NFHS Voice: Nationally, Lost Spring Ends
May 8, 2020
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
On Monday, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association became the 51st and final NFHS member state high school association to cancel its spring sports championships due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The cancellation announcements began in late March and stretched to early May as states made every attempt possible to conduct spring sports and other activity programs.
Driven by a desire to offer perhaps a few weeks of competition – particularly for graduating seniors – many states waited as long as possible to move from postponed to cancelled, ultimately forced to make decisions when schools were closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the academic year.
While the leaders of our state associations knew that spring activities could not occur if schools did not re-open, and that the health and safety of the millions of participants ultimately drove these decisions, having to make these announcements was perhaps the most difficult task they had experienced as state leaders.
“We are disappointed for the thousands of New Jersey student-athletes who will be unable to compete this spring,” said Larry White, executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. “While we remained hopeful to the end, and left open every possibility, competition simply is not feasible given the circumstances. It has been a harrowing time for everyone, and we know our student-athletes are extremely disappointed. That said, these unfortunate circumstances may have put an intriguing challenge in the path of our young people. As New Jersey’s own Vince Lombardi once said, ‘It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.’ We’re confident all our kids will get back up and stand tall.”
Rhonda Blanford-Green, commissioner of the Colorado High School Activities Association, showed her emotions in making the difficult decision in her state:
“This decision, unlike the many decisions our office makes over the course of a year, has been extremely difficult because we are personally connected as former participants and officials, current parents and grandparents of graduating seniors, as well as educators and members of our high school communities. Our hats are off to the many seniors who have shown maturity and resolve as their culminating year of high school has been impacted beyond activities and athletics due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 2020 will not be forgotten.”
Craig Anderson, executive director of the Illinois High School Association, said, “Our thoughts are with all the impacted students, coaches and communities, especially the seniors. It will be difficult for them to find a silver lining in all of this, but we stress that even if they don’t get the chance to compete again at the high school level, they are better for having been a part of their respective high school teams. They were exposed to life lessons in teamwork, leadership and overcoming adversity that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.”
What was at stake and who was affected by these cancellation announcements? More than 500 girls and boys spring sports championships in about 18 sports and involving about three million student-athletes. Along with multiple classes for both boys and girls in track & field, other sports affected this spring were baseball, softball, lacrosse, golf, tennis, soccer, flag football, boys volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, gymnastics, riflery, judo, Unified track & field and ultimate Frisbee. Also grounded were perhaps another million participants in band, choir, orchestra, speech, debate, robotics and other activity programs.
And last, but far from least, we remember the thousands of volunteers who make these events happen every year – ticket-takers, concession stand workers, booster club parents, meet officials and the leaders in communities throughout the country where these events were planned. We thank these individuals for their faithful service year after year, and we look forward to the day we are all back together again.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.
Century of School Sports: These Record-Setters Were Nearly Impossible to Defeat
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 13, 2025
Most days, across Michigan high school sports and athletics at every level, a rare big-time upset is going to grab a bigger headline over yet another win by a usual favorite that comes out on top all the time.
But today, we’re going to celebrate teams that have made winning something of a daily routine over long stretches during the MHSAA’s 100-year run.
For the majority of head-to-head team sports, the MHSAA tracks winning streaks and lists the longest in their respective record books. And while all making those lists are impressive, the longest seem almost inconceivable.
Let’s start with the 192-match winning streak by Marysville from Dec. 10, 1996, through Jan. 15. 2000, the longest by number of victories. That incredible run made up most of the first half of an also incredible eight-straight Class B Finals championship seasons for the Vikings. Three others volleyball teams have won at least 92 straight matches, but none more than 98.
Traverse City Central girls tennis’ 107-dual match winning streak from 1989-2000 is the longest by length of time, and the only other to reach triple digits for total wins – with a seven-year, 71-match run by the Okemos boys tennis team from 1990-97 also reaching toward nearly a decade of similar success.
Several more have approached the 100-consecutive-win milestone. Hudsonville Unity Christian girls soccer won 86 straight games from 2005-08, and actually was 97-0-1 over those four seasons. The Allen Park Cabrini softball team won 80 straight games during the 2006-08 seasons, the Powers North Central boys basketball team won 84 straight games between 2014-17, and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s baseball team became our latest winning streak record-setter with 84 straight victories from May 1, 2021 through May 3, 2023.
Okemos is the one of only two schools with two record winning streaks, having also won 64 straight girls lacrosse games from March 21, 2009, through May 3, 2011. The other is North Central, which also won 41 straight 8-player football games between Sept. 18, 2020, and Sept. 15 2023, with many of the same athletes who played on the record-setting boys basketball team.
Also from the Upper Peninsula, Carney-Nadeau’s girls basketball teams of 1989-91 held on to their record of 78 consecutive wins despite a 76-victory pursuit by Pittsford from 2015-18. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice won the first 13 Division 1 boys lacrosse championships, and the early years of that run included a 29-game winning streak during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
The record holders in boys soccer and 11-player football require a little bit of explanation. While Genesee Christian owns the boys soccer winning streak record of 33 from 2015 and beginning of the 2016 season, Detroit Country Day easily outpaces the rest for longest unbeaten streak in that sport having gone 69-0-10 between 1991-94.
Hudson football also remains legendary for its record streaks of 72 straight wins (including playoffs) from 1968-1975 and 81 straight during the regular season from 1968-1977 – although that playoff era streak included only one playoff win, as the Tigers won their Semifinal in 1975 but fell to Ishpeming in the inaugural Class C title game. The longest football playoff streak built entirely during the playoff era belongs to Ithaca, which won 69 straight games beginning with its opener in 2010 and ending in the 2014 Division 6 championship game as the Yellowjackets pursued what would have been a fifth-straight title in that division.
The lack of winning streak lists in wrestling and ice hockey are a noticeable gaps in this collection. Those lists hopefully will be constructed in the future.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
May 6: 200+ Representatives Fill All-Time Council Roster - Read
April 29: MHSAA Programs Prioritize Health & Safety - Read
April 23: Patches Signify Registered Officials' Role in MHSAA Story - Read
April 16: Student Advisory Council Gives Voice to Athletes - Read
April 9: State's Storytellers Share Spring Memories - Read
April 2: Sharp Leadership Synonymous with MHSAA Success - Read
March 25: Athletic Directors Indispensable to Mission of School Sports - Read
March 18: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships - Read
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTOS Clockwise from top left: Allen Park Cabrini catcher Amanda Chidester celebrates her team's 2007 softball championship. (2) Genesee Christian's Caleb DuPree (11) controls possession as Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep's Kawika Singson pursues during their 2015 championship match. (3) Shaleene Glombowski sets for Marysville during the 1998 Class B Final. (4) The 1995 Okemos boys tennis team takes a photo after clinching another Finals championship. (5) Carney-Nadeau's Jill Wetthuhn drives against Fowler during the 1990 Class D Final.