Calumet Invite Produces Northern Stars
September 18, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Calumet Invitational dates back roughly 30 years as an annual staple of the cross country schedule for schools at the northernmost tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
A creative move by the Copper Kings last year added some statewide prestige to the event.
Last week, for the second season, Calumet ran the series of races at Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, a resort near Copper Harbor and the northern bank of the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Calumet is the northernmost high school in Michigan. And moving this race another 35 miles northeast more or less guaranteed it's the northernmost event run in the state.
"We figured it was pretty safe. We're the northernmost school in the state, and you can only go four more miles and you're in Lake Superior," Calumet athletic director Sean Jacques said. "Nobody else is going to do anything more north than that."
A total of 10 schools were represented this fall in the races for boys and girls varsity, junior varsity and middle schoolers.
Jacques said the event formerly was run at a golf course in Calumet. But a few years ago, Calumet graduate and former Copper Kings cross country runner Dan Harri moved home from Florida to become general manager at the Mountain Lodge (he's also a renowned chef and has owned restaurants in Miami with Hall of Fame Dolphins coach Don Shula).
Harri had asked a few times about bringing a cross country or golf event to the lodge. Jacques told him last year they'd give it a try, so Harri set up a course that includes golf course, a couple of bridges, trails and finishes with a climb on the No. 1 fairway. It also provides various points for fans to watch runners go by, not always available on other courses.
"We were looking for a little bit of a change, and it's a beautiful course," Jacques said. "We thought if people were willing to make the extra drive, it would be really nice."
Calumet won the boys race this season, just ahead of runner-up Houghton. Houghton's girls were victorious, followed by the host Copper Kings.
Click to read more about this year's event from the Houghton Mining Gazette.
Michigan's claim to an NFL evolution
As part of its NFL preview this month, Sports Illustrated reported on one of the most significant developments for offenses over the last few decades – the silent snap count, which is used regularly by visiting teams because offensive linemen can’t hear the quarterback calling for the ball over the clamor of the home crowd.
And the article explained that the silent snap count might’ve gotten its start at one of Michigan’s smallest high schools – Flint’s Michigan School for the Deaf.
Offensive linemen during the 1980s were feasted on by pass rushers like Lawrence Taylor and Bruce Smith, who built record sack totals by blasting past blockers who seemed a step slow. Turns out, that was true. Defensive players were getting an edge by attacking as soon as they saw the ball move. But blockers (especially offensive tackles), focused instead on the defensive ends and linebackers lined up across from them, and didn’t have the luxury of watching the ball – and since they also couldn’t hear the snap count, started each play a step behind.
Enter the silent count. The quarterback signals to the center that he is ready to receive the ball (with a pat on the back, by raising a foot, etc.). The center then raises his head, and after a predetermined count of at least one second snaps the ball without a sound. This means an offensive tackle doesn’t have to listen for a snap count – he just counts after seeing the center get set.
The SI report recognized longtime offensive line coach Howard Mudd as the guru of the silent snap count. But Mudd recalled a conversation he’d had while working for the Seattle Seahawks with another coach, the late Andy MacDonald, who also had coached early in his career at a school for the deaf in Michigan.
The article doesn’t mention Michigan School for the Deaf by name. But it seems to make sense that the Tartars were the first to use the now-revolutionary count. MacDonald – who played at Central Michigan University and went on to coach at Michigan State and four other colleges and also for the Buffalo Bills – grew up in Flint and attended Flint Northern before playing for the Chippewas from 1950-53. The historical web site Michigan-football.com has results for Flint’s Michigan School for the Deaf dating to 1950, making it a decent assumption that MacDonald might’ve gotten in a little early coaching experience at the school down the road from his home.
Click for the SI story and go to page 4 for the mention of Michigan’s school.
Michigan mourns trooper, running standout
The law enforcement community is mourning the death of Michigan State Police trooper Paul Butterfield, who was shot Sept. 9 during a traffic stop in Mason County. He also was a well-known distance runner during the 1980s and the MHSAA Class A cross country champion running for Bridgeport in 1987.
According to a Ludington Daily News report, Butterfield continued running after high school at the University of Tennessee, and also competed at the 1989 Pan American Junior Games in Argentina.
Butterfield was stationed in Hart after previously serving in Manistee, and lived in Mason County. He also had served in the U.S. Army. Click to read more from the Ludington Daily News.
PHOTO: Calumet's Chelsea Jacques (right) won this season's Calumet Invitational with a time of 21:08.06, just ahead of Ironwood's Jessica Gering at 21:46.16. (Photo courtesy of Calumet athletic department.)
Preview: Championship Opportunities Await Several 1st-Time Contenders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 10, 2022
Jackson Area capped an exciting return of the Gymnastics Finals last season with its first team championship. We’ll see this weekend if that was the beginning of a trend.
Two of four Regional champions from last week – Livonia Red and Bloomfield Hills – will be seeking their first Team Finals championship Friday at White Lake Lakeland. Last season’s Division 1 and 2 individual champions both graduated, guaranteeing first-time winners Saturday as well.
Team competition begins at 4 p.m. Friday, with individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 beginning at noon Saturday. Tickets cost $11 each day and are available exclusively via GoFan.
Below is a glance at several of this weekend’s contenders. (Click for both days’ rotations.)
TEAM CONTENDERS
Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks finished fifth at last season’s Final and are trending upward. They won their Regional last weekend, scoring 139.925 to edge Farmington United by nine tenths of a point. That was the team’s highest score of the year after it previously set a season high in winning its league competition in mid-February.
Grand Ledge: The Comets finished third last season and are seeking their first Finals championship since concluding a run of six straight in 2013. They won their Regional with a statewide-best score of 147.125 and also won championships this winter at the Rockford, Kenowa Hills and Coldwater invitationals.
Livonia Red: Another Regional champion, Livonia Red (made up of gymnasts from Churchill and Franklin) set a team scoring record winning that meet with a 146.350 – the second-highest statewide last weekend. Red also finished second at the prestigious Canton Invitational, which is annually considered a preview of the MHSAA Finals, and won the Walled Lake Invitational.
Rockford: The Rams have been runners-up the last two seasons (2021 and 2019, with 2020’s Finals canceled because of COVID-19) and are seeking their first title since winning the third of three straight in 2017. They won the Canton Invitational and also were Regional champs scoring 143.700 last weekend.
Fowlerville/Byron/Pinckney/Chelsea: The lone Regional runner-up in this group, FBPC finished second to Grand Ledge with a score of 144.200 and defeated the Comets in their dual meet during the regular season. FBPC also won the 20-team Jeanne Carruss Memorial Invitational at the end of January.
DIVISION 1
Avery Boyk, Livonia Red senior: She’s an all-around contender again after finishing sixth last season with a tie for second on uneven parallel bars. She won her Regional all-around last week at 37.750 with firsts on balance beam (9.175) and bars (9.750).
Alyssa Budd, Jackson Area junior: Budd, a student at Napoleon, tied for ninth on beam and seventh on floor exercise last season. She won floor (9.675) in finishing second all-around at her Regional (36.075).
Madeleine Loomis, East Lansing senior: She finished 12th all-around last season and could be in for a big career finish after winning her Regional all-around at 37.825 with firsts on floor (9.650) and beam (9.600).
Morgan Ruffing, Livonia Red junior: She finished third all-around last season, paced by a tie for second on vault and solo seventh on bars. She won floor (9.800) at her Regional and was among the top four in all four events on the way to finishing second all-around (37.200).
Lacey Scheid, Rockford junior: She missed winning last season’s Division 1 all-around title by five hundredths of a point and took first on bars. She won vault (9.150) and balance beam (9.175) on the way to claiming last week’s Regional all-around title with a 36.825.
Bronwen Smith, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Unified junior: Smith, a student at Forest Hills Central, finished third all-around at her Regional with a 35.750 and a first on bars (9.025).
Emma Stewart, Salem junior: She’s a likely contender in her first season of high school gymnastics, placing third at her Regional with an all-around 36.850 thanks to a second on bars and two more third places.
Katie Stewart, Salem sophomore: Emma’s sister, Katie Stewart won vault (9.400) and was second on beam (9.075) in finishing fourth all-around (36.375) at the Regional.
Maeve Wright, Bloomfield Hills senior: She was fifth all-around last year with a third on floor and sixth on beam, and she won the Division 1 beam as a freshman. She won beam (9.350) and floor (9.600) last week on the way to finishing first all-around (36.850) at her Regional.
Alaina Yaney, Grand Ledge junior: She tied for ninth on vault and was 22nd all-around in 2021, and could make a big jump Saturday. She finished first on vault (9.425) and bars (9.450) in taking second all-around (37.650) at her Regional.
DIVISION 2
Charlotte Calhoun, Coldwater sophomore: She finished third all-around at her Regional (35.200) with a win on bars (8.850).
Sydney Dunn, Canton sophomore: She was a Regional all-around runner-up (35.000) with top-five finishes on three apparatuses.
Joey Gair, Rockford senior: She tied for fourth on beam on the way to finishing 13th all-around at last season’s Finals, and she could move up coming off a fourth place all-around (35.025) at her Regional.
Courtney Jordan, Plymouth senior: She won bars (9.000) and floor (9.550) and tied for first on beam (9.100) in placing first all-around at her Regional with a 36.350.
Audrey Kane, Howell senior: She finished ninth on bars and tied for eighth on floor at last season’s Finals, and she could be an all-around contender after finishing third with a 36.000 at her Regional.
Sarah Litz, Fowlerville/Byron/Pinckney/Chelsea senior: She finished sixth all-around at her Regional last week (35.825) as the six qualifying scores were separated by only six tenths of a point. A student at Fowlerville, she was fifth all-around at last year’s Finals with top-nine finishes on vault, beam and floor.
Ivy McDonald, Lowell junior: A first on beam (9.300) helped her finish second all-around at her Regional (35.550). She took third on beam and finished 11th all-around at last year’s Finals.
Emma Olds, Grand Ledge senior: She enters off a Regional all-around championship (36.425) and first on bars (9.225). She tied for third on vault and fifth on floor and was 10th on bars in finishing sixth all-around at the 2021 Finals.
Kamini Playle, Farmington United senior: She was part of a team championship as a freshman in 2019 and could make a move individually after finishing 20th all-around last season. She was second all-around at last week’s Regional (35.725) with a first on floor (9.275) and three second places.
Addison Richmond, Jackson Area senior: Richmond, a student at Jackson, tied for ninth all-around at last season’s Finals with a first place on floor. She returns coming off a fifth-place Regional all-around finish (34.650).
Grace Spencer, Farmington United junior: A student at Farmington, Spencer won the all-around at last weekend’s Regional with a 36.000 and firsts on beam (9.250) and bars (8.975).
Maty Temrowski, Linden/Fenton/Lake Fenton senior: A student at Fenton, she tied for 14th on vault and also competed on beam at last year’s Finals. She could be in the all-around mix this time after placing second at her Regional (36.125).
Anna Tracey, Rockford senior: She was first on beam and second on floor in finishing second all-around at last season’s Finals. She returns coming off a Regional all-around championship (35.575) paced by second places on beam and bars.
PHOTO Livonia Red's Morgan Ruffing competes on balance beam during last season's Division 1 Individual Finals at Rockford High School. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)