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.
East Grand Rapids Finishes 1st Boys Ski Championship Climb since 1999
By
Brian Freiberger
Special for MHSAA.com
February 24, 2025
HARBOR SPRINGS – East Grand Rapids ended a 25-year championship wait in boys skiing Monday, claiming the Division 2 title at Boyne Highlands in one of the closest finishes in MHSAA Finals history – and ending one of the sport’s most impressive winning streaks in the process.
The Pioneers most recently had won Finals championships in 1999 and 1997. They earned this one thanks to a fifth-skier tie-breaker with Petoskey, which had won the last five Division 2 titles.
"We just came out with no expectations on the boy's side and just said, ‘Let's ski like it's practice,’ and we had a good day," East Grand Rapids coach KC McGovern said.
"When you’ve got six athletes finishing all the runs, it's a lot easier to win these championships. Petoskey is such a good team, stacked top to bottom, and for us to beat those guys, it's really something else. They're in a class of their own. It's lucky if one of us can get one championship off those guys every 20 years. We really lucked out this time."
Emotions were high at the Day Lodge, especially for McGovern, who's led the program the last 25 seasons. Assistant coach Aiden Anderson was also pivotal from a coaching perspective.
East Grand Rapids and Petoskey both scored 94 points. Great North Alpine finished third with 108, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep placed fourth, Orchard Lake St. Mary's fifth, Houghton sixth, Grand Rapids Christian seventh, Bloomfield Hills eighth and Grand Rapids West Catholic ninth to round out the team competition.
Senior Quinn Irwin led the Pioneers with a winning two-run combined time of 1:06 in giant slalom.
"I'm pretty happy with finishing my career on a strong note," Irwin said. "No one thought we were going to come in here and be a big name, but I think we came in here and showed that we're a good team and that we can play around with the big schools. ... We're happy that we came out here and left it all out on the slopes," Irwin said.
Irwin finished fifth in slalom, followed by teammate Matthew Koster in 14th. Eric Gurek was 26th, Sam Souter was 28th, Asher Sage was 32nd, and Graham Schiefler was 44th.
Koster finished 20th in GS, Sage finished 22nd, Souter in 36th and Whittacker Norton finished 63rd.
"It's a crazy feeling to think that I fell down on my second run of GS, and even me getting back up and finishing the race was what put us over the edge is just a surreal feeling. … I've never hoisted a trophy like this," Norton said.
Bright spots for Petoskey included sophomore Elijah Dettmer, who finished second in slalom. Petoskey senior Gavin Galbraith, the 2024 Finals champion in the race, finished seventh this time, followed by Taylor Keiswetter in eighth.
Dettmer finished second in giant slalom as well (1:16.15), and Gavin Galbraith placed seventh.
"It was a tough way to end the season, definitely one of the closest races that I've ever seen, and unfortunately, we came down on the wrong side of it. But congratulations, East Grand Rapids. Well done and great skiing today," Petoskey coach Ben Crockett said.
Crockett hopes the team takes away that "nothing is assured when it comes to sports, and that's what makes it beautiful and what makes it fun to be a part of," he said. "Runner-up is also a big honor, though we are disappointed we couldn't take that top position this year. Certainly, it's an honor to participate in the state meet, and coming up second is absolutely excellent."
Gaylord senior Keaton Abraham finished first in slalom. He recalled leading after the first run last year but having one mistake cost him the championship.
Not this time around.
"I had a rough morning, and then this afternoon, I was in fourth after the first run in slalom, and I said, ‘I don't really want to be fourth. I'm gonna go for it,’" Abraham said. "I've raced my whole life, so finishing it this way feels really good."
Click for full results. Click to watch NFHS Network broadcasts: Slalom | Giant Slalom
PHOTOS (Top) The East Grand Rapids boys ski team hoists its trophy after winning the Division 2 title Monday at Boyne Highlands. (Middle) Petoskey’s Elijah Dettmer races to a runner-up finish in slalom. (Below) Gaylord’s Keaton Abraham clears a gate on the way to finishing first in slalom. (Click for more photos by Sarah Shepherd - more will be added throughout this week.)