Title IX at 50: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 31, 2021
Before the passage of Title IX in 1972, fewer than 300,000 females participated in athletics nationwide, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
During the 2019-20 school year – the most recent not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic – nearly 76,000 girls competed in athletics in Michigan alone, filling more than 120,000 spots on teams for 750 high schools statewide.
By protecting people of all genders from discrimination in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, Title IX began a now half-century long journey toward equalizing those opportunities.
In advance of next June’s 50th year since the passage of Title IX, every Tuesday this school year we’ll celebrate a person, team or moment that has contributed to Michigan’s rich history of females participating in athletics at MHSAA member schools.
We begin with Michigan's contributions to the yearlong NFHS celebration, which last week highlighted a trailblazer, moment of magnitude and pioneering program across its social media channels.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Diane Laffey's 50-year career at @ReginaWarrenMI HS features a state-best 1,212 wins & 7 🥎 state titles, & 6th-best 659 girls 🏀 wins. Also an AD & 🏀/🏐/🥎 official, she is a National HS HOF inductee & received the 2nd @MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Award. #TitleIXat50 pic.twitter.com/Jxg39KZZ4j
— NFHS (@NFHS_Org) August 24, 2021
The @MHSAA conducted its first sponsored competitive cheer postseason in 1994. It has since grown to nearly 7,000 annual HS participants (nearly 7,800 in 2006-07) from 350+ schools, providing another substantial winter participation opportunity for female athletes. #TitleIXat50 pic.twitter.com/WnLGRnuDEj
— NFHS (@NFHS_Org) August 26, 2021
The @MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Conference debuted in 1990 thanks to Suzanne Martin. It is the nation’s first, largest & longest-running conference promoting females in interscholastic athletics & annually draws more than 600 attendees. #TitleIXat50 https://t.co/LKi08bOHrz
— NFHS (@NFHS_Org) August 23, 2021
Heritage Girls Pushing for Breslin Return
January 6, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Saginaw Heritage girls basketball coach Vonnie DeLong doesn’t start a senior this season and has three freshmen playing prominent roles.
But she also has three starters back from the lineup that made the Class A Semifinals a year ago – and the Hawks' sights are set on contending again this March.
Heritage is the Applebee’s Team of the Month for December thanks to a 6-0 start that included a key Saginaw Valley League North win over Midland and ended with a 39-29 victory over reigning Class B champion Detroit Country Day in the marquee game of the Motor City Roundball Classic.
The Hawks finished 22-4 last season and 16-5 in 2013-14, their first under DeLong, who was part of three MHSAA championship teams as a player at Carrollton from 1979-1982 and coached Saginaw Arthur Hill’s Class A runner-up team in 1998. Heritage improved to 7-0 on Tuesday with a 38-10 win over Mount Pleasant and has won 13 of its last 14 games dating to last season.
“The expectations from the kids’ perspective are very high,” DeLong said. “They want to win. They want to get back to the Breslin. With as many kids as we had coming back, and with what we added, it’s a realistic goal for them – but they know it's going to be hard to do.”
Heritage has beaten all of its opponents but one by at least 10 points, downing Flushing by only nine, 36-27, on opening night. Five of seven players who saw the floor in the Semifinal loss to DeWitt last season are back, including returning starters Jaela Richardson, Haley Brefka and Courtney McInerney. Richardson is a sophomore; Brefka and McInerney are juniors. Senior center Jenna Falkenberg and sophomore guard Jessi Bicknell both also played at Breslin last March.
But the lineup, while experienced, is paced in scoring by a pair of freshmen. Mallory McCartney and Moira Joiner lead the balanced offensive effort averaging 9.6 and 8.3 points per game, respectively, with Joiner adding 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and three steals per game and McCartney grabbing 2.5 steals per contest.
Richardson grabs 7.2 rebounds to go with 7.3 points per game, while Bicknell averages 6.4 points and 2.5 steals and McInerney grabs six rebounds per game.
The Hawks also are giving up only 23 points on average. No opponent has scored 30. Country Day's 29 points were their fewest since scoring 30 in a Quarterfinal loss to Flint Powers Catholic in 2013.
“Country Day is so good, and every year; they’ve just been phenomenal,” said DeLong, who also coached at Saginaw Valley State University and played at Notre Dame and Michigan. “For our kids to get a win like that, against such a good team, it’s huge. Especially for the young kids.”
Past Teams of the Month:
November: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard volleyball – Report
October: Benton Harbor football – Report
September: Mason and Okemos boys soccer – Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Heritage's Jessi Bicknell pushes the ball upcourt with Jaela Richardson calling for the pass. (Middle) Heritage got past Country Day, 39-29, to cap December. (Photos courtesy of Chris Bicknell.)