Get Prepped for a Fantastic Finale
May 24, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We love this time of year. And not just because school is nearly out for summer.
There’s little argument that the week ahead is the most exciting of each MHSAA school year. And you’ll want to set your bookmarks for MHSAA.com and Second Half for updated results and coverage not just next week – but through the rest of this spring season.
The MHSAA.com Score Center is our home for scores from all District softball, baseball and soccer games, which begin Tuesday. You also can view real-time brackets for every District by going to the “Sports” page for each, and updated brackets for lacrosse by visiting our girls and boys pages for that sport as well.
In the Lower Peninsula, we’ll have same day or next morning results as golf Districts are played, and first-day results from next weekend’s Girls Tennis Finals on May 31 – followed by final results at the conclusion of play June 1. We’ll post Finals results for Upper Peninsula golf and tennis as we receive them Wednesday and Thursday, and then results for all seven Lower and Upper Peninsula Track and Field Finals as they come in June 1.
But results are only the start. As we have during the fall and winter, Second Half will provide coverage including photos from every MHSAA Final – beginning with Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals. Keep an eye on Second Half throughout the week, or follow the Second Half feed on the cover page of MHSAA.com.
Transfer rule clarification
We released Monday the actions our Representative Council took earlier this month at its Spring Meeting, including an addition to the athletics-related portion of our transfer rule. Based on some questions we’ve received and read, here’s some further explanation of what will be installed for 2014-15:
The longer period of ineligibility for athletes who transfer because of athletics is not new. This has previously existed for cases in which a school could prove that it lost a student to another school purely for sports-related reasons.
What’s new is what must be proven and by whom for the longer ineligibility period to take effect. Now, a school that lost a student does not have to file a report with the MHSAA for the case to be considered. As long as one of a set of offending activities can be verified – including practicing, competing or training with a member of the new school’s coaching staff during summer or non-school sports activities or seasons – that student will have to sit 180 days instead of the usual period of roughly a semester. The 15 exemptions that allow a student to be eligible immediately – like making a full move to a new district or a student’s school closing – may still apply.
So, to conclude: The longer athletics-related ineligibility period is not new, just how athletics-related transfers are considered and reported. Click to read the full release.
Kickoff is coming
And that means we’re collecting varsity football schedules.
In fact, we have most of them thanks to our athletic directors, their secretaries, coaches and many others who chip in to help us keep complete and accurate information throughout the season.
But there are still plenty of steps in getting ready for August – and a huge one is locking down correct leagues for our teams this season, especially as schools continue to switch things up.
Check out your school’s schedule page by click on the “Schools” button in the menu bar at the top of MHSAA.com and searching for your school. Once on the school page, click the blue “Boys” button next to football. The schedule will appear in the middle of the page, with standings to the left.
See an error in a schedule or the standings? Email me at [email protected]. I thank you in advance.
Kramer’s words of wisdom
Long before Roy Kramer served as athletic director at Vanderbilt University, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and creator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for Division I college football, he coached multiple sports at East Lansing High School.
He recently was named winner of this year’s Duffy Daugherty Award, given in honor of the former Michigan State University coach to a valued coach or contributor to college football. The award, presented in East Lansing, is among those recognized by the College Football Hall of Fame.
Kramer finished his acceptance speech with a stirring endorsement of the sport that brought the crowd of more than 300 to its feet. If you’re a fan, former or current player or coach, see below.
PHOTO: Athletes race toward the finish of a relay during this spring's Alma College Invitational. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
D2 Preview: Downriver Powers Rising to Lead Another Finals Charge
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 4, 2022
A return of full Downriver League power will make Saturday morning’s Competitive Cheer Final feel much more like what we’re used to from Division 2.
Allen Park is back at Grand Rapids’ Delta Plex seeking a third-consecutive championship, and Gibraltar Carlson is returning after a year away and still sits second on the all-time championships list with 11. Southgate Anderson is a three-time Finals champ, and together they finished first-third in the league and their Regional over these last many weeks.
Division 2 competition begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $10 and may be bought at the Delta Plex, and all four Finals will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv and viewable with a subscription. More information, including the spectator seating chart, is posted at MHSAA.com.
Below is a look at all eight finalists:
ALLEN PARK
League finish: First in Downriver League
Coach: Julie Goodwin, 17th season
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), four runner-up finishes.
Top score: 794.16.
Team composition: 28 total (nine seniors, 11 juniors, six sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: The Jaguars are competing for a third-straight Division 2 title and seventh-straight top-two Finals finish. They are again undefeated heading into Finals weekend, having broken 790 points in five of their last six competitions. Many of the team’s leaders have championship experience and multiple all-state honors – seniors Adreanna Carone and Cassidy Kuhn and junior Emma Buffa are returning first-team selections from 2021, while senior Cassidy Reardon and junior Kristine Beste made the second team last season and juniors Madisyn Setser and Emma Williams earned honorable mentions.
CEDAR SPRINGS
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold
Coach: Katy Hradsky, first season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 755.08.
Team composition: 17 total (nine seniors, one junior, six sophomores, one freshman).
Outlook: Cedar Springs is making its fourth-straight trip to the Finals and improved from seventh in 2020 to sixth last season. This will be the first appearance with Hradsky as head coach, but she was a major part of the program as the junior varsity coach the previous eight seasons after serving as co-head coach at Sparta from 2011-13. Cedar Springs posted its second-highest score, 753.58, to finish Regional runner-up. Senior Abbey Salisbury made the all-state second team last season.
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Bishop
Co-coaches: Amber Genevich, 19th season; Shelley Popiel, fifth season
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2011-14.
Top score: 782.86
Team composition: 20 total (three seniors, three juniors, seven sophomores, seven freshmen)
Outlook: Divine Child is returning to the Finals after two seasons away, riding a wave of strong scores with four straight of 761 or better and three of those reaching at least 773. Senior Makenna Yost and juniors Reese Eberth both earned all-Regional recognition last season.
DEWITT
League finish: Third in Capital Area Activities Conference Red
Coach: Candace Heskitt, 14th season
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up in 2020, 2015 and 2007.
Top score: 765.86 at Regional.
Team composition: 25 total (five seniors, four juniors, five sophomores, 11 freshmen).
Outlook: The Panthers have moved up from sixth in 2019 to third in 2020 to runner-up last season and enter this weekend coming off their first competition championship of this season. DeWitt is trending upward with its four highest scores coming in its four most recent events. Senior Anneliese Phillips made the all-state second team last season, and senior Hilary Ballard earned honorable mention.
GIBRALTAR CARLSON
League finish: Second in Downriver League
Coach: Alyssa Tocco, first season
Championship history: 11 MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), six runner-up finishes.
Top score: 790.18 at District
Team composition: 23 total (three seniors, nine juniors, three sophomores, eighth freshmen).
Outlook: Carlson is back at the Finals having finished first or second in Division 2 every season from 2008-20. Tocco is a past three-time Division 2 runner-up as an athlete on Allen Park’s team and a national runner-up collegiately, and served as an assistant at Plymouth the last five seasons before taking over the Marauders. They’ve finished first or second at all of their competitions this winter. The team didn’t compete during the 2021 postseason, but senior Destiny Rogers earned an all-state honorable mention in 2020 as a sophomore on that Finals runner-up team.
GRAND RAPIDS FOREST HILLS NORTHERN
League finish: First in O-K White
Coach: Carly Sienkiewicz, fifth season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 757.04
Team composition: 18 total (two seniors, nine juniors, five sophomores, two freshmen).
Outlook: Forest Hills Northern is returning to the Finals for the first time since 1998 after winning its second-straight league title and reaching Regionals for the second time in three seasons. The Huskies’ top four scores have come over their four most recent competitions, including in winning the District title with a 756.82 two weeks ago. Junior Julie Fiser earned all-District recognition last season as FHN just missed advancing.
MUSKEGON REETHS-PUFFER
League finish: Second in O-K Green
Coach: Lisabeth Smith, first season
Championship history: Seeking first top-two Finals finish.
Top score: 750.64 at Regional
Team composition: 23 total (four seniors, nine juniors, three sophomores, six freshmen).
Outlook: Reeths-Puffer is returning to the Finals for the first time since 2018, after winning its District and posting its top score in finishing third at the Regional. Smith is a past Reeths-Puffers cheer athlete and coached in the program immediately after graduation, later taking over the Muskegon High program before taking a few years off and returning to coach the Rockets this winter. Reeths-Puffer just missed the Finals last season, but seniors Lillyanna Schoonbeck and Summer Curtis, junior Makenna Anthony and sophomore Kendall Eek all earned all-Regional recognition.
SOUTHGATE ANDERSON
League finish: Third in Downriver League.
Coach: Colette Norscia, 19th season
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Top score: 782.44 at District.
Team composition: 22 total (four seniors, 10 juniors, three sophomores, five freshmen).
Outlook: Anderson improved from sixth in 2020 to a close fifth last season, and its top score this season is more than six points higher than heading into last year’s Finals. The Titans have surpassed 771 three times and 761 in seven competitions. Senior Savannah Thomas and juniors Bella Plonka and Alexis Morris earned all-Regional recognition last season.
PHOTO Allen Park competes during last year’s Round 1 at Breslin Center. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)