Ramping Up for Prepapalooza 2014
May 27, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Over the next five days, thousands of teams representing more than 700 MHSAA high schools will compete for championships at the District, Regional and Finals levels in 11 sports in what annually is the busiest week in Michigan high school sports.
MHSAA.com and Second Half are the places to be for results, coverage and live video from championship events all over both Peninsulas.
Total, 26 Finals champions will be crowned in girls and boys tennis, girls and boys track and field and Upper Peninsula girls and boys golf, with 36 Regional champions rewarded in girls and boys lacrosse and Lower Peninsula boys golf and 320 winners earning trophies in softball, baseball and girls soccer. All tournament rounds combined, more than 8,000 medals will be presented to individual winners or contributors on those team champions.
Game scores as they are reported for baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse will be available on the MHSAA Score Center throughout the week. Full results from golf Regionals also will be posted over the next five days, as will Finals tennis and golf results as we receive them from Lower and Upper Peninsula hosts (Lower Peninsula tennis opening rounds late Friday evening). Track and Field Finals results will be posted Saturday evening.
All MHSAA Finals from both peninsulas will be covered with stories and photos on Second Half by a crew of valuable correspondents from around the state. Second Half will continue its coverage at the Lacrosse and LP Boys Golf Finals on June 14 and the Baseball, Softball and Girls Soccer Finals from June 19-21.
Live championship races from all seven sites of MHSAA Track and Field Finals will be available on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV, beginning with the 3,200-meter relays at 10 a.m. at each site. The rest of the Upper Peninsula races then will continue, with Lower Peninsula championship races beginning again at 1 p.m. Highlights from this week's golf and tennis championship events will debut on MHSAA.TV in July.
PHOTOS: (Top) Runners push toward the finish during the 2013 LP Division 3 Final. (Middle) Members of the Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart tennis team hold up number ones to signify their place at last season's LP Division 4 Final.
Century of School Sports: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 4, 2025
There has long been a mighty sense of pride at the MHSAA for its Women In Sports Leadership Conference – which remains the nation’s first, largest and longest-serving event promoting the roles of females in athletics.
The event has continued to grow tremendously since the first group of 130 administrators, coaches, high school and college students assembled in Lansing in 1989. It’s easy to argue as well that the WISL Conference has become even more impactful over its 26 editions, the most recent beginning a year ago today with the theme “Share the Vision.”
Nearly 800 participants – mostly female high school student-athletes – attended last year’s two-day event, where they were able to engage in several of 36 workshops and learn from a group of 45 speakers with expertise in a wide variety of sports-related fields. The WISL Conference has welcomed Olympians, leaders in Michigan government and Hall of Fame coaches at all levels of athletics among several who have put their voices to the goals of encouraging women and growing their presence at all levels of sport.
Attracting women back to coaching and officiating was the mission of the first WISL Conference – percentages of both had fallen dramatically since the dawn of Title IX nearly two decades prior had led to rapid growth in athletic competitive opportunities for females at various levels. The first WISL events were organized by MHSAA assistant director Suzanne Martin, under the leadership as well of then-executive director Jack Roberts, until Martin retired in December 2002. Fun fact: The first Michigan legislative resolution recognizing Feb. 5 as Girls and Women In Sports Day statewide (in addition to nationally) was presented during the 1990 WISL Conference.
Kathy Vruggink Westdorp took over the WISL program upon joining the MHSAA staff as assistant director during the 2003-04 school year after more than two decades as a teacher, coach and administrator in the Grand Rapids area. Under her leadership, WISL has continued to build and thrive – it’s currently an every-other-year event, generally hosted during the first weekend in February although the 25th WISL took place during October 2022 as part of the culmination of the MHSAA’s year-long celebration of “Title IX at 50.” Topics covered still include coaching and teaching and learning leadership, but also sports nutrition and performance, empowerment and goal-setting, and several more areas of interest.
In 1990, the MHSAA also awarded its first of now 38 Women In Sports Leadership Awards, recognizing pioneers who have elevated athletics in Michigan as pioneers, advocates, voices and leaders, particularly at the interscholastic level. The 39th Women In Sports Leadership Award winner will be announced later this month.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
(MHSAA file photos.)