10 to Remember: Fall 2014
December 12, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This fall saw the start of numerous championship legacies all over the Michigan, the continuation of a few more and the end of one that likely will be recalled for decades to come.
All championship runs are memorable for those fortunate enough to achieve them. But because of historical reference, dramatic impact or in rare cases national significance, some stay in our discussions a little bit longer.
Below is one person’s thoughts on the most memorable finishes from this fall’s MHSAA Finals.
10. Novi, East Kentwood Rise to the Top
Among a number of first-time champions this fall, the Novi boys tennis team and East Kentwood girls golf team celebrated taking final steps after some recent close misses. Novi had finished second at the 2013 Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final, by a point, as Ann Arbor Huron won its third straight title. The Wildcats clinched their first ever this season, by eight points, while the East Kentwood golfers finished 22 strokes better than their LP Division 1 field after finishing 10th and sixth the last two seasons, respectively. Senior Emily White capped her high school career with a 51-foot putt to win the individual title.
9. Saline Clinches on Final Swim
The Saline girls swimming and diving team trailed reigning champion Farmington Hills Mercy by a half-point entering the final event of the LP Division 1 Final. But the Hornets outpaced Mercy by three seconds in the 400-yard freestyle relay to move ahead and claim the team championship by 5.5 points. Saline had finished runner-up to Mercy by 20 points in 2013.
8. St. Mary’s Football Keeps Promise
From an incredible story point of view, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 7-0 win over Muskegon in the Division 3 Football Final was easily the most memorable of the fall. Showing immense courage, Eaglets running back Brandon Adams took the field only two days after his mother died after fighting cancer. He scored the game’s lone points midway through the first quarter.
7. Kestrels Give Coach Best Retirement Gift
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Diane Tuller coached teams to 595 wins over 17 seasons – and in her final match took the Kestrels to their fifth MHSAA championship. St. Mary downed Schoolcraft in four sets despite dropping the first to claim its third Class C title in five seasons. The Kestrels became the eighth team to win at least five MHSAA titles, claiming all five under Tuller’s guidance.
6. Concord’s Hersha Joins Elite Company
Only 14 runners in MHSAA boys cross country history have won at least three individual championships. Concord’s Jason Hersha became the latest, claiming the LP Division 4 title in 15:23.0, the second-fastest time in LP Division 4 Finals history. He became only the third to win three boys titles since team and individual qualifiers began running the same race in 1996; he also finished first as a sophomore and junior.
5. Canton Never Loses on Division 1 March
Just one on-target kick can change a soccer game. That makes Canton’s undefeated run to this season’s Division 1 boys championship even more impressive. Finishing without a loss in any sport is something – but the Chiefs defeated Rochester Adams 1-0 in the Final to end 24-0-3 and as the 13th undefeated champion in MHSAA boys soccer history. Canton posted 16 shutouts this fall.
4. Spring Lake Surges to First Championship
Despite trailing annual power Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood by six strokes after the first round, Spring Lake rolled through the second at the LP Division 3 Girls Golf Final to best the field by a final margin of 18 strokes and claim the school’s first MHSAA golf championship. The achievement was a crowning one for the program started by George Bitner, who has coached at the school since 1968 and fielded his first girls team in 1980.
3. Fisher Finishes Among Fastest in MHSAA History
Grand Blanc senior Grant Fisher finished his high school career with a second straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship – and the third-fastest time since the Finals moved to Michigan International Speedway 19 seasons ago. Fisher finished in 14:52.5, 1.5 seconds off the second-fastest time in MHSAA Finals history since 5K (3.1 miles) became the distance in 1980. The only runners who have come in faster than Fisher went on to the Olympics (Dathan Ritzenhein) and top American finishes (twice) at the Boston Marathon (Jason Hartmann).
2. St. Philip Stands Alone with 9 Straight Titles
Battle Creek St. Philip continued its near-decade dominance of Class D, but this time with another historical twist. The Tigers downed Leland in four sets in this season’s Final to win their ninth straight MHSAA championship – setting a record for consecutive titles after formerly being tied with the Marysville teams from 1997-2004. St. Philip entered the postseason ranked No. 3 in D but defeated both No. 2 Mendon and the top-ranked Comets during the final week.
1. Monroe St. Mary Ends Ithaca’s Record Run
Much of the credit for this topping the list goes to Ithaca, which brought a 69-game winning streak into the Division 6 Football Final. The streak was the longest active streak nationally among 11-player football teams, and a win would've allowed the Yellowjackets next fall an opportunity to break the MHSAA winning streak record of 72. But St. Mary controlled the clock with a workmanlike running game and held an Ithaca offense averaging 43 points to nearly a quarter of that in winning 22-12.
PHOTO: The East Kentwood girls golf team raised its first MHSAA Finals championship trophy this October. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Country Day Adds 1st Volleyball Title to All-Time Championship Collection
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2024
BATTLE CREEK – There are so few chances anymore to become the first athletic program at Detroit Country Day to accomplish something.
But Saturday, Olivia Grenadier and her teammates finished off a career of firsts with the big one, sweeping Tecumseh at Kellogg Arena to claim the school’s first Volleyball Finals title.
“My freshman year it was the first Regional championship, so that was really fun,” Grenadier said. “This year it was the first time we beat (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep), first time state championship, so it was just amazing going out like that. Very cool.”
This weekend was the first ever trip to the Semifinals for Country Day, which finished the season 36-1. It won 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 in the Division 2 Final and dropped just three sets during its postseason run, needing a fourth to get by rival Notre Dame Prep in the District final and five to get by two-time reigning champ North Branch in the Quarterfinal.
“I think we were prepared – they were ready,” Country Day coach Kim Lockhart said. “Both of our games this weekend were the last games (of the night), so we kind of were watching other teams play, keeping our minds in the right place. We knew we had to just come out tonight and do what we’ve been doing all season and just take care of the ball.”
The Yellowjackets attack, led by Grenadier and junior Elise Heimstra, and orchestrated by freshman setter Payton Woodruff, proved too much for Tecumseh on Saturday.
Woodruff finished with 47 assists on the night, with Grenadier and Heimstra each getting 21 kills.
“Offensively, we watched a little bit of film on them earlier, and as the game went on, we knew Elise, she had middle back,” Grenadier said. “Payton puts us in such good spots to where we can honestly hit anywhere. She’s a great setter who puts us in great spots.”
It wasn’t just the volume of kills from Country Day hitters that gave Tecumseh trouble, it was also the efficiency. Both Grenadier and Heimstra finished with a .486 attack percentage.
“The girls, they came to play, and for Olivia being the last match of her career here in high school, I feel like she made a statement,” Lockhart said. “This was her comeback season, especially coming from that injury (which ended her junior season early), and what a comeback it was. I’m so proud of her. And Elise, just fearless, and confident and consistent with our setter Payton just running the show like usual. She was just locked in, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Morgan Anderson led the Country Day back line with 12 digs, while Grenadier had 11.
Tecumseh coach Morgan Skelton couldn’t help but be impressed with what she saw from her team’s opponent.
“I think if we play them 10 times, we’d be lucky to pull out a win,” Skelton said. “They’re very, very tough. It’s not anything against my girls at all, but (the Yellowjackets) have way more experience, and it shows. I think today, for the girls, there were nerves earlier, but today the moment was just because of the finality of it all. It’s ending, we made it to the end, so I think that’s where the emotion came from. That team was great, and I’m not disappointed by how we played at all.”
Junior Emma Eldred led Tecumseh with 12 kills, while junior Maddy Vanblack had seven kills and nine digs. Junior setter Lily Gnodtke finished with 21 assists.
For Tecumseh, this Finals appearance was the first since a 2011 runner-up finish, as it, too, was looking for its first championship. Tecumseh finished the season 48-2-1.
“I don’t know if I could have dreamt this at the beginning of the season,” Skelton said. “I knew we were going to be good, but to me, all season long I was like, ‘OK, now we’re 20-1’ or this and that, so I knew we were going to be good, but I didn’t know how good we were going to be. So, as the numbers start going down, teams start dropping like flies and we’re still in it – we had so much fun this season.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Country Day players raise their championship trophy Saturday night at Kellogg Arena. (Middle) The Yellowjackets’ Payton Woodruff (15) and a pair of Tecumseh blockers contend for the ball. (Below) Country Day’s Grace Lu launches a serve. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)