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.)
Pioneer Seniors Leave Legacy with 2nd-Straight Finals Win
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
November 20, 2021
HOLLAND – Ann Arbor Pioneer boasts one of the deepest traditions in MHSAA girls swimming & diving history.
It goes back to the days of legendary coach Dennis Hill, who guided the Pioneers to their first state title in 1979 and retired with 16 championships in Lower Peninsula Class A or Division 1.
The latest wave of talent was determined to carry on that tradition and leave its mark. Led by a strong group of seven seniors, Pioneer overwhelmed the competition in capturing a second-straight Division 1 title Saturday at Holland Aquatic Center.
The Pioneers claimed first place in five of 12 events, including all three relays, and showed off their superior depth in a runaway victory. They totaled a whopping 405.5 points to leave the rest of the pack far behind. Saline was runner-up with 247 points, followed by Brighton in third place with 217.5.
“We just had to take care of ourselves all season,” Pioneer sixth-year coach Stefanie Kerska said. “As nice as it may seem to be out so far in front, we made it a point to not get complacent, to not cut corners and, like I said, to not take our foot off the gas.
“So, that was really the challenge of the year, to just stay motivated, still being as dominant as we were this year.”
Last season, Pioneer captured the 17th Finals championship in program history in similarly dominant fashion. Pioneer racked up 368 points, ahead of Farmington Hills Mercy (184), which edged the Pioneers by only half a point for the 2019 Division 1 title.
Last year, and especially this weekend, the Pioneers were essentially competing against themselves. In five events, they had two top-six finishers, and three in another event.
Among the 19 all-state finishes (top eight in each event) for Pioneer, 15 placed in the top four of their respective races.
“It means everything. Last year was our first time winning a state championship in our four years,” Pioneer senior Vivian VanRenterghem said. “Obviously, with COVID, the experience was a little bit different – we didn’t get to do it until January.
“So, getting to do it here – prelims, finals, the real deal – definitely meant more, and I think to come out the other end of last year was everything for us.”
Senior Lily Cramer led the way for Pioneer with a first-place finish in the 200-yard free (1:48.95), plus she swam legs on winning 200 free relay and 400 free relay teams and took second in the 100 breaststroke. Sophomore Stella Chapman won the 200 IM (2:01.98), swam legs on first-place 200 medley relay and 400 relay teams, and placed second in the 100 backstroke.
VanRenterghem and senior Holly Pringle both swam legs on the Pioneers’ winning 200 free relay and 400 free relay teams. Senior Edwina Jalet swam a leg on the Pioneers’ first-place 200 medley relay, while senior Amelia Weyhing and junior Sophia Guo swam as part of the victorious 200 free relay.
Cramer said that the intrasquad competition pushes everybody to be better.
“Everyone wants to do well, and I think that makes everybody a little nervous, but also we knew what we were able to do and we were able to execute that to the best of our ability,” Cramer said.
“We do everything together, so to be able to win together is a really good feeling.”
Plymouth senior Brady Kendall was the lone two-event individual winner for the two-day competition. She swam to first place in the 50 free in 22.63 seconds and captured first in the 100 butterfly in 53.35.
Rockford sophomore Megan Jolly finished at the top in 1-meter diving with 419.20 points. Grand Haven sophomore Rosalee Springer captured first in the 100 free (50.55). Brighton junior Victoria Schreiber was first in the 500 free (4:57.27). Middleville Thornapple Kellogg senior Abby Marcukaitis took the top honor in the 100 backstroke (55.07). Livonia Stevenson junior McKenzie Siroky was first in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.85).
In addition to the seven seniors, Pioneer’s team featured two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.
“I’ve got a lot of seniors, and luckily they’ve been able to really leave their mark on this team over the last few years, and so those underclassmen sort of know what the expectations and requirements are to continue this,” Kerska said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge from here on out. Those seven seniors have really built this program back up.”
Kerska wanted the senior group to leave a legacy, and those seven swimmers did just that. They carried on the rich Pioneer tradition and started another Finals-title string with their back-to-back achievement.
The Pioneers won four Class A championships in a row under Hill from 1989-92, and nine straight for the Hall of Fame coach from 2000-08. They also collected titles in 1985 and 1987.
Pioneer’s seniors did not lose a single dual meet in their high school careers, and five of them are headed to swim at the Division I collegiate level.
VanRenterghem and Cramer have been swimming together since fourth grade.
“This sport is a lot of work, but it’s always been worth it,” VanRenterghem said. “I think a lot of us have a really exciting next four years, but I think we’re never going to forget where we came from and I’ll always be cheering for Pioneer.”
Said Cramer: “We started this together and we ended this together, and I think it’s a really good way to go out.”
PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.