High 5s: 11/28/12
November 28, 2012
The final MHSAA championships of the Fall 2012 season give us our final High 5s before heading into winter. This week, we recognize both an individual and a team that achieved new heights.
Drake Harris
Grand Rapids Christian junior
Football
A 6-foot-4, 180-pound receiver who has committed to play both football and basketball at Michigan State beginning in 2014, Harris posted one of the finest receiving season in MHSAA history capped by playing a huge role in his team's first MHSAA championship. The Eagles beat Orchard Lake St. Mary's 40-37 in overtime Saturday for the Division 3 title. His eight catches for a Finals-record 243 yards and a touchdown put his unofficial season totals at 91 catches for 2,015 yards and 25 scores. Once confirmed, the season yardage will rank as the most in MHSAA history and 12th nationally for one season (his yards per game rank fourth and yards per catch sixth on the NFHS lists). Harris also ranked fourth for catches and second for touchdown catches on the MHSAA single-season lists.
Just ducky: "I'm probably more energized now after he hit that kick," Harris said after teammate Joel Schipper's winning field goal Saturday. "I was probably more tired a little bit during the game. But we condition all practice. We play fast. We play like Oregon, move the ball, (at) a high tempo. We're all in condition, so we really weren't that tired."
Bring on the new guy: Harris has caught more than 3,000 yards worth of passes from senior Alex VanDeVusse over the last two seasons, but will play with a new quarterback in 2013. "I've been with Alex since sophomore year. I guess I have to start over and work hard all next season and hope to get back here."
Be like Calvin: "Calvin Johnson, I want to be just like him when I get older. I know I'm a little skinny right now, but when I get to college, I know they'll put weight on me. I watch film on him all the time, watch him running routes. So I take my game after him. He's the best wide receiver in the NFL right now, probably one of the best wide receivers to play the game, in my opinion."
Portland football
The Raiders, unranked despite entering the postseason 8-1, finished with their first MHSAA title won in their first trip to the Finals. Portland defeated Grand Rapids West Catholic 12-9 in the Division 5 championship game after knocking out 2011 champion Flint Powers Catholic in the Regional Final. For the playoffs, Portland outscored its five opponents 169-66 while holding three to nine or fewer points. In finishing 13-1 and setting a school record for wins, the Raiders beat nine playoff teams total including eventual Division 3 Semifinalist DeWitt.
Previous 2012-13 honorees:
- Julia Bos, Grand Rapids Christian cross country - Click for more
- Morgan Bullock, Zeeland swimming - Click for more
- Nathan Burnand, Waterford Mott cross country - Click for more
- Aaron Chatfield, Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian soccer - Click for more
- Erin Finn, West Bloomfield cross country - Click for more
- Alex Grace, Saginaw Swan Valley football - Click for more
- Billy Heckman, Portage Central tennis - Click for more
- Codi Jenshak, Escanaba tennis - Click for more
- Amanda McKinzie, Battle Creek St. Philip cross country - Click for more
- Connor Mora, Cedar Springs cross country - Click for more
- Kelsey Murphy, Plymouth golf - Click for more
- Dewey Lewis, Rockford soccer - Click for more
- Nick Raymond, Erie Mason cross country - Click for more
- Jacqueline Setas, Lansing Catholic golf - Click for more
- Michael Sienko, Williamston tennis - Click for more
- Carli Snyder, Macomb Dakota volleyball - Click for more
- Beal City volleyball - Click for more
- East Kentwood soccer - Click for more
- Flint Beecher football - Click for more
- Grand Blanc boys soccer - Click for more
- Holland girls swimming and diving - Click for more
- Ithaca football - Click for more
- Lansing Everett football - Click for more
- Ludington boys tennis - Click for more
- Muskegon Mona Shores girls golf - Click for more
Class D Schools Set Multi-Sport Participation Record, Overall Rate Remains Steady
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 22, 2026
The MHSAA's eighth Multi-Sport Participation Survey, conducted last spring for the 2025-26 school year, showed just more than 45 percent of athletes at member high schools participated in more than one sport – for the most part consistent with past findings although the state’s smallest schools posted a record high rate of athletes playing more than one sport.
The annual Multi-Sport Participation Survey was inspired by the MHSAA’s Task Force on Multi-Sport Participation, which was appointed in 2016 to study early and intense sport specialization – a serious issue related to health and safety at all levels of youth sports – and to promote multi-sport participation as a way to help stave off overuse injuries and burnout among athletes that have been tied to chronic injuries and health-related problems later in life.
The 2025-26 Multi-Sport Participation Survey received responses from 73.8 percent of member high schools and showed 45.3 percent of athletes at those MHSAA member high schools participating in two or more sports, an almost identical percentage as in 2024-25. For 2025-26, 47.5 percent of male athletes and 42.6 percent of female athletes played multiple sports, again percentages nearly identical to the previous school year. The percentage of multi-sport athletes remains inversely proportional to schools’ enrollments, as Class D schools – the state's smallest – again enjoyed the highest percentage of multi-sport athletes at 64.2 percent, followed by Class C schools (59.5), Class B (49.0) and Class A (38.4).
Results for Class A, B and C schools have remained consistent over the lifetime of the multi-sport participation survey, showing small increases over the years but not overwhelming changes. However, Class D multi-sport participation reached a high in 2025-26, with that 64.2 percent of athletes participating in at least two sports an increase of 6.1 percent since 2017-18. During that time, Class A multi-sport participation is up 3.0 percent, Class B is up 2.3 and Class C is up 4.3.
Battle Creek Harper Creek and Grand Rapids Northview have appeared among the top 10 percent of their respective Classes (A/B/C/D) for multi-sport participation seven of the eight years the survey has been conducted. Three more schools have appeared among the top 10 percent of their respective Classes six of the eight years – Decatur, Detroit Cody and Warren Michigan Collegiate – while East Grand Rapids, Lake Leelanau St. Mary, Manton and Parma Western have appeared among the top 10 percent of their Classes five times apiece.
In Class A, Harper Creek (73.2 percent) posted the highest percentage of multi-sport athletes for 2025-26, followed by Saginaw United (72.7), Harper Woods (72.1) and Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (65.9) also reporting at least 65 percent of athletes playing multiple sports.
Detroit Denby led Class B schools at 83.6 percent of athletes playing more than one sport, followed by Warren Michigan Collegiate (83.3), Ecorse (78.1), Detroit Osborn (75.6), Dearborn Heights Robichaud (76.2) and Flint Hamady (76.1) all topping 75 percent. In Class C, Detroit Community reported all 72 of its athletes played multiple sports during the 2025-26 school year, followed by Galesburg-Augusta (82.7 percent), Kingston (82.1), Niles Brandywine (80.7) and Martin (80.4) reaching 80 percent.
Watersmeet also reported all 27 of its athletes were multi-sport participants, followed in Class D by Lake Leelanau St. Mary (95.5 percent), Carney-Nadeau (94.8), Onekama (92.5) and Atlanta (90.9) reaching 90 percent.
The full summary report on the Multi-Sport Participation Survey is available on the “Multi-Sports Benefits” page.