Did you see that?
June 4, 2012
Saturday annually is the busiest high school sports day on the MHSAA calendar.
The Spring Finals match began with Girls and Boys Track and Field and Girls Tennis Finals at sites all over both peninsulas. There were Regionals for both boys and girls lacrosse, which finish up this weekend. And, of course, there were Districts galore for softball, baseball and girls soccer.
Here's our sampling of some of the highlights:
Girls Track and Field
19 records fall: It was quite day across the seven MHSAA Girls Track and Field Finals, with 19 records broken, and two athletes – Reed City’s Sami Michell and Norway’s Dani Gagne – winning four individual events apiece. (Second Half)
Coast to coast: The Grosse Pointe South 3,200 relay was responsible for one of two all-Finals records, and ran a time of 8:48.29 that also surpassed the national record for that event (but may or may not stand as the national record, depending on what other times were run and will be submitted after this spring.) (Detroit Free Press)
Boys Track and Field
LP filled with first-time champs: Lake Orion in Division 1, Auburn Hills Avondale in Division 2 and Lansing Catholic in Division 3 won their first MHSAA team championships. Also, nine records fell across the state. (Second Half)
Quite a comeback: Marquette trailed Gladstone by 27 points at the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final with four events to run. But the Redmen outscored Gladstone 42-0 over those events to win their third straight championship. (Marquette Mining Journal)
Girls Tennis
Southeast sweep: Detroit suburban schools claimed all four MHSAA Lower Peninsula team championships – Grosse Pointe South in Division 1, Birmingham Seaholm in Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood in Division 3 and Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart in Division 4. (Second Half)
Freshman reigns: Utica freshman Davina Nguyen beat both the first and second seeds on her way to claiming the individual championship at No. 1 singles in Division 1. Nguyen was seeded fifth. (Macomb Daily)
Boys lacrosse
Cranbrook comes out on top: Cranbrook-Kingswood, ranked No. 3 in Division 2, emerged from a Regional that also included No. 4 Haslett/Williamston and No. 5 East Grand Rapids, beating the latter 8-4 in the Final. (Bloomfield Patch)
Girls lacrosse
EGR plays to top ranking, again: Rivals East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Catholic Central met in one of the multiple close Regional Finals, with the top-ranked Pioneers downing No. 2 GRCC one more time, 11-9. (Grand Rapids Press)
Baseball
It’s Holt, again: The Rams claimed their second championship in a week over rival Grand Ledge – both have been ranked in Division 1 this season. Two weeks ago, Holt split with the Comets to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. Standout Justin Alleman gave up two hits and struck out 18 as Holt also won Saturday to claim a District title. (Lansing State Journal)
Softball
In the end, it’s Mattawan: The season-long battle for statewide Division 1 and Kalamazoo-area supremacy was decided in part at Saturday’s District at Portage Central. Reigning MHSAA champion Mattawan emerged as the winner from a field that included top-ranked Portage Central – which was upset by Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in a semifinal. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Soccer
AAGR moves on: Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, No. 8 in Division 3, shut out No. 7 Jackson Lumen Christi 3-0 in the Division 3 District final at Brooklyn Columbia Central (AnnArbor.com)
Michigan Schools to Designate February for Statewide ‘Oxford Strong’ Support
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 20, 2021
Schools across Michigan will be dedicating February to “Oxford Strong” in support of Oxford Community Schools as the district continues to mourn the deaths of four students during a shooting at the high school Nov. 30.
The Oakland Activities Association – of which Oxford is a member – as well as the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Detroit Catholic High School League, with merchandise vendor E.A. Graphics, have been primary organizers of this effort.
E.A. Graphics, based in Sterling Heights, will be printing T-shirts and sweatshirts supporting “Oxford Strong” – with schools able to purchase those items and then provide them in their communities. E.A. Graphics will be donating the price of the apparel, after costs, directly to Oxford High School and its community. T-shirts, for example, cost $20, with $16.20 being donated from each sale.
Schools taking part may ask their spectators to then wear the apparel as part of an “Oxford Strong” sporting event at their schools during February. Organizers have designated Friday, Feb. 4, as a day for as many schools as possible to be “Oxford Strong” and contribute to a statewide outpouring of support for the Wildcats and their community. However, it’s expected many schools will sponsor “Oxford Strong” events throughout the month.
“Every day since Nov. 30, schools have asked us what they can do, how can they help,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “While there is no way to take away the pain from such a tragedy, our statewide community will be glad to provide any comfort possible to Oxford schools and their community at this time of such great sorrow.”
E.A. Graphics is the merchandising partner of the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), the professional group for athletic directors and other school sports administrators in Michigan.