Did you see that? (10/15-10/21)
October 22, 2012
Three MHSAA fall sports came to an end over the weekend, and the tournament for a fourth has begun. Those finishes highlight the non-football best from the week that was Oct. 15-21.
Golf
Rankings play out: The Lower Peninsula girls season came to a close with all four top-ranked teams claiming championships. Plymouth won its first MHSAA title in any sport in Division 1, while Mona Shores became the first Lower Peninsula girls golf team to win four straight by doing so in Division 2. Ada Forest Hills Eastern made it two titles in three seasons by winning Division 3, and Lansing Catholic won its third straight in Division 4. Second Half covered them all. (Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Tennis
Dynasties continue: Three of four top-ranked teams also won MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Tennis Finals over the weekend, with the other champion hardly unfamiliar with first place. Ann Arbor Huron was ranked only No. 3 before winning Division 1 for the third time in five seasons. Midland Dow won its fourth straight Division 2 title and Ann Arbor Greenhills won its fifth straight in Division 4. But the biggest headline goes to Detroit Country Day, which tied Ann Arbor Pioneers’ dominance in 2002 with 39 points in claiming the Division 3 title. Second Half also covered all four of these Finals.(Division 1) (Division 2) (Division 3) (Division 4)
Cross country
One streak ends, another begins: The Upper Peninsula season came to an end with its Finals for three divisions. Calumet’s Tara Kiilunen led her team to the Division 1 girls title by winning the individual championship for the fourth consecutive season. On the boys side, Sault Ste. Marie won its first title in 11 years thanks to the individual Division 1 championship of freshman Parker Scott, who finished this season undefeated. Second Half covered all the races. (Girls Finals) (Boys Finals)
Soccer
Powers emerge in Division 1: Lower Peninsula Districts whittled the number of teams still alive down to 64 – 16 in each of four divisions. And the two toughest Districts to navigate were arguably in Division 1. Top-ranked East Kentwood beat Caledonia 6-0 to win that District, but only after the Falcons knocked out No. 2 Rockford in a semifinal and the Rams did the same to No. 7 Okemos in an opener. Rochester Stoney Creek, ranked No. 4, emerged from a district at Rochester that included No. 9 Utica Eisenhower and honorable mention Troy Athens by beating Rochester Adams 2-1 in the title game – after Adams upset Eisenhower in a semi. (Grand Rapids Press) (Oakland Press)
Greenhills' AD Seng Honored Nationally for Contributions to Women in Coaching
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 14, 2022
Ann Arbor Greenhills athletic director Meg Seng – also a member of the MHSAA Representative Council – has been named the first Peg Pennepacker Paving the Way Award winner by the Global Community of Women in High School Sports.
Seng is in her 38th year of service to schools and athletes, and has served as Greenhills athletic director since 2003 after previously teaching and/or coaching there and Ann Arbor Huron.
The honor from GCWHSS recognizes Seng’s contribution to encouraging female athletes to become coaches. In 2001, Seng co-founded The Academy of Sports Leadership, a non-profit organization that provides education and training for women interested in becoming coaches.
In 2021, Seng received a Citation from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). She also has received the MHSAA’s Women In Sports Leadership Award and Allen W. Bush Award, as well as the Jack Johnson Dedicated Service Award from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA). Seng was named state Athletic Director of the Year by the MIAAA and Michigan High School Coaches Association (MHSCA) during the 2021-22 school year.
Seng received her Pennepacker Award during the recent National Athletic Directors Conference in Nashville, Tenn. Her Greenhills athletic program also was one of two from Michigan (with Mattawan) to receive a Quality Program Award from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).
Pennepacker, from Pennsylvania, is an NIAAA Leadership Training Course national faculty member and considered one of the foremost experts nationally on Title IX issues. She formerly served in education for more than 36 years and continues her service in various roles in her state and nationally. She’s received the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award and was inducted into the NIAAA Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
***
Jack Johnson, a legendary swim coach at Dearborn and honoree with the MHSAA's Charles E. Forsythe Award in 1988, was among eight inductees into the NIAAA Hall of Fame.
Johnson served as a teacher, athletic director and coach at Dearborn High School for nearly 40 years, leading the boys swimming & diving team to Lower Peninsula Class A championships in 1971, 1972 and 1974 and being named state Athletic Director of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) in 1983.
He also received an NFHS Citation in 1984 and was inducted into the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame that same year; the MHSCA Hall of Fame reports that Johnson won 13 league championships over 17 years and coached 25 high school All-Americans.
Johnson, who died at age 90 in 2019, also served on the MHSAA Representative council, and the MIAAA Distinguished Service Award is named for him.