Paying Tribute with Diamond Donation
May 14, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Rochester Adams and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood baseball players and coaches both had loved ones on their minds when they took the field at Comerica Park earlier this month.
And they paid tribute to those loved ones over their hearts and across the backs of their jerseys.
Together, the teams raised more than $3,500 for the Coaches vs. Cancer research initiative.
Instead of its usual brown and yellow, Adams wore jerseys of light blue with a green ribbon as the middle “A” in its name across the front in honor of those suffering with lymphoma, including 2011 graduate and former standout Matt Williams.
Cranbrook-Kingswood wore dark blue jerseys with a pink ribbon as the “A” in Cranbrook and with lime green writing on the back as the Cranes remembered longtime coach Jack Sanders, who died in 2012 after also battling lymphoma.
Sanders’ was among names adorning the backs of jerseys, along with other cancer victims the players and coaches knew.
Adams won the May 1 game, 18-3. Click to read more from the Oakland Press’ Keith Dunlap, who leading up to the game detailed both Williams’ fight and Sanders’ longtime contributions.
Net finder
Lake Fenton’s Jordan Newman will finish her high school soccer career later this spring as the top goal-scorer in MHSAA girls soccer history.
The Blue Devils’ senior forward broke the career record on April 28, scoring her 169th goal against Perry to pass the mark set by Newaygo’s Jaleen Dingledine from 2004-07. Newman also is a four-year varsity player.
Click to read more on her record run from the Flint Journal's Eric Woodyard.
5 K, 1 IP
The MHSAA doesn't keep a record for most strikeouts in an inning. But if it did, there’s a great chance Brighton’s Garrett Russell would top the list.
Against Ann Arbor Pioneer on April 5, Russell struck out five batters in an inning.
Yes, five.
Here’s how:
Russell struck out the first two batters of the inning swinging, leaving one out to get. He then struck out that third batter as well, but that batter reached first base because the third strike turned into a wild pitch.
The fourth batter of the inning was the only one to not strike out – he walked, putting runners on first and second base with two outs. Those runners advanced to second and third base, respectively, on a wild pitch thrown to the fifth batter of the inning.
That fifth batter then struck out swinging (which made it four strikeouts in the inning), but that third strike turned into a passed ball – and that batter ended up on first base, loading them for the sixth hitter of the inning.
But Russell found enough for one more K, striking out that sixth hitter swinging on a 2-2 pitch.
His line for the inning: 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 bases on balls, 5 strikeouts.
Brighton went on to sweep the doubleheader 12-4 and 11-1.
Family ties
Basketball clearly runs in a pair of families who have come through Corunna High School.
This winter, brothers M.J. and Mikhail Myles both scored their 1,000th career points – M.J., a senior, on Jan. 3 and Mikhail, a junior, in the team’s District Semifinal on March 5.
On Feb. 18, senior Payton Birchmeier became the fifth player in girls program history to score her 1,000th point – despite scoring only four points as a freshman before suffering a season-ending knee injury in her first high school game. She became the first Corunna girl to score 1,000 since her sister Megan finished accomplishing the feat in 2010.
Payton Birchmeier went on to play her final three seasons also on varsity, and M.J. Myles also was a four-year varsity player. Mykhail Myles has played three on varsity with next season still to play. The Myles' stepsister Klarissa Bell this winter finished an outstanding career at Michigan State University and won the Miss Basketball Award as a senior at East Lansing High School in 2010, and stepbrother Devlin Bell also was a Trojans standout.
PHOTOS: (Top) Rochester Adams players congratulate each other during their May 1 game at Comerica Park. (Middle) The Adams' first baseman and a Cranbrook-Kingswood base runner await the next pitch. (Photos courtesy of Rochester Adams baseball.)
Pair of Relay Champs Set Pace as Pioneer Runs Finals Win Streak to 5
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2024
HOLLAND – The end of a high school career couldn’t have been scripted any better for Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Reese Heidenreich.
The senior standout swam the first leg of the final event of her career and set the tone in a 400-yard freestyle relay victory.
It was the exclamation point on a day that saw the Pioneers dominate once again en route to a fifth-straight Lower Peninsula Division 1 swimming & diving championship at Holland Aquatic Center.
"An amazing way to cap off my career,” Heidenreich said. “It’s bittersweet because it's my last year, but I wouldn't want to end it any other way.”
Pioneer finished with an astounding 386 points to finish well ahead of runner-up Jenison (222). Northville (165) placed third and Grand Haven (142) was fourth.
It’s the second-longest title streak in program history behind the 2000-08 teams that won nine consecutive Finals.
“We were favored coming in and favored all season, but the girls weren't complacent and they didn't take anything for granted,” Pioneer coach Stefanie Kerska said. “They showed up every single day as if they were the underdogs, and I really respect their work ethic and how they conducted themselves in and out of the pool each day.”
Pioneer’s supreme depth was on full display as it didn’t have an individual event winner.
The Pioneers did, however, also win the 200 freestyle relay with the foursome of Heidenreich, Katelyn Van Ryn, Ursula Ott and Meg Pinkerton.
“We really come together in relays, and that’s what makes us our best and that’s where we shine,” Heidenreich said. “We can lean on each other and support each other. The 400 relay at the end was the highlight of the day because it took so much grit and teamwork to pull that out.”
Ott said the team takes pride in continuing to live up to the tradition of Pioneer swimming.
“It just pushes us to be better and get more and more state titles under our belt,” she said. “This team is truly amazing, and I love everyone on it. I think just the closeness is what drives us to be our best. We just always come together and support each other, and it's just really sweet and amazing to see.”
In addition to its three relays and three divers, Pioneer had 26 individual entries seeded to score (among the top 16 in their events).
“I’ve been doing this for a really long time and I can't remember a more fun or functional team that I've worked with,” Kerska said. “It’s the culture, it's the tradition and it’s the senior leadership. They just want it for each other so badly, and it's never about them. It’s only about the team and the program, and you go a long way when you have kids like that.”
The win was a culmination of a work ethic that is second to none.
“This victory is just a testament to the hard work of every single person on this team as well as the coaches that pour so much effort and energy into this program,” Heidenreich said. “To see us come out on top again just really validates all the hard work.”
Jenison tied for its highest finish in school history after also placing runner-up in Division 2 two years ago.
“To come up a division and be second here is just a testament to how awesome these girls swam and dove the last two days,” Jenison coach Kyle Stumpf said. “This was the best Day 2 I’ve been a part of in 10 years, and every single spot was held or moved up.
“We knew Pioneer was going to be loaded and have lots of depth, so you can only control what you can control. And I told the girls we can't control how other teams swim, so let's just swim and dive the best we can and see where the chips fall. It was awesome to see their hard work all season pay off, and this was a great team to coach.”
Senior Sophia Umstead led the Wildcats and capped a stellar high school career with two more individual titles, in the 200 individual medley (1:59.98) and 100 breaststroke (1:00.72).
She also was a member of the winning 200 medley relay and finished her career with six individual and five relay championships.
“It’s been an amazing four years, and I’ve had such a great experience swimming with this team,” Umstead said. “I don't know what I would've done without Jenison swimming, and I’m very happy to come out here and swim fast with my team. It was a great experience.”
West Bloomfield junior Elizabeth Eichbrecht repeated as champion in the 200 freestyle (1:48:48) and 500 freestyle (4:51.87) events, while Zeeland junior Madison Ensing won the 50 freestyle (22.94) and 100 freestyle (50.11).
West Ottawa’s Mackenzie Baldwin took top honors in the 100 backstroke, while Kalamazoo Central’s Maggie Spybrook finished first in the 100 butterfly.
Oxford senior Tristan Krajcarski won the diving portion of the meet with a final score of 432.60.
PHOTOS (Top) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Ursula Ott swims the breaststroke during Saturday’s Division 1 Finals at Holland Aquatic Center. (Middle) A Jenison swimmer competes during the 200 medley relay. (Below) Racers power through the backstroke Saturday. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)