AD Inducted to National Hall of Fame
May 7, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Winter gets hectic so quickly that we’re forced to save some intriguing items that come our way for a sunnier day – and that day is today.
Following are news, notes and a few key links collected over the last few months, including the national Hall of Fame induction of a longtime Michigan athletic director, local recognition for another and statewide acclaim for a group of students putting their video production equipment to good use benefiting all.
Ann Arbor AD Honored Nationally
Former Ann Arbor Huron athletic director Jane Bennett was among five inducted into the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame in December.
Bennett served 26 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director and assistant principal in Michigan before spending the last decade as a principal at two schools in Montana. She served as athletic director at Huron for 15 years through 2002-03. The NIAAA reported that during her final decade in that position, participation in athletics doubled.
Bennett, who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, began her career at Huron in 1977 as varsity softball coach and became a math teacher and the co-director of athletics a year later. She coached the softball team 14 seasons before moving into the full-time athletic director position. Bennett was co-founder of the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association and served as MHSSCA president from 1982-87.
Among other achievements at Huron, Bennett was a leader in a successful campaign to gain voter approval of a $60 million bond package, which included $20 million to improve and expand athletic facilities. She also developed curriculum for an annual varsity captains/head coaches leadership training program and composed handbooks/guidebooks for coaches, athletes and parents.
Bennett also was a valuable contributor to the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and the NIAAA. She was president of the MIAAA in 1993-94 and a state conference speaker on several occasions. Bennett also served in various NIAAA leadership positions including on the committee that developed the Leadership Training Institute in 1996.
Bennett was named MIAAA Athletic Director of the Year in 1998 and received its State Award of Merit in 1997. She received the MHSAA’s Women in Sports Leadership Award in 1995 and was inducted into the MHSSCA Hall of Fame in 1995. Prior to her selection to the NIAAA Hall of Fame, Bennett was honored with the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 1998 and the NIAAA Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence in 2000. In 2005, she was inducted into the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, having served as its president in 2003 and been selected as its Athletic Director of the Year in 1998.
PSL's Ward: 'Pillar' of Detroit Athletics
Alvin Ward, the executive director of athletics for the Detroit Public School League and a member of the MHSAA Representative Council, received a 2014 Pillar in the Community Award in April from the Coast II Coast All-Stars, a Detroit-based pro basketball team that plays in the American Basketball Association.
Ward has served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal as well for Detroit Public Schools, and directs programs with a combined 500 coaches and 4,500 athletes.
Linked up
- This winter, the MHSAA Representative Council adopted a number of football practice rules changes aimed at improving player acclimatization at the start of fall and reducing head trauma and injuries. The Adrian Daily Telegram’s Doug Donnelly got responses from a number of coaches from that area of the state; click to find out why they feel these changes are important.
- Port Huron Times Herald writer Paul Costanzo let people know about our Student Advisory Council through the experience of Marlette’s Connor Thomas, one of our juniors and a great contributor this school year.
Power of Awareness
The Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation works to educate Michigan schools on sudden cardiac arrest and train personnel in CPR and the use of an AED (automated external defibrillator). The video below teaches us again about the importance of awareness.
Saginaw Heritage was awarded $5,000 in April as the winner of the Gillary Foundation’s High School AED Contest. Students were asked to create a 3-minute video emphasizing the importance of Michigan high schools being adequately prepared to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest or related event on school property.
Randy and Sue Gillary created the foundation after their 15-year-old daughter Kimberly – an athlete at Troy Athens – died after suffering sudden cardiac arrest in 2000. The contest judges were Kimberly’s sisters Emily Kucinich, Jennifer Gregroy and Katie Gillary.
As of April 1, the Gillary Foundation had raised $1.2 million and donated 650 AEDs to schools – with three lives having been saved with donated AEDs. For more, click www.kimberlysgift.org.
Preview: Among Championship Drives, Spotlight to Shine on Historic Pursuit
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 17, 2024
Four seasons of excellence have put Ann Arbor Greenhills senior Mia Melendez in position to make MHSAA girls golf history this weekend.
By capping her high school career with one more Finals individual championship, she would become the first in Lower Peninsula history to finish with four titles – and the fourth statewide to accomplish the feat, joining Marquette’s Kendra Palmer (1996-99) and Carley Saint-Onge (2008-11) and Escanaba’s Paxton Johnson (2016-19).
Of course, she’s only one of several standouts playing across four sites this weekend, as all four 2023 team champions are back and ranked among the favorites in their respective divisions.
Play begins both Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m., and live scoring is available through iWanamaker. See the Girls Golf page for programs for all four divisions. Below is a glance at several team and individual contenders:
LP Division 1 at Katke at Ferris State
Top-ranked: 1. Northville, 2. Okemos, 3. Rochester Adams.
Rochester Adams has won the last two Division 1 championships, with Brighton (ranked No. 6 entering this Final) runner-up both years. Northville claimed four straight titles from 2018-21 and is expected back in the mix after finishing sixth a year ago, and Okemos is seeking its first championship coming off an eighth-place finish in 2023.
Northville: The Mustangs carded a 319 at Polo Fields in Ann Arbor last week to win their Regional by 39 strokes. They graduated three of last year’s lineup but have only one senior this time and added standout freshmen Cam Baker and McKenzie Stevens, who finished first and second, respectively, at the Regional. Senior Sanya Singhal and sophomore Naaz Gill are the two returning golfers from last year’s Final, and they tied for fifth at the Regional.
Okemos: The Wolves are coming off a runner-up Regional finish to league rival Grand Ledge, but carded a solid 329 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East while led by senior medalist Alena Li and freshman co-runner-up Anika Srivastava. Li posted a 64 and has put up similarly eye-popping scores all season, and she enters having finished seventh at last year’s Final, tied for sixth in 2022 and tied for ninth in 2021. Li is the only senior but is joined by sophomore Emma O’Shea from last year’s lineup.
Rochester Adams: Led by junior medalist Hannah Wang, Adams also was a Regional runner-up last week, trailing No. 4 Clarkston at Prestwick Village in Highland Township. She is joined by senior Peyton Sage as returning golfers from last year’s championship lineup, and senior Alexa Camargo also has championship experience as she and Wang split rounds during the 2022 Final. Junior Brianna Park carded the Highlanders’ next-lowest score at the Regional, tying for eighth.
Individuals: Last season’s top five finishers graduated, but five of the next six from the top 10 (including a tie) will be back this weekend. Plymouth junior Annie Flavin is the highest returning placer after coming in sixth a year ago, when she was followed by Li, and Caledonia senior Coplin O’Krangley and Grand Ledge senior Isabel Kelly, who tied each other for 10th. Li, Northville’s Baker and Wang from Adams were joined last week among Regional champions by O’Krangley, Brownstown Woodhaven senior Adilynn Rushlow and Rochester senior Madison Yang. Kelly was co-runner-up behind Li at Forest Akers East.
LP Division 2 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Farmington Hills Mercy, 3. Dexter.
Mercy is coming off two straight championships and finished 17 strokes better than runner-up Cranbrook a year ago. The Cranes most recently were Division 3 champions in 2021, and they also finished Division 3 runners-up in 2022. Dexter’s three Finals championships all came within four seasons from 2004-Spring 2007, and the Dreadnaughts are coming of a seventh-place finish from last season.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood: Despite graduating three starters from last year’s Finals top five, Cranbrook has risen to the challenge and won last week’s Regional at Farmington Hills Golf Club by three strokes ahead of Mercy – jumping the Cranes from No. 6 in the rankings to No. 1. Junior Sydney Behnke was Cranbrook’s low scorer at last year’s Final, tying for ninth, and she was the medalist at Farmington Hills GC. Junior Harriet Cortez also was part of last year’s Finals lineup and finished 15th at last week’s Regional.
Farmington Hills Mercy: The Marlins have been ranked as high as No. 2 this season with a lineup including four seniors and three who were part of last year’s championship five – Maeve Casey, Lila Polakowski and Macy Morphew. Casey and Polakowski were also part of the 2022 Finals lineup as Casey finished fourth individually for the team champ. Polakowski was fifth and Casey seventh to lead the Regional runner-up finish last week.
Dexter: The Dreadnaughts reached No. 1 in the Sept. 30 Division 2 rankings and then won their Regional at Coldwater Golf Course by 12 strokes ahead of No. 6 Mason. Junior Avery Manning led that effort finishing as medalist, with freshman Maddy Manning seventh and junior Millie Truesdell tied for eighth. Avery Manning was the Finals runner-up last season, four strokes back, and she and Truesdell also are joined by seniors Eleni Michos and Sophia Dettling from last year’s lineup.
Individuals: Only three from last season’s top 10 are back this weekend – Manning, Behnke and Richland Gull Lake junior Charlotte Boudeman, who tied for seventh in 2023. But also joining the field is Spring Lake senior Zoe Dull, who finished co-runner-up in Division 3 a year ago. Several more upperclassmen appear ready to contend as well. Joining Manning and Behnke as Regional champs were Cadillac senior Samantha VanBrocklin, Mattawan senior Charlotte Stenger (one stroke ahead of Boudeman), Dearborn Divine Child senior Erin McCormick and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern junior Chaille Payne.
LP Division 3 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 2. Goodrich, 3. Grand Rapids Christian.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central won its first Finals championship in this sport last season, and now the Cougars are expected to extend their streak to two – or at least be the start of a trend. Goodrich is expected to be in the mix for what would be a first championship in this sport; its best Finals finish was second place in Division 3 in 2015. Those two teams have held down the top two spots in the rankings all season. Grand Rapids Christian missed qualifying for the Final by placing fourth at its Regional, but No. 4 Williamston did advance and also is seeking its first championship in this sport – and finished runner-up a year ago.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central: The Cougars carded a 317 at Pigeon Creek in West Olive to win their Regional by 34 strokes. They graduated only one golfer from last season’s Finals lineup, and the four returnees were joined by senior Claire Sullivan at the Regional as all five finished among the top seven – Sullivan and juniors Kelsey Preston and Margaret Deimel all tied for second, junior Sofia Piccione tied for fifth and senior Ava Wisinski finished seventh. Wisinski tied for sixth and Preston tied for eighth at last season’s Final
Goodrich: The Martians are hoping to take a jump from eighth place last season and return their top four golfers from last year’s Finals lineup. They won their Regional at Heather Hills in Romeo by 10 strokes with those four from last season the low scorers – senior Sanora Kochan placed second, junior Madilyn Sheerin third, sophomore Brooklyn Webb seventh and junior Hailey Madill 11th. Kochan missed the top 10 at last year’s Final by one stroke.
Williamston: The Hornets actually carded the low score of the second round at last year’s Final to pull within 12 strokes of catching Catholic Central, cutting 19 from their Friday total. They made it back to championship weekend thanks to four top-20 Regional performances and three among the top 14 by golfers from last season’s lineup – sophomore Paige Radebach was the medalist at Wolf Creek in Adrian, while senior Nicole Schafer was co-runner-up and senior Athena Hart tied for 14th. Schafer was fourth individually at last year’s Final.
Individuals: Six of last season’s top 10 are back, led by Grand Rapids Christian junior Lillian O’Grady, who tied for second in 2023 and won the Regional at Pigeon Creek last week with a 72. In addition to her, Schafer, Wisinski and Preston, Dowagiac senior Rebecca Guernsey tied for eighth and Macomb Lutheran North senior Saige Rothey placed 10th last season. Guernsey and Rothey also won their Regionals last week, as did Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior Stella Bernhardt and Freeland sophomore Alexis Heinz.
LP Division 4 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Kalamazoo Christian, 2. Lansing Catholic, 3. Ann Arbor Greenhills.
Kalamazoo Christian and Lansing Catholic decided last season’s championship, with Lansing Catholic taking its first Finals title since 2012. The runner-up finish was Christian’s highest, and if rankings hold true they’ll take the next step this weekend. Greenhills finished fourth last season and also is seeking its first team championship. The Gryphons’ best Finals finish in girls golf was runner-up in Division 3 in 2006.
Kalamazoo Christian: The Comets cut 17 strokes between Rounds 1 and 2 last season to finish 26 behind Lansing Catholic but one ahead of third-place Brooklyn Columbia Central. Now-senior Jordyn Bonnema finished sixth individually as one of four juniors who posted scores for K-Christian that weekend, and those four were the team’s scorers again at last week’s Regional at Heritage Glen in Paw Paw as the Comets outpaced Lansing Catholic by 14 strokes. Senior Scarlett Hindbaugh was the medalist, Bonnema was one stroke back, senior Kennedy Gernaat was two strokes back in third, and senior Ella Adams placed 14th.
Lansing Catholic: As noted just above, Lansing Catholic finished second last week to Kalamazoo Christian at their Regional, with senior Brynn Anderson fourth, senior Julia Sambaer seventh and junior Addi Rule eighth and all five golfers among the top 15. Those three all carded scores at last year’s Final as well, led by Anderson finishing 12th individually.
Ann Arbor Greenhills: Most eyes will be on Melendez and her pursuit of individual and team history. But she will hardly be alone in that latter effort. The Gryphons also return senior Hannah Lee and sophomore Kayla Young from last season’s fourth-place Finals lineup, and those two finished 11th and tied for 16th, respectively, at the Regional at Links of Novi as Melendez was medalist with a 64. Lee was 11th at the Final last year as well.
Individuals: If Melendez is to win a fourth championship, she’ll have to overcome the strongest returning field of this weekend’s tournaments as six of last year’s top eight in this division are back. Brooklyn Columbia Central senior Logan Bentley finished runner-up and only two strokes off the lead last year and is coming off a Regional title at Cascades in Jackson, and Traverse City St. Francis’ Grace Slocum was fourth last season and won her Regional last week by 14 strokes. Bath senior Anna Schaibly was second at Links of Novi to Melendez and placed eighth at last year’s Final, and Wixom St. Catherine senior Rachel Fay was third at the same Regional and fifth at last year’s Final. Saginaw Valley Lutheran senior Murphy Linehan and Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian senior Ava McConnon both were Regional champions as well.
PHOTO Ann Arbor Greenhills' Mia Melendez follows an approach shot during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)