Special Year Thanks to No Specialization
August 7, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As we embark on another sports-filled school year Monday, we can look to a recent Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central grad for the value of a school year filled with sports.
As specialization at the highs school level continues to be debated, Bryce Windham will start his college baseball career this fall at Division I Old Dominion University – after playing baseball but also football and basketball for the Falcons.
The MHSAA has long advocated athletes taking on as many sports as they have interest instead of focusing on just one in pursuit of a college scholarship – a position that’s received plenty of public backing of late, be it from stars of the U.S. women’s soccer team after their World Cup championship run or former Lansing Waverly multi-sport athlete John Smoltz during his enshrinement in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
Enter Windham – who easily could’ve been excused for focusing on baseball, or even basketball as his dad is the St. Mary’s varsity boys coach. Instead, Bryce quarterbacked the football team to last season’s Division 6 championship – breaking Ithaca’s national-best 69-game winning streak in the Final – before being named Class C Player of the Year by The Associated Press in basketball and earning a Most Valuable Player honor at the baseball state coaches association all-star game at Comerica Park this spring.
All three of Windham's teams reached at least the MHSAA Quarterfinals.
“His participation in football and basketball helped land a Division 1 baseball scholarship to Old Dominion. They were able to see his athleticism in basketball and toughness in football, and ODU’s coach loved it,” dad and hoops coach Randy Windham said.
“He probably would’ve given up football, and that ended up his greatest memory by winning a state championship.”
Click to read about Windham’s multitude of accomplishments as reported last month by the Monroe Evening News.
Honors Abound
National coaching honors were bestowed on a trio of Michigan coaches over the summer:
- Retired Trenton ice hockey coach Mike Turner – the winningest hockey coach in MHSAA history with a record of 629-126-52 from 1974-81 and then 1995-2014 – was named National Coach of the Year in Special Sports by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association. His teams won 11 MHSAA titles and finished runner-up four times. “I was there when the MHSAA added hockey as one of their sanctioned sports and crowned their first MHSAA state championships in 1975. At that time there were 60-70 high school teams participating, and now there are 170,” Turner said. “It has been great to be a part of the advancements made in the sport of high school hockey, with more teams participating, more player development, and more opportunities that exist for players after high school.”
- Traverse City Central boys track and field and cross country coach John Lober won his second national coaching honor of the 2014-15 school year, named the NHSACA Coach of the Year for track and field to go with a previous honor earned in January from the National Federation of State High School Associations. He has coached the Traverse City Central boys track and field team since 1977 and also the boys cross country team since 1989. His 1992 track team won the Class A championship, and he has coached 17 individual MHSAA Finals champions. He was inducted into the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006.
- Ann Arbor Pioneer assistant girls swimming and diving coach Liz Hill was named the Assistant Coach of the Year for all girls sports by the NHSACA. Hill, a former All-American at the University of Michigan and standout sprinter at Pioneer, began assisting her husband Denny Hill in 1983 before becoming his fulltime assistant a few seasons later. Together they’ve led the Pioneers girls to 15 MHSAA team titles, the last two as co-head coaches.
Michigan Mourns
Fremont and the high school athletic community statewide mourned the death July 21 of longtime coach Rich Tompkins, who led Fremont’s boys cross country teams to six MHSAA cross country championships including three and a runner-up finish during his last decade of coaching before retiring in 1997.
The Muskegon Chronicle reported that his boys and girls cross country teams and boys track and field team combined for 45 league championships, with his boys cross country team winning 116 straight duals from 1977-88. Tompkins was executive director of the Michigan High School Coaches Association for more than a decade and served on its board for more than two decades.
Click to read more from the Chronicle on Tompkins’ legacy.
Officials in the News
The Monroe County Officials Association took to the county fair to encourage passers-by to “Be the Referee” – and received 47 sign-ups from people interested in the avocation. Visitors to an MCOA booth at the fair were told in some detail what is involved with being an MHSAA official, and those who then signed up to find out more about officiating football, basketball, baseball or softball (sports the MCOA trains for and schedules) will be invited to an orientation session where they will become eligible for one of 20 complimentary registration fees for this school year.
The West Michigan Officials Association marked a decade of support at the start of this summer for the Visually Impaired Sports and Activity Day, sponsored by the Helen DeVos Children’s Foundation. The WMOA has contributed nearly $18,000 to the event over the last 10 years as well as taking part in the event, which includes a number of sports and other activities.
The Saginaw Athletic Officials Association sent along this photo of five members who worked 2013-14 MHSAA Finals, from left: Mark Jarlock (baseball), Tom Behmlander (softball), Scott Helmka (football), Dale Brown (softball and football) and Mark Schoenow (football). The Baseball Final was Jarlock’s first; the other officials had worked Finals in the past.
PHOTO: (Top) Monroe St. Mary quarterback Bryce Windham unloads a pass during last season's Division 6 Final win over Ithaca at Ford Field.
EGR Denies Country Day Repeat Attempt, Delivers 1st Finals Title Under Past Standout
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 6, 2025
ANN ARBOR – In 2007, Kyle Osipoff couldn’t have imagined a much better feeling than winning a Division 2 boys lacrosse championship as a senior for East Grand Rapids.
On Friday night, Osipoff may have topped that feeling when he coached the Pioneers to their first championship since 2021, with a 15-10 win over Detroit Country Day at the University of Michigan.
“I won here. I graduated in 2007, so to be part of this (as a coach), is an honor,” Osipoff said of the title, his first as a head coach, and seventh for the program. “To win one with these boys is probably one of the cooler experiences I’ve had in my life. I’m grateful. I’m happy.”
East Grand Rapids (20-3) never trailed in the contest, as it was able to get out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter thanks to three goals from senior attacker Gavin Buck.
“We knew that we had to come out hot, and that is exactly what we did,” Buck said. “The team was in it from the very get-go, and we just wanted this thing.”
East Grand Rapids was able to control play most of the first half, thanks largely to its success with faceoffs. Junior Kaden Goossens won all 11 faceoffs in the opening half.
“The biggest difference for us was the faceoff X,” Osipoff said. “Getting scored on, or scoring goals, knowing you have the opportunity to get the ball back every time is huge. Kayden Goosens did a phenomenal job for us, and he is a major part of why we got that win tonight.”
The possession battle prevented Detroit Country Day (20-4) from finding an offensive groove in the opening half. The Yellowjackets were held to just two goals over the first 24 minutes and trailed 7-2 at the break.
“We just couldn’t get into a rhythm,” Country Day coach Chris Garland said. “They won faceoffs and took the air out of the ball, and we just couldn’t get it back. (EGR) scored some really good goals early, and we got in a hole that we just couldn’t get out of.”
Country Day got more offensive production in the second half, but each time the Yellowjackets seemed to build some steam, East Grand Rapids had an answer.
Senior Bennett Winkel came through with a pair of goals in response to DCD scores in the third quarter, and sparked a three-goal rally to give the Pioneers a 13-5 advantage entering the fourth.
Country Day would string together three straight goals midway through the final quarter, but the Pioneers kept winning faceoffs to prevent the Yellowjackets from making a serious run at the lead. Goosens finished the game winning 26 of the 29 faceoffs held.
“I worked hard all season and I wanted to give my team the best chance to win, and that was by getting them the ball,” Goosens said of his play. “I think I did a pretty good job of it tonight.”
Buck finished with a match-high four goals for EGR, while Winkel added three.
“We are going to miss them. They are two seniors in Gavin Buck and Bennett Winkel that, when we are in a tough spot and need a goal, we can count on those guys,” Osipoff said.
Dylan Buck also scored three goals for the Pioneers, while Oliver Owen scored twice, and Owen Stropkai tallied five assists.
Country Day was led by Keaton Yearego, Luke Fisher, and Rhys Kenney, who each scored twice. Joseph North had one goal and two assists.
The Yellowjackets reached the D2 Final for the fourth-consecutive season, a credit to Garland, who is stepping away from the program after six seasons at the helm. Garland is moving to Baltimore, Md., and leaves Country Day with a 100-26 record, including the 2024 Division 2 championship.
“I think things are in better shape, and I am really proud of what we have accomplished here,” Garland said of his time with the Yellowjackets. “I have to thank the parents, the coaches, and the kids for all they gave. I will really miss the kids and the school, but I know the next coach will do a great job.”
PHOTOS (Top) East Grand Rapids coach Kyle Osipoff presents the championship trophy to his team Friday night at U-M. (Middle) EGR and Country Day players collide while in pursuit of a loose ball.