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Top Livingston County High School Sports Stories for 2023-2024

VaselineJune 27, 2024

0 6 minutes read

Top Livingston County High School Sports Stories for 2023-2024

Livingston County’s high school sports scene was dominated by Brighton and Hartland this past year, which is hardly anything new.

The Bulldogs and Eagles have been making an impact at the state level in multiple sports for years, so why should 2023-2024 be any different?

Brighton won one state championship, finished second in four sports and reached at least the state quarterfinals in five sports.

Hartland was the state runner-up in three sports and reached at least the quarterfinals in four sports.

No other school in Livingston County reached the quarterfinals in an intermediate division sport. Pinckney’s second-place finish in Division 2 in boys cross country was the only other performance worthy of a wooden mitt in the state finals.

So if this list of Livingston County’s best sports moments in 2023-24 seems to focus mainly on two schools, that’s why.

The list is presented chronologically, beginning and ending on the grounds of Michigan State University.

Brighton Girls Golf settles for second place after the last putt

Finishing second in the state girls golf tournament was a great achievement for Brighton, but not what the Bulldogs were looking for on Oct. 20 and 21 at MSU’s Forest Akers West course.

Brighton has never been in a better position to win the county’s first girls golf state championship, breaking records throughout the fall behind three stellar seniors who would have played as the No. 1 golfer for almost any team in Michigan.

When Rochester Adams sophomore Hannah Wang made a par putt on the final hole, Brighton had to settle for the second-straight runner-up by one shot, 669-670.

“This was the year we could make it happen,” said Brighton coach Paul Parsell. “Losing by one stroke on the last putt is hard to swallow.”

Neighbors across the country rank second

The cross country season began with a quiet dual meet between neighboring boys Brighton and Pinckney on August 18 at Manley Bennett Park.

It concluded on November 4 at Michigan International Speedway, with each team earning a runner-up trophy in their division, Brighton in Division 1 and Pinckney in Division 2.

Brighton finished 13 points behind KLAA rival Northville after the teams split four regular season meetings.

“Our fifth man had just over 16 minutes,” said Brighton coach Chris Elsey. “Anytime you can do that, there’s nothing to hang your head about. It’s a great day; it’s just that Northville had a slightly better day.

Pinckney posted a 24-point performance at regionals, the lowest since the dynasty years of three straight Division 1 championships from 2005-2007. The Pirates finished 22 points behind Forest Hills Eastern, which was their best state finish since that series of titles.

“We haven’t had a runner-up finish in a few years,” Pinckney coach Jim Wicker said. “We’re taking home a trophy, but it’s a little bittersweet.”

Brighton 2 minutes from boys soccer state title

A few hours after Brighton finished second in boys cross country, the Bulldogs were two minutes away from becoming the county’s first boys soccer state champion.

But Troy Athens scored with 1:56 left in regulation time and 2:59 in overtime to beat Brighton 2-1 in the Division 1 championship match.

Along the way, Brighton rode the magic of junior Devlin McGinnis to its first state final since 1998. McGinnis scored in the second overtime and defeated Detroit Catholic Central in the regional final before scoring the game-tying goal 13 minutes apart during the second overtime . half of a 3-1 win over Rockford in the state semifinals.

“(This run was) just an inspiration to the community and to the team,” McGinnis said. “I hope it ignites a spark for more.”

Hartland wrestling comes in second again

Hartland wrestlers hoped the experience of reaching the State Division 1 championship match a year ago would be an asset when they returned to the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo on Feb. 24.

But the Eagles lost to Detroit Catholic Central in the title game for the second year in a row, 41-12.

The teams split the first eight games, with the Shamrocks leading 14-12, before Hartland lost its final six games.

“A lot of teams want to be here, but we don’t just want to be here,” Hartland senior Vinnie Abbey said. “We want a title. We didn’t come out with that today, but everyone here, all the lower class people, I know they are working towards that. That is now the standard here. We want titles. We don’t just want to be here.”

Four-peat and four-wrestle champions

Brighton senior Sabrina Nauss became the third four-time girls wrestling state champion in the six years since a state tournament was held at Ford Field on March 2.

Fowlerville junior Maggie Buurma is one championship away from competing at the Nauss tournament after winning her third championship.

On the boys side, Brighton senior Zak Knapp and Hartland sophomore Dallas Korponic won state championships.

“It’s crazy,” Nauss said. “It hasn’t fully dawned on me yet. I know there aren’t that many girls who have done it. I’m just so happy that now I can do something that little girls can watch and want to do and say, ‘Oh, I want to wrestle because she wrestled.’

Brighton hockey second for the third year in a row

Brighton has a good case for being the top public school hockey program in Michigan, but the Bulldogs once again had to settle for second place after a third straight loss in the Division 1 final against Detroit Catholic Central March.

The Bulldogs had their strongest performance in the three meetings, but lost 2-0 on March 9 at USA Hockey Arena.

“We felt confident going in,” said Brighton coach Kurt Kivisto. “We felt like we had a really good chance. We shot 25 shots. We didn’t put one in the back of the net.”

They reached the championship game a night earlier in dramatic fashion when Zack Helminen’s overtime goal defeated Clarkston in the state semifinals.

Hartland slays Goliath in boys lacrosse

Anytime a boys lacrosse team beats Birmingham Brother Rice, it’s a huge deal.

It’s even bigger when it happens before the state championship game. The Warriors reached all 18 Division 1 finals since the MHSAA began sponsoring a tournament in 2005 until losing 11-10 to Hartland in a state semifinal on June 6 at Troy High School.

The Eagles never trailed in the game, but had to fight until the last second to hold off a team that was 18-0 in the state semifinals and 95-2 in postseason play.

Hartland played in its third state final in four years two days later, losing 14-8 to Detroit Catholic Central after leading by three goals at halftime.

“When the season started, everyone doubted us,” said senior Jacob Ross, a holdover from Hartland’s 2022 state championship team. “Everyone said, ‘Oh, Bo Lockwood was the only reason we won.’ To prove that wasn’t true and Hartland is a lacrosse school and we have a lot of lacrosse athletes, it felt really good to be back here. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t come out on top.”

Brighton 3-peat in girls lacrosse

With eight teams from Livingston County taking home state runner-up honors, Brighton girls lacrosse was the only one to capture a state championship.

It was the Bulldogs’ third straight state title, making Pinckney’s 2005-07 boys cross country teams the longest streak by a county team.

Brighton did it June 7 at the University of Michigan with a 7-4 victory over Rockford, which had been in championship games for eight years before the Bulldogs’ current streak.

“We come in every year with a goal on our back, so we go into the season knowing we’re going to be a big threat,” said senior Cece Mainhardt, who had three goals and one assist against Rockford. “We’ve just been working from day one knowing that we’re going to make it to the state championship.”

Hartland returns to the girls soccer finals

For the second time in four years, Hartland girls soccer was the last team standing in Livingston County.

This time, however, it didn’t end with a state championship celebration, as the Eagles lost 2-0 to Rochester Adams in the State Division 1 final on June 14 at MSU.

Hartland had never advanced past regionals until winning the state title three years ago. The Eagles won two two-goal games at districts and then three one-goal decisions to return to MSU.

Freshman Claire L’Esperance sent Hartland to the finals by scoring with 9:13 remaining in a 2-1 semifinal win over Grand Haven.

“There’s an expectation now from these players that we can do things and win things and we have to compete game in and game out,” Hartland coach Andrew Kartsounes said. “I think it will take a while to set that up, but now that we’ve been here, they want to come back.”

Contact Bill Khan at [email protected]. Follow him on X @BillKhan

VaselineJune 27, 2024

0 6 minutes read