Mason, Okemos Score for a Cure
November 11, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three weeks remain in the MHSAA’s 2014 fall season, and we’ve collected a few notes to pass along as we wind down the final three sports before moving inside (except for skiing) for the winter.
Below are an update on a fundraising game we previewed earlier, plus recognition for perfection at our Girls Golf Finals and another high honor for one of the top players in MHSAA volleyball history.
Score for a cure
We wrote in September about an upcoming soccer game between Lansing-area powers that would raise money for pediatric cancer research. The “Compete for a Cause” game between Okemos and Mason on Sept. 13 was the third of what has become an annual event started by Mason’s team and coaching staff.
Attendance for this season’s game was nearly double the year before, and funds raised increased more than 500 percent.
The final tally: Roughly 1,400 fans attended the game, which raised $11,000 that was split between the CureSearch for Children’s Cancer national foundation and the Michigan State University Pediatric Oncology Clinic.
The first “Compete” game in 2012 raised $1,000, and the 2013 game drew 800 fans and raised about $2,000. This fall, Okemos was ranked No. 1 in Division 1 and Mason No. 7 in Division 2 when the game was played; it ended in a 1-1 tie. Both went on to postseason success – Okemos advanced to a Regional Final, and Mason fell to eventual Division 2 champion East Lansing in overtime in their Semifinal.
Only one shot needed
It’s a rarity – most of the time. But for the second straight season, a player at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals sunk a hole-in-one.
Grosse Pointe South’s Lucy Buzolitz aced the par-3 No. 12 at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek, dropping the shot from 97 yards out during the first round of Division 1 play. Buzolitz was one of two individual qualifiers from her team and shot a 92-97-189 for the two-day tournament.
At the 2013 Division 2 Final, Fenton then-sophomore Madison Shegos aced the par-3 18th hole at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East.
Sportswoman of the Year
Former Leland and Penn State University volleyball standout and current U.S. national team setter Alisha Glass was a finalist for 2014 Team Sportswoman of the Year at the 35th Salute to Women in Sports gala in October in New York City.
The event, put on by the Women’s Sports Foundation, annually recognizes a Sportswoman of the Year for both individual and team sports based on nominations by sport governing bodies and the public. Glass was one of 10 candidates this year for the team award after being named USA Volleyball Indoor Female Athlete of the Year in 2013. She also was named International Federation of Volleyball’s best setter at the 2014 World Championship in Italy after helping the United States to the title.
Olympic gold medal-winning ice dancer Meryl Davis received the Sportswoman of the Year team award, while the individual award when to gymnastics all-around world champion Simone Biles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Members of the Mason and Okemos boys soccer teams present a check for $5,500 to the MSU Pediatric Oncology Clinic and Dr. Renuka Gera last month. (Middle) Lucy Buzolitz receives a plaque recognizing her hole-in-one at the Division 2 Golf Final from Bedford Valley head pro Dean Kolstad.
Defense Dazzles as Adams Pulls Away for 1st Finals Victory Since 1999
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2024
EAST LANSING – Rochester Adams tentatively held onto a one-goal lead in the MHSAA Division 1 girls soccer championship match Friday at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Stadium.
The Highlanders had chance after chance to distance themselves from Hartland, which was being stifled by sophomore goalkeeper Lexi Calcamuggio.
Junior Sadie Rogers had one of those chances, and whiffed on a shot. But she did find the net with 4:39 to play, and Adams went on to claim its third Finals championship with a 2-0 victory.
“My only thought was to help the team out as much as possible,’’ said Rogers, a junior. “I knew this season I was more of an assister. I had the chance, so I took it. I was definitely frustrated in the beginning that my chances weren’t going where I wanted them, but I just kept at it.’’
Adams (16-2-2) came into the Final seeking its first Division 1 championship since 1999. The Highlanders also won Class A in 1992, and its two runner-up finishes came during that decade as well.
Hartland (16-4-3) had won Division 1 as recently as 2021, and this spring finished first in the Kensington Lake Activities Association West with a 10-1-3 record while Adams was second in the Oakland Activities Association at 3-2-1.
Both teams missed on early scoring chances Friday until senior Adams Evelyn Kekhoua took a pass from Danielle Danko and scored with 23 minutes, 46 seconds on the clock to give their team a 1-0 lead.
“I felt we exploded after that,’’ said Kekhoua. “It built up the confidence.’’
With trouble getting the ball out of its own end, Hartland had few chances to tie the score during the first half. Early in the second, Calcamuggio made a spectacular save on a shot by Josie Cheyne to keep the Highlanders ahead.
“I’m so proud of our defense. They are like a brick wall out there,’’ said Calcamuggio. “I owe it to them; they did a good job.
“There was one side of the net open, so I knew where (Cheyne) was going. I tried to trust it and put my body against the ball and it hit me. My defense is so good, they kept everyone under wraps.’’
Calcamuggio entered this week with a 0.70 goals-against average and seven shutouts.
Danko also assisted on Rogers’ goal.
“On the first goal I saw Evelyn on my right, and I knew I could get a cross to her and I knew she could put it in. That’s where my target was. She came through,” Danko said. “The second one I drove down the line and cut it back, and Sadie was yelling ‘Danny, Danny.’ I passed it to her and she buried the second one. It gives you the cushion.’’
Said Adams coach Josh Hickey: “Danielle is such a special player.’’
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s Addie Frantti (14) and Adams’ Catherine Delikat contend for possession during Friday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Highlanders keeper Lexi Calcamuggio boots the ball.