Today In The MHSAA: 3/22/21
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 22, 2021
The first of four consecutive jam-packed high school sports weekends to finish the winter saw postseason and regular season championships as most basketball teams played their final games before playoffs and the rest of remaining MHSAA sports advanced through another round of their tournaments – with the state’s top female wrestlers celebrating statewide championships Sunday as well.
1. Wrestling: Bullock Creek’s Sydney Kutzke reached 100 career wins Saturday at her Division 3 Individual District, then won her weight at the Michigan Wrestling Association state finals Sunday – Midland Daily News
2. Hockey: No. 5 Novi downed No. 4 Livonia Stevenson 2-1 in a Division 2 Regional Final – State Champs Sports Network
3. Hockey: Top-ranked Calumet downed No. 6 Houghton 3-1 to claim a Division 3 Regional title – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
4. Boys Basketball: Detroit Martin Luther King defeated Detroit Pershing 56-48 to claim the Detroit Public School League Tournament title – Detroit News
5. Bowling: Tecumseh swept girls and boys team and individual Division 2 Regional championships – Adrian Daily Telegram
6. Girls Basketball: Bloomingdale clinched its first Southwest 10 Conference championship in this sport, downing Centreville 59-38 – Sturgis Journal
7. Boys Basketball: Grand Ledge downed Holt 75-65 to clinch the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue title, its first league title since 2003 – Lansing State Journal
8. Girls Basketball: Haslett clinched the CAAC Red title with a 46-32 win over Williamston – WILX
9. Boys Basketball: Eaton Rapids won a title-clinching matchup of first-place teams in the CAAC White, defeating former co-leader Lansing Catholic 62-48 – WILX
10. Competitive Cheer: Reigning Division 2 champion Allen Park claimed its fourth-straight District title – Southgate News-Herald
Also of note …
Boys Basketball: Detroit U-D Jesuit edged Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 64-62 to claim the Detroit Catholic League Tournament title – Detroit News
Girls Basketball: East Lansing downed Grand Ledge 79-43 to finish a perfect run through the CAAC Blue – Lansing State Journal
Boys Basketball: Ubly clinched its first league title since 2011 with a 35-33 win over Harbor Beach in the Greater Thumb Conference East – Huron Daily Tribune
Boys Basketball: Charlevoix clinched the Lake Michigan Conference outright championship with a 49-45 win over Elk Rapids – Petoskey News-Review
Boys Basketball: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart finished an outright title run in the Mid-State Activities Conference with a 63-26 win over Coleman – Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Girls/Boys Basketball: The Big Bay de Noc girls and Kinross Maplewood Baptist boys clinched Northern Lights League championships – Escanaba Daily Press
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.)