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Hartland basketball

Hartland Earns 1st Finals Berth, 1st As Well for Longtime Coach

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 18, 2022

EAST LANSING - The girls basketball community in the state of Michigan probably couldn’t have felt any happier for a coach, and despite being focused on the task at hand, Don Palmer did have some time for self-reflection.

After 43 years of coaching both boys and girls, Palmer finally coached in a state Final Four game, leading his Hartland girls squad into a Division 1 Semifinal against fellow KLAA member Wayne Memorial at Michigan State’s Breslin Center. 

“I’ve done it for a long time and you always dream about it, and you don’t think it’s going to happen because it’s so hard to do,” Palmer said. 

It might have taken Palmer more than four decades to reach the semifinals, but he and Hartland didn’t let its historic run stop there, taking charge in the second half and earning a 52-42 win over Wayne Memorial. 

Hartland (25-1) advanced to meet West Bloomfield for the state championship. 

Wayne/Hartland basketball“It’s always in the back of our minds since we were freshman,” said four-year player Amanda Roach, referring to a state championship. “It’s just always been on our mind.”

Hartland and Wayne Memorial might be in the same league, but they didn’t play each other during the regular season.

They were on a collision course to meet in the KLAA semifinals, but Wayne Memorial was knocked out by Howell in a semifinal (Hartland ended up beating Howell in the title game). 

But the anticipated meeting turned to be delayed, not denied. 

Leading 24-19 at halftime, the Eagles started to gain some separation in the third quarter, going on a 10-2 run to take a 35-23 lead with 3:14 remaining in the third. 

Hartland eventually took a 36-26 lead into the fourth quarter. 

The lead continued to balloon in the fourth quarter, with Hartland breaking down Wayne Memorial in the half-court beautifully and making the good shots that ensued, taking a 46-28 lead with 3:42 remaining in the game. 

Wayne Memorial (24-2) couldn’t mount a serious rally for the rest of the game in suffering its fourth straight loss in the semifinals. 

“Hartland is a very tough team and a veteran-led team,” Wayne Memorial head coach Jarvis Mitchell said. “They just played harder. They just didn’t want to lose and it’s hard to beat a team like that, that doesn’t want to lose.” 

Roach led Hartland with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line. 

Senior Leah Lappin added 13 points for the Eagles, who overcame a 4 of 16 performance from 3-point line by going 13 of 31 on 2-pointers and 14 of 22 from the free-throw line. 

Senior Davai Matthews led the way for Wayne Memorial with 15 points. Junior Mayla Ham added nine points and 11 rebounds. 

Wayne Memorial was just 1 of 11 from 3-point range and 11 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Hartland celebrates advancing to its first Division 1 Final on Friday. (Middle) Wayne Memorial’s Paris Bass (0) cuts to the basket with Gracey Metz defending. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Tony Coggins serves as PA announcer during a 2022 Division 3 volleyball match at Kellogg Arena.

In Memoriam: Tony Coggins (1971-2023)

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 24, 2023

The MHSAA and Holly school communities are grieving this week after the sudden loss of Tony Coggins, a shining light in his educational community and an enthusiastic supporter of school sports as a public address announcer for several of our largest championship events.

But while that cheerful tone has been quieted, it surely will not be forgotten by the many fortunate to enjoy an event in the presence of that voice and the joyfulness he brought into every arena, press box and classroom.

Coggins, 51, died Saturday. He is survived by his wife Kristy and children Emma and Bradlee, among several family and friends from his local and greater sports communities.

Tony CogginsHis career as a PA announcer began during his freshman year of high school in 1985, when his father Dale Coggins – Flushing’s athletic director at the time – couldn’t find anyone else to announce middle school football games. That was 39 years ago, and this fall Tony Coggins was in his 24th announcing at Holly, where he taught and served as an administrator in addition to his role as “Voice of the Holly Bronchos” for football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, competitive cheer and swimming & diving over the years.

Coggins has been a mainstay among MHSAA Finals PA announcers over the last decade in football, basketball, softball and most recently volleyball. He lent his voice to college sports at University of Michigan as well. “Tony was a huge part of our Finals events. It’s hard to imagine it being the same without him,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said.

As part of the run-up to the MHSAA public address announcers clinic in 2018, Coggins said this about what drew him to the microphone:

“I have zero athletic ability whatsoever, which is interesting because my father was an all-state running back. But I enjoy being involved, and I've always been the one for history and statistics and knowing what's going on,” Coggins said. “This is a way for me to be involved. It's a way for me to use a talent I've been given; public speaking has always come pretty naturally for me.

“So I worked at my craft to get better. I got better from watching the people around me, from studying the people I like, and the people – if I saw someone I didn’t care for – I'd make a note and say to myself, ‘Don't do that.’ I take feedback from people very personally, and I mean that in a good way. If somebody takes the time to come up and say, ‘You did this well; I think you should change this,’ that means they care about the program also. We all have the same goal in mind, and that's to make the experience good for the high school student and the parents, the fans, that come there.”

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at St. John Vianney, 2415 Bagley Street in Flint. There will be visitation from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, and at the church from 10 a.m. Saturday until the time of the Mass.