Wrestling Headlines Weekend Streaming
February 25, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
Wrestling fans can delight in two big championship weekends of live streaming video on MHSAA.tv in the days ahead, beginning this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 28-29) with the Team Wrestling Finals in Kalamazoo.
The Team Wrestling at the Wings Event Center is the second of six weekends of Winter Finals tournament coverage on MHSAA.tv, with Quarterfinals on Friday, Semifinals Saturday morning and Finals Saturday afternoon.
Here’s the complete schedule:
Friday – Feb. 28
Quarterfinals – Mat 1
Noon – Div. 4 – Hart v. Manchester
2:15 PM – Div. 1 – Detroit Catholic Central v. Macomb Dakota
4:30 PM – Div. 3 – Alma v. Fremont
6:45 PM – Div. 2 – Gaylord v. New Boston Huron
Quarterfinals – Mat 2
Noon – Div. 4 – Clinton v. Carson City-Crystal
2:15 PM – Div. 1 – Davison v. Clarkston
4:30 PM – Div. 3 – Montrose v. Remus Chippewa Hills
6:45 PM – Div. 2 – Lowell v. Croswell-Lexington
Quarterfinals – Mat 3
Noon – Div. 4 – New Lothrop v. Lawton
2:15 PM – Div. 1 – Brighton v. Rockford
4:30 PM – Div. 3 – Dundee v. Dowagiac
6:45 PM – Div. 2 – Stevensville Lakeshore v. Mason
Quarterfinals – Mat 4
Noon – Div. 4 – Hudson v. Onaway
2:15 PM – Div. 1 – Hartland v. Temperance Bedford
4:30 PM – Div. 3 – Richmond v. Kingsley
6:45 PM – Div. 2 – Warren Woods Tower v. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Saturday – Feb. 29
Semifinals – Mat 1
9:30 AM – Div. 1 – Detroit CC/Dakota winner v. Hartland/Bedford winner
Noon – Div. 2 – Lakeshore/Mason winner v. Gaylord/New Boston winner
Semifinals – Mat 2
9:30 AM – Div. 1 – Brighton/Rockford winner v. Davison/Clarkston winner
Noon – Div. 2 – Lowell/Cros-Lex winner v. WWT/Reeths-Puffer winner
Semifinals – Mat 3
9:30 AM – Div. 4 – Clinton/CC-C winner v. New Lothrop/Lawton winner
Noon – Div. 3 – Dundee/Dowagiac winner v. Montrose/Chippewa Hills winner
Semifinals – Mat 4
9:30 AM – Div. 4 - Hudson/Onaway winner v. Hart/Manchester winner
Noon – Div. 3 – Alma/Fremont winner v. Richmond/Kingsley winner
Finals – Mat 1
3:45 PM – Division 1
Finals – Mat 2
3:45 PM – Division 2
Finals – Mat 3
3:45 PM – Division 3
Finals – Mat 4
3:45 PM – Division 4
Over the remainder of the Winter season, MHSAA.tv will have live final round coverage of the following:
- Individual Wrestling Finals – March 6-7
- Girls Competitive Cheer Finals – March 6-7
- Ice Hockey Semifinals & Finals – March 12-13-14
- L.P. Boys Swimming & Diving Finals – March 14
- Girls Basketball Quarterfinals & Semifinals – March 17, 19-20
- Boys Basketball Quarterfinals & Semifinals – March 24, 26-27
There also will be Girls Competitive Cheer Regionals on Saturday streaming from the following sites: Division 1 – Troy Athens (10 a.m.); Division 2 – Fenton (10 a.m.); Division 3 – Rockford (6 p.m.) and Novi (11 a.m.).
On Monday (March 2), Basketball Tournament coverage begins on MHSAA.tv with more than 30 games from the Girls District Playoffs.
You can always reach a list of upcoming tournament games by Clicking Here.
Fans can purchase a Month Pass to watch on the NFHS Network for $10.99. Subscribers will have access to all live video across the country for 30 days. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live.
Ford Field Trip Gives Students Taste of Football Finals Broadcasting
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
December 7, 2021
Four levels above them, in the press box, a group of prospective broadcasters were touring the facilities. The high school students had spent the Fall sports season streaming games to the NFHS Network and now were learning about a career in broadcasting from Eric Vandefifer, a Montrose High grad currently serving as the radio voice of Saginaw Valley State University basketball and as a contributor to a variety of high school broadcast channels including the MHSAA Network.
Seven years ago, Vandefifer was in a similar situation. He was part of a field trip to Ford Field for the Finals that helped him realize sports broadcasting was a career he wanted to pursue. Those field trips were headed by Tom Skinner and Thom Lengyel, who became mentors to Vandefifer. As a high school junior in 2017, Vandefifer was named Best Student Broadcaster nationally by the NFHS Network.
“With Tom Skinner now deceased and Thom Lengyel retired from the broadcast business, I just felt like I had to continue this and their legacy,” Vandefifer said. “It was important to me to keep it going because when I was in school, it was something I looked forward to.”
Nearly 50 students from Lowell, Montrose, Lake Orion, Mount Pleasant and Ann Arbor Greenhills high schools made the Nov. 26-27 trip to Ford Field. They were able to film highlights, interview players, practice announcing the games, meet other members of the press and more. For Vandefifer, giving back to students who are in the position he once was is very rewarding.
“We had the ability to feel like real media members for a day. I wanted to be able to give other students that same opportunity,” Vandefifer said. “Seeing kids who have a love for sportscasting and that drive to get better gives me real hope for the next generation in this business.”
And after the field trips were done each day, Vandefifer put his headphones on, got behind the microphone and called the two afternoon games for the MHSAA Championship Network.
PHOTOS (Top) Eighth grader Sam Belill, left, and freshman Owen Leitelt from Montrose practice calling a game from the Ford Field press box. (Middle) Mount Pleasant make a stop at the press conference room. (Photos provided by the Montrose and Mount Pleasant School Broadcast Programs.)