10 to Remember from 2011-12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 11, 2012
Second Half's mission in this, its first school year, was to tell the best stories behind the scores and highlights of MHSAA competition.
Of course, every score and especially every championship has a story behind it. The MHSAA awarded 127 team and many more individual championships in 2011-12. Obviously we can't reflect on them all. But these 10 performances were loaded with prestige, drama and accomplishment that made them incredible stories for high school sports fans regardless of hometown or allegiance.
10. Grand Ledge gymnasts earn No. 5
The Comets had to fend off a charge by Canton, but won their fifth-straight MHSAA team title by 0.825 of a point with a final score of 149.400. The fifth-straight title tied the record set by Ludington from 1975-79 and extended Grand Ledge's first-place streak to 75 consecutive events. The next day, senior Christine Wilson and junior Sara Peltier swept the Division 1 and 2 individual titles, respectively.
9. West Bloomfield's Erin Finn joins elite
The Lakers junior said after her Division 1 cross country win that she'd dreamt of winning that title since she learned how to walk. She finished fourth as a sophomore before winning the championship by a little more than a second. After establishing herself as one of the top distance runners in the country in competitions over the winter, Finn finished the school year by winning the 3,200-meter run at the Division 1 Track and Field Final.
8. More and more Morley Stanwood
The Mohawks girls pulled off a rare feat this school year -- after winning their second MHSAA volleyball title in the fall, they added a first-ever girls basketball championship. Both efforts were keyed by seniors Alexis Huntey and Bailey Cairnduf, who had the most and second-most kills in the Class C Volleyball Final and then combined for 45 points and 25 rebounds in the basketball championship game.
That argument was made after Lansing Sexton claimed its second-straight Class B boys basketball championship in dominant fashion. The Big Reds finished 27-1, their only loss by a point to Detroit Pershing, and have won 74 games over the last three seasons -- tied for sixth-most in MHSAA history for that long of a stretch. Guards Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), Anthony Clemmons (Iowa) and Bryn Forbes (Cleveland State) all signed to play at Division I colleges this fall, with junior Jalen Hayes and freshman Trevor Manuel likely joining them in a few years.
Coyotes junior Sami Michell established herself as one of the top hurdlers in MHSAA history at the Division 3 Final by becoming the first Lower Peninsula girl to win four events at a championship meet since Mason County Eastern’s Maria Shoup in 1979. She set Division 3 records in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump, and her 300 time also was the best in MHSAA Finals history, regardless of division or class. She also won the 200.
Top-ranked Grand Haven's latest run at an MHSAA championship seemed all but over when Grosse Pointe South led the Class A final by 18 points with just under 10 minutes to play. But Shar'Rae Davis' fullcourt sprint and score that began with 12 seconds to play gave the Buccaneers a 54-53 win and their first title. It was the third-longest comeback in MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals history.
Livonia Ladywood had been a favorite to win its first MHSAA title all season -- with four-year pitcher Briana Combs in the circle. But when Combs couldn't finish the Semifinal because of an injury, rarely-thrown sophomore Lauren Hayes stepped in. All she did was finish that game and throw a three-hitter against Saginaw Swan Valley in the Final, while also getting three hits and driving in two of the team's four runs in the championship win.
St. Johns senior Taylor Massa finished off one of the most celebrated careers in MHSAA wrestling history with his fourth championship and not one loss during his high school career. Massa claimed the title at 171 pounds this year to go with others at 145, 152 and 160. He became the 15th in MHSAA history to win four titles, ranks 20th with 221 wins and seventh in the national record book for consecutive victories.
Grosse Pointe South's girls running teams had arguably the most dominant school year in MHSAA history, first winning the Division 1 cross country title before doing the same this spring in track and field. And the Blue Devils did it with mostly the same nucleus contributing to both -- particularly juniors Hannah and Haley Meier, sophomore Kelsie Schwartz and freshman Ersula Farrow. Those four combined to run a national record time of 8:48.29 in the 3,200 relay at the Division 1 Final this spring.
1. Short walk, championship run
Second Half was created as a place to tell great stories, Cass Tech made it easy on the first day of the Football Finals. The Technicians arrived at Ford Field after a short walk from their school. They had never played in a Final before and were unranked entering the postseason. They arrived with a strong group of seniors, but also a freshman quarterback named Jayru Campbell who ended up throwing five touchdown passes in a 49-13 win over No. 2 and perennial powerhouse Detroit Catholic Central.
PHOTO: The Morley Stanwood girls basketball team prepares to celebrate as the final seconds tick off in the Mohawks' Class C Final win. (Click to see more photos from High School Sports Scene.)
2026 MHSAA Bush Awards Honorees Exemplify Dedicated Service in Several Roles
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 30, 2026
Athletic administrators must balance multiple roles no matter the size of their school districts or numbers of sports they direct, and St. Ignace’s Don Gustafson, Brethren’s Jason Kemler, Grand Rapids’ Jolinda Lucas and Greenville’s Brian Zdanowski have thrived while shouldering wide-ranging responsibilities to provide first-rate athletic experiences for their students.
Their dedication to school sports and those athletes – both locally and statewide – made them clearly deserving recipients of 2026 Allen W. Bush Meritorious Service Awards as selected by the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Representative Council.
Al Bush served as executive director of the MHSAA for 10 years. The award honors individuals for past and continuing service to school athletics as a coach, administrator, official, trainer, doctor or member of the media. The award was developed to bring recognition to people who are giving and serving locally, regionally or statewide without a lot of attention. This is the 35th year of the award.
Gustafson has taught at his alma mater St. Ignace since 1982 and continued even after retiring from administration in 2021. In addition to his classroom work, he served as assistant athletic director his first three years, then athletic director for four, as junior high principal from 1994-2005, high school principal from 2005-11 and superintendent for the next decade.
He’s also been an MHSAA-registered game official since 1978, working six Finals in football, one in basketball and numerous in cross country, in addition to several more postseason events during his time officiating seven sports. He was named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Hall of Honor in 2021 as an official and “Friend of Basketball.”
Gustafson served on the MHSAA Representative Council from 2015-21. The Michigan State University grad also has served on St. Ignace’s city council, taking time away only during his tenure as superintendent.
“Don Gustafson’s contributions to school sports span nearly half a century and have included everything from behind-the-scenes support to being considered one of the state’s top game officials and a valued voice on our Representative Council,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “He has long been a knowledgeable and positive voice impacting not only the Upper Peninsula but our community statewide.”
Brethren High School athletic director Jason Kemler recently completed his 20th year with the Kaleva Norman Dickson school district, where he has hosted several MHSAA Tournament events in a variety of sports including Regionals in track & field both at the high school and middle school/junior high levels. He’s also served on multiple MHSAA committees including the Junior High/Middle School Committee.
Kemler has done extensive work as well as part of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), serving as a regional representative, historical records chairperson and co-chair of the middle school/junior high committee, and also co-chair for the MIAAA’s 60th and 65th anniversary celebrations. He was named the MIAAA’s Region 3 Athletic Director of the Year in 2023.
Kemler is a graduate of Dansville High School and Albion College and received his teaching certificate from Michigan State University and master’s from Central Michigan University. He also serves as a captain for his local fire department.
“Jason Kemler’s stamp is all over the Brethren athletic department and community as a whole, as he’s embraced all of the roles that go with serving at a small school – teaching physical education and history and coaching as well as serving as athletic director and representing his school in significant ways among his colleagues statewide,” Uyl said. “His commitment and dedication are fine examples of what the Bush Award seeks to recognize.”
Lucas also has made an outsized impact at the middle school level during her 14 years serving in multiple roles for Grand Rapids Public Schools, including as middle school athletic director, director of all GRPS elementary sports and as athletic director for Grand Rapids University Prep Academy, whose students compete for either Ottawa Hills or Union High School. She has served on the MHSAA Junior High/Middle School Committee, contributing to an increasing emphasis at that level, and was selected as a meet manager for inaugural MHSAA Cross Country and Track & Field Regionals for junior high/middle school athletes.
Also a teacher at University Prep and an MHSAA-registered official the last six years for track & field and cross country – and the last two for volleyball – Lucas has served as sportsmanship chair for the MIAAA and as part of the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award Committee, and on the board for the Michigan-based Academy of Sports Leadership. She was named the MIAAA’s Region 14 Athletic Director of the Year in 2022.
Lucas graduated from Hobart (Ind.) High School and has a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from Indiana State University, a master’s in educational leadership from Indiana University, and earned her certified athletic administrator designation from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA). She is a Red Cross instructor and has served on the GRPS health and physical education leadership team. Prior to coming to Grand Rapids, Lucas served in multiple athletic administration roles in Indiana, where she also taught for 24 years and earned a 30-year coaching and multiple 20-year service awards.
“Jolinda Lucas has brought a special dedication to our junior high and middle school sports and their important roles in educational athletics,” Uyl said. “She has provided valuable input on a variety of historic decisions, including the addition of sixth graders to MHSAA competition and creation of Regional competitions in cross country and track & field. Her foresight is impacting Michigan’s school-sports athletes at the youngest levels and making a difference that will continue to benefit them as they advance to high school programs.”
Zdanowski recently completed his 28th school year as athletic director at Greenville after previously serving as a teacher, coach and athletic director over a decade at Onaway and Midland Bullock Creek. As an athletic director, he has hosted more than 100 MHSAA Tournament events, including five 8-Player Football Finals and 13 11-Player Semifinals. He also has been an MHSAA-registered game official for 44 years, working five sports including Finals in baseball in 1995 and football in 2001.
The longtime administrator also has served on multiple MHSAA committees, including more than a decade on the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award Committee, and served as Ottawa-Kent Conference president for two years. He’s been a member of the MIAAA for 34 years, Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) for 28 years and National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) for 25. He was named the MIAAA’s Region 4 Athletic Director of the Year in 2008.
Zdanowski, a graduate of Standish-Sterling, has a bachelor’s degree in teacher education from Saginaw Valley State University and a master’s in athletic administration from Central Michigan University. He’s also completed 24 courses from the NIAAA Leadership Training Institute.
“Brian Zdanowski has created a program at Greenville that is the model of quality, and that was proven deservedly when his athletic department was named an Exemplary Athletic Program by the MIAAA in 2000, the first year of that prestigious recognition program,” Uyl said. “He has consistently shared what he’s built at home with the rest of the state for now several decades, and we continue to be thankful for Brian’s desire to serve and contribute to school sports in a variety of leadership roles.”
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.