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New Math: Division & Multiplication Problems

July 25, 2017

By Jack Roberts
MHSAA Executive Director 

This is the second part in a series on MHSAA tournament classification, past and present, that will be published over the next two weeks. This series originally ran in this spring's edition of MHSAA benchmarks.

High school tournament classifications went viral before there was social media and most of us knew what “viral” meant.

Much as a virus infects computers today or has created epidemics of disease around the world for centuries, high school tournament classification – once introduced – tends to spread uncontrollably. Once started, it tends to keep expanding and rarely contracts.

While we are still some distance from providing every team a trophy as a result of expanding high school tournament classification across the country, there is criticism nevertheless that we are headed in that direction – a philosophy which is supposed to exist only in local youth sports for our youngest children.

Michigan could be blamed for all this. Michigan is generally accepted as the first state to provide different classifications for season-ending tournaments for different sized schools. It started a century ago. Today, every state has various classifications for its tournaments in most if not all sports. And it is a bit ironic that Michigan – creator of the classification chaos – more than most other states has kept the number of tournament classes or divisions under control.

Yes, there is evidence that tournament classifications have expanded over the years in Michigan, especially with the relatively recent introduction of tournaments in football and the late 1990s’ move from classes to divisions in most MHSAA tournaments. But the MHSAA Representative Council has held true to its word when it expanded the playoffs for football from four classes to eight divisions: this is needed because of unique factors of football, factors that exist in no other sport; and all other sports should be capped at a maximum of four classes or divisions.

Kentucky is the preeminent defender of single-class basketball. All of its 276 high schools compete for the single state championship for each gender. In Indiana, there are still open wounds from its move in 1998 from one to four classes for its 400 schools in basketball.

Multi-class tournaments have tended to increase the number of non-public school champions, which some states are trying to lower through enrollment “multipliers,” and also tend to increase the number of repeat champions, which some states are trying to affect with “success factors” which lift smaller schools into classifications for larger schools if they take home too many trophies.

While there is considerable evidence that state tournaments do as much bad as good for educational athletics, state associations persist in providing postseason tournaments because, on balance, the experiences are supposed to be good for student-athletes. And once we reach that conclusion it is just a small leap to believe that if the tournaments are good for a few, they must be better for more – which leads to creating more and more tournament classifications. One becomes two classes, then three, then four and so forth.

While the argument is that more classifications or divisions provides more students with opportunities to compete and win, it is undeniable that the experience changes as the number of tournament classifications expands. It is not possible for state associations to provide the same level of support when tournament classifications expand to multiple venues playing simultaneously. For example, there is less audio and video broadcast potential at each venue, and less media coverage to each venue. Focus is diluted and fans diminished at each championship.

No one can argue reasonably that today's two-day MHSAA Football Finals of eight championship games has the same pizazz as the one-day, four-games event conducted prior to 1990.

In some states the number of divisions has grown so much that it is difficult to see much difference between the many season-ending state championship games and a regular-season event in the same sport.

It is a balancing act. And Michigan has been studying that balance longer than any other state, and charting a steadier course than most.

Addition by Division

The shift to Divisions for MHSAA Tournament play in numerous sports has added up to a greater number of champions for teams and individuals across the state. Following are the sports currently employing a divisional format, and the procedures for determining enrollment and classification. 

In 23 statewide or Lower Peninsula tournaments, schools which sponsor the sport are currently divided into nearly equal divisions. They are:

  • Baseball - 4 Divisions
  • Boys Bowling - 4 Divisions            
  • Girls Bowling - 4 Divisions
  • Girls Competitive Cheer - 4 Divisions
  • LP Boys Cross Country - 4 Divisions
  • LP Girls Cross Country - 4 Divisions
  • LP Boys Golf - 4 Divisions
  • LP Girls Golf - 4 Divisions
  • Ice Hockey - 3 Divisions
  • Boys Lacrosse - 2 Divisions
  • Girls Lacrosse - 2 Divisions
  • Boys Skiing - 2 Divisions
  • Girls Skiing - 2 Divisions
  • LP Boys Soccer - 4 Divisions LP
  • Girls Soccer - 4 Divisions
  • Girls Softball - 4 Divisions
  • LP Boys Swimming & Diving - 3 Divisions
  • LP Girls Swimming & Diving - 3 Divisions
  • LP Boys Tennis - 4 Divisions
  • LP Girls Tennis - 4 Divisions
  • LP Boys Track & Field - 4 Divisions
  • LP Girls Track & Field - 4 Divisions
  • Wrestling - 4 Divisions

Lists of schools for each division of these 23 tournaments are posted on MHSAA.com approximately April 1. Listings of schools in Upper Peninsula tournaments for their sports are also posted on MHSAA.com. The lists are based on school memberships and sports sponsorships in effect or anticipated for the following school year, as known to the MHSAA office as of a date in early March.

In football, the 256 schools which qualify for MHSAA 11-player playoffs are placed in eight equal divisions annually on Selection Sunday. Beginning in 2017, the 8-player divisions will be determined in a like manner on Selection Sunday as well, with 32 qualifying schools placed in two divisions.

Schools have the option to play in any higher division in one or more sports for a minimum of two years.

The deadlines for "opt-ups" are as follows:

  • Applications for fall sports must be submitted by April 15
  • Applications for winter sports must be submitted by Aug. 15
  • Applications for spring sports must be submitted by Oct. 15

Subsequent to the date of these postings for these tournaments, no school will have its division raised or lowered by schools opening or closing, schools adding or dropping sports, schools exercising the option to play in a higher division, or approval or dissolution of cooperative programs.

When the same sport is conducted for boys and girls in the same season (e.g., track & field and cross country), the gender that has the most sponsoring schools controls the division breaks for both genders.

Livonia Red gymnastics

Preview: Championship Opportunities Await Several 1st-Time Contenders

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 10, 2022

Jackson Area capped an exciting return of the Gymnastics Finals last season with its first team championship. We’ll see this weekend if that was the beginning of a trend.

Two of four Regional champions from last week – Livonia Red and Bloomfield Hills – will be seeking their first Team Finals championship Friday at White Lake Lakeland. Last season’s Division 1 and 2 individual champions both graduated, guaranteeing first-time winners Saturday as well.

Team competition begins at 4 p.m. Friday, with individual competition in both Divisions 1 and 2 beginning at noon Saturday. Tickets cost $11 each day and are available exclusively via GoFan.

Below is a glance at several of this weekend’s contenders. (Click for both days’ rotations.)

TEAM CONTENDERS

Bloomfield Hills: The Black Hawks finished fifth at last season’s Final and are trending upward. They won their Regional last weekend, scoring 139.925 to edge Farmington United by nine tenths of a point. That was the team’s highest score of the year after it previously set a season high in winning its league competition in mid-February.

Grand Ledge: The Comets finished third last season and are seeking their first Finals championship since concluding a run of six straight in 2013. They won their Regional with a statewide-best score of 147.125 and also won championships this winter at the Rockford, Kenowa Hills and Coldwater invitationals.

Livonia Red: Another Regional champion, Livonia Red (made up of gymnasts from Churchill and Franklin) set a team scoring record winning that meet with a 146.350 – the second-highest statewide last weekend. Red also finished second at the prestigious Canton Invitational, which is annually considered a preview of the MHSAA Finals, and won the Walled Lake Invitational.

Rockford: The Rams have been runners-up the last two seasons (2021 and 2019, with 2020’s Finals canceled because of COVID-19) and are seeking their first title since winning the third of three straight in 2017. They won the Canton Invitational and also were Regional champs scoring 143.700 last weekend.

Fowlerville/Byron/Pinckney/Chelsea: The lone Regional runner-up in this group, FBPC finished second to Grand Ledge with a score of 144.200 and defeated the Comets in their dual meet during the regular season. FBPC also won the 20-team Jeanne Carruss Memorial Invitational at the end of January.

DIVISION 1

Avery Boyk, Livonia Red senior: She’s an all-around contender again after finishing sixth last season with a tie for second on uneven parallel bars. She won her Regional all-around last week at 37.750 with firsts on balance beam (9.175) and bars (9.750).

Alyssa Budd, Jackson Area junior: Budd, a student at Napoleon, tied for ninth on beam and seventh on floor exercise last season. She won floor (9.675) in finishing second all-around at her Regional (36.075).

Madeleine Loomis, East Lansing senior: She finished 12th all-around last season and could be in for a big career finish after winning her Regional all-around at 37.825 with firsts on floor (9.650) and beam (9.600).

Morgan Ruffing, Livonia Red junior: She finished third all-around last season, paced by a tie for second on vault and solo seventh on bars. She won floor (9.800) at her Regional and was among the top four in all four events on the way to finishing second all-around (37.200).

Lacey Scheid, Rockford junior: She missed winning last season’s Division 1 all-around title by five hundredths of a point and took first on bars. She won vault (9.150) and balance beam (9.175) on the way to claiming last week’s Regional all-around title with a 36.825.

Bronwen Smith, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Unified junior: Smith, a student at Forest Hills Central, finished third all-around at her Regional with a 35.750 and a first on bars (9.025).

Emma Stewart, Salem junior: She’s a likely contender in her first season of high school gymnastics, placing third at her Regional with an all-around 36.850 thanks to a second on bars and two more third places.

Katie Stewart, Salem sophomore: Emma’s sister, Katie Stewart won vault (9.400) and was second on beam (9.075) in finishing fourth all-around (36.375) at the Regional.

Maeve Wright, Bloomfield Hills senior: She was fifth all-around last year with a third on floor and sixth on beam, and she won the Division 1 beam as a freshman. She won beam (9.350) and floor (9.600) last week on the way to finishing first all-around (36.850) at her Regional.

Alaina Yaney, Grand Ledge junior: She tied for ninth on vault and was 22nd all-around in 2021, and could make a big jump Saturday. She finished first on vault (9.425) and bars (9.450) in taking second all-around (37.650) at her Regional.

DIVISION 2

Charlotte Calhoun, Coldwater sophomore: She finished third all-around at her Regional (35.200) with a win on bars (8.850).

Sydney Dunn, Canton sophomore: She was a Regional all-around runner-up (35.000) with top-five finishes on three apparatuses.

Joey Gair, Rockford senior: She tied for fourth on beam on the way to finishing 13th all-around at last season’s Finals, and she could move up coming off a fourth place all-around (35.025) at her Regional.

Courtney Jordan, Plymouth senior: She won bars (9.000) and floor (9.550) and tied for first on beam (9.100) in placing first all-around at her Regional with a 36.350.

Audrey Kane, Howell senior: She finished ninth on bars and tied for eighth on floor at last season’s Finals, and she could be an all-around contender after finishing third with a 36.000 at her Regional.

Sarah Litz, Fowlerville/Byron/Pinckney/Chelsea senior: She finished sixth all-around at her Regional last week (35.825) as the six qualifying scores were separated by only six tenths of a point. A student at Fowlerville, she was fifth all-around at last year’s Finals with top-nine finishes on vault, beam and floor.

Ivy McDonald, Lowell junior: A first on beam (9.300) helped her finish second all-around at her Regional (35.550). She took third on beam and finished 11th all-around at last year’s Finals.

Emma Olds, Grand Ledge senior: She enters off a Regional all-around championship (36.425) and first on bars (9.225). She tied for third on vault and fifth on floor and was 10th on bars in finishing sixth all-around at the 2021 Finals.

Kamini Playle, Farmington United senior: She was part of a team championship as a freshman in 2019 and could make a move individually after finishing 20th all-around last season. She was second all-around at last week’s Regional (35.725) with a first on floor (9.275) and three second places.

Addison Richmond, Jackson Area senior: Richmond, a student at Jackson, tied for ninth all-around at last season’s Finals with a first place on floor. She returns coming off a fifth-place Regional all-around finish (34.650).

Grace Spencer, Farmington United junior: A student at Farmington, Spencer won the all-around at last weekend’s Regional with a 36.000 and firsts on beam (9.250) and bars (8.975).

Maty Temrowski, Linden/Fenton/Lake Fenton senior: A student at Fenton, she tied for 14th on vault and also competed on beam at last year’s Finals. She could be in the all-around mix this time after placing second at her Regional (36.125).

Anna Tracey, Rockford senior: She was first on beam and second on floor in finishing second all-around at last season’s Finals. She returns coming off a Regional all-around championship (35.575) paced by second places on beam and bars.

PHOTO Livonia Red's Morgan Ruffing competes on balance beam during last season's Division 1 Individual Finals at Rockford High School. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)