me and has worked with me through my ups and downs. I could never have achieved as much as I have without his constant faith in me. I will never be able to thank him enough.
I look up to: In the gymnastics world, I look up to Jordyn Wieber. She's so dedicated and mentally tough, it's insane. When I am at a competition, I try to imitate her focus and determination. I also look up to my coach Duane Haring for always keeping a positive attitude when things get tough. I also look up to my relatives and close friends because I know they have my back, and I can count on them for anything.
Perfection: When I got my first 10.0 on the bars; I cannot even describe the feeling that I endured when it happened. I was nauseous and could not breathe for about 30 seconds, and I just started bawling. Bars used to be my weakest event in gymnastics until the end of last year. I have struggled so much on bars and have almost quit because of it. Knowing that I persevered through those hardships and had just achieved perfection was the most surreal feeling that I have ever experienced.
Bria Walsh
Southgate Anderson senior
Competitive cheer
Walsh helped the Titans to the MHSAA Division 1 championship on March 2, the first cheer championship in school history. Southgate Anderson scored 816.6032 points, besting its previous top score this season by less than a tenth of a point and putting it three ahead of runner-up Hudsonville.
Up next: Walsh will attend The Art Institute of Michigan, either in Novi or Troy. She'll study media animation -- with the goal of creating animated films like those produced by Pixar (think "Finding Nemo," the "Toy Story" movies, etc.)
I learned the most about cheer from: My coach (Colette) Norscia. She taught me more than cheerleading though. It was really like she built everybody up as a person. We all matured under her. And she really knows the sport. Obviously, she's a big part of why we got here.
I'm driven by: My team. Their dedication, their hard work. That pushes me farther because I want it as much as they do. And I'm not going to be the one to hold them back.
To those claiming cheer isn't a sport: Come and watch us once and see if you can do what we can, because I highly doubt it. It takes a lot of dedication. It's not a set sport like basketball. You don't get points by how many baskets you make. You get points for how much heart you have and how much you show it. It's a lot harder than it looks.
Christian Michalick
Brighton hockey
Senior
Michalick didn't take over as the starter in net until the second half of the season, but he made the opportunity count. He had 37 saves in a 2-1 double-overtime win over Orchard Lake St. Mary in Friday's Semifinal, then had 20 more saves as the Bulldogs defeated Grosse Pointe North 4-3 on Saturday to win the MHSAA Division 1 championship.
"I've wanted to do this my entire (career), since I started playing goalie. To start in a state championship and win it, it's just incredible."
In the Semifinal: I was just in the zone. It was all my mental game. I know I have the physical skills, but I just had to make sure I was into it mentally. Having early shots set the tone for me, and from there I just got into a rhythm.
My hero is: Probably Martin Brodeur. He's one of the reasons I started playing goalie. I watched him, watched him in the Stanley Cup (playoffs) with the Devils, ... and I wanted to be like Marty.
Game time: I get a plate of pasta around 3:30. I get to the rink about 6 o'clock and start stretching. Once I get on the ice, I just close my eyes and talk to myself and try to visualize the game. From there, I just go.
I'm driven by: I don't want to lose. I'm a competitor, I always have been, and I was raised that way. My dad (Tim) is a competitor. I just hate losing.
Mackenzie MacEachern
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice senior
Hockey
MacEachern, who has committed to play at Michigan State, led the Warriors to the Division 2 championship Saturday and finished this season with 42 goals and 48 assists. He made the all-state first team this season.
Up next: MacEachern was drafted into the North American Hockey League last spring, but chose to finish high school first. He'll play junior hockey for one year or perhaps two, but has committed to join the Spartans after that.
What drives me: I just love the game, I guess. I just love playing it. I want to keep playing it.
I look up to: My parents, Pam and Ron.
Get prepped: I shower before every game. Shower and take a nap. And I eat Subway before every game -- chicken breast and bacon, no cheese.
My best moment in hockey: Today (winning the Division 2 Final).
Saline boys swimming and diving
The Ann Arbor area has long been known for its swimming prowess. The way Saline coach Todd Brunty sees it, his program is just measuring up to that reputation.
The Hornets claimed their third-straight MHSAA Division 1 championship Saturday, and in the process broke four Finals records including two for all divisions/classes. They won seven of the 12 swim races, led by juniors Adam Whitener, David Boland and Josh Ehrman.
"We've got a huge group of men swimming year-round, and they've got big dreams and big goals. I'm just kind of a beneficiary of swimming in the area," Brunty said, but added that certain lessons come with the high school portion of that training. "(They) learn about team. Because high school swimming is a unique, precious thing. It's all about the team, all about each other, your family, your community.
"This is a really special time. That's what we talk about a lot."
Longtime Coach's Legendary Expertise Keeps Manistee Surging
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2021
Name any high school or community pool in Michigan, and odds are Corey Van Fleet has been there.
Perhaps it is true of any pool in the United States.
He might have even helped build it.
And, a little more odds. If the pool hosted an MHSAA Finals meet, one of Van Fleet’s teams likely participated. Although he won’t have any qualifiers making the trip to the Division 3 girls meet Friday, he’s been to championship weekend lots of times with Birmingham Seaholm and Manistee. His 1962-65 Seaholm boys teams won four straight Class A Finals, and his Manistee boys team is coming off a Finals trip last winter and its best season ever.
Van Fleet, now 85 years young, is in his 68th of coaching swimmers. He’s spent the last 13 with the boys and girls teams of Manistee High School. He started the program after helping build the pool.
The school utilizes the Paine Aquatics Center named after Bill Paine, who presented a proposal to the City of Manistee, the Manistee Area Public Schools and Van Fleet. Paine’s proposal called for the pool, which opened in July 2009, to be attached to the high school facilities.
“So I’m sitting in my office one day and this tall, lanky guy (Paine) walks in and closes the door and says my wife and I want to donate an aquatics complex in Manistee, and Sandy Saylor says you know something about swimming,” Van Fleet recalls. “‘Will you help me build it?’
“We talked about it for a while and I said yeah, I’d help him,” Van Fleet continued. “So we ended up with a nice eight-lane swimming pool in Manistee.”
Van Fleet, who also had coached at Florida State, coached and served as athletic director at Oakland University and then served as AD at Long Beach State (Calif.) during an illustrious career at the college level, took the next step naturally.
“The superintendent of schools at the time (Robert Olsen) said you build the darn thing, you might as well get some programs started,” Van Fleet recalled. “That was 13 years ago, and I’m still at it.”
At it, Van Fleet continues. He plans to stay with it until he just can’t do it anymore.
“I am still fairly healthy,” he said. “If I can find six people that can carry me out of church, I can think about quitting.”
During his tenure at Manistee, Van Fleet’s teams have dominated the Coastal Conference and produced multiple academic all-state swimmers. The boys team captured the 2020 academic all-state title with a 3.82 team grade point average.
“I am most proud, I think, about our academic progress,” Van Fleet said. “We take great pride in passing some classes.”
Van Fleet is also filled with pride when he reflects on all the swimmers he’s seen go on to become lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers and coaches.
“I am pleased with the number of kids who have gone on to do some pretty big things in the world off our swimming programs,” he said. “I’d like to think they might have learned lessons about goal planning and sticking to it and hard work and all that stuff.
“That’s what lights me up.”
Van Fleet’s initial high school coaching job was at Madison Heights in 1959. He’s coached at camps all over Michigan, including his first at Burt Lake in 1954. Today he owns and operates a summer swimming camp in Irons, 30 miles southeast of Manistee. He also built it.
Jeff Brunner, a veteran MHSAA official in multiple sports including swimming, and father of former members of the Traverse City high school swimming co-op, is among many singing praises of Van Fleet’s impact on the sport.
“Corey has a wealth of information that he has accumulated in his coaching career,” Brunner said. “If I was a high school swimmer, I’d want to learn all I could from him – swimming for him would be such a unique opportunity.”
Andrew Huber, principal of Manistee’s middle and high schools, agrees with Brunner.
“We're humbled to have had Corey as part of our school and community,” he said. “His wealth of experience, knowledge, and relationship building has helped create a foundation of well-being for students and adults alike.
“His enthusiasm for swimming is infectious, and his energy is amazing for anyone regardless of age,” he continued. “It's been truly impressive to observe him connect and inspire students for the many years he's been in Manistee, and realize his impact is generational.”
The Manistee boys swim team starts practice next week. The Chippewas, along with their girls squad, have battled through COVID. The pandemic is one of many changes through which Van Fleet has guided his athletes.
“We’ve seen changes in training methods,” he said. “We’ve seen changes in diet.
“We’ve seen changes in philosophies in terms of what’s important and what’s not important,” he went on. “Kids have changed, and parents have changed.”
Training methods have been modified the most, along with new multi-lane pools popping up in Michigan, Van Fleet noted.
“Swimming is more technical now,” he said. “The science of swimming has become paramount.
“It is not just going in and kick a few legs and swim a few hundreds and go home — we’ve gone the gamut,” he continued. “It is very specific now every time you want a kid to do something, and now our swimming pools are showplaces – they are magnificent.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Corey Van Fleet (far right) visits with his Manistee girls team the wall honoring him at Oakland University. (Middle) Van Fleet is in his 68th year coaching swimming. (Photos courtesy of the Manistee girls swimming & diving program.)