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.)
Saline Finds Winning Formula to Finish 1st Finals Trip as Division 1 Champion
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2025
EAST LANSING — The head coach hadn’t coached high school softball before last year, the ace pitcher is a junior who had never played on varsity before this spring, and the program itself had never advanced beyond the MHSAA Quarterfinal round over its long history.
Given all that, it certainly seemed like the definition of a stunning rise to the top for the Saline softball program, which captured its first Finals championship with a 5-2 victory over South Lyon in the Division 1 championship game Saturday at Secchia Stadium.
First, Saline head coach Rebecca Suiter hadn’t been a head coach in high school softball before being hired in December 2023. She has been a travel head coach, but her primary background was as an athletic trainer treating athletes, not coaching them.
“When I first got here, my goal was to get to know the girls and see where we were at,” said Suiter, who formerly was an athletic trainer at Brooklyn Columbia Central High School but is now a teacher at Saline. “Last year, they started to get to used to our philosophy. This year from the start, they bought in from the beginning. Each and every day they have put in the work to reach their goal. We would offer time for open hitting, and girls would be just showing up. This week, we were studying film and they were studying film on their own. They wanted it so bad.”
Junior ace Abby Curtis wasn’t even on varsity during Suiter’s first year, playing on the JV squad.
Committed to play next for Wayne State, Curtis went 20-0 this season and finished an incredible year by throwing a seven-hitter against South Lyon, striking out 13 and walking none.
“Our first practice, I had a feeling,” Curtis said. “There was an obvious chemistry and click we had from the get-go. We set high goals and reached them.”
Saline (40-3-2) reached the ultimate goal by avenging a loss to South Lyon in a Regional Semifinal last season.
Coming off a 5-4 win over 2025 champion Hudsonville in a Thursday Semifinal — a win that featured a 2-run rally in the top of the seventh inning — Saline’s offense was consistent throughout the championship game. The Hornets collected 10 hits and scored single runs in every inning except the fourth and the seventh.
Senior Ava Stripp broke a 1-1 tie in the second with a solo home run, and the Hornets took a 3-1 lead in the third inning on an RBI groundout by sophomore Gracelyn Waldrop. It was her second RBI of the day after she singled home the game’s first run.
In the fifth inning, Saline went up 4-1 on an RBI single with two outs by junior Madison Bellus. Saline got its final run in the sixth on an RBI double to the gap in left-center by Casey Griffin.
South Lyon scored a single run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by junior Ella Glowacki to make it 5-2, but couldn’t get closer.
South Lyon also scored in the first inning on an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of sophomore Isabella Bracali.
As improbable as Saline’s rise to the top was, it might have been even more unlikely to see South Lyon get this far in 2025.
The Lions last spring graduated all-state pitcher Ava Bradshaw, who as a freshman pitched a shutout in the 2021 Division 1 championship game to lead the Lions to victory.
South Lyon (33-8) also had a new coach in Jerry Shippe and was unranked heading into the MHSAA Tournament, but went on another unforgettable run to reach championship weekend.
“We flew under the radar all year,” Shippe said. “We played our last games at Clio before the playoffs. I took the team and told them, ‘You can win a state championship.’ They looked at me like, ‘Yeah, this old man doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’ Hey, they almost did. A couple of hits here and there, and they are. I’m proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Saline players including Casey Griffin (3) celebrate during their Division 1 championship win Saturday. (Middle) Ashley Malinczak steps into her swing during an at bat for the Hornets.