SAC Sound-off: Familiar Opponent
May 16, 2012
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Walled Lake Central were two of 48 softball teams that played in this season's Michigan Stars Tournament two weekends ago in Grand Blanc. Often, athletes know little about those they are facing on the opposing bench. But a final game at this year's tournament gave two MHSAA Student Advisory Council members -- Walled Lake Central junior Taylor Krumm and Notre Dame Prep junior Carly Joseph -- an opportunity for friendly competition.
Below, Joseph tells us the story from her side of the diamond.
At this year’s Michigan Stars Tournament, I had a fun and unique experience: I got to play against one of my good friends, (and fellow MHSAA Student Advisory Council member) Taylor Krumm.
Taking the field against Walled Lake Central, I was excited to see a familiar face on the other side of the field. My team, Notre Dame Prep, was warming up for our fifth and final game of the weekend, and we were more than a little tired.
For me, knowing that I would be playing not just against Walled Lake Central, but against my friend Taylor, gave me extra motivation to play hard.
As a pitcher, one of the reasons I like to play softball is the mental game. Usually, I am just pitching against another nameless batter from the other team. But that day, it was different. Taylor hit in the lead-off spot for Walled Lake, so she was the first batter I faced. Immediately, the competition was on. I was eager to strike her out; she wanted to get a hit. We both made great plays and also made some mistakes throughout the game. In the end, I wasn’t going to win the game by myself and neither was she. Even though I had some extra motivation to pull off a win, I needed to make sure that I translated that energy to my teammates.
Playing against Taylor made that game more exciting, and also put softball in general back in perspective. I knew that Taylor and I would still be friends no matter who won, which relieved some of the pressure to win and reminded me that I play softball simply because it’s fun.
PHOTO: Walled Lake Central's Taylor Krumm (left) and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep's Carly Joseph are members are the MHSAA Student Advisory Council (Photo courtesy of Lynn Wroubel).
Grand Blanc's Fisher, Caledonia's Olsen Lead Past MHSAA Standouts at Olympics
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 15, 2024
Several past Michigan high school athletes participated during the recent Olympics in Paris – and several did so only a few years after starring for their high schools in MHSAA competition.
Among those who graduated from Michigan schools, Grand Blanc’s Grant Fisher and Caledonia’s Alena Olsen provided the most memorable finishes this month.
Fisher, a two-time Lower Peninsula Division 1 cross country champion and five-time champion at Track & Field Finals, won bronze medals in the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000-meter races.
After high school, Fisher went on to win NCAA championships at Stanford, and he still owns the all-MHSAA Finals record in the 1,600 (4:00.28), run in 2015 as a senior. His 14:52.5 in 2014 remains the sixth-fastest 5K time in MHSAA cross country championship history.
Olsen played volleyball and soccer at Caledonia, graduating in 2014, and was part of the bronze medal-winning U.S. rugby team in Paris. She began playing that sport as a freshman at Michigan, where she was a two-time All-America selection.
Also competing this month for the United States were the following (with high school graduation year in parentheses):
- Heath Baldwin, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (2019) – Track & Field (10th in decathlon)
- Adam Coon, Fowlerville (2013) – Wrestling
- Freddie Crittenden, Utica (2013) – Track & Field (sixth in 110 hurdles)
- Aaron Cummings, Grand Haven – Rugby (also played football, wrestled and ran track at Grand Haven)
- Andrew Evans, Portage Northern (2009) – Track & Field
- Hobbs Kessler, Ann Arbor Skyline (2021) – Track & Field (fifth in 1,500)
- Grace Stark, White Lake Lakeland (2019) – Track & Field (fifth in 100 hurdles)
- Abby Tamer, Dexter (2021) – Field Hockey (also played soccer at Dexter)
Additionally, Devin Booker was a member of the gold medal-winning men’s basketball team; he played as a freshman at Grandville before moving to Mississippi. Cindy (Ofili) Sember from Ann Arbor Huron ran the 100 hurdles for Great Britain, Udodi Onwuzurike from Bloomfield Brother Rice ran the 200 meters for Nigeria, Alex Rose from Ogemaw Heights threw the discus for Samoa, and Myles Amine from Detroit Catholic Central wrestled for San Marino.