High 5s: 5/29/12

May 31, 2012

Each week, Second Half gives "High 5s" to athletes and a team based on their accomplishments the previous week or throughout the season. 

This week's individual recipients will finish their MHSAA careers Saturday hoping to add to championship resumes -- while our team honoree is hoping to take the first step this weekend toward a first Finals title in program history.

Latipha Cross
Southfield senior
Track and Field

Cross won both the 200 (25.56) and 400 meters (55.98) at the Oakland County Invitational, setting a meet record in the latter. Her 400 win avenged a Regional loss to Birmingham Seaholm's Aubrey Wilberding the week before. Cross also finished second in the 200 at the Regional and is qualified to run both at Saturday's MHSAA Division 1 Final at East Kentwood. She's hoping to improve on the all-Finals record she set last season in the 400 of 54.29 seconds -- and believes she can break 54 this weekend. She's signed to run next season at Eastern Michigan University -- and has beaten two forms of cancer the last two years, plus spent a short time homeless.

My favorite runner: "All-time, it's Sanya Richards (Olympic medalist and World Champion sprinter). I just love how she runs, the fact that she's always looking forward to getting better. She'll run a 50 that day (in the 400), and say 'I can do better than that.' I love that about her. She's never satisfied."

Hoop dreams: "Basketball was my first love, but track is the sport that gets me my money," Cross said with a laugh. "I love track with a passion though. When I'm on the track, nobody can hurt me -- they can't catch me. ... My favorite basketball player right now is Swin Cash. I love her. I like her tenacity. She always went out there and gave 110 percent."

I learned the most about running from: "My former coach Calvin Johnson (now at Southfield Lathrup). He's been there for me. ... Because of him, I fell back into track, got that same passion (as for hoops)."

Up next: Cross will major in social work and hopes to someday work with children. "It's important to me because I know how it is to not have anybody to fight for you. I know what feels like for kids to need somebody. I want to be an advocate for them."

(Click to read more.)

Zack Zingsheim
Lansing Catholic senior
Track and Field

Zingsheim will attempt to finish his record-setting career with a few more MHSAA championships at Saturday's Division 3 Final after winning the MHSAA Division 3 cross country title in the fall. He also earned an MHSAA track championship as part of the Cougars' 800-meter relay in 2011, and will run that relay, plus the 1,600 and 3,200 relays and the open 800 at Comstock. He won the 800 at his Regional by nearly five seconds with a time of 1:55.63. Zingsheim will continue to run this fall at Georgetown University.

Track man, track fan: "There's a certain thing about running. You've gotta love it. We're all Flotrack junkies. I was watching the Illinois state meet yesterday, the Texas state meet last week."

I learned the most about running from: "Probably my brother (Brandon, a 2001 Lansing Catholic grad). That's how I was introduced to the sport. He'd say, 'Zack, I'm going to run,' and it seemed like he was gone for two hours. I was just astounded, so shocked. He'd race me in sprints. I was pretty quick, and he was more of a distance guy. I never beat him, but he knew I loved the challenge. I've also been blessed with great coaches like Tim (Simpson, Lansing Catholic's head coach), our assistant coach Tim O'Hara, and guys like (teammates) Jimmy (Hicks) and Austin (Winter). The passion they have for the sport, they inspire you to want to be good."

I run like: "I can relate distance-wise to Robby Andrews. He ran for the University of Virginia. ... He's a late-kick guy. I used to be, but not as much this year. But growing up, as a runner, I knew I had foot speed waiting. I'd just wait and see what happened."

Up next: Zingsheim will run both cross country and track at Georgetown, and will major in accounting or finance. "I took an 'Intro to Business' class at LCC, and I really enjoyed it. I love the math side of business."

(Click to read more.)

Richland Gull Lake baseball

The Blue Devils are 34-2 and won the Greater Kalamazoo Tournament on Saturday with a 9-7 victory over Portage Central, formerly ranked in Division 1. Gull Lake is No. 1 in Division 2, and the Greater Kalamazoo title was its first since 2005. The Blue Devils are 72-4 over the last two seasons, which last spring included a run to the MHSAA Semifinals. They've continued to surge the last three weeks despite the loss of senior pitcher Nate Stegman -- and all-state selection in 2011 -- to an injury. (Click to read more.)

This spring's previous honorees

Yale's Dykstra Wasting No Time Showing Superior Multi-Sport Potential

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

March 28, 2024

Sadie Dykstra’s already long list of accomplishments from less than two years of high school – three all-state medals, multiple all-conference awards and a league MVP to name a few – may seem shocking.

Bay & ThumbAnd to most, it justifiably is. 

But it’s come as little surprise for those in Yale who saw her grow up and do, well, anything.

“I’ve always known that she’s kind of special,” said Yale boys track coach and Dykstra family friend Brian Bearss. “She was that kid that, when other kids would be playing and learning how to ride their bikes, here comes Sadie and she’s yelling, ‘Look at this,’ and standing on the seat riding the bike. She’s always been exceptional as far as being an athlete.”

Dykstra is entering her sophomore track & field season at Yale and has already established herself as one of the best female athletes in the state. Want to argue against that? Check out this résumé:

Volleyball: Two years varsity, second-team all-Blue Water Area Conference as a sophomore.

Basketball: Two-time first-team all-BWAC selection, BWAC all-defense and BWAC MVP as a sophomore, BCAM all-state honorable mention as a freshman, sophomore all-state honors still pending.

Track: Unbeaten in the BWAC as a freshman with four league titles (long jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 1,600 meter relay), three all-state finishes at 2023 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals (fourth in long jump, fifth in 100 hurdles, sixth in 300 hurdles).

Again, just a sophomore.

“I can’t believe that I get to coach her,” Yale girls track coach Ashley Garofalo said. “She has a drive and a mindset that I can’t teach somebody. Nobody can teach you to have this. She gives every single thing that she has in every single sport. I think it does help when you’re so good at it. It makes you want to do it more.”

Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. Basketball gets Dykstra’s most attention and it’s the one she’d most like to play at the next level. The 5-foot-11 guard is getting interest already from Division I college programs. 

But it wouldn’t be right to say her heart is with one sport or another.

“I enjoy all my sports,” Dykstra said. “I like all my teams. I have a different team for each one, and I get along with all those girls. I think each one, it flows into the next one, and helps strengthen things for my other sports. Volleyball helps my legs for basketball. In basketball, I’m getting in shape for track.”

You don’t have to look far to find where Dykstra gained her love for athletics. Her parents, Kerry and Brad, both played basketball at Calvin College. Kerry graduated as Calvin’s all-time leading scorer in 1999 and is still sixth on the all-time list. She also served as Yale volleyball coach for 10 years, just recently stepping down.

Brad was a two-sport athlete at Calvin, playing baseball as well. He also played baseball at Grand Valley State. He coached basketball at Yale from 2006-10.

“We’re a very sporty family,” Sadie Dykstra said.

So, when it came time to enter high school, there was never a thought of specializing.

“I came in with the mindset of, I’m going to play three sports each season and enjoy them, too,” Dykstra said. “I don’t want to be in them and have them be the most awful things in the universe. I came in with the mindset of enjoying all three sports.”

Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season.While basketball is her current collegiate goal, she did say that competing in basketball and track & field would be something she would consider if given the opportunity. Bearss said Dykstra has Division I potential in track & field, adding that heptathlon could best suit her.

But there are still two more years to figure that out. The next thing for Dykstra to enjoy is track, the sport in which she had the most early success. And while outdoor meets are still a couple weeks away, she’s already locked in.

“She’s just a natural leader, and I think that’s why she’s so disciplined,” Garofalo said. “(Tuesday), I was going over a workout with somebody else, and she just started her warm-ups on her own. She’s not afraid to lead 60 other kids, even though there are juniors and seniors.”

Dykstra has big goals for this spring, mostly based around performance marks. She’s eyeing the Yale school long jump record of 18 feet, 1¾ inches, which is less than an inch longer than her personal best of 18-1. She’d like to move that record closer to 19 feet.

Her 100 hurdle PR (personal record) sits at 15.59 seconds, and she’d like to knock that into the low 15s or even high 14s. For the 300 hurdles, where her PR is 47 seconds, she’d like to get down to 45.

“I have big goals, and I think I can get to them,” she said. “But that’s something for the end of the season to play out and see how that goes.”

Anybody who’s watched her wouldn’t doubt that Dykstra can reach those goals. And that list, along with those accomplishments, continues to grow.

“Last year we went to Ortonville Brandon, and we had really nice weather that day and the competition was really good – a lot of schools there,” Bearss said. “Even with all of those great athletes, you could just kind of see, people are pointing and looking, ‘There’s that girl from Yale.’ They’re taking notice. Every once in a while, you get kids that turn heads like that.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Yale’s Sadie Dykstra launches into a long jump last spring. (Middle) Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. (Below) Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season. (Photos courtesy of the Dykstra family.)