Dow High’s Alexa Kolnitys brings the ball upcourt during a March 10, 2022 regional final against Grand Blanc.
Other notable achievements from the world of local sports in 2022 (in roughly chronological order):
*Dow High girls’ basketball wins second straight regional championship
*Coleman girls’ basketball wins first conference championship in 28 years
*Dow High wrestler Aidan Wardell finishes second at 189 pounds at Division 1 individual state final
*Midland High wrestling team wins fifth consecutive district championship, earns Saginaw Valley League team title for second straight year, the latter a first in team history
*Midland High girls’ tennis team earns first state final berth since 2014
*Bullock Creek girls’ tennis team earns first-ever conference regular-season championship and earns first-ever state final berth four years after nearly folding
*Dow High alumni (and siblings) Delaney and Sam Strouse compete at the World Junior Curling Championships, with Delaney’s team earning a bronze medal
*Dow High alum Anna Jensen helps University of Texas women’s rowing team win a second consecutive NCAA championship, then helps Team USA win a second straight World Rowing U23 championship
*Midland High baseball wins 30 games, reaches regional final
*Midland High softball wins 33 games, wins second straight district title
*Dow High girls’ soccer wins Saginaw Valley League championship for first time since 2014, ranked as high as No. 2 in state
*Midland High softball player Grace Schloop breaks school’s 42-year-old single-season home run record
*Bullock Creek baseball goes 26-4, wins second straight conference championship, ranked as high as No. 5 in state
*Dow-Midland boys’ lacrosse wins second straight regional championship, coach Joe Stadelmaier named Michigan High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year
*Midland High’s Brady Pinwar and Alec Albrecht win second straight Bassmaster High School Series championship
*Great Lakes Loons go on furious rally at end of first half of season to qualify for playoffs
*Northeast Little League baseball major all-stars reach state semifinals, Northeast minor all-stars reach state quarterfinals
*Freeland all-stars win second straight Junior League Baseball district championship, reach Central Region semifinals in Midland
*Highly influential former Dow High coach and athletics director Al Quick passes away at the age of 88
*Bullock Creek boys’ soccer wins conference championship for first time in 11 years
*Dow High boys’ soccer wins second straight Saginaw Valley League title
*Bullock Creek boys’ tennis earns berth in state final for first time in decades
*Bullock Creek volleyball wins first conference championship in eight years (and only third conference title ever), wins second straight district championship
*Midland High volleyball wins unlikely district championship during injury-plagued season
*Dow High’s Victoria Garces finishes fifth in Division 1 girls’ cross country state final, while Freeland’s TJ Hansen finishes fourth in Division 2 boys’ cross country state final
*Beaverton volleyball wins sixth straight district championship
*Dow High’s Chris Zielinski scores school single-game record 47 points in boys’ basketball win over Flint Powers
Fred Kelly is a 1987 graduate of Coleman High School and earned a B.S. from Central Michigan University in 1993 and an M.A. from CMU in 1996. He enjoys playing softball as well as other outdoor activities, volunteering at schools, reading, and spending time with his family. He has won numerous awards from various organizations for sportswriting and column-writing.
