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
Holland West Ottawa Athletics Complex Recognized with National Award
December 12, 2023
Holland West Ottawa Public Schools’ new athletics complex, with architectural firm GMB, has been recognized as the top multi-field facility nationally by the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), the national organization for builders and suppliers of materials for athletic facilities.
West Ottawa’s new stadium consists of two turf playing fields. The west field was designed deliberately without a surrounding track to bring the stands and field closer together with a central tunnel beneath the grandstands for the home team to enter onto the field. The same synthetic turf, light posts, and state-of-the-art audio/video systems are utilized on both fields for an equitable experience for all users.
Multiple ground-level entry points with access to the fields, barrier-free locker rooms and multiple seating options with elevator access also create accessibility for spectators, players, coaches, and support staff.
“This facility allows our students the opportunity to play in one of the premier complexes in the state of Michigan,” said Jeff Malloch, assistant superintendent of business services at West Ottawa Public Schools. “We have seen continued interest in lacrosse, football, and soccer, and this complex will be utilized by our community youth from elementary age to high school student-athletes.”
Adding elevated fan experiences, such as a concourse level between the upper and lower sections of the home stands, bigger bleachers, and updated concession stands and restrooms establish a venue for multiple sports and attract the entire community to utilize the facility.
“This is a one-of-a-kind facility for West Michigan, and it’s been wonderful to see student-athletes from across the state enjoy the complex’s unique amenities,” said Nate Bosch, a landscape architect with GMB. “The collaboration needed to make this project come to life was an inspiring process to be a part of, and we are so pleased to celebrate this accomplishment with West Ottawa.”
This is the first time a GMB project has been awarded a multi-field facility of the year honor by the ASBA. GMB also has received four Project of the Year honors in the outdoor tennis category and 20 distinguished awards from ASBA for other athletic facility projects over the past 12 years.
(Photos by M-Buck Studio.)