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.)
TC Central Boys Break Rival's Finals Title Streak, Claim 1st Since 2011
By
James Cook
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2024
HARBOR SPRINGS – The first birthday gift of the day for Jace Rowell was hard to beat.
The Traverse City Central junior had all his Trojans teammates and parents sing "Happy Birthday" as he went to the podium to accept his medal for placing third in the slalom at Monday's Division 1 alpine skiing championships at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs.
The medal was the first of several for Rowell and many of his TCC teammates, as the Trojans won the boys program's first Finals championship since 2011.
"It's super big," Rowell said. "We've been working hard at it and been super close the past few years and we finally, finally got it this year. It feels really good."
Rowell's all-state slalom effort helped Traverse City Central win its 20th Finals championship.
"He had a great birthday today," Trojans head coach Amy Kudary said. "What a present for his day. It was icing on the cake."
Kudary became only the fourth woman to lead a boys team to the Division 1 title, and sixth overall in any MHSAA Class/Division.
"It's pretty cool to be a female coach of a boys team and win this," Kudary said. "They give me the same respect they give everybody."
Central's boys were nearly flawless in the morning slalom session, leading three-time reigning champ Traverse City West 18-41. The Titans cut into that deficit in slalom with an 18-point performance of their own, but Central scored 29 to come away with a 47-59 final tally. The remainder of the finals field consisted of Marquette (97), Linden-Lake Fenton (191), Northville (202), Birmingham (210), Milford (235), Clarkston (244) and Detroit Catholic Central (246).
TC West senior Caleb Lewandowski added to his legacy with a GS championship, raising his career total to four individual Finals titles.
"It's pretty cool to do that, but kind of sad the team couldn't do it, too," Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski took a gate too tightly early in his first slalom run, resulting in a bobble that cost him precious time. He made up for it the rest of the run and with a solid second run that put him second overall to Marquette's Sam Dehlin by 1.02 seconds.
He rebounded in GS with the day's two fastest runs to edge out Dehlin by 0.56 of a second.
"It was my last high school race ever," said Lewandowski. "We were hoping to come away with it, but we had fun out there."
West had won the last three boys D1 titles, getting dual titles last year with the girls' first since 2015.
Central's boys were Finals runners-up in seven of the last 10 years.
"We finally ended that drought," Kudary said. "Anything could happen today. It's always been a battle with West all season. All of the team contributed to the effort today. So happy to bring one home this year. The boys have been working on this for awhile."
Sophomore Rocco Elkins helped lead Central's efforts with a fourth-place slalom finish and fifth in GS.
Last year it was really, really close," Elkins said. "It definitely felt good to come from a close loss last year to a pretty good win this year."
Central's slalom group put four in the top 10, with Rowell third, Elkins fourth, Asher Paul fifth and Trevor Suttle seventh.
"The morning was awesome," Kudary said. "The boys just completely dominated in slalom, and we knew we had a good lead going into the afternoon."
Isaac Shapiro (fourth) and Grady Ellis (ninth) joined Lewandowski in the GS top 10 for West, with Didier Ramoie (seventh) and Cooper Gerber (10th) joining Elkins in the GS top 10.
"It feels really good knowing (TC) Central is one of the best teams in Michigan," Elkins said. "The whole Traverse City area just has the best skiers in Michigan."
The remainder of the slalom top 10 consisted of Lake Orion’s Marcel Anders (sixth), Brighton’s John Popov (eighth), Flushing’s Anthony Trovato (ninth) and Kalamazoo United’s Sam Oberlee (10th).
Trovato took third in GS, with Popov sixth and Lake Orion’s Broden Janczarek eighth.
Dehlin earned his fifth and sixth all-state finishes as a junior, winning the slalom with the event’s two fastest runs.
“I thought I skied pretty well,” Dehlin said. “My slalom was good. I think my GS wasn't the best, but was pretty good. I'm happy with it.”
He took second in slalom and third in GS last season, and said slalom is his favorite of the two.
“Slalom is just a lot faster paced, and there's a lot more going on,” Dehlin said. “I just find it more interesting.”
Marquette could return five of its top six skiers next season.
Dehlin said Marquette looks to end Traverse City’s four-year stranglehold on the D1 boys title next year. Marquette had won eight Finals titles in a row before West ended that streak in 2021.
“We're going to try,” Dehlin said. “Next year, we have some promising athletes coming in. I think it's going to be interesting. It's going to be fun.”
PHOTOS (Top) Traverse City Central's Jace Rowell approaches a gate during Monday's Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Traverse City West's Caleb Lewandowski finishes one of his championship runs. (Below) Marquette's Sam Dehlin races the slalom. (Photos by Tori Burley. Click for more; photos will be added throughout this week.)