PREP SPORTS ⚫ NEWS AROUND METRO FLINT

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BY ERIC THOMPSON

CCN Sports Writer

 (CCN) — Here are the latest highlights from the local diamonds in high school baseball and softball over the past 7 days:

SWARTZ CREEK'S BASEBALL CLUB went to Lake Fenton and won both ends of a non-league doubleheader there on Thursday, taking the opener 16-7 before winning 3-1 in the nightcap. Owosso won two from visiting Durand Thursday, 8-2 and 15-0. Fenton lost both ends of a non-league doubleheader at Detroit Catholic Central, losing 7-0 and 8 -0. Flushing hosted Midland Dow but no report on the score yet. Otisville LakeVille also hosted Burton Madison Academy and also no report on that game yet.

BY ERIC THOMPSON

CCN Sports Writer

 (CCN) — Here are the latest highlights from the local prep sports scene over the past 7 days in lacrosse and track for both boys and girls as well as girls' soccer and boys' tennis:

GOODRICH beat Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 1-0 in girls' soccer Tuesday, Holly nipped Almont 2-1,  Millington got by Otisville LakeVille 3-2, Clarkston Everest Collegiate lost a 4-3 decision to Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Linden lost 4-0 to Lapeer.

In Thursday play, Clarkston Everest Collegiate won 3-1 over Madison Heights Bishop Foley, Goodrich battled to a 1-1 tie with Lapeer, Flint Kearsley lost a 6-3 decision at home to Bay City Central, Swartz Creek was blanked 6-0 at Novi and OtisVille LakeVille lost at home by an identical 6-0 score to Burton St. Thomas Moore Academy.

In girls' soccer openers last Friday, Fenton battled to a 1-1 tie with visiting Lapeer while Flint Kearsley and Genesee Christian opted not to play because of bad weather, Flushing beat Laingsburg 3-1 and Davison lost 2-1 at Rochester Adams.

IN BOYS' LACROSSE ACTION Tuesday, Davison beat St. John's 7-2 and Flint Powers Catholic beat Fenton 14-6 and Grand Blanc lost 9-5 to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.

In Thursday boys' lacrosse action, all three local teams in action were losers at home. Davison lost 7-4 to Bay City John Glenn, Swartz Creek dropped a 5-3 decision to Lapeer and Fenton lost 10-7 to Belleville.

IN GIRLS' LACROSSE on Tuesday, Fenton bested Davison 10-6, Flushing nipped Lake Fenton 9-8 and Swartz Creek topped Flint Powers 17-11 

Swartz Creek went to 2-0 when the Lady Dragons were big winners Thursday in non-league play by bombing Lapeer 11-2 at the Creek.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

EAST LANSING (CCN) — Genesee Christian's girls were on the biggest stage in school history Thursday night against their toughest opponent ever in the storied annals of its program.

The tiny Division 4 school on Belsay Road in Burton sent its first team ever to the Breslin Center in East Lansing for the Final Four with a sparkling 24-1 record, and got within a dozen points closer than the average margin of victory so far in March Madness for a tough, tough Fowler club.

 Fowler has had deep tournament runs in recent years, but this season’s journey to the state finals included winning six games by an average of a whopping 37.5 points per contest.

The Lady Eagles beat Genesee Christian by 25. The final count was 57-32.

Fowler, now 26-2, advances to Saturday’s 10 a.m. championship against Ewen-Trout Creek which downed Concord 34-24 in the other semifinal match-up Thursday at the Breslin.

It's the first trip to a state championship game for Ewen-Trout Creek in 40 years since playing in the Class D title game when losing a 43-41 thriller to Potterville.

The Panthers won it all in 1973 when besting North Muskegon 57-48 to win the Class D crown.

Fowler is no stranger to state titles, however, with three of them in the last five years.

“It’s pretty special,” Fowler Coach Nathan George said. “But given the kids I coach, I’m not surprised how focused they are each and every game. While I’m sometimes impressed by the point differential for some of our games, it’s because of the hard work they put in and their willingness to go above and beyond expectations." 

Genesee Christian hung tough in the opening quarter and it was tied 11-11 heading into quarter number two.

Then came a Fowler blitz.

The Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Soldiers 14-2 in the second quarter to take a commanding 25-13 halftime lead, and never looked back. 

The lead swelled to 20 points during the third quarter and it reached 41-24 going into the fourth quarter.

Fowler shot 48.8 percent (20-of-41) from the field including 6-of-16 accuracy from behind the 3-point arc. Senior Brooke Weber scored 14 points, senior Elizabeth Hufnagel scored 13, senior Katie Spicer added 12 points and 7 rebounds and junior Paige Thelen contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Fowler's smothering defense forced Genesee Christian into coughing up 15 turnovers.

Fowler star Hufnagel said, “I think it took us a couple of possessions to just calm down and play our game. When we came out in the second quarter, we knew what we had to do to get a lead going into the half. We were able to settle down. We were able to drive and kick and get to the rim.”

Senior Haven Chapman led Genesee Christian with 18 points in the final game of her historic career. She set her school's all-time scoring record.

Reagan Gardner added 10 points Thursday.

“Amazing, amazing run for this group of girls,” Genesee Christian Coach Jake Boike said. “This has been a special group that we have had our eyes on for a long time. We knew the season was going to go well. We didn’t know how well. We had some hurdles to get over. I’m really proud of the effort they gave today.” 

 PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is action Thursday night in East Lansing as Fowler’s defense collapses to help as Genesee Christian’s Haven Chapman (2) drives during Thursday’s Semifinal at Breslin Center.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

EAST LANSING (CCN) — Midway through the third quarter, Frankenmuth had realistic visions of reaching the prep basketball girls' state finals to take aim at a first state championship under Coach Joe Jacobs.

It was 30-20 over Tecumseh which finished the regular season as the No. 2 ranked team in Division 2. Frankenmuth was No. 4.

But Tecumseh slowly chipped away at Frankenmuth's lead and outscored the Lady Eagles by 19 the rest of the way to win 52-43.

When ahead midway through the third quarter in East Lansing at the Breslin Center in the 2025 state semifinals — It seemed meant to be as Frankenmuth was ahead by 10, and rolling.

It was the worst record ever under Coach Jacobs who had 19-2, 22-3, 25-3 and 22-3 overall records since becoming Frankenmuth's varsity leader.

This year's team went into Friday's (March 21, 2025) state semifinals with four losses and didn't win an outright Tri-Valley Conference Red Division title under Jacobs for the first time. After four straight Tri-Valley-Red championships in a row with perfect 14-0 records, Frankenmuth lost 55-51 on Feb. 7 to Freeland which gained a share of the 2024-25 season championship by winning.

At state tournament time, Frankenmuth got revenge against Freeland in the Regional semifinals by prevailing 53-44.

A run to the state championship almost seemed appropriate since this was easily the best coaching job by Jacobs. His team not only rebounded to beat Freeland after splitting the season series to share the Tri-Valley-Red title, but the Lady Eagles had to overcome losing two of their first three games in non-conference tune-ups to start the campaign.

The only other loss before Friday was 45-36 on Feb 18 at Rockford — a state semifinalist in Division 1 this weekend with a 26-1 record as the No. 1 ranked team in Michigan.

Frankenmuth has only one previous state championship in girls' basketball. It came in 1992 when beating St. Joseph 67-54.

With the 10-point lead midway through quarter number three, these Lady Eagles were on the presbycusis of making it to the finals for the seventh time in school history. They were finalists in 1979 when losing 45-38 to Grand Rapids West Catholic, 1987 when falling 49-34 to Flint Beecher, 1990 when dropping a 47-38 decision to Grand Rapids West Catholic, 1993 when losing 50-43 to Dearborn Divine Child and 2023 under Coach Jacobs when finishing as the runner-up.

Tecumseh had not been to a state championship game in 50 years when a 10-2 run to end the third quarter tied the game at 32-32.

Coach Kristy Zajac shrugged off the slow start by her Tecumseh girls, saying, “Every game all year we start slow, but finish strong, and we were able to pull it out tonight. I’m super proud of these girls because they fought back, and this is a great win for our program.”

Alli Zajac, a Miss Basketball finalist, got into foul trouble early, too, to complicate matters for Tecumseh on Friday. She said, “It’s not a great thing that I was in foul trouble, but I’m kind of glad that I was just so I can see how well they work together when I'm not in there with them. It was amazing to see other girls step up.”

Biggest of all was senior Ashlyn Moorhead and sophomore Addi Zajac. Moorehead popped in 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc and finished with 14 points while her sophomore teammate fueled the comeback with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Tecumseh now moves on to play for the Division 2 championship at 6:15 pm Saturday at Breslin.

Tecumseh won it all in 1974 and was Class B state runner-up in 1975.

One concern, however, is a final-minute injury to  

Tecumseh junior star Maddy VanBlack who went down with an apparent leg injury.

“Super special for our girls, but that last play of the game is just so hard,” Zajac said. “She’s worked so hard to get back to us after missing almost two years of seasons, and that’s why these girls are all in tears. I feel so terrible for her, and we’re hoping she’s OK.”

 Clare Conzelmann's 3-pointer gave Frankenmuth its biggest lead at 10 points.

The Eagles were in search of a return trip to the Final after finishing runner-up in 2023, but suffered through a five-minute scoring drought during the final quarter and shot a dismal 8-of-27 during the second half.

“One day short of what our goal was,” Frankenmuth coach Joe Jacobs said. “The first half went in our favor, but then they made shots in the second half and the game got away from us. But it doesn’t take away from what these girls accomplished, and we have three seniors that have been here two times, so it was a special opportunity for them.”

Conzelmann led the Eagles with 15 points and three blocked shots. Macy Donovan and Isabelle Bernthal finished with nine and eight points, respectively.

 PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is action in Friday's state semifinals at the Breslin Center in East Lansing as Frankenmuth’s Grace Brenner defends against Tecumseh’s Makayla Schlor.  

LOCAL GIRLS' BASKETBALL

MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC

ASSOCIATION (MHSAA) TOURNAMENT

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Friday's Division 2 Semifinals at the

Breslin Center in East Lansing on MSU Campus

 Frankenmuth (23-4) vs. Tecumseh (25-1)

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Division 2 Quarterfinals at Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth 56, Gladstone 36

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Division 2 Regional Finals at Belding

Frankenmuth 41, Portland 27

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Division 2 Regional Semifinals at Belding

Frankenmuth 53, Freeland 44

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Division 2 District 38 Championship Game

at Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth 69, Essexville-Garber 20

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Division 2 District 38 Semifinals 

at Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth 66, Bay City John Glenn 35

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Thursday's Division 4 Semifinals at the

Breslin Center in East Lansing on MSU Campus

 Fowler 57, Genesee Christian 32

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Division 4 Quarterfinals at Brighton

 Genesee Christian 31, Morenci 22

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Division 4 Regional Finals at Marlette

 Genesee Christian 45, Kingston 40

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Division 4 Regional Semifinals at Marlette

Genesee Christian 56, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 9

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Division 4 District 126 Championship Game

at Dryden

 Genesee Christian 42, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 26

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Division 4 District 126 Semifinals at Dryden

Genesee Christian 56, Dryden 16 

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LOCAL BOYS' BASKETBALL

MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC

ASSOCIATION (MHSAA) TOURNAMENT

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Friday's Division 1 Semifinals at the

Breslin Center in East Lansing on MSU Campus

 Wayne Memorial 66, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 49

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Division 1 Quarterfinals at Dewitt

Flint Carman-Ainsworth 54, Byron Center 51

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Division 1 Regional Finals at Gaylord

Flint Carman-Ainsworth 64, Marquette 56

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Division 1 Regional Semifinals at Gaylord

Flint Carman-Ainsworth 64, Rockford 60

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Division 1 District 3 Championship Game at

Flint Carman-Ainsworth

 Flint Carman-Ainsworth 73, Saginaw United 64 

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Division 1 District 3 Semifinals at

Flint Carman-Ainsworth

 Flint Carman-Ainsworth 81, Flushing 50

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Division 1 District 13 Semifinals at Brighton

Brighton 50, Hartland 49 

Division 1 District 13 Opener at Brighton

Hartland 52, Fenton 30

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Division 1 Regional Semifinals at Rochester 

Orchard Lake St. Mary's 72, Grand Blanc 42

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Division 1 District 26 Championship Game

at Lapeer High School

Grand Blanc 72, Davison 60

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Division 1 District 26 Semifinals at Lapeer

Grand Blanc 56, Swartz Creek 46

Davison 49, Oxford 42

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Division 1 District 26 Opener at Lapeer

Swartz Creek 69, Holly 43

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Division 1 District 27 Semifinals at Avondale

Auburn Hills Avondale 58, Clarkston 51

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Division 2 Regional Semifinals at Chelsea

Chelsea 57, Goodrich 40

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Division 2 District 51

Championship Game at Flint Kearsley

Goodrich 68, Flint Powers Catholic 54

Division 2 District 51

Semifinals at Flint Kearsley

Flint Powers Catholic 65, Ortonville Brandon 38

Goodrich 61, Flint Kearsley 40

Division 2 District 51 Opener at Flint Kearsley

Ortonville Brandon 73, Flint Southwestern 46

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Division 2 District 50 Semifinals at Fowlerville

Williamston 70, Durand 59

Haslett 48, Linden 37

Division 2 District 50 Opener at Fowlerville 

Williamston 51, Lake Fenton 49

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Division 2 Regional Semifinals at Birch Run

Portland 48, Flint Hamady 46

Division 2 District 38 Championship Game

at Birch Run

Flint Hamady 78, Mt. Morris 63

Division 2 District 38 Semifinals at Birch Run

Mt. Morris 63, Clio 40

Flint Hamady 69, Owosso 50

Division 2 District 38 Openers at Birch Run

Clio 61, Birch Run 45

Owosso 51, Corunna 46

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Division 2 Regional Semifinals

at Central Montcalm

Freeland 73, Frankenmuth 42

Division 2 District 39 Championship Game

at Birch Run

 Frankenmuth 48, Bay City John Glenn 38

Division 2 District 39 Semifinals at Birch Run

 Frankenmuth 65, Carrollton 32

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Division 3 Regional Semifinals at Ithica

Ovid-Elsie 44, Chesaning 39

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Division 3 District 81 Championship Game

at St. Charles

 Chesaning  49, Hemlock 20

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Division 3 District 81 Semifinals at St. Charles

Chesaning  67, Montrose 36

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Division 3 District 81 Opener at St. Charles

Montrose 47, St. Charles 44

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Division 3 District 82 Semifinals at New Lothrop

Ovid-Elsie 65, New Lothrop 48

Division 3 District 82 Opener at New Lothrop

New Lothrop 44, Perry 36

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Division 3 Quarterfinals at St. Clair CC 

A& T Academy of Pontiac 74, Flint Elite 44

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Division 3 Regional Finals at Millington

Flint Elite 64, Harbor Beach 56

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Division 3 Regional Semifinals at Millington

Flint Elite 63, Millington 61

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Division 3 District 93 Championship Game

at Burton Bendle

Flint Elite 74, International Academy of Flint 53

Division 3 District 93 Semifinals at Bendle

Flint Elite 72, Burton Bendle 69

International Academy 49, Burton Bentley 42

Division 3 District 93 Openers at Bendle

Burton Bentley 54, Burton Atherton 20

Burton Bendle 56, Genesee 36

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Division 3 District 94 Championship Game

at Millington

Millington 71, Reese 57

Division 3 District 94 Semifinals at Millington

Millington 72, Vassar 59

Division 3 District 93 Opener at Bendle

Vassar 62, Otisville LakeVille 43

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Division 4 Regional Finals at Whitmore Lake

Allen Park Inner-city Baptist 58, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 41

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Division 4 Regional Semifinals 

at Whitmore Lake

Clarkston Everest Collegiate 65, Lansing Christian 47

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Division 4 District 122 Championship Game

at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes

Clarkston Everest Collegiate 62, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 26

Division 4 District 122 Semifinals

at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes

Clarkston Everest Collegiate 68, Novi Christian Academy 46

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Division 4 Regional Finals at Kingston

Kingston 35, Genesee Christian 30

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Division 4 Regional Semifinals at Kingston

Genesee Christian 47, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 46

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Division 4 District 126 Championship Game

at Dryden

Genesee Christian 62, Dryden 55 (OT)

Division 4 District 126 Semifinals at Dryden

Genesee Christian 63, Flint Beecher 39

Dryden 73, Burton St. Thomas More Academy 41

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Division 4 District 126 Openers at Dryden

Flint Beecher 76, Michigan School for the Deaf 35

Burton St. Thomas More Academy 70, Burton Center Pointe Christian 63

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LOCAL BOYS' BASKETBALL MICHIGAN

ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS

(MACS) STATE TOURNAMENT

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MACS Class B State Championship Game

Davison Faith Baptist 55, Carson City Fellowship Baptist Academy 40

MACS Class B State Semifinals

Davison Faith Baptist 66, Clinton Township Faith Christian 43

Carson City Fellowship Baptist Academy 46, Corunna Immanuel Baptist 42

MACS Class B State Quarterfinals

Davison Faith Baptist 45, Skeels Christian 42

Corunna Immanuel Baptist 64, Waterford Lakecrest 44

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MACS Class B 1st Round

Corunna Immanuel Baptist 66, Skeels Christian 13

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BY ERIC THOMPSON

CCN Sports Writer

 (CCN) — Here are the highlights from the local diamonds in high school baseball and softball during Week #1 of the spring season:

THE DEFENDING DIVISION 2 state champions in baseball from Flint Powers Catholic opened their season by blanking Yale 7-0 in a battle at Oakland University's scenic park.

Three senior stars led Powers. Kaden Martel had 3 hits and 2 RBI’s, Nathan Gebhardt added 2 hits and 2 RBI’s while Chase Newcombe delivered an RBI double.

Powers broke a scoreless tie with 3-run uprising in each of the 3rd and 4th innings.

Pitcher Keegan Kohloff went 4 innings, striking out seven before yielding to the bullpen as a Powers trio Drew Simmons, Michael Borg, and Santino Evely supplied one scoreless inning apiece.

Up next for Powers is a non-league ballgame Wednesday at Flint Kearsley of the Metro League.

Powers opens Saginaw Valley League play April 10 at Midland Dow.

LAKE FENTON'S BASEBALL GAME at Flint Kearsley last Friday (March 23, 2025) was canceled due to bad weather.

FLUSHING WAS BEATEN 17-5 at home in its softball season opener in a non-league battle on Wednesday (March 19, 2025) against Howell. A rematch doubleheader scheduled for the next day was canceled due to bad weather.

BY ERIC THOMPSON

CCN Sports Writer

 (CCN) — Here are the latest highlights from the local prep sports scene during week #1 of the spring season in lacrosse and track for both boys and girls as well as girls' soccer and boys' tennis:

 LAKE FENTON'S BOYS' LACROSSE TEAM beat arch rival Fenton 7-1 on Friday (March 23, 2025) while Flint Powers Catholic lost 14-10 in lacrosse to Lansing Catholic Central. Swartz Creek beat Flushing 17-5 in a Metro League Stripes Division opener. 

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

PLYMOUTH (CCN) — Flint Powers Catholic's hockey club won its second state championship in three years Saturday morning (March 8, 2025)  after coming up empty 46 times in a row at tournament time.

Coach Travis Perry watched his Chargers win i again at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth where Team USA trains as Ethan Haley became an unlikely hero 1:53 into overtime after scoring only three times previously all season. His dramatic game winner lifted the Chargers to a 3-2 triumph over Livonia Stevenson. 

Powers also needed to win in dramatic fashion in the quarterfinals when forced into overtime by Marquette before winning 5-4 on senior star Ayden Cook's fourth goal of the night in overtime.

Cook's game winner propelled Powers into the state semifinals where Perry's boys took care of business by beating Grandville 4-3 to reach the finals for the seventh time in the school's illustrious hockey history.

Saturday was the fourth appearance in a state championship game in Plymouth by Powers since the tournament was moved there in 2003. The Chargers had reached the finals three times prior to that since the state's Final Four games began 50 years ago in Flint at the old IMA Sports Arena, now Dort Financial Center.

Powers Catholic has now reached the Final Four 22 times under Coach Perry and his legendary predecessors — Dave Durkin and Court Benson. The Chargers have won a regional championship 35 times and this year's Saginaw Valley League title was their 34th league championship.

Perry led the 2024-25 Chargers to a 25-4 record to move his all-time mark to 386-117-20. The Valley title this season was the 13th league title under Perry's leadership. He's taken nine of his teams to the Final Four and this year was his fourth visit to the state championship game. He also has 12 regional championships to cement his name for a spot in both the Greater Flint Sports hall of Fame as well as the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame, alongside Durkin and Benson. 

The wild 2025 celebration after Haley's dramatic goal brought back memories of the winner two years ago when Mason Czarnecki scored on a breakaway with 4.6 seconds left in the third period for a 3-2 victory over East Grand Rapids.

Perry said: “It’s a lot different this time around. The first time, it’d been 50 years of frustration, anger. I’d been coaching 17 years, and we lost a couple down here. That was really a monkey off our back. This one really solidifies our program. The biggest thing I told the guys is probably five years ago we came down here looking to compete, not just hoping to compete.”

Perry had only three players on his roster this season who were around for the first state title two years ago. Current seniors Andrew Parmentier, Brody Neelands and Andrew Burny were sophomores in 2023 on a squad that featured 11 seniors and eight juniors.

Forwards Parmentier and Neelands and defenseman Burny are among eight seniors on Perry's 2025 state champs.

The others seniors are goaltender Aidan Gustafson, defensemen Aiden Olah and Blake Dawson and forwards Mitchell Lenger and Landon Miller.

Coach Perry has plenty of talent to build around for next year with three freshman, three sophomores and eight juniors.

The freshmen include defenseman Cooper Massimino and forwards Chase Stevens and Owen Perry.

The sophomores are defenseman Haley, forward Jaden Davis and defenseman Whitman Park.

The juniors are goalie Hunter Clark, defenseman Andon Harwood and forwards Cook, Parker Bendall, Jordan Davis, Logan Nanney, Jack Johnson and Gavin Vorwerk.

Sophomore Haley became the hero after his own season nearly ended in late January when suffering a broken ankle. He said, “I thought I was going to miss more time than I did. The doctor cleared me sooner, so it was very exciting to get back playing with everyone and going to practice every day... My role is definitely an energy guy, I would say.”

He had scored twice in the first three games of the season but only once more after rejoining the lineup late in the regular season. His blast from the right point Saturday was one of the biggest goals in school history to give his Chargers the Division 2 state championship after winning it all in Division 3 two years ago on an equally dramatic goal in the closing seconds by Czarnecki in 2023.

Haley’s shot from the blue line wasn’t a particularly hard shot, but Powers put traffic in front of the net to make it difficult for Stevenson’s goalie to see the puck.

“Before that, Coach said to get pucks on net, get pucks out of our zone, which we did,” Haley said. “I saw a guy on Cooky (Ayden Cook). He slid it down and passed it to me. I just shot it. I thank Parker (Bendall) for screening the goalie. He couldn’t see it.”

Cook had produced the game tying goal to force overtime when bagging the equalizer for Powers with 6:45 remaining in regulation.

It was the 40th goal of the season for Cook who was second team all-state last winter.

Stevenson had taken a 2-1 lead with 12:53 remaining in the second period on a goal by  Riley Rorabacher. Colin Stroble had tied it at 1-1 for Stevenson after Johnson put Powers first with an early goal.

The Livonia squad caught fire late in the season and rallied from a 9-9-2 record to win its last five games of the regular season before winning four in a row in the state tournament.

Stevenson Coach David Mitchell's club lost four straight before the closing run allowing a whopping 19 goals during the four-game losing streak. He said afterward, “I told them they put Stevenson hockey, I don’t want to say on the map, because we’ve never really been off it. But they got us back to the point we try to achieve to get to. I think they did that not only as players on the ice, but as a community. People like Mr. (Arnold) Muscat (Stevenson’s athletic director) and the Stevenson community not only made this an enjoyable ride, but made this a memorable one. It made it easier for us to get inspired to play for a bigger cause.”

 The Spartans made it to the state finals three times in a four-year span after winning it all in their 2013 Division 2 state championship season. They've won eight state titles in school history and  Saturday's state runner-up finish was their fifth.

 Powers senior star Burny said, “It feels like a dream. We came here and made history twice. I wouldn’t have rather done it with any other group of guys.”

Burny's 22 goals were third most on the team behind junior star Cook's 40 goals and freshman sniper Owen Perry's 25 goals. 

Parmentier, honorable mention all-state last season as a junior, scored 12 times in a 48-point season this winter for Powers.

After going down 4-1 in the quarterfinals against Marquette early in the third period, Cook's short-handed goal got Powers within 4-2 and sparked the rally. He also scored the game-tying goal to send it into overtime where he eventually won it.

 The only losses for Powers this season were to Sault Ste. Marie in overtime and to the top three ranked teams in Division 1 — Detroit Catholic Central, Hartland and Howell.

Junior goalie Clark surrendered a stingy 2.2 goals per game while Powers scored at a prolific clip of nearly six goals per game as the state's No. 1 ranked team in Division 2 going into post-season play. Coach Perry's Chargers beat No. 6 ranked Byron Center 4-1 in the regional finals before beating No. 7 Marquette in OT and nipping No. x Grandville 4-3 in the semis.

Other notable victories by the 2024-25 Chargers included an 8-2 romp over Division 2's No. 10 White Lake Lakeland, 4-3 in OT over Clarkston which was ranked No. 4 in Division 1, 4-3 over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s which was No. 1 in Division 3, 4-3 over Houghton which was No. 2 in Division 3, 5-2 over East Grand Rapids which was No. 3 in Division 3, 2-1 over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett which was No. 7 in Division 3 and 5-1 over Alpena which was No. 8 in Division 3.

Orchard Lake St. Mary won the Division 3 state championship on Saturday after beating East Grand Rapids 5-1 and Alpena 9-1 on the tournament trail. Coach Brian Kanlet's Eaglets blanked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in the finals to finish with a 23-5-1 record.

They faced a tough schedule in the North Division of the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League where finishing No. 2 ahead of fellow traditional high school hockey heavyweights Cranbrook Kingswood, Birmingham Brother Rice and Port Huron Northern.

The state's toughest league was won by Detroit Catholic Central which also won it all in Division 1 on Saturday.

Notable on the Metro Flint regional area scene was Detroit CC's toughest game of the season coming against Hartland. The Shamrocks nipped Hartland  2-1 in overtime in the regional finals. 

Coach Rick Gadwa's Hartland club shared the Kensington Lakes Activities Association title with Howell which faced Detroit CC in the finals. Hartland finished 22-4-1 on the season and was ranked No. 2 in the final regular season poll behind the title winning Shamrocks who beat Howell 4-1 on Saturday in the state championship game.

 PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is sophomore Ethan Haley's shot from the point hitting the top corner for the winning goal at 1:53 into overtime Saturday as Flint Powers Catholic celebrated its second hockey state title in high school hockey. Screening Livonia Stevenson's goalie in front of the net is Haley's teammate Parker Bendall. — MHSAA PHOTO BY JOHN CASTINE OF HOCKEY WEEKLY

BY ERIC THOMPSON

CCN Sports Writer

GRAND RAPIDS (CCN) — A fourpeat wasn't in the cards for Rockford's girls' gymnastic s team. Hartland used eight top five finishes at the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) finals to win its first state championship over defending state champ Rockford by a slim 148.57 to 146.525 margin.

A co-op team from Fenton, Linden and Lake Fenton finished fifth with 139.925 points.

Farmington United was third with 144.975 points while Northville finished fourth at 142.575 in the MHSAA Team Gymnastics Finals. 

Hartland had fourth-place finishes in each of the last two seasons although coming in just 2.5 points behind No. 1 Rockford in 2024 and just 4.1 points behind in 2023.

Rockford, Farmington United and Grand Ledge had won 14 state titles since 2008 until Hartland prevailed this season.

Hartland Coach Gavin Kress said "Our motto all year has been ring season. That's what the girls call it — ring season... We've definitely built up to this, and we killed (routines) today. We've beat team and individual records all year. I didn't want to predict this, but the girls did."

Hartland didn't score below 142 points in any of its significant meets this winter.

Led by junior Alexis Fundich and seven seniors, Hartland saved its showing for the state finals.

Fundich finished first on bars (9.6750), beam (9.75), floor (9.7) and all-around (38.425).

Senior Abby Griffen added four top five finishes for Hartland, including a first on vault (9.725). She was fourth in all-around (37.8).

"We've worked hard, so it's not too surprising to us," Fundich said. "We were a little frustrated after finishing fourth last year, but that motivated us. We worked hard and expected to do better than fourth."

Hartland senior Jayden Garcia added, "We got fourth, but we tried to push ourselves more and more. This year, we thought we could do better. We worked from the moment we got fourth last year. We were fired up at every event. Winning state was our main goal."

Rockford Coach Michelle Ankney, who has had six state titles since 2015, wasn't surprised by Hartland's solid showing. She said, "They have some amazing skills, hard skills. We're impressed with them, for sure." 

Coach Kress paid tribute to his team's senior leadership this season as a factor in winning it all, too . He said, "One hundred percent. They support every single person on the team and (helped) build up their confidence. That definitely contributed to our scoring."

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Hartland's Emma Beres competing in floor exercise during the Team Gymnastics Final at Kenowa Hills High School in Grand Rapids.