When you reflect on a a year of so many great moments, it’s hard to choose one that defines a season. A career. The five seconds of fame. But here at Sports Scene, we think we found the top 25 headlines of the 2013-14 sports year that left people walking away from fields of play in amazement. Sit back and enjoy the ride and just think – we get to do it all over again a month from now. Enjoy.
Top Moments of School 2013-14 School Year
1. Dustin Neyer’s Shot Heard Around the World
A busted lob play never looked so good.
With the score tied 47-47 and 0.8 seconds remaining, Sacred Heart Academy attempted an inbound lob play from mid court against Fulton in the Class D regional final. The pass was a little too strong and bounced hard off the backboard and out past the 3-point arc.
Somehow, the ball ended up in front of Sacred Heart’s Dustin Neyer. He grabbed it and shot it all in one motion.
The three rattled home and celebration ensued.
“At first I thought the clock had run out, but then I realized you have to touch it for the clock to start. So I just chucked it up and it went in,” Neyer said.
The shot made ESPN’s Top Play of the Day, Fox Sports, and even CNN. The Irish would go on to lose in the quarterfinal round.
2. Ithaca’s 4-peat
Winning is becoming second nature in Ithaca. Led my Mr. Football, Travis Smith, Ithaca won its fourth straight Division 6 football state championship after defeating Clinton 41-22 to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 56 games. The Yellowjackets will open the 2014 season August 29 against Clare.
3. Swan Valley’s Alex Grace breaks single-season rushing mark
Although Swan Valley lost to Lansing Sexton 26-21 in the regional final, Alex Grace showed why he is one of the top players in the state entering the 2014 season.
Headed into the game, Grace needed 174 yards to break the single-season rushing mark. He finished with 236, which pushed his season total to 2,952 yards and set a new Michigan High School Athletic Association record for rushing yards in a season.
He broke the previous record set by Chris Lomasney of Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, who rushed for 2,890 yards in 2000.
4. Ithaca’s Travis Smith wins Mr. Football
Not only did Travis Smith help lead Ithaca to its fourth consecutive Division 6 state title, he also became Michigan’s first Mr. Football. He set the state record for career touchdowns, throwing for 104 over a career that saw him go 41-0 as a starting quarterback, 42-0 as a starter, and 47-0 as a member of the varsity.
Smith is playing his college football at Wake Forest University.
5. Sacred Heart wins Class D title
Riley Terwilliger was wide open during the final minutes of the Class D state title game against Forest Park with the game on the line, but she wasn’t sure about the 3-point try she let go.
The shot was good, and the Fighting Irish capped a late-game rally with a 56-53 victory and the school’s first girls’ basketball state championship.
Sacred Heart (22-5) outscored the Lady Trojans 14-3 in the final three minutes to erase a 50-42 deficit and to claim the title. Center Averi Gamble scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Sara Hansen added 14 points and three steals.
Forest Park’s Lexi Gussert, crowned the state’s Miss Basketball earlier in the week of the final, had a chance to tie the game at the line with 16 seconds left but missed both free throws. Gussert, who will continue her career at Michigan State University next season, had 17 points and was 7 for 21 shooting.
6. Nouvel Catholic Central Wins Class C Championship
It was a crazy, emotional season for the Nouvel girls basketball team, but the players put everything behind them and won the Class C title by defeating St. Ignace 62-40 in the championship game.
St. Ignace won the Class D state title last season, while Nouvel lost in the Class C title game to Manchester.
Laurel Jacqmain scored 23 points and added seven rebounds in the victory. She also took a lead role in not only beating the St. Ignace press, but also scoring off it.
Senior Rachael McInerney finished with 22 points and 23 rebounds, the third-highest number in MHSAA girls’ basketball finals history. Kelly Rose of Lake Michigan Catholic grabbed 25 in the 1988 Class C final. McInerney also blocked five shots.
7. Okemos Duo 3-peats
It was a banner year for Okemos High School girls’ athletics. Not only did two of its athletes, Ashton Miller (Duke University) and Katie Dudley (Stanford University), sign with two of the most prestigious institutions in the country, but it also had two athletes continue their dominance in state tournament competition.
Elle Nichols, the 2013 winner of Miss Golf, won her third straight Division 2 title last fall. Ranked No. 93 in the Class of 2014 by the American Junior Golf Association, Nichols posted the top scoring average in the state at 73.2 and shot a 64 once during the season. She will play her college golf at Oakland University.
Meanwhile, junior Emily Struble continued her stellar play, winning her third straight Division 2 state tennis championship. Struble should be a favorite to win her fourth straight title in the spring.
8. Lowell wrestling wins by criteria; shocks St. Johns to win D2 title
Garett Stehley had only two options if his Lowell wrestling team was to beat the four-time defending Division 2 state champions.
The senior 189-pounder, who bumped up to 215 to help his team, had to either pin St. Johns’ Nic Sturgis or put so much pressure on him that he would get disqualified for stalling.
Stehley had Sturgis on his back a couple of times and actually found himself on his back once, but there would be no pin. So he pushed the tempo, and in the end forced Sturgis into four stalling calls that called for disqualification.
That knotted the score at 34-34, and when the referees left the table after referring to the score sheet and rules book to call the winner, they pointed at Lowell, and the Red Arrows bench and the Lowell fans erupted.
The Red Arrows won on the fifth criteria, most six-point wins. That last disqualification not only tied the score, but it also won the state title.
Zac Hall, arguably the best wrestler in the state, beat Dan Kruse 25-10, giving the Redwings five team points, but not six.
Hall’s win over Kruse started a streak of four straight St. Johns wins that turned a 22-9 deficit into a 31-22 lead. In that stretch, the Redwings had two technical falls and two pins.
The score was 34-28 in favor of St. Johns when Stehley walked onto the mat. And luckily for Lowell, there was enough gas in the tank to get the victory.
9. Bay City Western baseball repeats in D1
The Bay City Western baseball team is in a league of its own. The Warriors have propelled their status to a whole new stratosphere by becoming the first Division 1 or Class A baseball team to win back-to-back state championships.
And after the Warriors 6-2 win over Grosse Pointe South in the 2014 championship game, don’t be surprised if Western makes many more return trips in upcoming years.
Despite graduating all but two starters from its first title team, Western never missed a beat in its repeat feat.
Justin Gorr joined pitching ace Scott Badour, shortstop Seth Freed, and pitcher Matt Courtney as the only seniors on the team. Most remarkably, five sophomores – Jason Clark, Tyler Snover, Brandon Wise, Brady Leppek, and Hunter David – played regular roles on the tournament trail this season.
10. Mt. Pleasant baseball wins D2 title
With a slick-fielding defense, efficient hitting performances, and steady pitching, Mount Pleasant returned to an all-too-familiar position this season by defeating Richmond 7-2 to win the Division 2 state championship.
The state championship is the fourth, and it goes along with a runner-up finish for Mt. Pleasant coach Luke Epple.
Mount Pleasant scored in the bottom of the first and added three in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead and added three more down the stretch to improve to 33-8-1 to end the season.
Senior Robert Backus helped key the success of the Oilers this season with timely hitting and strong defense up the middle.
Near misses; other top headlines from the 2013-14 season
11. Bay City Western Softball Gets Redemption; Wins D1 Title
12. Arthur Hill’s Eric Davis Wins Class A Player of Year
13. Mt. Pleasant’s boys’ basketball falls in semis
14. Pewamo-Westphalia nearly wins Class C basketball title
15. Pewamo-Westphalia boys knock off Beecher; Advance to Breslin
16. Powers Catholic Boys’ soccer wins title in dramatic fashion
17. Eaton Rapids girls basketball wins Class B title
18. Arthur Hill Freshman Brian “Tuggs” Bowen shows he’s got game
19. St. Louis girls programs have stellar seasons
20. Alma’s Maddy Seeley puts it all on line in final game
21. Swan Valley volleyball advances to quarterfinals
22. Lansing Catholic boys golf repeats
23. Midland High’s Jess Walter caps career
24. DeWitt football makes it to Ford Field
25. Bullock Creek makes it to Breslin for second straight season