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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: 5/31/24
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 31, 2024
1. GIRLS GOLF Ontonagon added to its record championship total with another at the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Finals – MHSAA.com
2. BOYS GOLF Powers North Central claimed its second UPD3 Finals title in three seasons – MHSAA.com
3. GIRLS SOCCER Milford clinched its first District title in this sport with a 1-0 win over Walled Lake Northern in Division 1 – Oakland Press
4. GIRLS SOCCER Battle Creek Calhoun Christian/St. Philip claimed its first District title with a 5-0 win over Jonesville in Division 4 – Battle Creek Enquirer
5. GIRLS SOCCER No. 13 Elk Rapids ran its District title streak to three with a 5-1 win over No. 4 Leland in Division 4 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
6. BOYS GOLF Hillsdale Academy won its Lower Peninsula Division 4 Regional with a 331 as the top three teams finished within five strokes of each other – Hillsdale Daily News
7. GIRLS SOCCER No. 5 Stevensville Lakeshore came back to defeat Vicksburg 2-1 in a Division 2 District Final – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
8. GIRLS SOCCER No. 3 Troy downed No. 12 Troy Athens 4-1 in a Division 1 District Final – Oakland Press
9. GIRLS SOCCER Top-ranked Hudsonville Unity Christian finished a Division 3 District title run with a 7-0 win over No. 10 Grand Rapids West Catholic – FOX 17
10. GIRLS SOCCER No. 2 Richland Gull Lake shut out No. 15 Otsego 1-0 to claim a Division 2 District title – WWMT
Also of note …
BOYS BASKETBALL Clarkston is mourning the death of longtime coach Dan Fife, who retired in 2018 third on the all-time wins list in the sport with 703 – Oakland Press