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.
Portage Central Counts on Keeper One Last Time to Lock Up 1st Finals Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2025
GRAND LEDGE — No one should be blamed for being a little confused when first glancing at Portage Central senior Gunnar Thorhallsson.
At 6-foot-8 with a wingspan over seven feet, many probably look at Thorhallsson and ask how long he’s been playing basketball, only to find out something surprising.
“I do not play basketball,” he said. “I was a former basketball player and wasn’t very good at it, so I decided to stick to soccer.”
It became clear to all who saw the Division 1 Boys Soccer Final between Portage Central and Ann Arbor Huron on Saturday why Thorhallsson is indeed a soccer player.
Arguably the state’s best goalkeeper all season, Thorhallsson showed why once again, pitching his 18th shutout of the fall to lift Central to a 1-0 shootout win (4-2 in the penalty kick portion) over Huron in a battle of two teams making their first appearances in a Finals championship game.
Thorhallsson made 11 saves in regulation and overtime, one in the shootout and then saw another Huron shooter miss the net on his attempt, most likely affected by Thorhallsson’s wingspan.
“I’ve been saying all season long he’s the best goalkeeper in the state,” Central head coach Tim Halloran said. “We left him out to dry a few times. He had to save us, and he did countless times. In the penalties, part of the fact is we have to be so precise to beat him in practice because he’s so great.”
Following a scoreless regulation and overtime, Huron’s Philip Leucht and Central’s Carter Seim both converted kicks in the first round of the shootout.
Thorhallsson then made a save to start the second round, and Max Bailey gave Central a 2-1 lead with a successful conversion.
Chris Zou and Marshall Neumann then traded successful conversions to make it 3-2 Central after the third round.
Central then finished it off on a miss by Huron and a successful conversion by Jayce Handley to start the celebration for Mustangs, who completed an unbeaten season at 24-0-2.
“When we got here, we were dumb little freshmen,” Thorhallsson said of the senior class. “We didn’t know what this program was all about. But the coaches developed us into great players. We formed a special bond over the past four years, and to be able to end on a high note like this is awesome.”
Thorhallsson said he and his teammates in front of him on defense have the nickname “strap city.”
“We strap them,” he said. “We don’t let the offense get anything on us. We’re always there. They can’t escape us. We just hold it down in the back, and that’s why they weren’t able to score tonight.”
Huron ended up outshooting Central, 20-9, but couldn’t find the back of the net against Thorhallsson.
“The physical attributes, they go on the page and you can kind of see them,” Huron head coach Luis Gomez-Dominguez said of Thorhallsson. “But the reflexes, that’s something you don’t put on the stat sheet. The goalkeeper did an unbelievable job keeping his team in the game.”
But even in defeat, advancing farther than it ever has was a source of pride for Huron.
“Being here is unbelievable,” Gomez-Dominguez said. “I think these boys raised the bar for the people coming up after them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Portage Central keeper Gunnar Thorhallsson makes a save during his team’s Division 1 championship victory Saturday night. (Middle) AJ Giebel (4) controls possession for the Mustangs with Huron’s Nasser Diarra in pursuit. (Below) Central’s Eli Greenwald (19) and Huron’s Malic Kasham compete for a loose ball. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)