Article - High School Sports Scene

EAST LANSING, Mich. – May 8 – The approval of a pilot program assigning all four Lower Peninsula Tennis Finals to be played at one site and the addition of girls wrestling team championships for District and Regional rounds were among actions taken by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its Spring Meeting, May 4-5 in Gaylord.

The Spring Meeting of the 19-member legislative body of the Association’s more than 1,500 member schools is generally the busiest of its sessions each year. The Council considered 22 committee proposals and dealt with a variety of eligibility rule, postseason tournament and operational issues.

The tennis pilot program was an MHSAA Tennis Committee recommendation and will be conducted during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 schools years. All four Lower Peninsula Finals for girls and boys seasons will be played at the Midland Tennis Center, which in addition to substantial outdoor courts includes up to 16 available indoor courts in case matches must be played inside due to inclement weather. Each season’s four Finals will take place over two successive days during a two-week period – one division on a Wednesday and Thursday and the next on a Friday and Saturday, to be repeated the following week.

In girls wrestling, District and Regional team champions will be awarded during the upcoming 2025-26 season for the first time, after a Finals champion was awarded for the first time this past season. Champions for all rounds will be determined by results from individual brackets as the sport continues to grow toward the possibility of a head-to-head team tournament.

A pair of football changes will be noticeable this fall. The Council approved a Football Committee recommendation to not award playoff points to a team that forfeits a football game; previously, a team that forfeited would still receive the bonus points for scheduling that opponent, although a game was never played. The Council also approved a Football Committee recommendation to assign neutral sites with artificial turf for the four 8-Player Semifinals near the end of each season. Previously that round of the MHSAA Playoffs, like the first two of the 8-Player Tournament, was hosted by the participating team with the highest playoff-point average.

Anticipating the first MHSAA-sponsored boys volleyball season to be played in Spring 2026, the Council approved a pair of Volleyball Committee recommendations regarding tournament classification and structure. The first establishes a tournament with two divisions, with classification determined by enrollment and delayed until September prior to this inaugural season only as to allow for a more accurate count of how many schools will have teams. The first MHSAA Boys Volleyball Semifinals and Finals will be played June 5-6, 2026, at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.

The Council also approved the recommendation to include boys volleyball among sports for which cooperatives are permitted when the combined enrollment of schools involved is fewer than 3,500 students.

Here is a summary of other notable actions taken by the Representative Council at the Spring Meeting, which will take effect during the 2025-26 school year:

Regulations

• The Council approved a pair of changes to the sport-specific transfer regulation regarding the full-and-complete residential move exception that allows students to gain immediate eligibility. The first increases the number of school days to 180 that a student who has changed residences and attends a new school must complete at that new school before returning to a previous school district and potentially having athletic eligibility in that former district. The 180 days also applies to all persons with whom the student moved to the new school district; if those other persons move back to the former school district before 180 school days, the student loses eligibility in all sports at all schools until approved by the two school districts and the MHSAA.

The second change increased the amount of time an athlete’s former residence must be signed into a long-term rental or lease agreement to a minimum of 12 months.

• The Council approved multiple clarifications to the definition of a scrimmage. A clarification was added to note that win-loss records, team and individual statistics and records may not be accrued or achieved during a scrimmage. A statement was added as well explaining that in sports that do not use a timing device – for example, baseball and softball – at least one rule must be altered to indicate it is a scrimmage.

Junior High/Middle School

• The Council approved a change to allow junior high/middle school teams to begin fall practice on the first day of classes at that school if it’s before the otherwise first allowable practice date on the 14th Monday before Thanksgiving. Ninth-grade football teams from junior high/middle schools may begin practice on the same date as the grade 10-12 football teams of that school district if the ninth-grade team is comprised only of ninth-grade students who have been approved for eligibility advancement.

• Also concerning junior high/middle school athletes, the Council approved a Junior High/Middle School Committee recommendation to make seventh and eighth-grade students who are eligible for high school competition due to their high school’s small enrollments also subject to high school transfer rules while in middle school and competing at the high school level.

Sport Matters

• BASEBALL: The Council approved a Baseball Committee recommendation to allow baseball players to play on multiple levels on the same day, with the 38-game season and daily limits still applying to all students.

• BOWLING: The Council approved a Bowling Committee recommendation to establish the official start of bowling practice as the third Monday before Thanksgiving.

The Council also approved a Bowling Committee recommendation to allow students to participate in no more than eight games on a school day (Monday-Thursday).

• COMPETITIVE CHEER: The Council approved the incorporation of a series of Competitive Cheer Committee-proposed technical high school and middle school rules recommendations into the 2024-26 Girls Competitive Cheer manual.

• GOLF: The Council approved a Golf Committee recommendation to allow Regional Tournament host schools to receive reimbursement for the expense of two referees.

• TENNIS: The Council approved two more Tennis Committee recommendations. The first will allow for all teams that tie for third place at their Regional to advance to Finals, but only in Lower Peninsula divisions where there are six Regionals.

The other approved change will allow continuous coaching between points and between non-changeover games, at all levels, if that coaching does not hinder the current pace of play.

• VOLLEYBALL: The Council also approved a Volleyball Committee recommendation to allow students to play in no more than 18 sets (games) per day.

The Council also reviewed reports on membership, with 754 senior high schools and 777 junior high/middle schools in 2024-25 plus 63 elementary schools with 6th-grader participation; cooperative programs, with 409 high school programs for 750 teams during 2024-25; eligibility advancement applications, which totaled four; the use of Educational Transfer Forms, of which there were 142; travel forms for out-of-state practice, school violations, attendance at athletic director in-service workshops and Coaches Advancement Program sessions; officials’ registrations (which were up nearly two percent from 2023-24 as the total rose for the fourth-consecutive school year), and officials reports submitted for the past three sports seasons. The Association’s $15.7 million budget for the 2025-26 school year also was approved.

The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators ea

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David Cook
Sports Scene
While they may not have 12 state titles consecutively like Division 2 Lowell, the Hudson Tigers did rack up their 12th team state wrestling title since 2009 as the Tigers defeated the combined team from Martin/Climax-Scotts 45-25 to win the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 4 team wrestling title at Kalamazoo.
For Hudson, the title was the fourth D4 state title in a row. Hudson also won three consecutive Division 4 titles from 20-17 through 2019 and reeled off five consecutive D4 state titles from 2009 through 2013.
This year’s title was a hard-earned win as the Martin/Climax-Scotts squad put up a tough fight.
The Martin squad took the initial lead in the match when Urijah Joostberns opened the match with a pin at 113 pounds giving Martin/Climax-Scotts an early 6-0 lead.
Th Martin lead grew to 12-0 when Logan Gilbert followed with a win by injury default at 120 pounds.
Trailing by a dozen points early, the Tigers came roaring back with four consecutive wins. Colt Perry put the first Hudson points on the scoreboard when he needed just 37 seconds to record at fall at 126 pounds.
Hudson then trimmed the deficit to one point as Nicholas Sorrow won by technical fall at 132 pounds.
The Tigers then took the lead at 138 pounds when Beckett Campbell on by fall at 138 pounds. The Hudson lead then grew to 21-12 when Julien Kimling won by major decision at 144 pounds.
Martin, however, refused to fold and battled back in a big way. At 150 pounds, Haylen Buell of Martin came up with a win by major decision to trim the margin to 21-16. The Martin/Climax-Scotts squad then tied the match at 157 pounds where Jack Bagwell won by technical fall to tie the contest at 21-21.
As the dual went into the upper weights, the Tigers began to take control of the match. At 165 pounds, Jacob Pickford turned in a first-period fall to put Hudson up 27-21. That pin was followed by a technical fall from Devon Brigman at 175 pounds that put the Tigers up 32-21. At 190 pounds, Hudson’s Barron Mansfield and Martin’s Malcolm Smith hooked up in the best bout of the dual. Mansfield came up the winner as the Tiger claimed a 2-0 win to give Hudson a 35-21 lead heading into the final three matches of the dual.
The Martin/Climax-Scotts team remained alive in the dual when at 215 pounds Sam Bleeker won by a major decision cutting the Hudson lead to 35-25.
Hudson, however, clinched the match in the next bout. That was where Malachi Marshall won by pin at heavyweight putting the Tigers up 41-25. Jaxton Kimling added a major decision for Hudson at 106 pounds making the final score 45-25 for Hudson.

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Butch Harmon
Sports Scene
When a wrestling team in Division 3 in the state of Michigan is ranked among the top 30 team in the entire nation, the question is not if that team is going to win a state title, but by how much. That was the situation at the Division 3 Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) team state wrestling finals this year.
Not only did Dundee come into the finals ranked No. 1 in Division 3 in Michigan, but the Vikings were ranked in the mid-20s nationally in various high school national team rankings.
Dundee was also looking to add an eighth consecutive Division 3 team state championship and the only thing that was in doubt was the points that the Vikings would accumulate during the finals.
In the end, Dundee outscored its three opponents in the finals by a total score of 221-6. Dundee claimed the trophy in the finals with a 74-0 win against second-seed Yale. The Vikings reached the finals with a 72-0 win against fourth-seed Allegan in the semifinals and opened the tournament with a 75-6 win against West Branch Ogema Heights.
Dundee wrestlers were absolutely dominant in the title match. The Vikings opened the match against Yale with consecutive wins by technical fall by Mason Katschor (113 pounds), Haydn Nutt (120) and Bryan Sterling (126).
At 132 pounds, Braden Broderick delivered six points for the Vikings with a pin. That fall was followed by a pair of technical falls by Wyatt Burns (138) and Stone Redmon (144).
The middle of the Dundee lineup then delivered four consecutive pins. Blake Cosby started the run of pins at 150 pounds followed by falls from Jeremy Amrhein (157), Donny Beaufait (165) and Kole Katschor (175).
Dundee then wrapped up its eighth straight state title in impressive fashion. At 190 pounds Owen Motylinski won by major decision. Rocco Redmon won by pin at 215 pounds, Austin Miller won by a major decision at heavyweight and in the final bout of the match Scott Kohlman won by technical fall at 106 pounds.
While state title number eight was impressive and the bar was set high, next year’s edition of the Dundee wrestling team has even more potential. Dundee’s starting lineup had just one senior and with 13 starters returning along with a deep pool of backups at every weight class, the Vikings will be looking to rack up even more impressive numbers as they set their sights on a ninth straight Division 3 state title.

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David Cook
Sports Scene
The Division 2 Michigan High School Athletic Association team wrestling title dual between Lowell and Fowlerville was a combination of surprise and business as usual.
For Lowell, which defeated Fowlerville 52-14, it was business as usual as the Red Arrows claimed their 12th consecutive Division 2 team wrestling state title. For Fowlerville, reaching the final match was the surprise of the tournament as the Gladiators entered the D2 finals as the seventh seed.
Fowlerville proved those seeds were just numbers. The Gladiators opened the tournament by defeating the No. 2 seed, Freeland, 40-29 in the quarterfinals. Fowlerville then continued breaking the bracket when it turned back No. 3 seed New Boston Huron 43-30 in the semifinals. Taking down the top-seeded Red Arrows proved to be an elusive hurdle as the top-ranked and nationally-ranked Lowell team controlled the title match.
Lowell started the title match by piling up points in a big way. The Red Arrows won the first nine bouts of the finals including three matches by fall and four by technical fall.
Carson Blum started the match with a first-period fall at 113 pounds. The Red Arrows then picked up back-to-back major decisions by Jarrett Smith (120 pounds) and Cole Cichocki (126).
The Lowell lead then expanded to 26-0 with pins from Carter Cichocki at 132 pounds and Jackson Blum at 138 pounds.
The Red Arrows kept the wins flowing as Logan Dawson (144), Trevor Boone (150), Seth Harvey (157) and Owen Segorski (165) all won by technical fall in the next four matches as the Lowell lead grew to 46-0.
Fowlerville snapped the Lowell win streak at 175 pounds. That was where Brock Foster won by a major decision to give the Gladiators their first points of the match.
Lowell added its final points of the dual at 190 pounds where Casey Engle won by a decision and in the final match of the dual John Carter McKay won a decision at 106 pounds.
Fowlerville, which rode the power of its upper weights to the state finals, picked up wins at 215 and 285 pounds. At 215 pounds Layne O’Neal won a major decision while at 285 pounds Liam O’Neil won by fall.
Lowell, which has wrestled in the Division 2 state championship match every year since 2012, won all three of its matches at the team finals in impressive fashion. The Red Arrows began the team final by turning back Warren Woods-Tower 50-20 in the quarterfinals. Lowell then stopped fourth-seeded Three Rivers 55-19 in the semifinal round.

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Butch Harmon
Sports Scene
A pair of familiar rivals met in the finals of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 1 team wrestling championship in Kalamazoo. Detroit Catholic Central and Davison have dominated Division 1 wrestling for the last several years and that domination continued at this year’s finals. In the end, Detroit Catholic Central was the last team standing as the Shamrocks defeated Davison 50-18 in the title match.
The D1 title was the third consecutive state title for the Catholic Central and the seventh D1 state title in the past nine years. Since 2017, either Detroit Catholic Central or Davison have won the D1 state title while one of the two teams has finished second five times since 2017. For Detroit Catholic Central, the title was the seventh since 2017 while Davison has won two Division 1 titles.
This year’s state final saw a close match in the early going before Detroit Catholic Central began to pull away.
Steve Vaughn staked Davison to an early lead with a pin at 113 pounds. Catholic Central then tied the dual when Ryan Totten delivered at pin for the Shamrocks at 120 pounds.
Catholic Central then surged ahead with a pair of wins in the next two matches. Wyatt Lees recorded a pin for the Shamrocks at 126 while Mack Moscovic of Catholic Central won by major decision at 132 pounds to put the Shamrocks up 16-6.
Davison trimmed the deficit to 16-12 at 138 pounds where Calvin Martz picked up a pin in less than a minute.
That was as close at the Cardinals would get, however, as Catholic Central wrestlers won the next three matches.
Grayson Fuchs started the run with a decision at 144 pounds. Alexander Buskirk followed with a major decision at 150 pounds for the Shamrocks and then Braxten Roche won by a decision at 157 pounds giving Catholic Central a 26-12 lead.
Davison stopped the run at 165 pounds. That was when Kyle Jelinek recorded a pin to cut the Catholic Central lead to 26-18.
The win by Jelinek was the final victory of the dual for Davison as Catholic Central closed out the dual by winning the next six matches.
Caden Krueger started the final run as he won a major decision at 175 pounds. Lee Krueger followed that with a decision at 190 pounds. At 215 pounds, Connor Bercume won by a technical fall.
Catholic Central then closed out the dual with a pair of pins. At heavyweight, Benny Eziuka won by a pin while Richard Mogle capped the dual by winning by pin at 106 pounds.
Catholic Central, which came into the finals as the number-one seed, opened the defense of their state title by defeating Romeo 64-5 in the quarterfinals. The Shamrocks then stopped Clarkston 39-25 in the semifinals.
Davison, the No. 3 seed at the finals, opened the finals with a 42-27 win against Rockford in the quarterfinals. The Cardinals then qualified for the finals by knocking off second-seeded Brighton 32-31 in a semifinal-round thriller.
The match ended in a 31-31 tie but Davison won the tiebreaker as the Cardinals on the most bouts, 8-6.
Davison was led in the semifinals by Kyle Jelinek (165 pounds), Dominic Perez (132) and Brandon Glisson (285) who all won by technical fall. Steve Vaughn (113) won by major decision while Calvin Martz (138), Tanner McDunnah (150), Julius Pacheco (157) and Cameron Savage (190) each won by decision.

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Breckenridge: Won 53-26

Next Game: 1/7 @Vestaburg

Varsity Box score

1st. 2nd. 3rd. 4th. F

Breckenridge 7 14 20 12 53

@Calvary 4 10 3 9 26

Breckenridge Leaders:

Maddie Breece 18 pts 4 rebs 9 stl

Kayla Goward 13 pts 10 rebs 3 stl

EmaLee Noack 10 pts 5 rebs 7 stl

Avery Westall 7 pts 3 rebs 2 stl 2 blk

Brinley Humm 2 pts 1 reb 1 stl

Ronee Tester 1 pts 1 rebs

Elarae Carey 1 pts 1 rebs

Blair Davenport 1 rebs 2 stl

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The Hemlock girls’ varsity basketball team defeated Ithaca tonight by a score of 59-25. Victoria Hauffe led all scorers with 21 points to go along with 5 steals. Kinsley Conger added 10 points while Izzy Krueger scored 9 points to go with her 3 steals. Klaira Salo finished with 6 points and 3 steals. Izzy Curry and Carly Siler finished with 6 steals and 5 steals respectively.

Ithaca was led by Libby Maurer with 8 points. Delaney Smith and Riley Skinner each had 4 points.

Score by Quarter:
Hemlock: 13, 17, 25, 4 (59)
Ithaca: 6, 5, 5, 9 (25)

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Roscommon 55 Meridian 52.

Meridian 12 18 16 6
Roscommon 17 10 12 16

Meridian
Nate Steinka 3 pts
Josiah prince 5 pts
Will Hooton 2 pts
Tyler Heal 6 pts
Drew LaFave 4 pts
Zaid Broderick 26 pts
Alijah Frazier 6 pts

Roscommon
Sawyer Griffis 10 pts
Ethan Pratt 22 pts
Logan Mann 9 pts
Barnes 14 pts

Meridian record 4-3

Jv score: Meridian 45 Roscommon 16

Coach Mitch Bohn’s comment: We played well in many different ways. Our post entry game was good and Zaid answered. We just need to be able to handle the 4th quarter as well as the first three.

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Bridgeport 47 (1-7)(1-1) @ Alma 45 (4-4) (0-3)

Alma dropped their third TVC Red game of the season and Bridgeport won their first game of the year on Friday by overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit and outscoring Alma 24-11 in the second half. La’Marion Moore led the way for the Bearcats and got a tipped ball and a layup at the buzzer to take the final lead over the Panthers. Alma was led by Koby Shunk who scored all 11 of his points in the first half.

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MHSAA acts on tennis finals, girls wrestling

Hudson wrestling team turns back Martin/Climax-Scotts for fourth straight state title

Dundee wrestling team practically perfect in winning an eighth straight state title

Dundee wrestling team practically perfect in winning an eighth straight state title

Lowell records 12th consecutive state title by stopping upset-minded Fowlerville

Detroit Catholic Central takes down familiar rival Davison in Division 1 title match

Breckenridge girls beat Midland Calvary

Hemlock girls basketball team defeats ithaca

Sanford Meridian falls to Roscommon

Bridgeport edges Alma in boys basketball action