Novi Detroit Catholic Central wrestling and Rochester Adams golf were named the Boys and Girls Teams of the Year Tuesday night at the 2024 Detroit High School Sports Awards, presented by Detroit Area Honda Dealers. The show was produced in partnership with the U.S. Army.
The show was held at the The Fillmore and honored more than 300 student-athletes from the Detroit Metro area and the surrounding counties.
The Teams of the Year were sponsored by USA TODAY Sports.
The other finalists for Boys Teams of the Year were Southfield A&T football and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s basketball.
The Girls Teams of the Year finalists were Romeo cross country and Farmington Hills Mercy volleyball.
Is there a better dynasty in Detroit high school sports? It’s hard to argue against Novi Detroit Catholic Central wrestling.
And the Shamrocks continued their dominance this year and added to the historic legacy.
This year, Catholic Central won its 17th state championship, and it’s second straight. The score wasn’t even close as the Shamrocks outscored the second-place finisher, 41-12.
Under coach Mitch Hancock, this is the team’s 10th title. This year’s team thought wasn’t just dominating in state, it was capturing national attention. En route to its 50-0 season, the team was at one point ranked number 22 in the country by FloWrestling. This year at the state tournament, the team won five events, including Wrestler of the Year Darius Marines, who won his fourth straight individual crown.
It’s hard to have a better year than Rochester Adams had on the course. Add in what the program has produced over the past few years, and the Highlanders are truly becoming a powerhouse in girls golf around the state.
This season, the team had 12 top-five finishes. They were 5-0 in Oakland Activities Association Red duel matches and are a perfect 25-0 over the past five years. They also won their fifth OAA Red League title.
And that’s not all. The Highlanders won their fourth straight regional title this year and finished the season by becoming back-to-back state champs. Rochester Adams was one stroke better than runner-up Brighton to claim the title and had two golfers finish in the top 10 overall.
The team excels academically too. All five seniors were members of the Academic All-State team.