Romulus Summit Academy Continuing Impressive Climb
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
March 17, 2021
As a co-founder of Romulus Summit Academy, Leann Hedke was intent on creating an atmosphere conducive to academic achievement.
Summit opened its doors in Flat Rock in 1996 for grades K-5, soon expanding to K-12 once the school moved to Romulus the following year. According to Hedke, in the last 10 years 100 percent of those graduating were accepted to a college or university.
Also, according to a 2017 report, Summit had the highest graduation rate among charter schools in Michigan and was ranked in the top 50 by graduation rate during the 2015-2016 school year. Summit, rated No. 17, had a graduation rate of 98.58 percent, nearly 20 percent better than the state average of 79.65.
Mission accomplished.
But something was missing: a competitive athletics program. Often a viable athletic program will enhance academics. A competitive athletic program can generate enthusiasm and give students a reason to be proud of their school, in addition to academics.
Summit Academy North High School didn’t sponsor varsity sports until the early 2000s and, frankly, they weren’t very good, particularly in the sports of boys basketball and football. From 2004-2016 the football team boasted three winning seasons and made the playoffs once (2007). Until the 2019-20 season, the most wins the basketball team totaled was 10.
“Our focus has been on the scholar-athlete,” Hedke said. “We focus on academics. Our GPA (grade-point average) requirements are higher than what the (Michigan High School Athletic Association) requires.”
Hedke said there’s been quite of bit of turnover in the coaching ranks in boys basketball over the years. Part of this is due to the lack of success, as far as wins and losses, but some of this can be attributed to the high standards Hedke and her fellow administrators demand. Swearing is taboo, and a coach is expected to be a stickler for discipline, and must adhere to a strict decorum.
With the backing of Summit athletic director William McKoy, veteran coach Mark White, less than a month before the start of the season, was hired in November of 2018. Summit was 9-12 during White’s first season before showing vast improvement last winter finishing 16-4. Highlighting that season was the school’s first division title (within the Charter School Conference) and a spot in a Division 2 District Final against Flat Rock. Summit has never won a District title so this game loomed as the most important in school history.
Then COVID-19 hit, ending the season.
Summit returned four starters from that team and is off to a 15-0 start with the MHSAA Tournament less than a week away. Most of its victories have been by double digits including last Saturday’s 71-53 victory over Taylor, a Division 1 school, and Tuesday’s 72-46 victory over Detroit Community in a conference tournament quarterfinal. Summit’s semifinal is scheduled for Thursday.
Two wins stand out in particular, and both came on the road. Summit defeated Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy, 54-51, on March 1 and then upset No. 3-ranked (in Division 2) Detroit Edison, 49-46, on March 8. Edison’s only other loss this season was to Warren De La Salle Collegiate, a Division 1 school, 72-68. Both Chandler Park and Edison are Charter School Conference members and have had strong programs over the years.
White starts one senior, guard Jamel Johnson, who’s averaging 10 points per game and was selected second-team all-conference. Sophomore James Wright averages 17 points and nine rebounds. White’s top player is junior and three-year starter Orlando Lovejoy, Jr., a 6-2 guard who was selected conference player of the year. His 23 points led Summit in its victory over Community. Lovejoy averages 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists per game.
“All of our players got better during the offseason,” Lovejoy said. “(White) is an intense coach. He’s demanding. He’s constantly pushing us. He’s a perfectionist.”
Much of the credit goes to White for the recent success, but one can’t overlook the talented players within the school. Take the recent success of the football program for example. The football team was 0-9 in both 2015 and 2016. The Dragons went 5-4 the next two seasons before finishing 8-3 in 2019, a run which included an 18-12 victory over Redford Union in a Division 4 District opener, the program’s first playoff win. This past regular season was shortened to six games because of the pandemic, and Summit won two playoff games finishing 7-2.
“Summit is an excellent school,” White said. “They’re in line with what I want to be as a coach.
“There are more accolades for a team that hasn’t been that good in the past. (Winning) has never been done before here. I feel the best is yet to come, and not just for the team, but for the school as well. Gaining recognition in basketball helps promote the school. People will find out about how good Summit is as a school.”
Winning is anything but new for White. His first season as a head coach was at his alma mater Detroit Renaissance in 1998. In 2000 Renaissance, which had never played for a Detroit Public School League title, won the PSL defeating Detroit Redford, 41-37, in the championship game. Renaissance won the title again in 2002 and 2003. Renaissance then won two MHSAA Class B titles (2004, 2006) under White.
White left Renaissance after the 2005-06 season to become head coach at Adrian College, another alma mater. He spent seven seasons there before returning to the high school level at River Rouge. White guided River Rouge to the Class B Semifinals in 2017 and 2018.
White said he couldn’t be happier, at this time in his professional life, than he is now at Summit. In addition to his duties as the boys basketball coach, White is also the school’s academic interventionist and assistant athletic director.
Lovejoy is aware of the success his coach has had at other schools. And even though Summit hasn’t achieved that type of success, he said anything is possible.
“We want to win our conference tournament, a District and Regional title, and the states,” Lovejoy said. “To some that’s farfetched, but it is realistic. We’re with a coach who’s done it before.
“This is special. (Summit) has never won a District, and here we are undefeated. We’re soaking it all in. We want to give the school something to cheer about.”
Lovejoy and his teammates recently gave Hedke a gift from their hearts. It’s a poster, a collage of sorts, with photos of the team in addition to pictures the players painted. This was in response to Hedke being a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer this past November and now is cancer-free.
“Mark is a wonderful coach,” Hedke said. “He focuses on what (the players) do well. He talks about who they are and what they represent. He teaches them to be aware. When I was going through my cancer, he told the players that we’re fighting on the court to win a game. She’s fighting for her life.”
The players have since dedicated their season to Hedke.
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Raevon Thomas (10) gets up a shot during Summit Academy’s Senior Night win over Taylor. (Middle) Summit’s Orlando Lovejoy makes a move to the basket Saturday. (Below) Dragons coach Mark White huddles his team. (Photos by Aaron Goodman.)
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Boys Report Week 10
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 9, 2026
We’ve nearly reached the end of this boys basketball regular season, and District seedings and brackets will be released Sunday on this website.
But it’s never too late to make a move heading into the playoffs.
See two-time reigning Division 2 champion Warren Lincoln. The Abes are 5-15 but broke a 13-game losing streak Saturday with a 65-64 overtime win over Benton Harbor – one of the top teams in Division 2 this winter at 17-2.
Lincoln finds itself lined up as the second seed in its District if brackets were finalized today. Others have been racing up their respective Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) lists as well, and we’re tracking them all as a season’s worth of work goes into how teams are placed when playoffs begin.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grand Rapids Northview 63, East Lansing 46 Northview (13-4) put an end to reigning Division 1 champion East Lansing’s 40-game winning streak during the final game of the 2K26 Showcase.
2. Freeland 65, Hudsonville Unity Christian 60 A week that started with a loss to Alma for the Falcons (16-3) ended with a win over the Crusaders (14-3) in a matchup of the top two teams statewide in Division 2 MPR.
3. McBain 44, Beal City 40 The Aggies (15-1) entered undefeated and atop the Highland Conference thanks to a December win over McBain, but the Ramblers (15-1) are lined up now to at least share the league title.
4. Rockford 57, East Kentwood 55 For a few days, the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red had co-leaders as the Rams (14-3) avenged a one-point loss to the Falcons (15-2) from last month – but East Kentwood stands alone again after Hudsonville downed Rockford 62-55 on Friday.
5. Grand Rapids South Christian 50, Grand Rapids Northview 47 (OT) Although Northview’s week ended with a statewide rim-rocker, South Christian (15-2) started it by avenging a January overtime loss to the Wildcats to create a first-place tie in the O-K Gold.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Ann Arbor Huron (17-2) A win over Dexter on Tuesday would set up a first-place showdown Thursday in the Southeastern Conference Red between Huron and Ann Arbor Pioneer, which won their first matchup 60-52 on Jan. 16. Huron’s only other loss this season came to SEC White contender Chelsea, by two points, and the River Rats closed last week with a 66-51 win over the leader of that division, Ypsilanti Lincoln – one of eight Huron victories over teams with at least 12 this winter. Huron has reached at least the Quarterfinals the last three seasons.
Kalamazoo Central (14-2) The Maroon Giants load up a tough schedule every season and are in the conversation among Division 1 teams to watch most winters. They made a loud statement with a 95-80 win over Muskegon on Jan. 31, and a 40-28 victory over Warren Fitzgerald at the 2K26 Showcase also complements well Kalamazoo Central’s lead in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference. The Maroon Giants can clinch a share of the league title Tuesday at Mattawan, which would give them four straight. The lone losses this season were to Division 1 contenders Detroit Martin Luther King and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice.
DIVISION 2
Kingsford (12-4) The Flivvers – Division 2 semifinalists a year ago – moved up seven spots to No. 7 in statewide Division 2 MPR this week thanks in part to a 51-49 win over Gladstone that has Kingsford a half-game back of the lead in the Great Northern Conference standings but controlling its destiny with home games against league leader Menominee and second-place Marquette next week. The Flivvers are the only team in the league to defeat Menominee, a statewide contender in Division 3, and they’ve put together seven straight wins after a midseason three-game losing streak that included a two-point defeat against Gladstone.
Michigan Center (17-1) The Cardinals have clinched the Cascades Conference East title after finishing second to Grass Lake a year ago, and they face Brooklyn Columbia Central on Saturday at Spring Arbor for the overall league championship. Michigan Center also is making for an intriguing team in the Division 2 race in its second year after previously playing in Division 3. The Cardinals’ only loss this season came to Marshall on Dec. 13, and they lead for the top seed in a District that includes Adrian and Columbia Central among six teams total and five with winning records.
DIVISION 3
New Haven (15-2) A 58-47 win over Warren Woods-Tower avenged a 41-39 loss from Jan. 20 and made those two tied atop the Macomb Area Conference Gold with one league game left for both. New Haven’s only other defeat this winter came against Adrian, a solid Division 2 opponent, and the Rockets already have their most wins in a season since 2022-23. Only three other opponents have come within single digits of catching New Haven, and tonight could see another test against MAC Silver co-leader Center Line; the Rockets defeated the other leader in that division, Eastpointe, by 10 in early December.
Ottawa Lake Whiteford (15-3) A 69-61 win over Adrian Lenawee Christian last week avenged a 61-60 loss from Jan. 9 and put Whiteford in position to at least share a first Tri-County Conference title since 2017-18. The Bobcats may need to win both of this week’s games against Britton Deerfield and Erie Mason, and total they have four games left before Districts begin – and need just one more win to tie last year’s victory total. Also among highlights this winter is a 55-48 overtime win over Huron League contender Monroe Jefferson that gave Whiteford its home New Year’s Tournament title.
DIVISION 4
Genesee Christian (14-3) The Soldiers have made a nice jump after going 10-15 last season but reaching the Regional Finals. They began this winter 0-2 but have lost only once more over the last two months, and all three defeats were to Division 1 or 2 teams. A 23-point win last week over International Academy of Flint (16-2) was among their best, and add victories over Dryden (10-7) Lenawee Christian (11-7), Maple City Glen Lake (12-3), Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (14-3) and Southfield Christian (13-5) to an impressive list.
Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian (13-3) Harbor Light won 20 games two seasons and 19 last winter, and might be ready to make another jump after advancing to the Regional Finals last year as well. Two losses this time have come against Pickford and Traverse City Christian – both 17-0 – and the third came to Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian (12-3), which Harbor Light should see again in a Northern Lakes Conference crossover. The Swordsmen have five wins over teams with at least 12, and a couple more big opportunities coming up starting with a rematch Thursday against Traverse City Christian.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – South Haven (13-1) at Gobles (14-0) – These are the leaders of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore and Central, respectively.
Wednesday – Romulus Summit Academy North (19-1) vs. Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac (12-2) at Ecorse – Although the Charter School Conference Tournament concludes Friday, this semifinal matchup pits last season’s Division 2 and 3 runners-up, respectively.
Friday – Auburn Hills Avondale (18-1) at Clarkston (15-3) – If Avondale also defeats Farmington on Tuesday, the Yellowjackets could be playing to clinch the Oakland Activities Association Red title – or Clarkston could be playing to tie or take over first place.
Saturday – Catholic High School League Central Final at Oakland – Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (15-4), Detroit Catholic Central (13-5), Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (8-8) and Toledo St. John’s Jesuit remain in the mix with semifinals Wednesday.
Saturday – Grand Blanc (14-2) at Muskegon (14-1) – The Bobcats already have clinched the Saginaw Valley League South title, and Muskegon leads the O-K Green.
Sunday – Detroit Public School League Final at Wayne State – The final two contenders will face off for the city championship, with quarterfinals set for Tuesday and semifinals Friday.
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PHOTOS (Top) Felch North Dickson's Ty King is guarded closely by Marquette's Connor Fierstine during the Sentinels’ 68-34 victory Friday. (Middle) Flint Carman-Ainsworth defenders converge on a Davison player driving the lane during the Cavaliers’ 60-49 win Dec. 19. (North Dickinson/Marquette photo by Cara Kamps. Carman-Ainsworth/Davison photo by Terry Lyons.)