#TBT: Kish Earns 4th Finals Title
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 26, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Only 18 MHSAA wrestlers have graduated with four Individual Finals championships.
And while all stood tall, few cut as imposing a shadow as Lapeer West's Roger Kish, who earned his fourth and final high school title in 2003.
Kish capped his high school career at the 2003 Individual Finals with a 26-11 technical fall of Mason's Tom McDiarmid in the Division 2 championship match at 189 pounds. He also won by a tech fall at 189 pounds in 2002, by pin at 171 pounds in 2001 and by an 11-7 decision as a freshman at 160 pounds in 1999.
He became the 10th four-time champion with his 2003 win and remained the most sizable four-time winner before Fowlerville's Adam Coon finished a four-title run in 2013 with two each at 215 and 285 pounds.
Kish went on to wrestle at the University of Minnesota, ending with a 117-27 career record and two NCAA runner-up finishes. He currently is in his fourth season as coach at North Dakota State University and twice has been named Coach of the Year for the Western Wrestling Conference.
Rivals & Wrestlers Show Military Support
October 26, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Wrestling practice begins two weeks from Monday. But planning for a special military appreciation event at Coopersville is well underway and promises to be memorable.
The Broncos host an annual six-team tournament, which will take place this season Dec. 28. For this winter’s event, the school’s wrestling program has raised money to buy six uniforms – honoring the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and MIA/POW(s) – one set of 16 shirts and shorts for each competing team.
None of the uniforms will bear a school name or symbol, only those of the armed service branch or troops the shirts support. Organizers are planning to begin the event with a grand march with veterans leading each team. All veterans and active military will be admitted free of charge, and Coopersville will be inviting residents of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Hastings, Kent City, Grand Rapids Northview, Ravenna and Zeeland West also will be competing and taking part. The shirts are designed by Addix, a sponsor of the MHSAA.
Rivals Team Up to Support Military Families
Neighboring volleyball programs Birch Run and Frankenmuth came together Oct. 10 to give their match as a fundraiser for the I Support the 1% Food Pantry for Veterans of Michigan, which serves local military families.
The teams wore shirts supporting the cause with names on the back of family members who had served or are currently serving in the military.
The match alone was worth the price of admission, as the Panthers won in five sets. The previous week, Birch Run’s football team also supported the pantry as part of Homecoming against Bridgeport.
The Panthers’ volleyball match with the Eagles was just the latest effort between the two schools from the Tri-Valley Conference. The cross country teams also continued their annual joint “fun run” maze competition during a practice this month.
(Photos courtesy of the Birch Run athletic department.)