Did you see that?
May 14, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's league championship time for many MHSAA teams, especially with tennis and track and field Regionals coming up later this week. And the week that was May 7-12 provided for a good share the first of many championship-level opportunities to shine.
Tennis
Streak stopper: The Fenton tennis team ended Holly's 29-season league title run by edging the Bronchos by a point in Tuesday’s Metro League championship tournament. The Flint Journal reported that Madison Ballard became the first Fenton No. 1 singles player to win a league championship in 24 seasons. (Tri-County Times)
Softball
On the rise: Division 1 No. 5 Portage Central swept top-ranked Mattawan -- putting Portage Central ahead by two games at the top of the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West standings. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Strike 75: Fennville’s Selena Beltran-Pena had strikeouts for 25 of 30 outs in two five-inning wins over Martin. Beltran-Pena threw a no-hitter in the opener and a one-hitter in the second game. (Holland Sentinel)
Tuned up: Saginaw Swan Valley beat three ranked Division 3 teams – No. 2 Saginaw Valley Lutheran, No. 4 Tawas and No. 7 Unionville-Sebewaing – as part of a round-robin brought on by a delay at the Hemlock Invitational that forced the tournament to break up into smaller groups of games. Swan Valley is ranked No. 3 in Division 2. (Saginaw News)
Track and Field
Down to the wire: Two of the state’s best boys and girls teams compete in the O-K Red, and Friday’s conference championship meet no doubt provided at least a partial preview of next month’s MHSAA Division 1 Finals. The top-ranked Rockford girls edged No. 2-ranked East Kentwood, while the top-ranked East Kentwood boys ran away from the No. 3 Rockford boys and the rest of the field to win that league title. (Grand Rapids Press)
Record Breaker: Jackson High’s Cierra Pryor won the 100 meters and also the long jump at Friday’s Siena Heights Invitational, with her jump of 19 feet, 1.5 inches breaking a 31-year-old school record. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Just getting started: Richland Gull Lake freshman Kirsten Taylor also broke her school's long jump record, which had stood since 1978, with a leap of 18-5. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Still undefeated: Norway’s Dani Gagne had won all 24 events in which she’d competed through Friday, including winning the 100, 200, 400 and long jump at the Norway Miners Co-Ed Meet. Her long jump of 17-0.5 broke her school record in that event set a year ago, and her 58.61 in the 400 broke another school record set during the early 1980s. (Iron Mountain Daily News)
Baseball
Best of the Best: Richland Gull Lake, ranked No. 3 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 10-4 in the championship game of its Best of the Best Invitational. Gull Lake also beat No. 5 St. Clair during the event. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
Fowler Boys Clinch 1st Team Title since 1988, Buford Leaps Into Record Book
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 2, 2024
HUDSONVILLE — In 2023, Anthony Buford of Detroit Frederick Douglass would have won the long jump at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Track & Field Finals if not for a historic effort.
Buford nearly was first, but had to settle for second after Peck’s Alex Affer jumped a meet-record distance of 23-feet, 1.5-inches.
Affer graduated last year, but he still was providing Buford plenty of motivation when he started the long jump event at this year’s event.
“My main motivator all year has been my main guy Alex Affer, the former record holder at 23-1,” Buford said. “He was really anticipating me breaking his record this year.”
Buford made good on Affer’s proclamation by setting a new Division 4 Finals record, jumping a recorded distance of 23 feet, 2 inches, into a headwind to best what Affer achieved a year ago.
“I was really surprised I broke it with that headwind I was jumping into,” Buford said. “But honestly, I just had to make it happen.”
Oh, but Buford wasn’t done during his busy and successful day.
Buford then won the 400 dash, finishing first in a time of 49.91 in a headwind and with rain coming down.
“I’ve been fighting to beat 49 (seconds) all season,” said Buford, who decided to focus on the 400 meters and long jump this year after primarily competing in the 100 and 200-meter dashes last year. “Just to come out here and beat my time while it was raining and a headwind coming into my face, that really shows how much more mentally tough I’ve gotten over time.”
Buford was also second to teammate Adrian Smith in the 200 and ran in the 1,600 relay to help Douglass finish second on the day.
Buford’s performance wasn’t quite enough to lift his team past Fowler, which captured the team title with 56.5 points, four more than Douglass. It was Fowler’s first Finals team championship since 1988.
Brady Feldpausch led Fowler’s point scoring by finishing first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.57, running as part of the winning team in the 800 relay, taking second in the 300 hurdles and then being a part of the winning 1,600 relay that clinched the title.
“It feels amazing,” Feldpausch said. “I don’t know what to say. We just all have the same mindset. We come to practice and work hard. We knew if we all ran like we knew how to, we’d have a shot.”
Fowler entered the last event, the 1,600 relay, knowing that in order to clinch the team win it had to win the race and have Douglass finish fifth or lower.
A strong event all year for the Eagles, they delivered again, winning in a time of 3:26.43. Pair that with a ninth-place finish by Douglass, and Fowler had what it needed.
Fowler head coach Brett Schafer credited unsung heroes with stepping up for his team and fulfilling a goal talked about all year.
“We scored in field events where we didn’t expect to,” he said. “Our first meeting with them at the start of the year, our whole goal was to hang a banner in the gym. We did that today.”
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep took third with 44 points after winning the last two LPD4 team titles.
PHOTOS (Top) Fowler’s Brady Feldpausch, left, edges Reading’s Tayshawn Bester to win the 110 hurdles Saturday at Baldwin Middle School. (Middle) Detroit Douglass’ Anthony Buford finishes his win in the 400. (Click for more from Ken Swart/RunMichigan.com.)