Today in the MHSAA: 1/22/19
January 22, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The weekend was filled with county and league championship competition and highly-anticipated invitationals – plus scroll to the bottom of today’s list for a number of basketball achievements, including an MHSAA record setter.
1. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 1 Dundee finished half a point ahead of Division 2 No. 8 St. Johns to win the Hudson Super 16 Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram
2. Girls Basketball: Detroit Edison downed Pewamo-Westphalia 54-39 in a rematch from last season's Class C Semifinals – The Bleacher Denizen
3. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 2 Brighton took first at the 41-team Maumee Bay Classic, six points ahead of Ohio power Elyria – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
4. Bowling: Lapeer’s girls finished ahead of Flint Kearsley to win the Flint Metro Invitational, but Kearsley’s Imari Blond rolled a 300 and a 749 series – Flint Journal
5. Boys Swimming & Diving: East Grand Rapids, No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, finished first and LPD1 honorable mention Grand Haven second at the EGR Invitational – Grand Haven Tribune
6. Wrestling: Division 3 No. 3 Whitehall won its 13th straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship – Muskegon Chronicle
7. Bowling: The undefeated Traverse City West girls clinched their ninth straight Great Northern High School Bowling Conference championship with a win over previously undefeated Cadillac – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. Boys Swimming & Diving: Midland Dow, No. 4 in LPD2, won its 17th straight Tri-Cities Championship, finishing ahead of runner-up and LPD2 honorable mention Saginaw Heritage – Midland Daily News
9. Bowling: Utica Ford’s boys and St. Clair Shores Lake Shore’s girls won Macomb County championships – Macomb Daily
10. Bowling: South Lyon’s girls and Farmington-Harrison’s boys won Oakland County titles – Oakland Press
Also of note …
Boys Basketball: From Thursday, Romeo Weems scored 30 points against Grosse Pointe South to break the New Haven record of 1,840 career points set by Eli Sims in 1971 – Port Huron Times-Herald
Girls Basketball: Elie Smith scored her 1,000th career point Friday in Fowlerville’s win over St. Johns – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Boys Basketball: Coldwater’s Gage McGuire set his school’s scoring record Friday, breaking the previous mark of 1,179 set by Rick Gates – Coldwater Daily Reporter
Girls Basketball: Posen’s Brooke Ciarkowski also went over 1,000 career points Friday, in a win over Hillman – MI Sports Now
Girls Basketball: Kent City made 25 3-pointers in an 89-33 win over Holton to break the MHSAA single-game record for long-distance shots – Local Sports Journal
Girls Basketball: The Monroe News caught up with 98-year-old Marie Kinne to talk about her high school basketball career at Petersburg High School during the late 1930s – Monroe News
Holland West Ottawa Athletics Complex Recognized with National Award
December 12, 2023
Holland West Ottawa Public Schools’ new athletics complex, with architectural firm GMB, has been recognized as the top multi-field facility nationally by the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), the national organization for builders and suppliers of materials for athletic facilities.
West Ottawa’s new stadium consists of two turf playing fields. The west field was designed deliberately without a surrounding track to bring the stands and field closer together with a central tunnel beneath the grandstands for the home team to enter onto the field. The same synthetic turf, light posts, and state-of-the-art audio/video systems are utilized on both fields for an equitable experience for all users.
Multiple ground-level entry points with access to the fields, barrier-free locker rooms and multiple seating options with elevator access also create accessibility for spectators, players, coaches, and support staff.
“This facility allows our students the opportunity to play in one of the premier complexes in the state of Michigan,” said Jeff Malloch, assistant superintendent of business services at West Ottawa Public Schools. “We have seen continued interest in lacrosse, football, and soccer, and this complex will be utilized by our community youth from elementary age to high school student-athletes.”
Adding elevated fan experiences, such as a concourse level between the upper and lower sections of the home stands, bigger bleachers, and updated concession stands and restrooms establish a venue for multiple sports and attract the entire community to utilize the facility.
“This is a one-of-a-kind facility for West Michigan, and it’s been wonderful to see student-athletes from across the state enjoy the complex’s unique amenities,” said Nate Bosch, a landscape architect with GMB. “The collaboration needed to make this project come to life was an inspiring process to be a part of, and we are so pleased to celebrate this accomplishment with West Ottawa.”
This is the first time a GMB project has been awarded a multi-field facility of the year honor by the ASBA. GMB also has received four Project of the Year honors in the outdoor tennis category and 20 distinguished awards from ASBA for other athletic facility projects over the past 12 years.
(Photos by M-Buck Studio.)