Today in the MHSAA: 8/28/15
August 28, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Thursday saw the start of varsity football season, and nearly half of Michigan’s teams kicked off their fall.
Football’s first week in review will be posted Monday afternoon; in the meantime, there is more good news to report from today’s statewide headlines.
Cross Country
The Croswell-Lexington girls and Yale boys won the Mike Jackson Invitational, with Port Huron’s Rachel Bonner – fourth at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final last season – taking the girls individual title by 59 seconds – Port Huron Times-Herald
Girls Golf
Spring Lake set a school record shooting 321 to win the Big Rapids Invitational, also placing the top two individuals – Grand Haven Tribune
Good Reads
Longtime cross country and track and field official Doug Steward was quoted as saying he was close to retiring – in 2009. But this fall, after 51 years, he indeed will start his final races – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
The Lac Vieux Desert Tribe presented Watersmeet schools with $174,000 earlier this year that in part went to a new gym floor complete with the school's nationally-recognized Nimrod logo – Ironwood Daily Globe
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.)