Linked Up: 11/22/11
December 20, 2011
Thanksgiving week means a short one for most -- and more time for family, shopping, relaxation, watching the MHSAA Football Finals and hopefully a little additional reading.
Here are some suggestions from the last week and as we get ready to leave the fall and jump into the winter sports season.
Remember, if you find something high school sports-related that you think others would find useful or inspiring, send me a link at [email protected] and I'll check it out.
Okemos girl's cancer battle inspires Spartans (Lansing State Journal)\
We believe high school sports are about community. While not high school-related, this is a story about community and its power to do great things. Joe Rexrode tells us about 11-year-old Paige Duren and her battle against brain cancer – with the support of her community including big assists from the Michigan State football and basketball teams. She’s a two-sport athlete herself – playing soccer and basketball – and an inspiration to those who’ve come to know her. Rexrode makes it easy to understand why.
Sister act: Shaw, Halberg share much in common, despite more than 2,000 miles between them (Petoskey News)
That the Grunch sisters are excellent volleyball coaches isn’t a coincidence, Charlevoix people surely would say. But it’s a neat one that Liz (Grunch) Shaw and Christine (Grunch) Halberg both led their teams to their best finishes since 1989 (Halberg) or ever (Shaw). Shaw coaches their alma mater, while Halberg coaches 2,300 miles away in Washington. Steve Foley fills us in on how this worked out.
Avenall the right choice to lead Clarkston into volleyball history (NorthOaklandSports.com)
Clarkston coach Kelly Avenal was part of some great teams as a player, but until this past weekend Clarkston had never reached an MHSAA Finals weekend. Dan Stickradt tells us how she’s taken the program to the elite level while also giving a brief history lesson on how it got rolling toward that trip to Battle Creek.
Natural fit: Superior Dome was easy choice for 8-man final according to MHSAA (Marquette Mining Journal)
A few of us spent Friday night at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome, and count me among those who will look forward to making a return trip. Here’s some of the story behind the MHSAA’s selection of the Superior Dome as home of the inaugural 8-Player Football Final, as well as Semifinals most years.
Lowell's Noel Dean to Receive 2011 Power of Influence Award (AFCA.com)
The Red Arrows are headed back to Ford Field on Friday for the Division 2 Final, but Dean also will be scheduling a January trip to San Antonio, Texas, to receive this prestigious award from the American Football Coaches Association and American Football Coaches Foundation. Dean started his head coaching career at Bendle in 1991 before heading to Lowell in 1996. He's led teams to three MHSAA championships, and also the fundraising of $425,000 for cancer support through the "Pink Arrow Project."
Today in the MHSAA: 2/16/26
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 16, 2026
1. BOYS BASKETBALL Brooklyn Columbia Central clinched its first league title in boys basketball since 1983, downing Michigan Center 59-56 in the Cascades Conference finale – WLNS
2. BOYS BASKETBALL Gobles clinched its first championship in 25 years with a 54-46 win over Galesburg-Augusta in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Central – Kalamazoo Gazette
3. BOYS BASKETBALL Detroit Martin Luther King finished a perfect run through the Detroit Public School League with a city championship-clinching 68-63 win over Detroit Cass Tech – Detroit News
4. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saline avenged its lone Southeastern Conference Red loss by defeating Temperance Bedford to clinch the league title – Saline Post
5. BOYS BASKETBALL Auburn Hills Avondale clinched its first Oakland Activities Association title with a 58-44 win over Clarkston – Oakland Press
6. GIRLS BASKETBALL Jackson Lumen Christi held on for a 48-36 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s to claim the Catholic High School League Bishop title – Oakland Press
7. BOYS BASKETBALL Onsted downed Ida 46-35 to wrap up a fifth-straight Lenawee County Athletic Association title – Adrian Daily Telegram
8. GIRLS BASKETBALL Holt defeated East Lansing 50-35 to secure the outright title in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue – Lansing State Journal
9. BOWLING Wyandotte Roosevelt’s girls and boys teams finished perfect championship runs in the Downriver League – Southgate News-Herald
10. BOYS WRESTLING Holland’s Andreas Valkema reached 150 career wins on the way to a second-place finish at his Division 2 District – Holland Sentinel
Also of note …
GIRLS BASKETBALL Detroit Renaissance downed Mumford 63-37 to win the Detroit Public School League city championship – Detroit Free Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Rockford, Grand Rapids South Christian, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Holland Christian all clinched shares or outright titles in the O-K Conference – Grand Rapids Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Morenci’s Emersyn Bachelder and Adrian’s Ella Salenbien both reached 1,000 career points – Adrian Daily Telegram
BOYS BASKETBALL East Lansing downed Holt 71-36 to clinch the outright Capital Area Activities Conference Blue championship – Lansing State Journal
BOYS BASKETBALL Saginaw Heritage downed Mount Pleasant 58-29 to clinch the Saginaw Valley League North title – Saginaw News
BOYS BASKETBALL Center Line defeated Warren Mott, and a Marine City win helped the Panthers claim the Macomb Area Conference Silver title outright – Macomb Daily
BOYS BASKETBALL Royal Oak Shrine downed Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 41-28 to clinch the Catholic High School League St. Anne championship – Oakland Press
BOYS BASKETBALL Isaiah Theodile scored his 1,000th career point during Kalamazoo Central’s 85-46 win over Battle Creek Central – Kalamazoo Gazette
BOWLING The Division 2 No. 10 Fruitport boys finished a championship run in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver – MuskegonSports.com