Rivaling for a Cause
January 25, 2013
It’s impossible to include all the perspective we gain from every “Battle of the Fans” visit.
But this anecdote, although it didn't make Tuesday’s story about our Frankenmuth trip, tells of another great example for what student cheering sections can accomplish.
Frankenmuth and Millington are heated rivals, to say the least, separated by 13 miles and made more competitive by plenty of championship-deciding matchups over the years.
But for their boys basketball game Jan. 10 at Frankenmuth, student section leaders from both schools almost completely on their own set up the game as a cancer awareness night, complete with Frankenmuth students in black shirts and Millington’s wearing pink.
The idea was the brainchild of a of Frankenmuth section leader, who then received help from a local bank and contacted Millington to get the ball rolling.
Battle of the Fans has shown us the obvious – these student sections need strong leaders – but also the special things they can accomplish with additional initiative.
“Never Forgotten”
Two more rivals, Fennville and Saugatuck, met late last month for their second “Never Forgotten” boys and girls basketball games with proceeds going to the Wes Leonard Heart Team for the purchase of AEDs.
Players wore jerseys with names on the backs of friends and family members who had died, and those jerseys were then given to family members after the games. Officials Ace Cover, Chris Dennie and Kyle Bowen also donated their game checks to the Heart Team, as did the winner of that night’s 50-50 raffle.
Leonard died from sudden cardiac arrest after making the game-winning shot in a basketball game March 3, 2011. The two schools played their first “Never Forgotten” games last season.
More support for less specialization
I’m asked once a year at least about sport specialization – that is, athletes focusing on just one sport, often from an early age, and if it pays off some way down the road.
Most of my evidence to support my belief in the well-rounded athlete has been anecdotal, based on conversations with people at the high school and college levels over the years. But a British study published this fall in the Journal of Sport Sciences by University of Birmingham researchers provides some interesting empirical findings.
The study of 1,006 people from the United Kingdom showed that those who participated in three sports at ages 11, 13 and 15 were “significantly more likely to compete at a national rather than club standard” between ages 16-18 than those who had practiced only one sport.
In other words, the study found that those who played more sports at earlier ages played at a higher level during their high school-age years, which seems to contradict the one-sport focus philosophy.
Click for more perspective on the study from Chris Kennedy, the Superintendent of Schools in West Vancouver, British Columbia.
PHOTO: The boys and girls teams for Fennville and Saugatuck pose together after their "Never Forgotten" games Dec. 21 at Fennville High. (Photo courtesy of Al LaShell.)
Tradition, Big North Competition Drive Petoskey's Quest to Extend Finals Streak
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
January 24, 2025
At least one thing is certain in boys skiing this winter. Traverse City West and Traverse City Central will not stand in the way of Petoskey winning another Finals championship.
Actually, and almost most certainly, they’ll help the Northmen make good on their potential.
West and Central, perennial contenders for the Division 1 title, provide regular, tough competition that should help the Northman as they set the sites on a sixth-straight Division 2 championship. West and Central regularly challenge the Northmen as participants in their five Big North Conference meets.
Central won the D1 championship last year, snapping a run of three straight by West. Marquette, which won a second straight in 2020, was the last school to win the D1 championship before the Traverse City teams’ domination.
Petoskey hopes to get at least one win over both the Titans and Trojans during the regular season as the Northmen pursue the BNC title before hitting the slopes of the Regional at Boyne Mountain in Boyne Falls and the Final at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs. The league scores are cumulative over the season, leading to naming a champion.
“If we have all of our successes coming together in one spot, we definitely have a chance to win one of those conference races” said Petoskey coach Ben Crockett, who began guiding the Northmen in 2019. “The experience of competing against another state champion helps all of our programs to stay competitive when we’re in the state Final.”
Last year the Northmen prevailed in a tougher-than-expected Regional at Crystal Mountain before capturing their fifth-straight D2 Finals championship. That Regional featured Harbor Springs, which finished fifth in the Final, and Gaylord, a familiar Big North opponent, along with Benzie Central, Boyne City, Elk Rapids, Houghton, Ironwood, Maple City Glen Lake, Grayling, Onekama and Petoskey St. Michael. The Regional field this year is almost the same as the Upper Peninsula’s Norway replaces Benzie.
And, Petoskey’s last year’s top performers are all back. The Northman also have added sophomore Eli Dettmer, who returned to Northern Michigan after competing in Maine as a freshman. He is expected to play a key role leading up to February’s Final.
Senior Gavin Galbraith is back after winning the individual Finals title in the slalom and finishing third in the giant slalom last season. Junior Taylor Keiswetter and sophomore Mick Galbraith are also back after placing in the top 10 in the giant slalom. Keiswetter finished fifth, and the younger Galbraith placed eighth.
“A lot of the championship team will be returning, so we think we’re in a pretty good position to defend again,” Crockett said. “Gavin Galbraith will be leading that charge as the returning state champion with the speed to contest for another state championship on the individual level and lead the team as they try to get that sixth.”
While Petoskey will be looking for all four of those skiers to perform well to get back on the podium this winter, that possibility never is taken for granted.
“It is always on our radar, but really on the day I think we’re hoping to have a good performance and everybody ski to their potential,” Crockett said. “We know we have to put in a good effort, and then we have to let the scoring fall where it will.”
Crockett, a 1999 graduate and past Petoskey ski team member, is thrilled to continue as part of the Northmen program. His experience skiing all over North America and Europe during his younger days has been a benefit to the Northmen.
“Skiing was a big part of my athletic career growing up,” Crockett said. “Being able to help this next group of athletes achieve their own goals and dreams has been really fun.”
Last year Orchard Lake St. Mary’s finished runner-up and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (134) finished third at the Final. The Northmen welcome the competition from downstate and the Upper Peninsula.
“There’s definitely good, competitive skiers coming from spots we don’t really see during the year and face off against when we get to the state meet,” Crockett said.
Effort is the key to maintaining the Petoskey legacy, Crockett emphasizes.
“We really try to honor the tradition of having an excellent program at Petoskey,” Crockett said. “We always try to put in the most effort to continue that legacy into the future.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Petoskey’s Gavin Galbraith races during the Harbor-Petoskey Invitational this season at Boyne Highlands. (Middle) Sophomore Eli Dettmer, an addition to the team this season, leans into a turn during a race at the Harbor-Petoskey Invite. (Below) Carter Walkerdine approaches a gate. (Photos by Drew Kochanny/Petoskey News-Review.)