DETROIT — In the just-concluded 97th year of the Catholic High School League, some 60 championship trophies were handed out to 31 schools in the boys and girls leagues.
Sixteen teams competing in the boys league won 27 trophies, and 15 teams in the girls league claimed 33.
The CHSL sponsors regular-season-ending playoffs in three divisions — Bishop (for the Central Division squads), Cardinal (for AA Division) and new this year, Ste. Anne (for the Intersectional 1 and 2 teams). Which division a school competes in is generally based on enrollment and level of competitiveness. Here’s the championship breakdown:
All boys schools (9)
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (1): Bishop baseball.
Novi Detroit Catholic Central (5): Bishop golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, track, wrestling.
Toledo St. Francis de Sales (1): Bishop cross country.
Toledo St. John’s Jesuit (1): Bishop soccer.
University of Detroit Jesuit (1): Bishop bowling.
All girls schools (13)
Bloomfield Hills Marian (3): Bishop field hockey, skiing, volleyball.
Farmington Hills Mercy (5): Bishop lacrosse, dance, soccer, softball, swimming.
Toledo Notre Dame Academy (1): Bishop cross country
Toledo St. Ursula Academy (2): Bishop golf, track.
Wixom St. Catherine of Siena (2): Cardinal cheer, tennis.
Co-ed schools (38)
Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (5): BOYS: Cardinal tennis. GIRLS: Bishop basketball, Cardinal field hockey, lacrosse, track.
Ann Arbor Greenhills (3): BOYS: Ste. Anne baseball. GIRLS: Cardinal golf, Ste. Anne track.
Allen Park Cabrini (2): GIRLS: Ste. Anne softball, soccer.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (2): BOYS: Bishop swimming, tennis.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate (4): BOYS: Cardinal football, Ste. Anne basketball. GIRLS: Ste. Anne basketball, volleyball.
Dearborn Divine Child (4): BOYS: Cardinal lacrosse. GIRLS: Bishop bowling, cheer, pom-pon.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (4): BOYS: Cardinal ice hockey, soccer, Ste. Anne track. GIRLS: Bishop ice hockey.
Jackson Lumen Christi (4): BOYS: Cardinal baseball, cross country, golf. GIRLS: Cardinal cross country.
Macomb Lutheran North (1): BOYS: Cardinal track.
Madison Heights Bishop Foley (2): BOYS: Cardinal bowling. GIRLS: Cardinal bowling.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep (5): BOYS: Bishop basketball, skiing. GIRLS: Cardinal basketball, soccer, volleyball.
Riverview Gabriel Richard (1): BOYS: Cardinal basketball.
Toledo Central Catholic (1): GIRLS: Cardinal softball.
A grand entrance
The CHSL’s six new members made their presence felt, winning 10 championships, in particular Jackson Lumen Christi, champs in baseball, boys golf and in both boys and girls cross country.
The five schools from Toledo transported six trophies back across the state line: St. Ursula in girls golf and track, Central Catholic in softball, Notre Dame in girls cross country, St. John’s Jesuit in boys soccer, and St. Francis de Sales in boys cross country.
Toledo Central Catholic and Lumen Christi made headlines last fall. In a revamped Prep Bowl, Central Catholic beat Detroit Public Schools champ Cass Tech, 48-23, and Lumen Christi outlasted Battle Creek Harper Creek, 21-14. Each topped off the football season with championships in their respective states.
A race for second place
In the CHSL playoffs in wrestling and girls swimming, it’s not so much about who will most likely be the winner, but rather who will be second.
Detroit Catholic Central wrestlers are 30-1 since the CHSL hosted its first finals in 1993. Brother Rice beat the Shamrocks in 1974.
Mercy’s dominance (55-1) in girls swimming is even more stunning. The aptly named Marlins won 23 in a row between 1967 and 1989 — interrupted by Marian in 1990 — then resumed with 32 consecutive victories.
Between 1997 and 2024, Brother Rice (23-4) prevailed in CHSL lacrosse. The losses were delivered by Warren De La Salle in 2003 and by Novi Detroit Catholic Central in 2018, 2023 and 2024.
Mercy’s softballers have won the CHSL title the last four years in a row, and Marian has accomplished a similar streak in volleyball.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
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