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.)
Eichbrecht Finishes Career Sweep in Record Fashion, Pioneer Adds to Title Streak
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 21, 2025
ROCHESTER — West Bloomfield senior Elizabeth Eichbrecht probably felt the full gamut of emotions heading to the Oakland University natatorium and her last Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Swimming & Diving Finals.
First and foremost was just the general excitement of competing once again at a state meet in front of so many observers.
Second was the emotion of opportunity, given she had a chance to do something rare in the history of high school swimming in the state – finish a career sweep of Finals titles in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle events.
Finally, there was the bittersweet emotion of Friday being her last competitive day as a high school swimmer.
“I was excited,” Eichbrecht said. “It’s been a great four years, and I’m honored to be a part of West Bloomfield.”
West Bloomfield and the state’s swimming community was also honored to witness Eichbrecht during her high school career.
She left the pool as one of the most decorated high school swimmers to ever compete in Michigan, having completed that championship sweep with fourth-straight Finals titles in the 200 freestyle (1:45.98) and 500 free (4:42.89).
Eichbrecht first wowed the crowd during Thursday’s preliminaries, swimming a personal-best time of 1:45.05 to break the previous all-Finals record time of 1:46.25 set in 2007 by past Canton star and later Olympic medalist Allison Schmitt.
Eichbrecht’s 500 prelim time of 4:42.0 broke an all-Finals record of 4:44.47 swam by Grand Ledge’s Lola Mull in 2017.
“You don’t really expect anything,” Eichbrecht said of whether she thought eight Finals championships were possible when she began high school. “It’s through hard work that you get it. It’s an honor.”
One person who’ll especially miss Eichbrecht is West Bloomfield coach Ronson Webster, who started coaching Eichbrecht on a club level when she was 8 years old.
“It’s definitely going to be sad because I’ve spent a lot of time with her growing up,” he said. “But I’m super happy she’s moving on to college. (Eight Finals titles), that was one of her goals as a freshman. It was four years of work to get those goals. She got them.”
In 2022, as a freshman, Eichbrecht won the 200 free in 1:48.42 and the 500 free in 4:52.71.
A year later, Eichbrecht captured the 200 free in 1:48.08 and the 500 free in 4:47.66.
Then last year as a junior, she took the 200 free in 1:48.44 and the 500 free in 4:51.87.
In the team race, Ann Arbor Pioneer won its sixth consecutive Division 1 title, easily topping the field with 404 points. Jenison was the runner-up with 249 points, while Northville was third at 193.
“It’s really hard to stay on top,” Pioneer head coach Stefanie Kerska said. “They have been relentless all year. The coaches have tried to stay relentless by raising our standards. It’s a daily battle to really be at your absolute best, and these girls have done a really good job with that.”
Leading the way was sophomore Tallulah Beg, who won the 200 individual medley in 2:04.15 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.42.
Beg also swam the second leg on Pioneer’s winning 200 medley relay (1:43.83). Cecila Walusek, Poppy LaCrosse and Kia Alert were the other team members.
Pioneer also got individual wins from Alert in the 50 free (22.91) and senior Katelyn Van Ryn in the 100 free (49.94).
Pioneer swept the relays, with the team of Alert, Walusek, Cecilia Cook and Van Ryn winning the 200 free really in 1:32.32. In the 400 free relay, the team of Van Ryn, Suryn Lee, Cook and Yahanna Silva Castro won in a time of 3:25.89.
Friday’s other individual winners were Kalamazoo Central’s Kiya Bowman in diving (305.60), Jenison’s Emma Albrecht in the 100 butterfly (55.12), and Belleville freshman Miranda Phelps in the 100 backstroke (56.07).
PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield’s Elizabeth Eichbrecht swims to an all-Finals record in the 500 freestyle Friday at Oakland University. (Middle) Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Tallulah Beg races to a championship in the 200 individual medley. (Below) Pioneer’s Kia Alert, right, and Zeeland’s Madison Ensing share a moment after finishing first and second, respectively, in the 50 freestyle. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)