10 to Remember: Winter 2014-15
April 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As one might imagine, six straight weekends of MHSAA Finals produce enough highlights to distract us from our seemingly endless Michigan winters.
As explained to preface “10 to Remember” many times before, all championships are lifetime memories for those who achieved them. Those listed below are just one person’s thoughts on which moments from this season will continue to be discussed most in the seasons to come.
10. Brother Rice Rides Team Effort to Repeat
Birmingham Brother Rice repeated as Lower Peninsula Division 1 swimming and diving champion, and did so by winning by more than 100 points for the second consecutive season. But what made this Warriors finish so impressive was that it didn’t include a single individual championship – they won the opening and closing relays of the meet and took seven second-place individual finishes along the way.
9. Kearsley Sweeps Bowling Championships … Again
Flint Kearsley varsity bowlers are guaranteed one other title this season – MHSAA champions. Both the girls and boys teams won team titles in Division 2, just as they had in 2014. The Kearsley girls again defeated Bay City Western in the championship match, this time by a mere 30 pins, 1,242-1,212. The Kearsley boys also earned their title by defeating Bay City Western, and by only seven pins – 1,351-1,344.
8. Rockford/Sparta Owns the Weekend
Rockford hosted the MHSAA Gymnastics Finals, making the cliché “bringing home the title” a short trip – twice. The Rams, a co-op with Sparta, won the team competition by 1.750 points over reigning champion Canton; Rockford’s only other MHSAA gymnastics championship also was the first in any sport in school history, in the Lower Peninsula in 1989. Juniors Madi Myers and Morgan Korf led the effort with the third and fourth-highest all-around scores of the Team Final – and Korf came back the next day with a stunning move to take the Division 1 individual championship. She had finished 18th in Division 1 as a sophomore.
7. Breckenridge Returns to Cheer Elite
In its second season back as a competitive program, Breckenridge added to its stature as one of the most powerful competitive cheer programs in MHSAA history by claiming the Division 4 championship by nearly 24 points over runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia. Breckenridge has won eight MHSAA titles in cheer, but didn’t have a team for six seasons because of low participation until bringing back the program for 2013-14.
6. Cowboys Lasso First Basketball Title
First Detroit Western International won its first Detroit Public School League championship since 1922. Then it made its first MHSAA Semifinals since 1974. The Cowboys capped this season with its first MHSAA Final victory, a nail-biter 62-59 over Saginaw Arthur Hill in Class A. Western also defeated Detroit Catholic League A-B champion Detroit U-D Jesuit in the Semifinal, and finished the season 26-0.
No team traveled farther to the MHSAA Basketball Finals than the Calumet girls – and it can be argued that no team came from farther away in expectation to become an MHSAA champion. The unranked Copper Kings traveled more than 500 miles to arrive at the Breslin Center, then defeated top-ranked Laingsburg in a Class C Semifinal and perennial power Flint Hamady in the championship game to claim its first MHSAA title in the sport.
4. Skatzka, Olson Become Latest of the Greatest
Richmond’s Devin Skatzka and Davison’s Lincoln Olson pushed the list of MHSAA four-time individual champions to 21 by finishing their careers with big victories. Olson actually was the 20th, winning his match at 135 pounds by technical fall in Division 1. Skatzka then became No. 21 with four MHSAA titles, with a technical fall in the 160-pound match in Division 3.
3. Brighton Claims First Title in Final Match
Few Finals in any sport this winter carried the drama of Brighton’s 31-25 win over Hartland in Division 1 wrestling. Bulldogs 112-pounder Lee Grabowski entered the final match carrying his team’s three-point lead but facing the scenario that if he lost even by decision, and the team score went to 28-28, Brighton would lose the tie-breaker. Oh, and Grabowski was facing an opponent he’d lost to twice in league competition earlier in the winter. Grabowski won a 4-2 decision this time, and Brighton won its first team title.
2. Godwin Heights, Powers North Central Cap 3-Season Surges
Wyoming Godwin Heights and Powers North Central made the MHSAA record book by adding to a pair of the most successful three-season runs in boys basketball history – and capping them with championships. Godwin Heights won its first MHSAA title, downing Detroit Henry Ford 85-68 in the Class B Final, to finish the last three seasons a combined 74-5. North Central, meanwhile, downed Morenci 67-47 in Class D to win its first title since 1984 and cap a three-season 75-5 run.
1. Record Comeback Sends Saints Home as Champs
St. Ignace trailed undefeated Pittsford by 20 points two minutes into the Class D Final when it launched a comeback equaled by only one other team in MHSAA girls basketball history. The Saints tied the score with 35 seconds to play in regulation and continued the rally in the extra period to claim a 64-60 title-clinching victory. Detroit Cass Tech, in the 1987 Class A Final, also had come back from 20 down in the third quarter to win. The championship was St. Ignace’s fifth in girls basketball.
PHOTO: St. Ignace basketball players celebrate after the Saints tied the largest comeback in MHSAA Finals history on the way to claiming the Class D title. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Houtteman Taking Senior-Year Swing at Adding Finals Title to Family Golf Legacy
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2025
The name Houtteman is not listed among the famous father-son golfers in the history of the PGA like Nicklaus, Woods and Love.
At least not yet, anyway.
Regardless of how things unfold this weekend in the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final at Ferris State University, Maple City Glen Lake's Michael Houtteman is going to feel a lot like Davis Love, III, did over the years with his father Davis Love, Jr., coaching him.
That’s because he’s coached by Lee Houtteman, who was fortunate enough to get tips from Davis Love Jr. on how to coach a son. As soon as the last golf ball of a stellar high school career enters the cup, the Houttemans will immediately switch from coach/student-athlete roles to father/son.
“It was always my impression of those two guys (Love Jr. and Love III) is they would banter back and forth and Dad would say ‘When we're coaching, I'm your coach, but as soon as we're done, I'm your dad.’ That was that was something he always preached," Lee Houtteman said.
He first met the Loves prior to joining the PGA when he was working at a golf school in Orlando, Fla. Houtteman was inducted into the Michigan PGA Hall of Fame last fall, and his playing accomplishments include winning the Michigan PGA Championship, two Michigan Senior PGA Championships and the Michigan PGA Match Play Tournament of Champions.
Lee Houtteman was also an 18-time qualifier for the PGA Professional Championship, and a 12-time qualifier for the U.S. Senior Open.
The Loves made a big impression on the Glen Lake 10-year veteran coach.
“Davis Love Jr. was incredible — the dad was a good coach and made an impact on how I tried to look at coaching my son,” Houtteman said. “When Love Jr. was coaching his son he said, ‘Hey, you got to hit the shot, and when you're not doing this, you got to practice,’ but then as soon as it was all done, they let it go, and then they were just father/son.”
Davis Love Jr. was one of the most respected teachers in golf. Love III notched his first PGA Tour victory in 1987 at the age of 24, his second season on the circuit. Love, Jr., died in a plane crash in Nov. 1988. Love III is just now returning to professional golf after having open heart surgery.
Michael Houtteman has his eyes set on winning an individual MHSAA Finals title this weekend. He also has high hopes of being named Michigan’s Mr. Golf, an honor bestowed annually by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association. Houtteman was the individual runner-up as the Lakers finished 12th as a team at last year’s Division 4 Final.
He’s already got a taste of the PGA tour from watching his father play. Michael’s first takeaways, however, were not the level of play, or the ropes separating players from spectators, nor the television cameras.
“It was free ice cream,” the Lakers senior said. “The milk shakes were the best.”
Houtteman shot 68 to capture the medalist honor and lead his team to a Regional championship last week. Glen Lake’s Ben Romzek, also a senior, shot an 85. Sophomores Gabe Hazelton and Joel Martin finished with 86 and 87 strokes, respectively, and freshmen Karter Smith shot a 90 as the Lakers carded a 326 championship score.
This year’s Regional effort was the Lakers’ best performance under Coach Houtteman. They have high hopes for a top five-finish this weekend at Katke Golf Course. They finished third in both 2023 and 2022.
“If we just keep improving and can play where we swing freely, just go hit it and go find it, and maybe make a couple putts. I think it would be awesome if we can finish top five,” Michael Houtteman said. “We just need a solid finish.”
Houtteman, who won an individual Finals championship in tennis at No. 3 singles in the fall, was fifth as a freshman and seventh as a sophomore at Division 4 Golf Finals.
He is ready to put his best game forward this weekend.
“You are always gunning for that state championship,” said Houtteman, who is headed for the U.S. Air Force Academy in a few weeks to begin his NCAA Division I golf career. “I am hoping to put together a couple of good rounds, and we’ll see what happens.”
If he goes into the Final nervous, his Hall of Fame coach will be happy. Lee Houtteman is pleased if his golfers raise their hands when asked if they are nervous beginning tournament play.
“You got to be nervous,” the coach said. “It’s good. It’s healthy.”
The Lakers are thankful for the tutelage of their coach, whose experiences are rare for a program leader at the high school level.
“He’s definitely a very, very qualified coach compared to most schools,” said Micheal Houtteman, who has competed in Michigan Pro-Am golf tournaments with his father. “Having a person as qualified as my dad is definitely very helpful in the learning of how to not only play golf but how to treat the golf courses.”
“Dad was an unbelievable player and unbelievable coach,” he added. “It is awesome to have a dad and a coach in one, and it’s super helpful not only with my golf game but as my life coach.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Glen Lake’s Michael Houtteman putts during an event this season. (Middle) Michael Houtteman, left, and his father Lee take a photo with the team’s Regional championship trophy. (Top photo by Brian Frieberger. Family photo provided by the Glen Lake athletic department.)