Linked Up: 12/19/11
December 19, 2011
We've hit a bit of a slow spot with schools out for break and most contests reserved for holiday showcases and the like.
Here are some suggestions if you have some time for some reading between now and the start of 2012.
High school coaches try to bring basketball back to basics (Detroit News)
For most of the last decade, we've heard about the recessing of basketball fundamentals even among elite high school players. Enter Ben Kelso, Marshall Thomas and a number of other Michigan coaches who have pledged to end that trend. Tom Markowski tells us how the Metro Detroit Basketball Coaches Association aims to do so.
Lantzy retires after more than 4 decades as Ike grid coach (Macomb County Advisor & Source)
Utica-Eisenhower coach Bob Lantzy has been his school's only varsity football coach. He took four teams to MHSAA Finals and this fall became one of only nine state football coaches to win more than 900 games. He has retired after 41 seasons, and Kevin Lozon fills us in on the legacy.
Tabahn Afrik poised for greatness in pool for West Ottawa (Holland Sentinel)
The Holland area has its next big swimming star. Dan D'Addona introduces us to Tabahn Afrik, a freshman at Holland West Ottawa who qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 Finals in two events in his first meet this season.
High school basketball: History of class hoops is just that (South Bend Tribune)
"Hoosiers" made Indiana's former one-class basketball tournament known on a grander scale. But Indiana went to classes (similar to Michigan's) beginning in 1997-98. Al Lesar tells us how some in the state are attempting to revert to one class.
Today in the MHSAA: 5/27/25
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 27, 2025
1. TRACK & FIELD The top-ranked Holland Christian girls and No. 1 Battle Creek Harper Creek boys won Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association team titles in Division 2 – Holland Sentinel | Battle Creek Enquirer
2. TRACK & FIELD The top-ranked Remus Chippewa Hills girls and No. 3 Traverse City St. Francis boys won Division 3 MITCA team championships – Big Rapids Pioneer | Traverse City Record-Eagle
3. TRACK & FIELD The top-ranked Hillsdale Academy girls and No. 1 Riverview Gabriel Richard boys won MITCA titles in Division 4 – Hillsdale Daily News | Athletic.net
4. TRACK & FIELD East Kentwood swept Division 1 MITCA championships; both the girls and boys teams were ranked No. 1 entering the meet – Athletic.net
5. SOFTBALL Division 3 No. 6 Grass Lake claimed its fifth-straight Cascades Conference title with a sweep of honorable mention Brooklyn Columbia Central – Jackson Citizen Patriot
6. SOFTBALL Benzie Central swept Onekama to clinch its first Northwest Conference title in this sport since 1996 – Manistee News-Advocate
7. BASEBALL Division 3 No. 9 Grass Lake also claimed its fifth-straight Cascades Conference title on the baseball diamond with a sweep of Brooklyn Columbia Central – Jackson Citizen Patriot
8. SOFTBALL Bronson finished a fourth-straight Big 8 Conference title run with a sweep of Concord – Coldwater Daily Reporter
9. SOFTBALL Division 4 No. 6 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart swept Vestaburg to clinch a fourth-straight Mid-State Activities Conference title – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
10. SOFTBALL Division 3 No. 3 Evart earned a shared Highland Conference title with Division 4 No. 2 Beal City by sweeping LeRoy Pine River – Cadillac News
Also of note …
TRACK & FIELD The Rochester High girls and Rochester Adams boys won Oakland County championships – Oakland Press Girls | Boys