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.)
Hartland Ace Makes More History, Brighton Back to Front of Pack
November 6, 2021
BROOKLYN — Riley Hough of Hartland is flattered whenever his name is mentioned in the same breath as Dathan Ritzenhein’s.
Few runners who have come along in the last 21 years inspired any comparisons to the former Rockford great, whose time of 14:10.4 in the 2000 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 meet is the fastest high school performance in history.
After breaking Ritzenhein’s course record at the Portage Invitational with a time of 14:37.1 on Oct. 9, Hough did something the three-time Olympian never accomplished at MIS by breaking 15 minutes for the second time.
Hough’s time of 14:56.47 Saturday at MIS came one year after he won in 14:49.62, a time that’s second only to Ritzenhein’s record.
Six other runners have gone under 15 minutes at MIS, but none more than once. Ritzenhein came the closest before Hough, winning the 1999 Class A meet in 15:05.4 before his awe-inspiring effort as a senior.
As far as Hough is concerned, he wants to leave his own legacy apart from anyone who came before him.
“Obviously, I have some of his records in some of the other invitationals,” Hough said. “Honestly, I feel I’m just making a name for myself instead of just trying to replace someone else.”
Hough finished the season 13-0, winning his last 24 races in a Hartland uniform.
Farmington’s Peter Baracco, like Hough a four-time all-stater, was less than a second off the pace at the mile mark, which Hough reached in 4:50.9. With a 4:44.3 second mile, Hough obliterated the field by opening up a 27.5-second lead.
Hough’s possible successor, Grand Haven sophomore Seth Norder, moved from 10th place at the two-mile mark to second by the end of the race. Norder crossed the line in 15:25.69.
Winning the team championship for the second time in three years was Brighton, which outscored runner-up Caledonia, 141-175.
The Bulldogs have five different scoring runners from their 2019 team, with only one runner back from the seven who took the course two years ago.
Senior Quinn Cullen ran a personal-best 15:37.54 to lead Brighton, placing sixth individually.
Senior Jack Campbell was 32nd in 16:06.54, senior Lucas Seng was 36th in 16:10.69, sophomore Tyler Langley was 45th in 16:16.84 and junior Dylan White was 97th in 16:42.70.
“It’s just a testament to the amount of work these kids put into it,” Brighton coach Chris Elsey said. “We’ve got a great core group of kids. Seven ran here today, but we’ve got 20, 25 guys who are part of that core group who work hard through the winter, work hard through the summer, in the spring in track. It’s hard to put into words.”
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s Riley Hough closes in on a repeat Division 1 championship Saturday. (Middle) Brighton’s Quinn Cullen leads a pack toward the finish while setting the pace for the eventual team title winner. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)