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.)
Preview: From 119 to 8 Set to Compete at Inaugural MHSAA Boys Volleyball Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 4, 2026
Two years of tournament planning and several more of coaches association organization and support have brought us to the first MHSAA Boys Volleyball Finals weekend at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
This first year of MHSAA sponsorship saw 119 tournament-eligible teams compete, with the final eight to play for championships in Divisions 1 and 2.
This weekend’s schedule:
Semifinals – Friday
Division 1
Grand Haven vs. Macomb Dakota, 4:30 p.m.
Lake Orion vs. Northville, 6:30 p.m.
Division 2
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Walled Lake Central, Noon
Lowell vs. Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 2 p.m.
Finals – Saturday
Division 1, 2:30 p.m.
Division 2, Noon
Tickets cost $11 for both Friday’s Semifinals and Saturday’s Finals, and one ticket is good for all matches that day. All six matches also will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv. Find more information, including how to purchase tickets, on the Boys Volleyball page.
Below is a glance at all four contenders in each division. (Statistics are through Regional Finals.)
Division 1
GRAND HAVEN
Record/rank: 39-1, No. 1
Coach: Jim VanTol
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Rainbow III
Players to watch: Maddox Krugler, 6-3 jr. OH (336 kills, .328 hitting %, 40 aces); Caleb Cryst, 6-1 sr. S (672 assists, 101 kills); Alfredo Ellis, 6-3 jr. OPP (252 kills, .302 hitting %61 blocks, 128 digs).
Finals forecast: The Buccaneers have more than made good on expectations they’d be a contender this spring, defeating No. 2 Jenison, No. 4 Hudsonville and honorable mentions Rockford and Zeeland during this tournament run, with the loss to Jenison in their regular-season finale. That defeat came without Cryst, who was injured at the time but is back and won the inaugural Mr. Volleyball Award from the coaches association. Grand Haven finished as a state runner-up the last three seasons before MHSAA sponsorship of the sport began this spring. Sophomore 6-2 outside hitter John Cryst also contributes in several ways, tying for the team lead in aces (44), ranking second in assists (182) and digs (192) and third in kills (222) entering the week.
LAKE ORION
Record/rank: 22-0, No. 10
Coach: Tony Scavarda
League finish: First in Oakland Activities Association Red
Players to watch: Jan Ludvik, 6-2 sr. OH (406 kills, .345 hitting %, 45 aces, 258 digs); Owen Dyer, 5-10 jr. S (306 assists), Kuba Wolski, 5-11 sr. OH (225 kills, 40 aces).
Finals forecast: The Dragons – state semifinalists a year ago – have lost only five sets this season and defeated No. 5 Farmington in four to advance to this weekend. Lake Orion also swept honorable mention North Farmington in their only meeting this season. Ludvik and Wolski are the team’s leading hitters but only senior starters.
MACOMB DAKOTA
Record/rank: 20-9-3, unranked
Coach: Alec Arena
League finish: First in Macomb Area Conference Red
Players to watch: Samuel Yang, 5-5 sr. S (383 assists, 118 digs); Matthew Lefever, 6-0 sr. OH (213 kills, 45 aces); Nathan Allport, 6-1 soph. OH (212 kills, 41 aces).
Finals forecast: Dakota is 11-2-2 since April 30 and lost only two sets over four postseason matches on the way to Battle Creek. Senior 6-foot-6 middle Andrew Thamarus is another top hitter and led the team with 55 blocks entering the week, with 6-5 right-side Joseph Trachsel right behind with 50.
NORTHVILLE
Record/rank: 32-7-1, No. 8
Coach: Nyia Setla
League finish: First in Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Players to watch: Julian Janisse, 6-1 sr. RS (325 kills, 54 aces, 43 blocks, 196 digs); Jude Butler-Shriner, 5-11 sr. S (713 kills, 54 aces, 181 digs); Yuta Kikumori, 5-7 sr. OH (194 kills, 45 aces, 190 digs).
Finals forecast: Northville advanced to this weekend with a win over No. 9 Hartland, the only team to deal the Mustangs a KLAA loss this season – although Northville had previously avenged that defeat during the league tournament as well. The Mustangs also avenged a regular-season loss to No. 3 Saline in the Regional Final. Junior outside hitter Subhash Tej Buchu (141 kills entering this week) and 6-3 senior middle Adam Piao (112 kills) give Northville two more significant hitting options.
Division 2
AUBURN HILLS OAKLAND CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 11-2, unranked
Coach: Alex Redford
League finish: Does not compete in a conference.
Players to watch: Andrew Redford, sr. MB (104 kills, .385 hitting %, 141 digs); Efraim Lopes, soph. S/RS (151 assists); Micah Redford, soph. OH (57 aces, 168 digs). (Heights not provided.)
Finals forecast: Oakland Christian has lost only two sets over four postseason matches and fell this season only to Division 1 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and Clarkston. Micah Redford also is the team’s second leading hitter, and junior Luke Reyes (139 assists entering this week) joins Lopes in a two-setter system.
GRAND RAPIDS SOUTH CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 27-13-2, No. 6
Coach: Mya Udell
League finish: Third in O-K Conference Rainbow II
Players to watch: Noah Jager, sr. MB (234 kills, 61 blocks); Ezra Miller, sr. S (633 assists, 173 digs); Noah Klump, sr. OH (229 kills, 220 digs). (Heights not provided.)
Finals forecast: South Christian advanced to these first Semifinals in part with a five-set Regional Final win over No. 8 Holland Christian and a four-setter over No. 4 St. Joseph in the Quarterfinal. All six starters plus the team’s libero are seniors, with outside hitter Jack Borish also over 200 kills this season and Brock Hoekwater with 390 digs entering the week.
LOWELL
Record/rank: 25-6, No. 1
Coach: Drew Davidson
League finish: First in River Cities Alliance
Players to watch: Max Davidson, 6-2 sr. S/OH (328 kills, .333 hitting %, 473 assists); Josh Wolters, 6-4 jr. M (299 kills, .300 hitting %, 44 aces, 218 digs); Issac Kissinger, 5-10 fr. S/RS (175 kills, 224 assists).
Finals forecast: Lowell won four straight state championships before this first MHSAA-sponsored season, and swept No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian, Midland, No. 9 Mount Pleasant and honorable mention Greenville during this tournament run. The only losses this spring came three times to Grand Haven and once apiece to Jenison, Grand Rapids Christian and Holland Christian. Junior right-side Lincoln Pollema and freshman outside hitter Jaeger Smith also have topped 100 kills.
WALLED LAKE CENTRAL
Record/rank: 24-19, unranked
Coach: Miguel Strauss
League finish: Third in Lakes Valley Conference
Players to watch: Jerry Hempfield, 6-0 sr. OH/S; Kai Waynick, 6-1 soph. S/OH. (Statistics not submitted.)
Finals forecast: Central defeated honorable mention Warren Woods Tower entering the postseason and then swept all four of its tournament matches – with the Regional Semifinal win over rival Walled Lake Western including two sets decided by two points apiece as those two evened their season series at 3-3. Hempfield is one of only two seniors.
PHOTO Grand Haven’s Caleb Cryst (7) sets his team’s offense during a 3-0 Division 1 Quarterfinal win over Hudsonville on Wednesday. (Photo by Trevor McCue/Grand Haven Tribune).