Howell Puts Heart Into Memorial Meet
August 29, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An online tribute to Mackenzie Watts describes how she “made the people and world around her better.”
The Howell swimming and diving community continues to work so that her memory makes those who come after her safer as well.
Watts died in 2005 after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia. She was a 15-year-old sophomore and key cog on her high school team.
This past weekend, for the sixth straight season, the Highlanders hosted the Kenzie Classic, an invitational that served as a fundraiser for the Howell program and annual Mackenzie Watts scholarship – plus served to promote heart screenings by local National Diagnostic Services in their “HeartMobile” parked outside the pool.
NDS, which also has held screening events at Northville, Canton and Middleville Thornapple Kellogg schools among others, screened 20 students during this Kenzie Classic, said Wellness Director Heidi Enders.
Tests are ultrasound-based and non-invasive, and include an EKG to examine the heart’s electrical system for arrhythmias and an echocardiogram to examine the heart’s structure in case there is a thickening of the muscle (known as hyperthrophic cardiomyopathy). Adults were charged $199 and students $75, with discounted rates for adults in groups and children.
Click to check out coverage of the event from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.
Records Revamp
While tracking down 660 football schedules (give or take a few) took up most of the summer, there still was time for a few additions to the MHSAA record book – with more to come.
Track and field fans will notice records from retired yardage events (pre-1982 or earlier depending on the MHSAA class) have been added to the online records here for boys and here for girls.
Cross country fans should check out our lists of top MHSAA Finals times for every division and every class, plus overall top 10 lists for both boys and girls since the race was set to five kilometers in 1980. Click here for girls and here for boys.
Also added or updated were team championship counts for both cross countries, volleyball and girls golf. Click to check out girls golf here and volleyball here.
Fond Football Memories
It has been 30 years since former Genesee all-state running back Don Robinson became the fourth player in Genesee County history to run for more than 300 yards in one game – which he did in gaining 317 on Sept. 23, 1983.
High school football and those memories remain close to his heart even after going on to play at Eastern Michigan University, a stint in the U.S. Navy and a move to Georgia.
He’s paid attention over the years as that “300 club” has grown to 22 players including current New Orleans Saints back Mark Ingram, Jr., and the University of Michigan’s Thomas Rawls.
He’s also a regular reader of Second Half, and asked to send along some words of wisdom to those who will be taking the field to begin the season this weekend:
“When you run out onto the field this season, do me a favor. At least once, pause.
“Look around you. Look at the lights in the sky. See the faces of those that have come to see you play. Listen to the band and the cheerleaders. Look into the eyes of your teammates ...
“Take it all in. When you’re older and miss this amazing game that you are playing, you’ll be glad you did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A swimmer takes the lead during a race at Saturday's Kenzie Klassic at Howell High School. (Photo courtesy of Howell High School.) (Middle) Genesee graduate Don Robinson runs the ball during the 1983 season. (Photo courtesy of Don Robinson.)
2022 Runners-Up Climb Final Step to Give Grand Ledge Individual Title Sweep
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 11, 2023
WHITE LAKE — Grand Ledge senior Alaina Yaney came agonizingly close to winning an MHSAA Finals individual title last year.
And if you think that wasn’t on her mind for a full year, think again.
Yaney said she had notes written throughout her room in a quest to be better than a half-tenth of a point – the margin between her and 2022 first-place finisher Morgan Ruffing of Livonia Red.
“It was on my mind every single day at practice, and it motivated me to work harder,” Yaney said. “It was just one little toe point, and I knew that I could do it and I was very close. I had many things in my room reminding me to work harder.”
Instead of notes, Yaney will now have a Finals championship medal to display.
Yaney earned her redemption after a year’s wait, this time walking out of Lakeland High School as the Division 1 individual champion Saturday.
Yaney finished with an all-around score of 38.075, ahead of Ruffing and Emma Stewart of Salem, who tied for second with identical scores of 37.925.
Lacey Scheid of Friday’s team champion Rockford was fourth at 37.450, while Howell’s Maria Petru rounded out the top five at 37.375.
For Yaney, her day broke down like this:
Floor exercise. Yaney opened up in this event, and took second with a score of 9.575. “My mindset was to just go in calm, dominate and do what I knew I could do,” Yaney said. Ruffing won with a score of 9.800.
Up next for Yaney was this event, where she finished first with a score of 9.700. Stewart was second with a 9.575. “That is best my event,” Yaney said. “I just knew if I did what I know how to do, I would be fine.”
Bars. In her third event, Yaney finished third with a score of 9.325. Stewart was first with a 9.500, while Ruffing was second with a 9.425. “I was nervous because I had to make my new skill in order to get the score I needed,” Yaney said.
Beam. When Yaney got to her final event, she knew good scores in her previous three put her on the cusp of the title. “I just had to stay calm and focus and be confident that I could do it,” Yaney said. “I knew I was having good scores throughout the day, so it helped me stay calm.” Yaney delivered with a first-place finish, earning a score of 9.475. Stewart was second with a 9.400, and Scheid was third with a 9.350.
Vault.Yaney wasn’t the only Grand Ledge gymnast to leave with an individual title and redemption.
Teammate Lydia Beaton won the Division 2 competition with an all-around score of 36.650, finishing ahead of Coldwater’s Charlotte Calhoun, who had a 36.275.
Grace Spencer of Farmington United was third with a 35.825.
As was the case with Yaney in Division 1, Beaton was the runner-up last year in Division 2.
“I felt really confident,” Beaton said. “I woke up in the hotel room and I was like, ‘I’m going to win. I’m going to come in strong.’ I believed in myself.”
Beaton finished first in the vault (9.450) and the beam (9.575).
Yaney and Beaton’s titles helped Grand Ledge make up for what was a lower finish than usual at Friday’s team event, where the Comets finished in eighth place.
“I just knew they had a chance,” Grand Ledge head coach Duane Haring said. “All we talked about all day was to focus. If you focus, you could be there at the end. And they were there at the end. I’m so proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Ledge's Alaina Yaney competes on the uneven parallel bars; she finished third on that apparatus. (Middle) The top Division 1 individual finishers are recognized Saturday, including champion Alaina Yaney, far left, from Grand Ledge. (Below) Lydia Beaton competes on vault for the Comets, on the way to finishing first. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)