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: Boys Soccer Finals Guaranteed to Provide Unforgettable Finishes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 31, 2025
A first-time champion guaranteed in Division 1.
The possibility of two teams finishing this fall undefeated.
A Division 3 team making the MHSAA Boys Soccer Finals despite entering the tournament unranked.
A potential repeat champion, and another contender seeking its first title this century.
The program with the most Finals wins looking to add one more, and a contender coming off defeating the top-ranked team now seeking to finish No. 1.
Those are just a few storylines heading into Saturday’s season-concluding matches at Grand Ledge High School.
Saturday’s first Final will be Division 4 at 10 a.m., followed by Division 3 at 12:30 p.m., Division 2 at 3:30 and Division 1 at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $11 and may be purchased online only at GoFan. All four Finals also will be broadcast and available with subscription on the NFHS Network.
Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4
Below is a glance at all eight contenders, with statistics through Regionals:
Division 1
ANN ARBOR HURON
Record/rank: 17-1-3, No. 2
Michigan Power Rating: No. 4
Coach: Luis Gomez-Dominguez, seventh season (66-44-16)
League finish: Second in Southeastern Conference Red
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Kinley Poole, sr. F (12 goals, 10 assists); Malic Kasham, sr. F (13 goals, 4 assists); Philip Leucht, sr. M (7 goals, 3 assists); Matthew Pletcher, sr. GK (9 shutouts).
Outlook: Huron over the last two weeks has celebrated its first Regional championship and now first trip to the Finals, after navigating a tournament path that’s included wins over No. 13 Dearborn Edsel Ford and honorable mentions Troy Athens and Detroit U-D Jesuit. The River Rats have shut out their last three opponents and given up only seven goals all fall, with their lone loss 1-0 to Saline as the rivals split their season series. Pletcher made the all-state second team last season, and Poole and Leucht earned honorable mentions.
PORTAGE CENTRAL
Record/rank: 23-0-2, No. 1
Michigan Power Rating: No. 2
Coach: Tim Halloran, 12th season (175-57-28)
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Gunnar Thorhallsson, sr. GK (0.26 goals-against average, 17 shutouts); Max Bailey, sr. F (12 goals, 21 assists); Carter Seim, soph. M (11 goals, 11 assists); Marshall Neumann, sr. M (6 goals, 8 assists).
Outlook: Portage Central also won its first Regional title last week on the way to this first Finals appearance, and defeated No. 5 Clarkston in a Semifinal shootout to get here. But Halloran has plenty of experience coaching on the season’s last day, as he led Hackett Catholic Prep’s girls to three Division 4 titles and two runner-up finishes over a 14-year run ending in 2010. This is his second tenure with Central; he previously coached from 2008-14 and took over again in 2021. Thorhallsson has qualified for the MHSAA single-season shutouts list this fall and made the all-state third team last season. Bailey made the second team, and Neumann also made the third team in 2024. Seniors Gavan Sherman and Oliver Ruggiero also both had 10 goals entering the week.
Division 2
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 19-0-4, No. 2
Michigan Power Rating: No. 5
Coach: Ian Billin, fourth season (67-9-12)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Black
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2023), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Jackson Kamminga, sr. M/F (12 goals, 4 assists); Logan Lutke, sr. D/M (3 goals, 3 assists); Jack VanEyk, sr. M (15 goals, 12 assists); Alen Deppe, jr. GK (0.35 goals-against average).
Outlook: Unity is seeking its second Finals championship in three seasons and first in Division 2 since 2012 after most recently winning Division 3 in 2023. The Crusaders defeated honorable mentions Holland Christian and Holland High, No. 12 Mason, No. 6 Edwardsburg and then Cedar Springs to get here, and also downed No. 10 Grand Rapids South Christian during the regular season. Opponents have scored only eight goals against them. Kamminga made the all-state third team and Lutke earned an honorable mention last season.
WARREN DE LA SALLE COLLEGIATE
Record/rank: 20-4-2, No. 4
Michigan Power Rating: No. 15
Coach: Thaier Mukhtar, 37th season (616-147-99)
League finish: Third in Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2024), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Dominic Baldarotta, jr. GK (0.65 goals-against average); Max Wyszczelski, sr. D (2 goals, 4 assists); Nikolai Zacharko, sr. M (10 goals, 15 assists); Andrew Corder, jr. F (38 goals, 15 assists).
Outlook: A year after winning their first championship since 2005, the Pilots are seeking their second in a row led by several players with big-game experience. Corder and Baldarotta made the all-state first team last season, Zacharko made the second team and Wyszczelski made the third. After finishing third in their league to Division 1 No. 11 Detroit Catholic Central and U-D Jesuit, De La Salle has outscored its six postseason opponents by a combined 31-2 – with shutouts of No. 9 Melvindale and No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in its last two matches and a 6-1 win over No. 3 New Boston Huron in the Regional Semifinal.
Division 3
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 21-2-1, No. 2
Michigan Power Rating: No. 1
Coach: Steve Bossert, 11th season (165-54-24)
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Championship history: 15 MHSAA titles (most recent 2018), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Tino Haratsaris, sr. M (22 goals, 19 assists); Evan Stark, sr.; Micah Zacks, sr. F (15 goals, 14 assists); Mitchell Hamway, jr. GK (0.90 goals-against average).
Outlook: Country Day also most recently finished Division 3 runner-up two years ago and has its most wins in one season under Bossert, who now has led the team to three championship matches. The Yellowjackets’ only losses this season were to No. 4 Ann Arbor Greenhills and Division 2 top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, and they defeated Division 3 Flint Powers Catholic and No. 7 Alma during the regular season before a tournament run that’s included victories over top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, No. 6 Grosse Ile and Greenhills among others. Haratsaris made the all-state first team last season, and Stark and Zacks made the second team.
SOUTH HAVEN
Record/rank: 18-4-4, unranked
Michigan Power Rating: No. 14
Coach: Randy Bautista, first season (18-4-4)
League finish: Second in Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore
Championship history: Division 3 co-champion 2003, three runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Noah Weaver, sr. F (17 goals, 8 assists); August Zoet, sr. F (24 goals, 4 assists); Levi DeLaRosa, sr. F/M (10 goals, 15 assists); Angel Barajas, jr. M (5 goals, 13 assists).
Outlook: South Haven has won 11 of its last 12 games on the way to making the Finals for the first time since finishing Division 3 runner-up in 2009. The path has been one of the toughest in any division. The Rams in the Semifinal handed No. 14 Fremont its only loss this season, and South Haven also defeated No. 15 Fennville, No. 8 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, No. 11 Grand Rapids Catholic Central and No. 12 Paw Paw over its last five games – all decided by one goal. The Fennville win avenged a 2-1 league title-deciding loss. Weaver earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
Division 4
GROSSE POINTE WOODS UNIVERSITY LIGGETT
Record/rank: 19-2-1, No. 6
Michigan Power Rating: No. 2
Coach: David Dwaihy, 11th season (156-37-13)
League finish: First in Catholic High School League Intersectional 1
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 1999), four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Ravi Hines, sr. GK (0.40 goals-against average); Ollie Cooley, jr. M (6 goals, 10 assists); Brady Ancona, jr. M (12 goals, 14 assists); Brendan Logan, fr. F (13 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Liggett is making its first Finals trip since finishing Division 4 runner-up in 2019, and has four shutouts over its six tournament games despite navigating postseason matches with No. 12 Detroit Cristo Rey, No. 9 Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, honorable mention Hillsdale Academy, No. 8 Plymouth Christian Academy and No. 4 Lansing Christian. The Knights have improved seven wins from a year ago and tied their most under Dwaihy. They start only four seniors, with multiple underclassmen playing key roles.
LELAND
Record/rank: 15-8-2, No. 10
Michigan Power Rating: No. 11
Coach: Rob Sirrine, fifth season (78-34-6)
League finish: Tied for first in Northwest Conference
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2018.
Players to watch: Ravell Smith, sr. GK (0.72 goals-against average); Eli Ulbrich, sr. D (3 goals); Ignacio Creamer, sr. M (12 goals, 14 assists); Adrian Spencer, sr. M (16 goals, 3 assists).
Outlook: Leland has won three Regional titles over the last four seasons and broke through for its second championship match appearance with a 2-1 Semifinal win over top-ranked Grandville Calvin Christian. The Comets also defeated No. 3 North Muskegon in their Regional Final and clinched the District title with a shutout of Maple City Glen Lake, with which it shared the league championship. Smith made the all-state first team last season, Ulbrich and Creamer made the third team and Spencer earned an honorable mention. Senior forward Weston Burda had added another 15 goals and six assists heading into this week.
PHOTO Levi DeLaRosa celebrates during South Haven's 2-1 Semifinal win over Fremont on Wednesday. (Photo by Michigan Sports Photo.)