Title IX at 50: Ruby Whitehorn's Story

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 4, 2022

We finish our “Title IX at 50” this week highlighting the latest Detroit Edison basketball star – who will no doubt continue to dazzle now that she’s moved on to the college ranks.

Ruby Whitehorn became the fourth-straight Miss Basketball Award winner from Edison last winter on the way to leading the Pioneers to the Division 2 championship. The 6-foot guard also was a contributor off the bench as a freshman when Edison won the Division 2 title in 2019, and the Pioneers were 23-0 in 2020 when that season was ended due to COVID-19.

Edison was 80-4 total over her four seasons on varsity. Whitehorn is continuing her career at Clemson University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


"It means everything to me, but it’s because of everyone who got me to this point – my coaches and teammates and (everyone else).

"They’ve just helped me along the way, and it feels good to give back to them."

 

The MHSAA will conclude its yearlong celebration of Title IX with this weekend’s 25th Women in Sports Leadership Conference in Lansing. The event remains the first, largest and longest-running of its kind in the country.

This year’s conference is themed “Power of the Past – Force of the Future” and is again sold out, as Crowne Plaza Lansing West will be filled Sunday and Monday mostly by Michigan high school female student-athletes but also administrators, coaches, officials, trainers and others who contribute to school sports.

Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.

Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights

Oct. 4: Ruby Whitehorn's Story - Read
Sept. 27:
Eliana Bommarito's Story - Read
Sept. 20:
Anna Tracey's Story - Read
Sept. 13:
Lola Korpi's Story - Read
Sept. 6:
Meah Bajt's Story - Read
Aug. 30: 
Morgan Brunner's Story - Read
Aug. 23:
Ava Brizard's Story - Read
Aug. 16:
Paige Miller's Story - Read
Aug. 9:
Gracie Olsen's Story - Read
Aug. 2:
Maddy Stern's Story - Read
July 26:
Reese Miller's Story - Read
July 19:
Macy Irelan's Story - Read
July 12:
Bridget Boczar's Story - Read
July 5:
Ella Boose's Story - Read
June 28:
Kaila Jackson's Story - Read
June 23: 
We Celebrate Our Past, We Look Forward to Our Future - Read
June 21: Assistant Directors Have Been Difference Makers - Read
June 14: 
Girls Lacrosse Finals Officials Set Empowering Example - Read
June 7: 
From Gymnastics to Wrestling, Girls Opportunities Continue to Grow - Read
May 31: 
Mumford Sprinter's Magnificent 2006 Final Remains Unmatched - Read

May 24: Scane, Whiteside Alone on 400-Goal, 500-Point Girls Lacrosse Lists - Read
May 17: Over 8 Days in 1988, Pair of Champs Set No. 1 Singles Standard - Read
May 10: 
Portage Central's Tarpley Scores as State's Superstar, U.S. Soccer Hero - Read
May 3: 
Prychitko 'Legend In Her Own Time,' Legend for All Time - Read
April 26: 
Braddock vs. Verdun Still Striding Among All-Time Sprint Matchups - Read
April 19: 
Holmes' Strikeout Record Rarely Approached, May Be Unbreakable - Read
April 12: 
Anticipation High as 45,000 Girls Return to Spring Sports - Read
April 5: 
Regina's Laffey Retiring as Definition of Legendary - Read
March 29: 
Edison's Whitehorn named 2022 Miss Basketball - Read
March 22: 
Carney-Nadeau Sets Girls Hoops Standard with 78-Win Streak - Read
March 15: 
Binder Among Voices Telling Our Story on MHSAA Network - Read
March 8: 
29 Years, Thousands of Cheers - Read
March 1: 
Kearsley Rolls On Among Girls Bowling's Early Successes - Read
Feb. 22: Marquette Ties Record for Swim & Dive Finals Success - Read
Feb. 15: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection - Read
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: 
Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: 
Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: 
Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: 
Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: 
Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: 
Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: 
Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: 
Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: 
Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read

Yale's Dykstra Wasting No Time Showing Superior Multi-Sport Potential

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

March 28, 2024

Sadie Dykstra’s already long list of accomplishments from less than two years of high school – three all-state medals, multiple all-conference awards and a league MVP to name a few – may seem shocking.

Bay & ThumbAnd to most, it justifiably is. 

But it’s come as little surprise for those in Yale who saw her grow up and do, well, anything.

“I’ve always known that she’s kind of special,” said Yale boys track coach and Dykstra family friend Brian Bearss. “She was that kid that, when other kids would be playing and learning how to ride their bikes, here comes Sadie and she’s yelling, ‘Look at this,’ and standing on the seat riding the bike. She’s always been exceptional as far as being an athlete.”

Dykstra is entering her sophomore track & field season at Yale and has already established herself as one of the best female athletes in the state. Want to argue against that? Check out this résumé:

Volleyball: Two years varsity, second-team all-Blue Water Area Conference as a sophomore.

Basketball: Two-time first-team all-BWAC selection, BWAC all-defense and BWAC MVP as a sophomore, BCAM all-state honorable mention as a freshman, sophomore all-state honors still pending.

Track: Unbeaten in the BWAC as a freshman with four league titles (long jump, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 1,600 meter relay), three all-state finishes at 2023 Lower Peninsula Division 2 Finals (fourth in long jump, fifth in 100 hurdles, sixth in 300 hurdles).

Again, just a sophomore.

“I can’t believe that I get to coach her,” Yale girls track coach Ashley Garofalo said. “She has a drive and a mindset that I can’t teach somebody. Nobody can teach you to have this. She gives every single thing that she has in every single sport. I think it does help when you’re so good at it. It makes you want to do it more.”

Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. Basketball gets Dykstra’s most attention and it’s the one she’d most like to play at the next level. The 5-foot-11 guard is getting interest already from Division I college programs. 

But it wouldn’t be right to say her heart is with one sport or another.

“I enjoy all my sports,” Dykstra said. “I like all my teams. I have a different team for each one, and I get along with all those girls. I think each one, it flows into the next one, and helps strengthen things for my other sports. Volleyball helps my legs for basketball. In basketball, I’m getting in shape for track.”

You don’t have to look far to find where Dykstra gained her love for athletics. Her parents, Kerry and Brad, both played basketball at Calvin College. Kerry graduated as Calvin’s all-time leading scorer in 1999 and is still sixth on the all-time list. She also served as Yale volleyball coach for 10 years, just recently stepping down.

Brad was a two-sport athlete at Calvin, playing baseball as well. He also played baseball at Grand Valley State. He coached basketball at Yale from 2006-10.

“We’re a very sporty family,” Sadie Dykstra said.

So, when it came time to enter high school, there was never a thought of specializing.

“I came in with the mindset of, I’m going to play three sports each season and enjoy them, too,” Dykstra said. “I don’t want to be in them and have them be the most awful things in the universe. I came in with the mindset of enjoying all three sports.”

Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season.While basketball is her current collegiate goal, she did say that competing in basketball and track & field would be something she would consider if given the opportunity. Bearss said Dykstra has Division I potential in track & field, adding that heptathlon could best suit her.

But there are still two more years to figure that out. The next thing for Dykstra to enjoy is track, the sport in which she had the most early success. And while outdoor meets are still a couple weeks away, she’s already locked in.

“She’s just a natural leader, and I think that’s why she’s so disciplined,” Garofalo said. “(Tuesday), I was going over a workout with somebody else, and she just started her warm-ups on her own. She’s not afraid to lead 60 other kids, even though there are juniors and seniors.”

Dykstra has big goals for this spring, mostly based around performance marks. She’s eyeing the Yale school long jump record of 18 feet, 1¾ inches, which is less than an inch longer than her personal best of 18-1. She’d like to move that record closer to 19 feet.

Her 100 hurdle PR (personal record) sits at 15.59 seconds, and she’d like to knock that into the low 15s or even high 14s. For the 300 hurdles, where her PR is 47 seconds, she’d like to get down to 45.

“I have big goals, and I think I can get to them,” she said. “But that’s something for the end of the season to play out and see how that goes.”

Anybody who’s watched her wouldn’t doubt that Dykstra can reach those goals. And that list, along with those accomplishments, continues to grow.

“Last year we went to Ortonville Brandon, and we had really nice weather that day and the competition was really good – a lot of schools there,” Bearss said. “Even with all of those great athletes, you could just kind of see, people are pointing and looking, ‘There’s that girl from Yale.’ They’re taking notice. Every once in a while, you get kids that turn heads like that.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Yale’s Sadie Dykstra launches into a long jump last spring. (Middle) Dykstra brings the ball upcourt against Armada. (Below) Dykstra stands at the net during volleyball season. (Photos courtesy of the Dykstra family.)