This Week In High School Sports: 1/18/22
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
January 18, 2022
This week's edition highlights a strong start for the Midland Dow girls basketball team, awards Game Balls to high achievers in wrestling, basketball and hockey; and celebrates retiring coaches who are among the winningest in Michigan's girls basketball and baseball history. 
The 5-minute program each week includes feature stories from around the state from the MHSAA’s Second Half or network affiliates, along with "Be The Referee," a 60-second look at the fine art of officiating.
"This Week in High School Sports" is powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury.
Listen to this week's show by Clicking Here.
Previous editions
Jan. 11: Battle of the Fans X "Challenge Round," officiating on the islands – Listen
Jan. 4: Onsted boys basketball, Oxford Strong – Listen
Dec. 15: Winter championship calendar, KLAA/MIHL Memorial Showcase – Listen
Dec. 8: 2021 Bush Award honorees, remembering Tom Rashid – Listen
Dec. 1: 11-Player Football Finals review – Listen
Nov. 23: Volleyball, LP Girls Swimming & Diving, 8-Player Football Finals review – Listen
Nov. 16: Lower Peninsula Cross Country continued, weekend preview – Listen
Nov. 9: Lower Peninsula Cross Country, Boys Soccer Finals review – Listen
Nov. 2: Title IX at 50 celebration, Fall championship broadcasts – Listen
Oct. 27: Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals review, soccer/volleyball playoff update – Listen
Oct. 20: Lower Peninsula Girls Golf & Boys Tennis Finals review – Listen
Oct. 13: Middle school/junior high cross country Regionals, football playoff selection – Listen
Oct. 6: Upper Peninsula girls tennis champions, football broadcast update – Listen
Sept. 29: Girls swimming & diving "Meet of Champions," Schoolcraft's star kicker – Listen
Sept. 22: Spartan Invitational "elite" races, John U. Bacon's "Let Them Lead" – Listen
Sept. 15: Volleyball powers face off, Tiger Teusink's tennis legacy – Listen
Sept. 8: Fall sports rules changes, Adrian Lenawee Christian inspiration – Listen
Sept. 1: Boys soccer seeding process, Beaver Island athletics – Listen
Aug. 25: Return of Fall sports, “enhanced strength-of-schedule” football playoff format – Listen
Performance of the Week: Freeland's TJ Hansen
September 19, 2024
TJ Hansen ♦ Freeland
Senior ♦ Cross Country
Despite a steamy day at Michigan State, Hansen ran a 15:24.6 to win last weekend’s Spartan Invitational Elite race by nearly four seconds. The victory came against a truly “elite” field; Hansen is the reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion and was followed by Marshall senior Jack Bidwell (fourth in LPD2 in 2023) and Jenison senior Seth Conner (fifth in LPD1).
Hansen has won all but one race since the start of his junior season, and opened this fall with a 14:49.3 – just three seconds off his personal-record run and already 3.5 seconds faster than his championship time last fall at Michigan International Speedway. His 14:52.8 that day at MIS was the fastest Division 2 time in MHSAA Finals 5K history and tied for seventh-fastest for all classes and divisions. He said he’s chasing the 14-minute mark this fall; the fastest MHSAA Finals 5K time was 14:10.4 run by Rockford’s Dathan Ritzenhein in 2000. Hansen also won the 1,600 at the LPD2 Track & Field Finals in June after finishing first in the 3,200 as a sophomore, and he will run on both the cross country and track & field teams at Colorado.
@mhsaasports 🏃♂️➡️POW: TJ Hansen #crosscountry #freeland #invitational #winner #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🏃♂️➡️POW: TJ Hansen #tiktalk #questiontime #ronaldo #bucketlist #travel #laughing #crying #emoji #phone #part2 #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
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MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
Previous 2024-25 honorees
Sept. 12: Jordan Peters, Grayling soccer - Report
Sept. 6: Gabe Litzner, Sault Ste. Marie cross country - Report
Aug. 30: Grace Slocum, Traverse City St. Francis golf - Report
PHOTO Freeland's TJ Hansen surges toward the finish of this season's Spartan Invitational Elite race. (Click for more from John Brabbs/RunMichigan.com.)