Linked Up: 11/22/11
December 20, 2011
Thanksgiving week means a short one for most -- and more time for family, shopping, relaxation, watching the MHSAA Football Finals and hopefully a little additional reading.
Here are some suggestions from the last week and as we get ready to leave the fall and jump into the winter sports season.
Remember, if you find something high school sports-related that you think others would find useful or inspiring, send me a link at [email protected] and I'll check it out.
Okemos girl's cancer battle inspires Spartans (Lansing State Journal)\
We believe high school sports are about community. While not high school-related, this is a story about community and its power to do great things. Joe Rexrode tells us about 11-year-old Paige Duren and her battle against brain cancer – with the support of her community including big assists from the Michigan State football and basketball teams. She’s a two-sport athlete herself – playing soccer and basketball – and an inspiration to those who’ve come to know her. Rexrode makes it easy to understand why.
Sister act: Shaw, Halberg share much in common, despite more than 2,000 miles between them (Petoskey News)
That the Grunch sisters are excellent volleyball coaches isn’t a coincidence, Charlevoix people surely would say. But it’s a neat one that Liz (Grunch) Shaw and Christine (Grunch) Halberg both led their teams to their best finishes since 1989 (Halberg) or ever (Shaw). Shaw coaches their alma mater, while Halberg coaches 2,300 miles away in Washington. Steve Foley fills us in on how this worked out.
Avenall the right choice to lead Clarkston into volleyball history (NorthOaklandSports.com)
Clarkston coach Kelly Avenal was part of some great teams as a player, but until this past weekend Clarkston had never reached an MHSAA Finals weekend. Dan Stickradt tells us how she’s taken the program to the elite level while also giving a brief history lesson on how it got rolling toward that trip to Battle Creek.
Natural fit: Superior Dome was easy choice for 8-man final according to MHSAA (Marquette Mining Journal)
A few of us spent Friday night at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome, and count me among those who will look forward to making a return trip. Here’s some of the story behind the MHSAA’s selection of the Superior Dome as home of the inaugural 8-Player Football Final, as well as Semifinals most years.
Lowell's Noel Dean to Receive 2011 Power of Influence Award (AFCA.com)
The Red Arrows are headed back to Ford Field on Friday for the Division 2 Final, but Dean also will be scheduling a January trip to San Antonio, Texas, to receive this prestigious award from the American Football Coaches Association and American Football Coaches Foundation. Dean started his head coaching career at Bendle in 1991 before heading to Lowell in 1996. He's led teams to three MHSAA championships, and also the fundraising of $425,000 for cancer support through the "Pink Arrow Project."
Today in the MHSAA: 2/27/23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 27, 2023
1. WRESTLING Lowell ran its Finals championship streak to 10, Dundee earned its sixth-straight title, Hudson repeated as well and Detroit Catholic Central finished first for the first time since 2020 at the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals – MHSAA.com
2. BOYS BASKETBALL Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice claimed its first Detroit Catholic League tournament championship since 1990 with a 68-63 win over Detroit U-D Jesuit – Detroit Free Press
3. BOYS BASKETBALL Hamilton delivered its first league title since 1988, claiming the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue with a buzzer-beating win over Coopersville – WZZM
4. COMPETITIVE CHEER Allen Park moved back ahead of Gibraltar Carlson to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Southgate News-Herald
5. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Northville claimed the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
6. COMPETITIVE CHEER Pontiac Notre Dame Prep was first and Richmond second at their Division 3 Regional – Macomb Daily
7. BOWLING The North Farmington boys and Lake Orion girls won Division 1 Regional titles, North Farmington after a just-miss a year ago – Oakland Press
8. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Midland Dow ran its Saginaw Valley League championship streak to four – Midland Daily News
9. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Battle Creek Lakeview claimed its third-straight Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship – Battle Creek Enquirer
10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Alix Bleau’s buzzer beater gave Big Bay de Noc a 48-45 win over Kinross Maplewood Baptist and the Northern Lights Conference championship; Maplewood clinched the boys title against Hannahville – Escanaba Daily Press
Also of note …
HOCKEY Alpena tied a program record for wins and advanced to a Division 2 Regional Final with a 5-0 shutout of Traverse City Central – Alpena News
GIRLS BASKETBALL Petoskey finished a repeat run in the Big North Conference with a 58-47 win over Traverse City Central – Petoskey News-Review
BOYS BASKETBALL Cadillac and Traverse City Central shared the Big North Conference title, and Boyne City and Traverse City St. Francis are co-champions in the Lake Michigan Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle
GIRLS BASKETBALL Ithaca earned a share of the Tri-Valley Conference 10-2 title with a win over Saginaw Nouvel – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
BOYS BASKETBALL Durand downed Chesaning 67-56 to create a three-way championship with those two and Ovid-Elsie in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference – Owosso Argus-Press
BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Ludington swam to the Coastal Conference championship – Ludington Daily News
GIRLS BASKETBALL Brethren finished an outright West Michigan D League title run with a 41-40 win over Manistee Catholic Central – Ludington Daily News
BOYS BASKETBALL Gavin Pebble went over 1,000 career points in Gaylord St. Mary’s win over Johannesburg-Lewiston – Petoskey News-Review
BOYS BASKETBALL Kaden Hansel broke a 34-year-old single-game scoring record for Indian River Inland Lakes in a win over Central Lake – Cheboygan Daily Tribune