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.)
Schoolcraft's Thompson Shatters Soccer Scoring, Total Points Records
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 8, 2022
Schoolcraft’s Hannah Thompson obliterated the girls soccer single-season goals record during the 2021 season that had stood since 2001.
Thompson, now a senior, scored 87 goals over 20 games as a junior, and also set the single-season points record with 93. She also is listed for 43 goals as a freshman and on the career list with 130 despite not being able to play as a sophomore because that season was canceled.
She will continue her career at Eastern Michigan.
See below for more recent record book additions in girls basketball, girls and boys soccer, softball and wrestling.
Girls Basketball
A pair of seniors capped their four-year varsity careers in 2021 by leading Kent City to its first Final and runner-up finish in Division 3. Kenzie Bowers graduated with five record book entries, including for 233 career 3-pointers (ranking 13th) and 426 career steals, both over 96 games. Jenna Harrison has four record book entries, with her 289 3-pointers over 96 games ranking second all-time on the career list. Bowers played this past season at Illinois State, and Harrison is continuing at Sienna Heights. Additionally, Kent City as a team made the 3-pointers attempted list multiple times with a high of 56 against Hesperia on March 1, 2021, and the 3-pointers made list with 18 (in 44 attempts) against Lakeview on Feb. 10, 2021. Total, the team attempted 730 last season (ranking sixth all-time) and made 235 (ranking fourth) despite playing only 22 games. The 125 points scored that day against Lakeview were the fifth-most in one game.
Girls Soccer
Despite her sophomore season being canceled due to COVID-19, Madalyn Freitas already is on the career goals scored list with a season to play at Clinton. Freitas had made the single-season scoring list as a freshman while at Tecumseh in 2019 and added 63 goals over 16 games for Clinton in 2021 for a career total of 125. She also had six assists last season to make the points list with 69 total.
Owosso’s Lily Usher made 286 saves over 15 games during the 2021 season, ranking third on the single-season saves list. She had a high of 35 that May 5 against Goodrich. She is a junior this season.
Boys Soccer
Benzie Central senior Kevin Hubbell scored 16 goals during a 17-0 win over Kingsley on Sept. 29, breaking the MHSAA record for goals in a game previously set in 2003.
Watervliet’s Brady Bornas was added for his six assists in a Sept. 8 win over Parchment. The total tied for fifth-most in one match. Bornas is a junior.
Softball
Lake Orion’s Tessa Nuss finished her four-season varsity career in 2019 with nine record book entries, including the record for consecutive stolen bases – she was never caught stealing in 122 attempts over her career. She hit a combined .587 for her career, ranking 11th, and she also was added for 253 career hits and 220 career runs. She’s continuing her career at Binghamton in New York.
Grass Lake’s Olivia Turner enjoyed a brilliant varsity debut last spring as a freshman, making the record book in three categories – with 23 doubles, 16 home runs and 92 RBI. The RBI total ranks fifth all-time on that list.
Schoolcraft 2021 grad Danielle Blyly made the career doubles list with 37 despite having her junior season of 2020 canceled due to COVID-19. She also made the single-season doubles list with 18 as a sophomore in 2019. She’s continuing her career at Indiana Wesleyan.
Wrestling
Samuel Rickman capped his Trenton career in 2020 as a two-time Finals placer and 200-match winner. He finished a combined 203-25 over four seasons, with a fourth place at 145 pounds in Division 2 as a senior and fifth at 135 as a junior. He’s wrestling at Alma College.
PHOTO Schoolcraft's Hannah Thompson (22) makes her move during last season's Division 4 Regional Semifinal against Kalamazoo Christian. (Photo courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)