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Spring Fever: Freshman sprinter leads team to track state finals and more notes

The 100- and 200-meter dashes are typically races dominated by seniors at the high school level. So when Willow Run High School freshman Brandon Morgan won the 200 and finished runner-up in the 100 at the Division 3 regional championship at Erie Mason High School on Friday, his coach was encouraged.

Prep Roundup: Huron boys golf scores nine-shot win over Pioneer and more Wednesday results

• Visit Mlive's High School Sports Network for full Wednesday results

Prep Roundup: Mackenzie Sapp's hat trick sends Pioneer girls soccer to big win and more Thursday results

• For complete results from Thursday, visit Mlive's High School Sports Network

with gallery: Saline, Pioneer stay perfect in SEC boys golf with Wednesday quad wins

Saline High School boys golf coach Debbie Williams-Hoak has a team full of perfectionists.

Greenhills, Saline golf teams secure top 10 finishes in state golf tournament

Highlighted by Caleb Wittig’s 1-over-par 73, the Saline High School boys golf team shot a 309 in the final round of the Division 1 state golf tournament held at The Meadows Golf Course in Allendale. The Hornets shot a total 624 over the two days to finish in ninth place.

“Caleb Wittig had been the number one player all year. He had a tough time (Friday), but recovered well," Saline coach Debbie Williams-Hoak said. “When you finish top 10, it’s a good thing. Every step of the way is experience."

Saline finished 22 strokes behind state champion Birmingham Brother Rice (602) who narrowly defeated Battle Creek Lakeview (603).

Greenhills 10th, Saline 11th after first day of golf state finals

The Saline High School golf team is in 11th place, 19 strokes off the lead, and Pioneer senior Nick Margolis is 15th in the individual standings after the first day of the Division 1 state golf finals at The Meadows Golf Course in Allendale.

Jackson Lambert's 4-over-par 76 led the Hornets to a 315 team total. Battle Creek Lakeview is atop the team standings with a 296. Traverse City West (299) and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (300) follow.

“All in all today, we played not as well as we have been,” Saline coach Debbie Williams-Hoak said. “We shot a little higher than we usually do, and I feel that we threw some shots away. ... We get to come back (Saturday) and, hopefully, we can play better and stay under control emotionally.”

Related content: Complete scores & standings | Statewide coverage

Margolis, an individual qualifier, shot a 3-over-par 75. Matt Garland of Battle Creek Lakeview leads at 3-under 69.

“I played pretty solid,” Margolis said. I made a couple of mistakes out there, but I was able to give myself some birdie chances. I was able to set myself up for some straight putts, and I was able to knock some of them down.”

Skyline sophomore Conor Lang, the first golfer in school history to play in the finals, shot a 77.

“I think I played pretty well,” Lang said. “I had two bad holes and 16 good ones, so that’s not too bad."

Saline soccer loses regional final; two local golfers advance to D2 state final

The Canton High School girls soccer team scored two goals in the final 15 minutes of play to end Saline’s postseason run on their home field Friday night.

Ally Krause and Megan Trapp scored for the Chiefs (13-2-3), who advance to a state semifinal against Troy on Wednesday. Okemos and Rochester Adams will play in the other semifinal. (Boxscore | Division 1 bracket)

The Hornets (15-6-3) were making their second regional final appearance in program history. The last, in 2006, ended in a 4-0 loss to eventual state runner-up Northville.

regional roundup: Saline, Greenhills boys golf teams return to state championships

The Saline High School boys golf team is headed to the state finals for the second straight year.

Jackson Lambert shot a 2-under-par 69 at West Shore Golf and Country Club on Grosse Ile on Thursday, leading the Hornets to a second-place finish at a Division 1 regional tournament.

High school roundup: Dexter girls soccer, Milan boys golf advance in MHSAA tournaments

This story has been updated to include Dexter's regional final opponent.

Nicole Lucas’ goal gave the Dexter High School girls soccer team a 1-0 win over Livonia Ladywood in a Division 2 regional semifinal Tuesday at Trenton High School.

Lucas scored on an assist from Olivia Vollmers with 10 minutes left in the first half.

Saline, Skyline, Greenhills and Whitmore Lake advance to golf regionals

The Plymouth High School golf team had the top two players at a Division 1 district tournament played Thursday at Whispering Willow Golf Course in Livonia.

But, by the narrowest of margins, Saline had the best team.

The Hornets matched Plymouth with a 299 team score and won the district title on a fifth-score tie-breaker.

Saline and Skyline, which earned the sixth and final qualifying spot at the 12-team tournament, advance to regional play next week at West Shore Country Club on Grosse Ile. They’ll be joined by five individual qualifiers from Pioneer and Huron.

High school sports postseason hits fever pitch this week

MacKay Little (5), Zack Byron (1) and the rest of the Dexter baseball team play in a Division 1 district at Pioneer on Saturday.

Chris Asadian | AnnArbor.com

The spring high school sports season hits overdrive this week, when several postseason tournaments culminate in championships and others -- baseball, softball, girls soccer and boys golf -- kick off district tournament action.

There is a full slate of boys and girls lacrosse regional semifinals, soccer district games and baseball and softball pre-district games on Tuesday. Boys golf districts are played Thursday and Friday. Schedules for those tournaments can be found below.

Check back later in the week for previews of local teams and individuals competing in this weekend's girls water polo, girls tennis, and boys and girls track state championships.

Whitmore Lake girls golfer earns college scholarship by playing with the boys

Emma Salata lines up a putt during an MHSAA regional tournament last June. After three years of competing on the Whitmore Lake boys golf team, Salata will play at Western Michigan University next year.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

While playing in her grandparents' yard one day, Emma Salata decided to pick up one of her grandfathers' golf clubs and give it a swing. Then 12 years old, Salata had never tried it before.

“The swing came very naturally to me and my grandparents just taught me everything and eventually they took me out to the golf course," said Salata, now a senior at Whitmore Lake High School. "I just fell in love with (the game)."

Today, Salata is the captain of the Whitmore Lake boys golf team, a title she’s held since her sophomore year. Coach Larry Thistlewaite said she is the perfect fit for the role.

“It was an easy decision," he said. "She had the game, so it was easy for her to be able to demonstrate how to do things with other players, and she had the respect of the players pretty quickly.”

state finals: Saline takes fourth in D1 state finals, Emily White all-state and more golf results

The Saline High School girls golf team didn’t successfully defend its state title, but the Hornets had a strong showing and finished in fourth place at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University with a team score of 745.

Pioneer (804) finished in 11th out of 15 teams after the two-day tournament ended on Saturday.

STATE FINALS: Saline sixth, Pioneer 11th after first round of D1 girls golf finals

The defending Division 1 state champion Saline High School girls golf team has a tough hill to climb, but it's been there before.

After the first day of the state championships at The Meadows at Grand Valley State, the Hornets are in sixth place and trail first-place Grosse Pointe South by 23 strokes. Pioneer finished the Friday round in 11th place.

Two Ann Arbor high school golfers in top 15 at national juniors tournament

Pioneer High School’s Davis Ransdell is tied for fourth place and Huron’s Alex Wunderlich is 15th after the first round of the Big “I” National Championship at Reunion Golf & Country Club in Madison, Miss.

The two Ann Arbor players worked their way to the top of the 102-player leaderboard with temperatures in the high 90s and humidity levels hovering around 50 percent.

Ransdell shot a 1-under 71 and trails first-round leader Austin Smotherman of Loomis, Calif., by three shots. Wunderlich shot 73.

Saline’s Karla Gross and Shannon Fraser are Washtenaw County Girls Golf Co-Players of the Year

Saline’s Karla Gross (right) and Shannon Fraser are Washtenaw County Girls Golf Co-Players of the Year.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

After being the low scorer for the Saline girls golf team in the 2009 season, and being a first team Division 1 All-State selection, Hornets coach Betsy French expected Karla Gross to be her team’s clear No. 1 in 2010.

What she didn’t count on was the vast improvement of senior Shannon Fraser.

The two became so indistinguishable through the course of the season that it became a joke for the Saline team.

2010 All-Washtenaw County Girls Golf Team

Girls golf is the second in AnnArbor.com's series of 10 All-Washtenaw County Teams from the fall sports season.

Saline golfers Shannon Fraser and Karla Gross named first team All-State

The Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association released its All-State teams and the leaders of the Saline's Division 1 State Championship team were the only two Washtenaw County represented on a first team across all divisions. Chelsea's Gabby Triveline was a Division 3 Honorable Mention.

Junior Karla Gross and senior Shannon Fraser were each named the MIGCA Division 1 first team.

with slideshow: Saline girls win school's first-ever golf state championship

Karla Gross (above) led Saline's state championship effort with a seventh place individual finish.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

Saline High School girls golf coach Betsy French was sporting an interesting T-shirt Saturday at the MHSAA Division 1 Girls Golf State Finals at Eagle Crest Golf Course in Ypsilanti. The shirt had listed on it team accomplishments from the previous year: 2009 State Runner-Up, 2009 Regional Champions, 2009 SEC co-Champions.

Possibly a reminder of what they didn’t want their shirts to look like this year?

Whatever the motivation, French and the rest of the Saline golf team can now wear shirts listing their accomplishments from this season: 2010 Regional Champions, 2010 SEC Red Champions.

And in big bold letter across the top: 2010 State Champions.

golf state finals roundup: Local golfers improve on second day at respective state championships

The Saline girls golf team wasn't the only team to compete in the MHSAA finals over the weekend, though they certainly did have the most success.