MHSAA Announces Revised Wrestling Schedule, 2021 Finals Site
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 2, 2021
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has revised its 2021 Wrestling Tournaments, scheduled for the final three weeks of March and first weekend of April, in an effort to reduce the mixing of communities and spread of COVID-19. The MHSAA also has selected Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo as this year’s host site for the Teams Finals on March 30 and Individual Finals to be wrestled April 2-3.
As in non-COVID seasons, the wrestling postseason will be divided into separate tournament tracks for teams and individuals, with competition at the District, Regional and Finals levels. Competition at the District and Regional levels for both the team and individual tournaments will follow the MHSAA’s traditional formats, which is possible due to the COVID-19 rapid testing required of each participating wrestler. Districts will be wrestled during the week of March 15, with Regionals the following week.
However, a number of changes for this season’s Finals have been put in place to provide the same experience for qualifying athletes but with more precautions to limit possible exposure to the virus.
Team Wrestling: Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals will be wrestled Tuesday, March 30 at Wings Event Center, with all rounds over one day instead of the traditional two. Two areas within Wings Event Center – the “Valley” and “Arena” – will host matches for Quarterfinals and Semifinals, with all four championship matches wrestled simultaneously in the Arena to conclude the event. Divisions 2 and 4 will compete in the Arena, and Divisions 1 and 3 in the Valley prior to the title matches.
Individual Wrestling: All rounds of the Individual Finals will be wrestled at Wings Event Center over the course of one day – Divisions 2 and 3 will compete Friday, April 2, and Divisions 1 and 4 will wrestle April 3. Both arenas within Wings Event Center will be used each day – one for each division – with all rounds including championship matches wrestled in that specific area. Divisions 3 and 1 will compete in the Arena, and Divisions 2 and 4 will compete in the Valley.
Determinations of which divisions were assigned to wrestle in Wings’ Arena and Valley were made by a blind draw conducted by the MHSAA in partnership with the executive board of the Michigan Wrestling Association, the statewide coaches association for the sport. Teams scheduled to wrestle in the Valley during the Team Quarterfinals and Semifinals automatically were selected to wrestle in the Arena for all rounds of the Individual Finals.
Spectator limits at Regionals and Finals will be determined locally following Michigan Department of Health and Human Services orders and will not exceed one per participant.
MHSAA ‘AD Connection Program’ Debuts with Start of 2023-24 School Year
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 7, 2023
A first-of-its-kind mentorship program is greeting more than 100 first-time high school athletic directors who are officially beginning their tenures at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools with the start of the 2023-24 school year.
The “AD Connection Program” has matched those first-year high school athletic directors with one of eight mentors who have recently retired from the field and will now provide assistance as those new administrators transition to this essential role in school sports.
A total of 102 first-year high school athletic directors are beginning at MHSAA schools, meaning a new athletic administrator will be taking over at nearly 14 percent of the 750 member high schools across the state. Athletic director turnover at MHSAA high schools has reached 10 percent or more annually over the last few years, and it’s hoped that this additional mentorship will support athletic directors adjusting to the high pace and responsibilities of the position for the first time.
The AD Connection Program will build on training received at the required in-service program all new athletic directors must attend each fall. There is also a strong connection to programming from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), the professional development organization for the state’s athletic administrators.
"When you crystalize it, the AD Connection Program is an attempt for us to give a true year-long in-service to new athletic directors with people who have done it,” said MHSAA Assistant Director Brad Bush, who is coordinating the program and joined the MHSAA staff in January after more than two decades as an athletic administrator at Chelsea High School. “This also connects new ADs with a larger professional group, and it will culminate in March at the annual MIAAA conference, where there will be several face-to-face meetings with all ADs.
“These mentors are meant to become that first-year AD’s go-to person.”
Mentors will conduct frequent meetings with their cohorts. They also will meet monthly (or more) with each first-time athletic director individually via zoom, and at least once during the academic year face-to-face at the mentee’s school.
The eight mentors, noting their most recent schools as an athletic director, are Chris Ervin (most recently at St. Johns), Brian Gordon (Royal Oak), Sean Jacques (Calumet), Tim Johnston (East Grand Rapids), Karen Leinaar (Frankfort), Scott Robertson (Grand Haven), Meg Seng (Ann Arbor Greenhills) and Wayne Welton (Chelsea). Leinaar also will serve as the AD Connection Program’s liaison to the MIAAA, which she serves as executive director.
High school practices at MHSAA member schools may begin today, Monday Aug. 7, for the nine fall sports for which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. The AD Connection Program was approved by the MHSAA Representative Council during its annual Winter Meeting on March 24.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.
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