Sports Scene’s Top 10 Stories of 2012
1. Ithaca football 3-peats
42-0 over the past three years. Three straight Division 6 state championships. National recognition for owning the fifth-longest winning streak in the country. 53-2 over the past four years. Enough said. With quarterback Travis Smith returning next year for his senior season, there is no telling how far this winning streak can go for the Yellowjackets.
2. St. Johns wrestling dominates
Taylor Massa ended his prep career with a 221-0 record, four individual state championships, and three team titles to his credit. Last year’s St. Johns team had 11 wrestlers place at state after winning a team title the week before.
3. Morley Stanwood: Double feature
Last spring, Class C All-staters Bailey Cairnduff and Alexis Huntey led Morley Stanwood to a girls’ basketball championship, edging University Liggett School 61-57 in the final. The Mohawks had won a volleyball championship just a few months earlier.
4. Beal City nearly perfect
The Aggies did almost the unthinkable by winning a football championship and a volleyball championship one week apart. Unfortunately, Beal City lost to Class D juggernaut Battle Creek St. Phillip in volleyball and to Harbor Beach in football.
5. Midland Dow 4-peats / Portland football wins first-ever state title (Tie)
Dow’s Austin Woody capped a remarkable career and helped the Chargers to their fourth straight Division 2 tennis title. In football, Portland brought home the championship in Division 2 after defeating Grand Rapids West Catholic.
6. Saginaw High wins Class A title
The Trojans didn’t have that one superstar last year, but they played as a team and brought home the championship for first-year coach Julian Taylor.
7. Lansing Sexton repeats
Loaded with as many as four NCAA Division 1 recruits, like MSU’s Denzel Valentine, the Big Reds rolled to the Class B title after defeating Lakeshore in the finals.
8. Okemos girls’ soccer rolls
The Chieftains finished the year 24-1-1 after defeating Troy 2-0 in the Division 2 state final. The state championship was Okemos’ first since 2006.
9. LCC girls’ golf 3-peats
Led by junior Jackie Setas, the Lansing Catholic girls golf team dominated the Division 4 championship for the third consecutive season.
10. Rockford makes it all the way / Matt Costello wins Mr. Basketball (Tie)
The Rams surprised a very good Romulus team 62-61 in the Class A semifinal and advanced to the final, where they played well before losing to a very good Saginaw High team. Meanwhile, Mr. Basketball returned to mid-Michigan, as Bay City Western’s Matt Costello won the coveted honor.