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Linked Up: 11/22/11
November 22, 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.
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.
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](/sites/default/files/2021-03/Today%20In%20The%20MHSAA_8.png)
Today in the MHSAA: 10/30/23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 30, 2023
1. CROSS COUNTRY The No. 11 Bay City Western boys and No. 5 Okemos girls won Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional titles at Shepherd, Western its first since 1997 – Bay City Times | Lansing State Journal
2. CROSS COUNTRY The No. 4 Buckley girls and No. 4 Mason County Eastern boys won LPD4 Regionals at Buckley, the Bears reaching the Finals for the first time in 23 years and potentially as first-time Regional winners – Cadillac News
3. BOYS SOCCER Warren De La Salle Collegiate scored both of its goals during the first half in downing Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 2-1 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Macomb Daily
4. CROSS COUNTRY Buchanan swept LPD3 Regional championships in Portage; White Pigeon’s girls advanced for the first time – Niles Daily Star | Sturgis Journal
5. CROSS COUNTRY Brighton swept LPD1 Regional championships, the No. 3 girls winning for the third-straight season and the top-ranked boys with just 33 points – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
6. CROSS COUNTRY The No. 3 Goodrich girls and No. 6 Alma boys won LPD2 Regional titles at Shepherd – Flint Journal | Athletic.net
7. CROSS COUNTRY The No. 5 Jonesville boys won their first Regional title since 2002, finishing first in LPD3 at Jackson where Jackson Lumen Christi’s top-ranked girls also were victorious – Hillsdale Daily News | Athletic.net
8. CROSS COUNTRY The No. 2 Pinckney boys won their LPD2 Regional with 24 points, while Linden’s No. 14-ranked girls edged Dearborn Divine Child by eight in their race – Livingston Daily Press & Argus | Athletic.net
9. CROSS COUNTRY Hillsdale Academy swept LPD4 Regional championships in Jackson; Hillsdale Academy’s girls are ranked No. 8, and the boys are No. 3 – Hillsdale Daily News
10. CROSS COUNTRY The No. 4 Holland West Ottawa girls and No. 3 Grand Haven boys won LPD1 Regionals at Allendale, West Ottawa’s girls by just three points ahead of No. 6 Grand Haven – Holland Sentinel | Grand Haven Tribune