Today in the MHSAA: 2/21/18
February 21, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Today's Top 10
1. Girls Basketball: Reigning Class C champion Detroit Edison edged Saginaw Heritage 57-55 in double overtime, handing the Class A Hawks their first defeat this season – Saginaw News
2. Girls Basketball: Kingsley capped a perfect regular season and outright Northwest Conference title with a 70-66 win over second-place Maple City Glen Lake – Traverse City Record-Eagle
3. Boys Basketball: Muskegon secured its fifth straight league title in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black with a 67-46 win over Jenison – Local Sports Journal
4. Boys Basketball: Kalamazoo Christian downed Delton Kellogg 59-21 to clinch a share of the Southwestern Athletic Conference West title – FOX17
5. Girls Basketball: Hamilton downed Zeeland West 53-15 to secure the outright O-K Green title – Holland Sentinel
6. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western clinched the Lakes Valley Conference title with a 59-19 win over White Lake Lakeland – Oakland Press
7. Girls Basketball: Muskegon finished its outright O-K Black title with a 59-45 win over Jenison – Muskegon Chronicle
8. Girls Basketball: Lauren Turner became the first player in Sterling Heights Parkway Christian basketball history, girls or boys, to score 1,000 career points when she reached the milestone in a win over Warren Michigan Collegiate – Macomb Daily
9. Boys Basketball: Grant downed Fremont and Reed City defeated Big Rapids to keep the night’s losing teams tied for first place in the Central State Activities Association Gold – Muskegon Chronicle
10. Boys Basketball: Calumet downed Iron River West Iron County 58-46 to climb into a first-place tie with the Wykons in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
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.)