Speaking
of Sports 


by
Alex
Prasad

 
Spectacular Spring
Ends With a Bang

June 21, 2010

What a spring! Across the board Novi athletics made its mark at the state and national levels, giving credibility to Novi’s reputation as a talent-rich sports community. The exclamation mark on it all was a dramatic penalty kick that put the Novi soccer team atop the state once again.

In a battle between Wildcats (both Plymouth and Novi share the same overused mascot), Novi dominated all day. But in the final minutes a handball was called on Plymouth inside its own goal box resulting in a penalty kick. Without a goal in her season, Morgan Haffey picked a good time to get one, picking up her first when she drilled a kick to the back of the net, capping a remarkable season for Novi. Unlike the teams that won three straight championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007, that sent multiple girls to division 1 collegiate powerhouses, this team consists mostly of seniors whose careers ended Saturday. Not a bad way to finish off a career eh?

On the tennis courts, another Novi senior finished a remarkable career. #2 seed Amanda Border, defeated #4 Hailey Barrett of Grand Ledge 6-3, 6-1 to take home the #1 singles individual state championship. In a sport where switcheroos occur often, Border rose to the top in the most competitive slot possible. This amazing accomplishment notched the first state championship for Novi this spring.

On the baseball diamond, the Novi Wildcats had one of, if not their best, season in program history. Remember when Coach Green said his team had the potential to “make big waves” in the state playoffs? Well the team rode a fantastic regular season to the regional semi-finals and a #8 ranking in the state. In that regional semi-final they finally lost to the KLAA champions and 7^th best team in the state, the Plymouth Canton Chiefs despite getting more than their share of runners on base. It looks like the future of the Wildcats baseball program is bright as well- the freshman team went 19-4 this season.

Finally on the track, a number of Wildcat athletes followed in the footsteps of legendary Novi athletics Tim Moore and Chris Toloff among others, to New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina this past weekend. Sophomores Lance J. Lilla and Derek Cingel, along with Juniors Derek Kim and Davante Greer finished 5^th in the 110 meter high shuttle hurdles race in Greensboro Friday.

The next day, the Novi 4 x mile team of Seniors Dan Egner and Mike Blaszczyk along with Juniors Brett Giampa and  Joe Schubring placed 16^th of 25 teams with a total time of 18:23. Blaszczyk set the pace for the team with his blazing split of 4:26, followed by Schubring’s 4:35, Egner’s 4:37 and Giampa’s 4:39 in the blistering North Carolina heat.

By any measure, this spring was an incredibly successful one. As Tom Petty said, “the waiting is the hardest part.”  And with so much success from Novi High School this school year, I can only imagine what its teams have in store for us this fall. Start counting down the days!

(c) 2010 Novi Information Network
www.novi.org

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Alex Prasad is a life-long Michigan resident, a student at the University of Michigan and a 2007 graduate of Novi High School. He was the Novi.org school and sports reporter while he was at NHS. Alex was also a captain of the NHS Cross Country Team and Track Team under legendary coach Bob Smith. His passion for running continues to this day, as he trains for a marathon.

Alex is currently General Manager of WOLV-TV, the student run television station at UM, and produces shows on both the Michigan Football and Michigan Hockey teams. You can also see his work on Big Ten Network coverage of Michigan baseball and softball this spring.

You can see more of his work here.