Title IX at 50: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 28, 2021
The date was March 11, 1972. The host site was Hillsdale High School. A total of 276 gymnasts from 33 schools took the mat. And Taylor Kennedy earned the first Finals championship in MHSAA girls sports history.
The Eagles scored 216.35 points over the six events, edging runner-up East Lansing by 1.35. Amy Balogh was the most awarded individual for Kennedy, as she earned first places in the uneven parallel bars and balance beam and finished second on vault. The Eagles were coached by Jean Barlow, who would lead them to a repeat championship – again just ahead of runner-up East Lansing – in 1973.
A month earlier, over Feb. 17-18, the MHSAA had conducted its first girls tournament events with four Ski Regionals across the state – but this Girls Gymnastics Final was the first to award a champion from a statewide girls division. The Girls Gymnastics Final was the product of an MHSAA Girls Athletics Advisory Committee recommendation the previous October and Representative Council approval that December of 1971, and was joined during the 1972-73 school year by additional MHSAA girls state competitions in golf, tennis and track & field.
That day at Hillsdale, Balogh would finish second all-around only to East Lansing’s Merry Jo Hill – who would go on to compete at Arizona State University. Kennedy would close after the 2017-18 school year and merge with the former Taylor Truman into the present-day Taylor High School. Below are the results from that first championship meet published in the May 1972 “MHSAA Bulletin” sent to member schools.
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
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
Performance of the Week: Escanaba's Sophia Wagner
December 8, 2023
Sophia Wagner ♦ Escanaba
Senior ♦ Gymnastics
In just her team’s second competition this season, Wagner set program records with a 9.8 on floor exercise and 37.380 all-around to finish first in both at the Escanaba Elks Invitational. The floor exercise record topped the previous Escanaba-best 9.7 scored by current senior teammate Sophie Lehto last season.
Escanaba’s gymnastics program has made major statewide strides over the last half-decade, and Wagner reached the Finals podium last season tying for fifth on Division 2 balance beam with a score of 9.025 while also tying for 22nd on vault. The week before, Wagner helped lead Escanaba to a sixth-place Regional finish against a field that included the last two Finals team champions. She also played tennis and was part of the No. 3 doubles runner-up as Escanaba shared the Upper Peninsula Division 1 team title this fall, and she finished second in pole vault and ran on the seventh-place 400-meter relay in the spring as Escanaba finished third at the UPD1 Girls Track & Field Finals.
@mhsaasports 🤸POW: Sophia Wagner #gymnastics #letsgo #team #escanaba #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports 🤸POW: Sophia Wagner #tiktalk #questiontime #part2 #simonebiles #gymnastics #letsgo #proposal #hearthands #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
Follow the MHSAA on TikTok.
MHSAA.com's "Performance of the Week" features are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
Past 2023-24 Honorees
Dec. 1: Isaiah Marshall, Southfield Arts & Technology football - Report
Nov. 24: Sarah Bradley, Clarkston Everest Collegiate volleyball - Report
Nov. 17: Kalieb Osborne, Waterford Mott football - Report
Nov. 10: Tekalegn Vlasma, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Nov. 3: Colton Kinnie, Birmingham Seaholm football - Report
Oct. 27: Lauren Timpf, Macomb Lutheran North golf - Report
Oct. 20: Alena Li, Okemos golf - Report
Oct. 13: Seth Norder, Grand Haven cross country - Report
Oct. 5: Paige Anderson, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Report
Sept. 29: MacKenzie Bisballe, Lake City volleyball - Report
Sept. 22: Jhace Massey, Gladwin football - Report
Sept. 15: Kaylee Draper, Sturgis swimming - Report
Sept. 8: Owen Jackson, Traverse City St. Francis tennis - Report
Sept. 1: Rachel Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
(Photos courtesy of Victory Video and Photography.)