Today in the MHSAA: 2/5/18
February 5, 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. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 9 Stevensville Lakeshore finished ahead of No. 6 Niles and Division 1 No. 10 Battle Creek Lakeview to complete a Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title with a league tournament win – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
2. Hockey: After falling to Indiana power Culver Academy on Friday, Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central came back to down Ohio power Cleveland St. Ignatius 6-1 at the MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase – Observer & Eccentric
3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 10 Detroit Catholic Central got past No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice to win the Oakland County championship – Oakland Press
4. Boys Basketball: Foster Loyer scored 31 points in a 75-29 win over Bloomfield Hills to go over 2,000 for his career – Detroit Free Press
5. Girls Basketball: Morenci clinched a share of its first league title since 2004 with a 79-54 win over Ottawa Lake Whiteford in the Tri-County Conference – Adrian Daily Telegram
6. Cheer: Division 2 No. 2 Gibraltar Carlson claimed the overall title just ahead of host and No. 5 Southgate Anderson at the Southgate Invitational; No. 9 Dearborn Divine Child was third – Southgate News Herald
7. Boys Basketball: Ryan Arndt went over 1,000 career points for Bark River-Harris in its 85-45 win over Felch North Dickinson – Iron Mountain Daily News
8. Wrestling: Gladwin finished second at the Jack Pine Conference tournament to Beaverton, but by doing so clinched its first league title in the sport in more than a decade – Midland Daily News
9. Girls Basketball: Pittsford ran its winning streak to 70 with a 49-32 win over Athens, which entered the week also undefeated – Hillsdale Daily News
10. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 9 Hudsonville followed up a perfect regular-season run by winning the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red league tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Also of note …
Wrestling: Division 2 top-ranked Lowell celebrated nine individual champions on the way to winning the O-K White league tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Wrestling: Temperance Bedford and Tecumseh clinched Southeastern Conference division championships, with Bedford winning the overall league title – Adrian Daily Telegram
Wrestling: Edwardsburg finished off a second straight Wolverine Conference championship – Niles Daily Star
Wrestling: Coldwater followed a perfect dual run through the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference with a league tournament win – Coldwater Daily Reporter
Wrestling: Division 4 No. 8 Springport also followed a perfect dual run through the Big 8 Conference with a league tournament win – Coldwater Daily Reporter
Wrestling: Byron Center edged Holland with all 14 of its wrestlers placing to win the O-K Green league tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Wrestling: Belding placed 13 wrestlers to win big at the O-K Silver tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Basketball: St. Clair edged Warren Woods Tower 58-55 to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Gold championship – Port Huron Times Herald
Wrestling: Gladstone saw eight champions crowned in winning the Mid-Peninsula Conference team championship – Escanaba Daily Press
Wrestling: Brownstown Woodhaven won the Downriver League meet to share the overall league title with Southgate Anderson for the second straight season – Southgate News Herald
Wrestling: Division 3 No. 2 Richmond and Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central added league tournament championships as well – Macomb Daily
Wrestling: Division 4 No. 3 Mendon, Comstock, Schoolcraft and Colon were among others that clinched wrestling league tournament titles – JoeInsider.com
Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 5 Warren DeLaSalle won its sixth straight Macomb County championship – Macomb Daily
Girls Basketball: Charlevoix scored the final 13 points over 1:13 to beat Traverse City St. Francis 50-48 to create a first-place tie between the two in the Lake Michigan Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle
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.)