NHS SPORTS ROUND-UP

Mustangs score big at state level

By Brad Emons

To nobody’s surprise Northville High’s 2023 Michigan High School Athletic Association spring season was nothing short of an unqualified success.

The Mustangs once again made their presence known in a variety of sports led by their Division 1 boys state championship golf team (see June issue), along with their record-setting 4 x 800-meter boys track relay team, which posted the nation’s third best time overall (see related story on Page 18).

Here’s a brief look back at some of the highlights for the rest of the varsity spring sports programs.

Soccer

After placing runner-up in the 2022 Division 1 finals, coach Jeannine Reddy’s Mustangs (18-1-4) made another strong tourney run before falling to Hudsonville in the state semifinals, 2-0.

The Mustangs defeated Livonia Stevenson, 1-0, in overtime for the District 8 title and then rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Walled Lake Northern in a shootout, 4-3, and then Grand Blanc, 2-0, for regional championship.

Northville, the West Division winner in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association at 11-0-3, defeated East Division champ Belleville, 3-0, for the overall conference title.

Named to the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association D1 All-State teams included junior forward Helena McLellan (first-team), junior defender Kailyn Morrison (second-team), sophomore goalkeeper Simran Magnan (second-team) and junior midfielder Natalie Leavens (honorable mention).

All-KLAA selections included Caroline Meloche, junior defender; Avery Peters, junior defender; Kate Gonzalez, junior midfielder; Grace Koski, senior midfielder; McLellan, Morrison, Magnan and Leavens.

BOYS TRACK & FIELD

The Mustangs earned their third straight D1 regional title and second straight KLAA championship under coaches Tim and Jack Dalton.

Led by the record-setting and first-place 4 x 800-meter relay team of seniors Brandon Latta, Brock Malaikal, David Whitaker and junior Brendan Herger (see related story), they placed eighth in the team standings with 25.75 points at the Division 1 finals held June 3 at Rockford.

Individual state placers included Herger, second, 800 (1:52.19); Whitaker, sixth, 800 (1:54.28); and senior Deepak

Laungani, tied for seventh, high jump (6 feet, 3 inches).

The 4 x 400 relay team of Latta, senior Kyle Ritchie, sophomore Rece Grezak and Herger took fifth (3:21.66).

In the Region 6 meet May 19 at Livonia Stevenson, Northville placed first with 143.5 points ahead of runner-up Plymouth with 91.5.

Individual regional champions included Herger, 800 (1:53.9), 1,600 (4:13.74); Ritchie, 400 (51.0); and senior Jai Davis, 100 (11.06). They also captured the 4 x 400 (3:27.1) led by Latta, Ritchie, Grezak and Herger, along with the 4 x 800.

In the KLAA meet May 13 at Howell, Herger swept the 800 (1:52.74) and 1,600 (4:18.19) events and anchored the first-placed 4 x 800 relay as Northville won the team title with 121 points.

The foursome of Latta, Ritchie, sophomore Alex McCallum and Davis also captured the 4 x 200 (1:31.10), while Latta, Ritchie, Grezak and Herger took the 4 x 400 (3:25.09).

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

The Mustangs kept their unbeaten dual meet streak going at 51 dating back to the 2013 season while winning its 12th straight regional title and 11th KLAA championship in 12 years.

At the D1 state finals, Northville sophomore Cassie Garcia made All-State (top eight) with an eighth in the

3,200 run (10:50.78). She also teamed up with senior Anna Gdowski, junior Ella Christensen and freshman Molly Kate Coates for an eighth in the 4 x 800 relay (9:19.24).

Northville captured the Regional 6 meet at Stevenson with 124 points, edging Salem (115) for the title led by freshman Callie Seiler, who took first in the 400 (58.6) and junior Ashley Krahe, who won the 300 hurdles (45.9). The 3,200 relay team of Garcia, sophomore Maya Labonte, Gdowski and Christensen also contributed a first (9:32.63).

In the KLAA meet, Northville scored 114 points to take first while Salem was second with 91 as Seiler (400, 59.09) and Gdowski (800, 2:20.05) captured individual titles.

The 4 x 400 relay team of Christensen, Krahe, Seiler and Gdowski was victorious (4:06.06), along with the 4 x 800 quartet of Garcia, Labonte, Gdowski and Christensen (9:21.08).

Baseball

The Mustangs (31-5), who ranked as high as No. 1 in the statewide Division 1 poll during regular season, captured the KLAA West Division title at 14-0 and went on to defeat Hartland, 6-0, in the conference championship.

Northville defeated Livonia Churchill in the District 15 final before losing to eventual state champion and rival Novi in the Regional 8 semifinal, 6-2.

Junior pitcher Joey Broughton and junior outfielder Dante Nori were named firstteam All-State by the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association. Junior infielder Luke Dieringer was named second-team.

All-KLAA selections included Broughton, Nori, junior infielder Leo Miksitz, junior pitcher-outfielder Evan Deak and junior pitcher-outfielder Carl Jurcisin.

Two seniors -- catcher-first baseman Gabe Clark and senior infielder Cullen Foley -- played in the 42nd annual MHSBCA East-West All-Star Classic held June 28 at Jimmy John’s Ballpark in Utica.

Following the season, Northville head coach John Kostrzewa announced he was stepping down after 19 seasons.

Tennis

The Mustangs, under the guidance of coach Brenda Lionas, earned a top 10 finish at the Division I finals held June 2-3 at Hope College in Holland placing ninth with 10 points.

Northville finished runnerup to rival Novi (7-0) in the

KLAA dual match season at 6-1 and was runner-up to the host Wildcats at the Regional 2 tourney by just a mere two points, 28-26.

Among the individual regional singles flight champions for Northville included freshman Sophia DePilla (No. 2), who finished 20-9 overall, along with senior Mackenzie DeYoung (No. 3), who wound up 20-7. Both finished 1-1 at the state tourney.

Freshman Michelle Lee (No. 4) finished runner-up at the regional and was 1-1 at the state finals to finish with a 15-13 record. The Mustangs’ No. 1 singles player Evelyn Deren finished 13-14 on the season.

In doubles at the state tourney, Northville had two teams go 1-1 while reaching the quarterfinals including freshman Talia Nishanian and junior Victoria Thompson (No. 3), who finished 19-9, along with seniors Gigi Mady and Aishwarya Shivaraman (No. 4), who posted a 24-6 mark.

Mady and Shivaraman were regional champs, while Nishanian and Thompson were runners-up.

The Mustangs’ No. 1 doubles team of junior Sona Manoukian and senior Alessia Zorzanl, the regional runners-up, went 18-10 on the season, while the No. 2 team of Sophia Dober and Laya Mangipudi, also regional runners-up, finished 18-9.

Boys Lacrosse

Coach’s Connor Kehoe’s team wound up 7-10 overall, including a 3-6 mark in KLAA and fifth in the West Division at 1-3.

Junior midfielder Kai Hayami earned Division 1 second-team All-State honors as well as All-KLAA. Junior goalie Chris Burlingame was also named AllKLAA and honorable mention All-State by the Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Girls Lacrosse

Coach Kayley Dahring’s squad finished 10-6 overall and reached the Division 1-Region 2 final at home before losing to eventual state champion Brighton, 16-4, following tournament wins against Plymouth (19-8), South Lyon (12-8) and Ann Arbor Pioneer

(19-10).

Northville finished 3-4 overall in the KLAA and 0-3 in the West Division as midfielders Molly Wierengo, a freshman, and Kennedy Gauther, a senior, made All-Conference along with senior defender Calista Cranson.

Both Wierengo and Gauthier earned honorable mention AllState by the Michigan Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association.

Softball

Coach Scott DeBoer’s squad finished 23-15 overall and 12-8 in KLAA play, while finishing fourth in the tough West Division at 6-8, which featured D1 state champion Hartland. The season was highlighted by winning the Grand Rapids Northview Invitational. The Mustangs also earned Academic All-State team honors with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.63.

Earning All-KLAA honors for the Mustangs included senior Aubrey Tolstyka, along with juniors Olivia Green, Grace Foley and Lily Barringer. Tolstyka also earned D1 AllDistrict honors.

The Northville girls and boys track teams earned another Division 1 regional title on May 19 at Livonia Stevenson. Photo courtesy of Tim Dalton