2016-17 Parade of Champions
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 23, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Birch Run, Detroit Edison Public School Academy, Plymouth Christian Academy and Zeeland East celebrated their first Michigan High School Athletic Association team championships this school year, as 97 schools total won one or more of the 129 Finals titles awarded during 2016-17.
Teams earning the first MHSAA championship in any sport for their schools were Birch Run in girls bowling, Detroit Edison PSA in girls basketball, Plymouth Christian in girls volleyball and Zeeland East in boys track & field.
A total of 31 teams won first MHSAA titles in their respective sports. A total of 54 champions were repeat winners from 2015-16 – and 28 of those won for at least the third straight season, while 14 extended title streaks to at least four consecutive years.
The Birmingham Brother Rice boys lacrosse team has the longest title streak of 13 seasons, while the Petoskey boys skiing team and Marquette girls track & field team share the second-longest streak at seven straight championships.
Marquette claimed the most MHSAA team titles, five, winning in Division 1 boys skiing and Division 1 girls skiing, Upper Peninsula boys swimming & diving, and Upper Peninsula Division 1 boys track & field and girls track & field. All five were repeat championship wins. No other school won four or more titles, but six more schools won three: Birmingham Brother Rice, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, East Grand Rapids, Midland Dow, Negaunee and Rockford.
Also claiming multiple championships were Detroit Catholic Central, Detroit Country Day, East Kentwood, Escanaba, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Ishpeming, Ishpeming Westwood, Jackson Lumen Christi, Lowell, Munising, Pewamo-Westphalia, Powers North Central, Rochester, St. Ignace and Vandercook Lake.
Sixteen of the MHSAA's 28 championship tournaments are unified, involving teams from the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, while separate competition to determine titlists in both Peninsulas is conducted in remaining sports.
For a sport-by-sport listing of MHSAA champions for 2016-17: Click Here.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
PHOTO: The Saline baseball team celebrates its first MHSAA championship Saturday at Michigan State University.
Officials Registration Open
June 19, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations by mail and online for game officials for the 2014-15 school year and hopes to continue building on a program started in 2012 and aimed at recruiting new officials from high schools’ current graduating classes.
The MHSAA again has provided each member high school with two complimentary officials registrations to be awarded to graduating seniors designated by their athletic directors as having the skills and interest in continuing their involvement in MHSAA athletics through officiating. Over the last two years, 41 graduates took advantage of this opportunity to register free of charge.
High school seniors selected do not have to pay registration fees for the next school year and receive assistance from MHSAA staff in connecting with local officials’ associations and receiving training opportunities. Graduates who registered during the first two years of the program came from the following schools: Adrian Lenawee Christian, Brimley, Calumet, Carleton Airport, Coleman, Dearborn, Detroit International Academy, Detroit Aisha Shule-W.E.B. Du Bois Prep Academy, Detroit Southwestern, Engadine, Fenton, Grand Haven, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, Houghton Lake, Imlay City, Ishpeming Westwood, Jonesville, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, Lowell, Mackinaw City, Madison Heights Lamphere, Marquette, Mayville, Michigan Center, Negaunee, New Boston Huron, New Haven Anchor Bay, Owendale-Gagetown, Owosso, Oxford, Rogers City, St. Ignace, Ubly, Waldron, Watervliet and West Branch Ogemaw Heights.
For other new and returning officials, those who register online again will receive a $5 discount off their processing fees. A $12 fee is charged for each sport in which an official wishes to register, and the online processing fee is $30. Officials submitting registration forms by mail or on a walk-up basis will incur a $35 processing fee. Officials registered in 2013-14 will be assessed a late fee of $30 for registration after July 31. The processing fee includes liability insurance coverage up to $1 million for officials while working contests involving MHSAA schools.
Online registration can be accessed by clicking “Officials” on the Home Page of the MHSAA Website. Forms also are available online that can be printed and submitted by traditional mail or hand delivery to the MHSAA Office. More information about officials registration may be obtained by contacting the MHSAA at 1661 Ramblewood Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48823, by phone at (517) 332-5046 or by e-mail at [email protected].
There is an officials' registration test for first-time officials and officials who were not registered during the past school year. The test consists of 45 questions derived from the MHSAA Officials Guidebook, which also is available on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website. Additional 50-question exams must be taken by those registering for football or basketball for the first time or those who were not registered for those sports during the previous school year. Manuals for both sports also are available on the Officials page.