DETROIT — Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice and Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard each added four CHSL championship trophies to their collections after the CHSL spring sports seasons were over. The Warriors won titles in baseball, track and field and Division I golf and lacrosse; the Fighting Irish won in girls softball, girls track, girls tennis and boys Division II golf.
BOYS A-B BASEBALL: Brother Rice’s youth-laden baseball team played in Detroit’s Comerica Park for the A-B title as if they belonged there. Sophomore Matt Ruppenthal pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out a dozen to lead the Warriors’ 6-0 triumph over Detroit U-D Jesuit. Another pair of sophomores — Andy Righter and Bobby Crosby — smacked key two-run doubles. Rice sports a 26-7 record heading into state tournament action.
BOYS C-D BASEBALL: On their third straight trip to the CHSL finals, Madison Heights Bishop Foley defeated Allen Park Cabrini, 10-2, for its first-ever CHSL title. Senior Brian Bayliss had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the sixth inning, when Cabrini solved him for its two runs and four hits. By that time, Foley had its 10, sparked by a three-run third inning and four-run sixth. Brett Sunde had two hits and three RBIs to lead Foley’s offense. Now, the Ventures (34-3) turn their attention to the defense of their Division 3 state title.
GIRLS A-B SOFTBALL: The tense pitching duel between Livonia Ladywood’s Briana Combs and Farmington Hills Mercy’s Kayce Nieto was settled in the sixth inning. Michelle Nelson, pinch-running for Celeste Fidge, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and came home on a passed ball to give the Blazers (30-3) a 1-0 triumph over Mercy (20-8) and its second straight CHSL championship. Combs allowed four hits and struck out 11; Nieto gave up a pair of hits and whiffed nine batters.
GIRLS C-D SOFTBALL: Fr. Gabriel Richard won its first CHSL championship in school history, disposing of Marine City Cardinal Mooney, 11-1. Lauren Oppliger went the distance, striking out six. Maggie Larin had two hits and two RBIs.
BOYS A-B TRACK & FIELD: Brother Rice outscored Novi Detroit Catholic Central 41-7 in the sprints to make the difference in the Warriors’ first A-B title in five years and, in the process, snapping the Shamrocks’ domination for the past four years. Rice amassed 148 points to CC’s 137. Double event winners included CC senior Mark Becker (shot put, discus), Pontiac Notre Dame’s Jake Romeo (100- and 200–meter dashes), and Dearborn Divine Child’s Nick Soter (1600- and 3200-meter runs) and Fred Boyd (110- and 300-meter hurdles).
BOYS C-D TRACK & FIELD: Detroit Loyola won its first CHSL track title since 2008, dethroning Fr. Gabriel Richard, winner the last three years, 129.33 to 120.33. Richard’s dominance in the distance runs wasn’t enough to counter the Bulldogs’ speed in the sprints and hurdles, led by double-event winners freshman Corey Hewitt in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, and senior Jason Marzette, the 200- and 400-meter dashes.
GIRLS A-B TRACK & FIELD: Dearborn Divine Child set three relay records in winning its third straight girls crown with 173.5 points to Notre Dame’s 96.2 and Warren Regina’s 91.3. The Falcons rewrote the record book in the 800-meter relay (1:43.61 eclipsing 1:43.70 by Detroit dePorres in 1990), the 1600-meter relay (3:52.91 vs. 4:01 by Detroit Immaculata in 1978), and the 3200-meter relay (9:49.70, a shade better than 9:49.84 by Bloomfield Hills Marian last year). In addition, Notre Dame’s Sara Barron smashed her own 1600-meter record, timed in 4:47.35, bettering her 2011 effort by more than 12 seconds. Barron also won the 800-meter run, of which event she is the defending state Division 2 champion.
GIRLS C-D TRACK & FIELD: Fr. Gabriel Richard’s girls squad won its eighth consecutive C-D championship, 132-106, garnering more than a third of its points, outscoring runner-up Royal Oak Shrine, 55-6, in the distance and hurdles races. Junior Kelly Bindon won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, while sophomore Andrea Bodary won the 1600- and 3200-meter races, breaking a 29-year-old record in the 3200, timed in 12:06.1, beating 12:18.6 by Colleen Murphy of Redford St. Agatha way back in 1983.
GIRLS A-B SOCCER: Livonia Ladywood and Bloomfield Hills Marian battled into two overtimes under a scorching sun before the aptly-named Blazers won 1-0 on freshman Samantha Riga’s shot from a dozen yards in front of the net. The victory snapped Marian’s string of nine consecutive CHSL A-B soccer titles and gave Ladywood its first championship in six attempts.
GIRLS C-D SOCCER: Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes/Clarkston Everest Collegiate successfully defended its C-D championship with a 3-1 decision over Riverview Gabriel Richard. Junior Ava Doetsch scored in the first half, and sophomore Anna Robb connected twice in the second half. Junior Ashley Henderson had Richard’s lone score.
GIRLS TENNIS: Division I – Bloomfield Hills Marian won its fifth straight CHSL Division I title. The Mustangs won all four singles matches, and three of four doubles… Division II – Fr. Gabriel Richard repeated as champs by winning three of four singles matches and all four doubles.
BOYS DIVISION I GOLF: Brother Rice edged Novi Detroit Catholic Central for its second consecutive CHSL title. The top four shooters from each squad tied with 303 strokes each on the University of Michigan course; the deciding factor was the fifth man’s score, Rice’s 78 by Joey Hildebrand, three strokes better than CC’s fifth player. The Warriors winning quartet was Sean Fried (74), Lucas Belanger (74), Kyle Gaines (77) and Jeremy Ball (78).
BOYS DIVISION II GOLF: Fr. Gabriel Richard won for the eighth straight year, beating second-place Riverview Gabriel Richard, 341-353. The Ann Arbor team was comprised of Andre Scopone (82), Mark Lemanski (85), John Downer (85) and Tyler Madden (89).
BOYS LACROSSE: A-Division – Brother Rice won for the 10th consecutive year, beating Catholic Central, 13-5… B-Division – Bishop Foley won its first CHSL title in nine years, holding off Pontiac Notre Dame, 8-7.
GIRLS LACROSSE: Division I – Marian beat Flint Powers Catholic, 15-9… Division II – Ladywood won, 15-12, over Notre Dame.