Mourning Those Who Contributed Much
April 14, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This weekend was a sad one for those who work in Michigan high school athletics or have appreciated the contributions from three who gave significantly to our games but died after long fights with cancer.
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart's Keisha Brown, Grand Haven's Robin Bye and Haslett's Jamie Gent left memorable legacies in their passing – Brown on Thursday, Gent on Friday and Bye on Saturday.
Following are just a few details of their contributions to schools and sports, followed by a handful of Twitter posts celebrating their commitments.
- Brown in 2006 became the first and only female coach to lead a boys team to the MHSAA Basketball Finals, guiding the Irish to the Class D Final before they fell to Wyoming Tri-unity Christian. She also served as principal and athletic director at Sacred Heart and coached the boys basketball team to a 114-30 record before taking over the Alma College women’s program, which she coached through this season. Click to read the memorial column from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun’s Jim Lahde.
"RIP Keisha Brown. What a truly inspiring human being that battled cancer with courage and strength. My thoughts are with her family.” – Oakland Press reporter Drew Ellis, formerly of the Morning Sun
“Rest in Peace Keisha Brown #TrueWarrior. Words cannot express my sadness #HeartBroken.” – Alma College Sports Information Director Mike Hanson
- Bye worked in the Grand Haven school system for 34 years, including the last two-plus as athletic director after formerly serving as an assistant and a girls basketball coach. He also had been a middle school art teacher in the district, and last year received its “Spirit of Grand Haven” award for commitment and dedication to Grand Haven schools. Click to read the story on his passing from the Muskegon Chronicle’s Scott Brandenburg.
“Thinking of the Bye family tonight. Robin will be missed. As a person and an AD, he made me want to be better a person/coach. God Bless.” – Grand Haven boys basketball coach Steve Hewitt.
“I will miss Robin Bye. He made a big difference for the youth in our town, more than an athletic director; an inspiration.” – Grand Haven parent Pat McGinnis
- Gent began his career at Haslett in 1967 as a middle school teacher and high school coach in three sports. He was head coach of the track and field, boys basketball and football varsity teams at different times and began his second stint as the school’s athletic director in 1991. He also was an MHSAA registered official for more than 15 years and a mentor to many both in the Lansing area and statewide through his contributions to the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association. He received the MHSAA’s Charles E. Forsythe Award in 2008. See below for a video posted that year in honor of Gent as he retired as athletic director, and click for Dick Hoekstra's piece in the Lansing State Journal posted today.
“Sad to hear of the passing of Jamie Gent, long time Haslett HS athletic director. Really great guy, very kind hearted.” – former Haslett athlete, current White Pigeon teacher/coach Kurt Twichell
“Jamie Gent was one of the best ADs I had the privilege to know. A great loss tonight for the Haslett community.” – Chelsea football coach Brad Bush
PHOTOS: (Clockwise from left) Former Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart boys basketball coach Keisha Brown comforts one of her players after the Irish fell in the Class D Final in 2006. Jamie Gent, left, receives his Charles E. Forsythe Award from Negaunee's Jim Derocher during the 2008 Boys Basketball Finals. Grand Haven athletic director, Robin Bye, is recognized as an assistant coach on the 1981 girls basketball team inducted into the Grand Haven sports Hall of Fame.
Allen Park Extends Era of Dominance with 5th Title Over 6 Seasons
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MOUNT PLEASANT – Allen Park sure makes it look easy during pressure-packed competitive cheer competitions, and veteran coach Julie Goodwin has an explanation for that.
“All of the hard work goes on during the week, in the gym,” explained Goodwin, who just finished her 21st year as the Jaguars’ coach.
“Today, or any competition we have, we get to dress up and pick up a trophy. But we actually won it in the gym.”
Allen Park picked up yet another trophy Saturday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, winning its second-consecutive Division 2 Finals championship – and the fifth over the past six years.
The Jaguars posted the best score in the eight-team field in all three rounds, taking the lead early and continuing to build on it, finishing with 791.90 points.
Gibraltar Carlson, AP’s longtime conference rival, kept the pressure on the Jaguars all day, taking second at 788.42. Carleton Airport (784.16) took third, and Walled Lake Western (779.68) placed fourth.
Allen Park got the upper hand again over Carlson in one of the state’s best high school rivalries, in any sport.
Consider: It has been 18 years, all the way back to 2007 (Holland Christian), since a school other than Allen Park or Gibraltar Carlson has won the Division 2 cheer title. Carlson has won 11 championships, and AP now has seven over that span.
“We love it,” explained Allen Park senior Abby Obrycki, a returning first-team all-stater. “We are so lucky to have such good competition in the Downriver League to push as all the time. We love being a part of it.”
The Jaguars defeated Carlson at the Regional by more than seven points, but Saturday, the Marauders cut that margin significantly.
Carlson, which won the Division 2 title in 2023 and took fourth last year, trailed by just over two points Saturday entering the decisive third round. The Marauders were in the unenviable position of going first in Round 3, but led by seniors Sofia Lanzini, Maranda Steinmetz and Haley Sanchez, they came up with a stellar final performance.
That meant it came down to Allen Park having to answer under the pressure of thousands of fans on the state’s biggest stage, which it did in impressive fashion once again.
“We call that third round the money round because that’s where you have to win it, even though we had a little bit of a lead going into it today,” said Goodwin, who also has five runner-up finishes in her career. “We had a great week, and it showed in that final round. There was no fear and no nervousness.”
Allen Park scored 321.90 in Round 3, slightly better than Carlson’s 320.80, to provide the final margin of victory.
Other leaders for the Jaguars this season were junior Sophia Ramey, a returning first-team all-stater, and senior Peyton Will, an honorable mention choice.
Allen Park is a young team, losing just five seniors off its 23-girl roster, making a ‘three-peat’ a definite possibility. Other seniors were Leslie Hernandez, Kate O’Riley and Ella Peschke.
Peschke said going out as a back-to-back champion makes the grind and all of the long, six days of practice every week more than worth it.
“It felt great to leave it all out on the mat one more time,” said Peschke. “It’s a great feeling to be a state champion, but it’s an even better feeling to do it with your best friends.”
PHOTOS Allen Park (top) and Gibraltar Carlson compete Saturday during the Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final at McGuirk Arena.