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.
Second-Half Surge Nets Western Michigan Christian's 9th Finals Victory
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
November 4, 2023
GRAND LEDGE – Muskegon Western Michigan Christian was seeking its ninth MHSAA Finals boys soccer title Saturday at Grand Ledge High School.
The scoring floodgates opened in the second half, and the Warriors prevailed 3-0 over Madison Heights Bishop Foley to earn a second-straight Division 4 championship and finish this fall 21-2-3.
After a scoreless first half, senior Charlie Buursma took a pass from Cole DeJonge and trickled it into the net at the 35 minute, 43 second mark of the second half for the game’s first score. It was DeJonge’s 23rd assist of the season and the biggest.
Tekalegn Vlasma tacked on his 25th goal of the season to make it 2-0 at the 27:03 mark with an assist from Buursma. Three minutes later, Vlasma scored his second of the championship with an assist from Buursma to make it 3-0.
“We were really prepared; Coach had us ready,’’ Vlasma said. “They came out and dominated. Second half coach got us mentally prepared. Nothing really changed like we did against Leland in the last game. (On the first goal) the keeper was out and I put it in. After Charlie scored, we knew they couldn’t get one. They hadn’t had a chance all half. We knew if we got one that was it. The second one we got the ball out wide and tapped it in. It was really simple.
“The one goal we gave up in the tournament was a scrappy goal. I just shows how dominant we were in the tournament.’’
The Warriors came into the championship with an impressive resume. They had won Division 4 titles in 2022, 2019, 2010, 2007, 2004 and 2003, tied Detroit Country Day in Class C-D in 1998 and claimed the Class D championship in 1995. They also had finished runners-up six times.
Only Detroit Country Day with 15 titles has more than the Warriors.
Bishop Foley (18-4-1) won a Finals title in 1988 and was a runner-up in 1985.
Each had great scoring chances late in the first half but Bishop Foley goalkeeper Greg Altman and Warriors goalie Daniel Minasian were up to the challenge as the first half ended scoreless.
“I just started taking it down the line in the second half,’’ said Buursma. “The first half I was going up the middle and cutting in trying to find my teammates. Taking it down the line seemed to be the right thing to do. The first goal T (Vlasma) scored it; (he) cut in the middle on his second goal. The first goal I was just running across. He had two goals in the state finals. Incredible.
“This feels great. Everything I’ve been working for in four years as a varsity player. I just loved knowing when my last game was going to be. There would be no loss in the Districts or Regional.’’
When Ben Buursma took over, the program was in transition. Four years later there are two more Division 4 titles.
“We were in a rebuild,’’ said the coach. “We were intentional about changing the culture and made sure we had high-quality guys, high-character guys that were there to play the game. It took three years to get into it, and now we’re enjoying the fruits of that.’’
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s Tekalegn Vlasma (15) celebrates one of his two goals during Saturday’s Division 4 Final at Grand Ledge. (Middle) WMC’s Caleb McKay (14) works to gain possession.