Kermit's Baton (Birmingham Eccentric)

March 6, 2012

Michigan's track and cross country community mourned the loss two weeks ago of former Birmingham Seaholm coach Kermit Ambrose, who died after a full 101 years including many putting a heavy stamp on the high school running scene.

Of course, Ambrose's influence stretched far outside high school as well. Marty Budner fills us in on the details in the story linked below, and then paints a fabulous picture of a former coach who affected thousands during more than a century.

It's not only the wins and losses — of which Kermit had many more of the former, but it's also the relationships developed and lessons learned. Many coaches will tell you the best part of their job is helping to teach life lessons and striving to make an impact along the way.

Kermit Ambrose was that kind of teacher.

Read more:

Ambrose: Friend, mentor to all

Ambrose makes an awesome run through life (column)

Today in the MHSAA: 10/11/17

October 11, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10

1. Volleyball: South Lyon won its first league title in this sport by claiming the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference championship with a sweep of Walled Lake Northern – Oakland Press

2. Boys Cross Country: LPD1 No. 6 Brighton swept Hartland and Livonia Stevenson to secure its first league title since 1995, in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Gold – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

3. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 17 Gibraltar Carlson claimed its first league title in this sport since 2006 and first as a member of the Downriver League with a 5-2 win over Melvindale – Southgate News Herald

4. Cross Country: Saugatuck’s LPD3 No. 2 girls clinched their 11th consecutive title and the No. 3 boys their seventh straight Southwestern Athletic Conference championship – Holland Sentinel

5. Cross Country: The White Lake Lakeland boys (No. 5 in LPD1) and Highland-Milford girls (No. 11) clinched Lakes Valley Conference championship, Lakeland handing Milford’s No. 11 boys their first league loss and Milford’s girls edging Lakeland’s by a point – Observer & Eccentric

6. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 4 Portage Central finished a regular-season sweep of rival Portage Northern in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship game – Kalamazoo Gazette

7. Volleyball: Class C honorable mention Mendon swept Marcellus to complete a perfect run on the way to the Southwestern 10 Conference title – Sturgis Journal

8. Boys Soccer: Okemos downed East Lansing to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup, dedicating the victory to late coach Dr. John Picone – Lansing State Journal

9. Girls Cross Country: LPD1 No. 2 Northville won its sixth straight league title, finishing ahead of Novi to clinch in the KLAA Gold – Observer & Eccentric

10. Volleyball: Niles Brandywine swept Bridgman and Watervliet and split with Kalamazoo Christian to continue its hunt for a Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium