#TBT: Grandville's Grand Performance
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 26, 2014
The MHSAA girls golf tournament has evolved substantially over the last 16 years, with Lower Peninsula teams set to begin Regional play Oct. 8 in one of four divisions – three divisions replaced the two-class system (Class A and B-C-D) in 1999 and the fourth was added a decade later.
Most of the best scores in MHSAA history have been carded during the division era. But Grandville received an A+ for its performance at Michigan State University's Forest Akers East and West in winning the final Lower Peninsula Class A championship May 29-30, 1998.
The Bulldogs shot a two-round 634, a record-setting score at the time which remains the second-lowest 36-hole Finals score in MHSAA history, behind only the 607 shot by Rochester in 2008. Grandville fired a 309 in the first round, at East, which also remains the second-lowest score for 18 holes to a 296 shot by Rochester during its record-setting run.
Grandville's round was built on a scores from Stacy Snider (68-73-141), Stephanie Bezilla (75-83-158), Kara Hutton (87-81-168), Ann Licata (81-88-169) and Kelli Gibson (85-97-182). Snider's 141 is tied for fourth-lowest individual 36-hole score in MHSAA Finals history, and her 68 is tied for third-lowest score for 18 holes.
Snider went on to play at MSU and took over this season as coach at Western Michigan University. Bezilla played at the University of Michigan and works in club design for Titleist. Hutton joined Division II Barry University in Florida for its inaugural season and helped it to the NCAA Tournament in 2002.
Grandville was coached by Tom Peddie and also won LP Class A in 1997.
3 Receive National Honors from NHSACA, Coaching Pair Named to Hall of Fame
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 11, 2024
One of the longest-serving members of the MHSAA Representative Council and two longtime Michigan high school coaches have received highest honors this summer from the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.
Brighton athletic director John Thompson was named Athletic Director of the Year during the NHSACA’s annual conference June 26 in Bismarck, N.D. He has supervised the Bulldogs’ highly-accomplished athletic program for two decades and served on the Representative Council the last 14 years, including currently as vice president.
Thompson also this year received the Thomas Rashid Athletic Director of the Year Award from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA). Brighton was selected as an MIAAA exemplary athletic program in 2015 and as an ESPN unified champion school in 2018, the latter recognizing its statewide leadership in cultivating unified sport opportunities.
Additionally, Farmington Hills Mercy girls golf coach Vicky Kowalski and Livonia Stevenson girls swimming & diving coach Greg Phil were named NHSACA National Coach of the Year in their respective sports.
Kowalski completed her 46th season coaching Mercy last fall by leading the program to its second-straight Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship and fourth MHSAA Finals title overall. She also in January was named the 2022-23 National Coach of the Year in her sport by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association. She was inducted into the Michigan High School Coaches Association (MHSCA) Hall of Fame this year for both golf and bowling.
Phil has coached girls swimming & diving since 1976, including at Stevenson since 1985. After winning the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East title, the most recent of several league championships under his leadership, Stevenson finished 16th at last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals and previously had placed Finals runner-up twice. Phil was named to the MHSCA Hall of Fame in 2012.
All three honorees were nominated for the national recognition by the MHSCA. Beal City baseball coach Brad Antcliff, now-retired Leland volleyball coach Laurie Glass, Ann Arbor Greenhills boys tennis coach Eric Gajar and Lowell wrestling coach R.J. Boudro also were National Coach of the Year finalists.
Additionally, longtime softball coaches Kay Johnson of Morenci and Kris Hubbard from Ottawa Lake Whiteford were inducted into the NHSACA Hall of Fame. Johnson went over 1,000 career wins this spring and has led her program since 1993, including to Class C championships in 1985 and 1986. Hubbard retired after the 2019 season with an 865-380-3 record since taking over in 1974, with Class D titles in 1984, 1985 and 1987.