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High 5s: 10/31/12

October 31, 2012

Finishing lower than first is a rarity for this week's High 5 recipients, who have found themselves ahead of the pack throughout most of this fall's volleyball, cross country and football seasons.

Amanda McKinzie
Battle Creek St. Philip senior
Volleyball

McKinzie, a 6-foot outside hitter, helped lead St. Philip to a 66-2-1 record heading into the postseason and the overall top ranking, regardless of class, by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association. The Tigers are going for their seventh consecutive MHSAA Class D championship, and McKinzie has been a key player on the last three. Her 2,396 career kills heading into the Regional rank fourth in the MHSAA record book since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004, and her 352 aces are 12th. She intends to sign with Virginia Tech and is one of 10 candidates for the state's Miss Volleyball award.

The candidate speaks: "I never would've thought (I'd be a finalist) when I was younger. I know so many good girls from around here too. It's just such an honor."

This is it: "I've started to feel the nerves. There aren't many (matches) left. I've been on (varsity) since freshman year, been on the teams that won all these past years, and I can feel the pressure. Yeah, this is it. We can't take things for granted." 

Had to be a Hokie: McKinzie also considered Duke and Indiana before settling on Virginia Tech. "The coaches, the facilities, just the all-around campus, how it's set up. It's easy to get around places. And the coaches are so welcoming. Everything they have for you is pretty much right there."

Staying in sport: Although McKinzie is unsure what she'll study, she's considering something in health and nutrition that is connected to athletics.

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Connor Mora
Cedar Springs senior
Cross country

Mora won last weekend's Division 2 Regional at Benzie Central by more than 22 seconds with a time of 14:54. That's 39 seconds faster than his MHSAA Finals time of 15:33 that placed him third last fall. He won the 1,600 and 800-meter runs at the Division 2 Track and Field Finals this spring.

Finally, 14s: "It doesn't feel like it happened. It's just an unimaginable feeling. It's been my goal since I started running, and at the end of my freshman year I realized I could do really well at this sport if put in the work. When I ran that time, I reailzied all that I'd been wroking for has paid off."

A nickname that stuck: Mora was labeled Mr. Competitive by his fourth-grade teacher.  “I was just your average little kid, like all the other little kids. I never thought of myself as fast. But one thing I do remember is I always liked to win at everything. Just everything. Every sort of competition."

No slam dunk: "I wish I was good at basketball. I didn't even make the team in middle school. I can't make a layup to save my life. (But) I still love playing. It's really fun. I like every sport, whether I'm good at it or not."

Up next: Mora hopes to continue running for a Division I college program, with Michigan and Michigan State among in-state possibilities. He'd like to study kinesiology and become a physical therapist.

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Ithaca football

The Yellowjackets are 10-0 heading into Friday's Division 6 Regional Final against Hemlock, and haven't lost since falling in a 2009 MHSAA Semifinal. Ithaca has won 38 straight games, with two Division 6 championships along the way, and holds the fifth-longest winning streak in MHSAA football history. The streak is the third longest since the beginning of the playoff era in 1975.

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Previous 2012-13 honorees:

High 5s: 10/10/12

October 10, 2012

Two of this week's honorees have combined for five MHSAA championships, and a third has a chance to be part of his first next month. 

Each week, Second Half recognizes two athletes and a team for their successes during the current season. To nominate a candidate, email editor Geoff Kimmerly at [email protected].

Below are this week's honorees.

Codi Jenshak
Escanaba senior
Tennis

Jenshak won her second-straight championship at No. 1 singles, and third MHSAA singles title overall, with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kingsford’s Sam Fleming after also defeating Fleming in the 2011 championship match. Jenshak also is a standout softball pitcher, and led her team to last season's Division 2 Quarterfinals.

Up next: "It's been changing quite a bit. As of now, I'm thinking about St. Norbert (College) in Green Bay or Central Michigan University; one of those two. If I went to Central, I know they have a club tennis team, and I might do that or I might try to walk on the softball team. With St. Norbert, I could play tennis and softball there."

Dr. Jenshak: "I want to be a dermatologist. I've wanted to since I was in eighth grade. Skin interests me a lot, for some reason. ... I guess it's my quirk."

Bring out the band: "I play the saxophone. It's just fun. A lot of my friends are in (band). I used to be in the marching band, but not anymore. It's pretty cool to perform in front of people. It's kind of a big deal at our school, just something fun that mixes up my day."

This is who I watch: "For tennis, I really like John Isner a lot. You know when he has a winner, he makes that little hand gesture? I tried to do that a little bit, and I think people thought it was pretty funny. In baseball, I'm a Tigers fan. I really like Curtis Granderson, although he went to the Yankees."

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Dewey Lewis
Rockford senior
Soccer

Lewis, a senior forward, is again pacing the No. 2-ranked team in Division 1 this fall. He's a four-year varsity player and arguably the favorite for this season's Mr. Soccer Award. Lewis has 52 goals and 46 assists over his four-year varsity career, and set Rockford's single-season record last season with 20 goals. He will follow his older brother Sean, a goalkeeper at Western Michigan University, to college soccer when he joins Michigan State's team next season.

Getting Real: "(My favorite team,) I'd have to go with Real Madrid. I like Cristiano Ronaldo. He's one of my idols. I look up to him, and he plays outside mid (which Lewis also has played a lot of this season)."

Up next: Lewis has a 3.8 grade-point average, and is considering majors in biology or business at MSU. "I'm looking to get a business degree so I can own my own business. Or I'll go into the medical field, probably be a doctor or possibly an anesthesiologist or a dentist."

Brother in net vs. brother in the field: "I think I'd made a good percentage of them; from the PK spot probably eight out of 10," Lewis said of facing his brother Sean in a shootout. "He'd probably say six out of 10, or five out of 10."

Pressure cooker: "The big thing is not to oversell yourself. Don't make big expectations you can't keep. Don't tell everyone what you can do. Just go out there and do it."

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Muskegon Mona Shores girls golf

Featuring four players who have been part of the varsity lineup all four seasons of high school -- seniors Morgan Smith, Hailey Hrynewich, Britni Gielow and Kelsey McKinley -- the Sailors are playing for their fourth-straight MHSAA Division 2 championship. Mona Shores won its Regional by 37 strokes Wednesday at Bowen Lake Links in Greenville to advance to next weekend's Finals at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University.

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Previous 2012-13 honorees: