Today in the MHSAA: 5/7/18
May 7, 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.
1. Track & Field: Salem’s boys – No 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – and Lake Orion’s girls won New Balance Invitational titles at Farmington – Observer & Eccentric
2. Girls Tennis: Whitehall broke LPD4 No. 8 North Muskegon’s five-year championship streak by claiming the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association title – Local Sports Journal
3. Girls Tennis: Battle Creek Lakeview claimed five of eight flight championships to earn its 12th straight overall All-City title – Battle Creek Enquirer
4. Track & Field: Houghton swept Ontonagon Invitational titles, Clayton Sayen winning the rare trio of the 100, 400 and 3,200 with a school record in the 100 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
5. Baseball: Division 1 No. 2 Bay City Western defeated Beal City and then No. 7 Grand Ledge to win its home invitational – Midland Daily News
6. Baseball: Muskegon Oakridge defeated reigning champion and Division 4 No. 4 Muskegon Catholic Central in the final to win the GMAA Division 2 baseball title – Local Sports Journal
7. Baseball: Battle Creek Lakeview reclaimed the All-City title in this sport as well with a championship game win over Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer
8. Track & Field: Port Huron Northern’s girls (LPD1 No. 5) and Grosse Pointe South’s boys won Sterling Heights Invitational titles – Macomb Daily
9. Prep Golf: Suttons Bay shot a 303 to win the invitational at Treetops in Gaylord; its B team took second – Traverse City Record-Eagle
10. Track & Field: Grand Haven swept Division 1 titles and Zeeland West swept Division 2 at the Holland West Ottawa Relays; West’s boys are No. 1 in LPD2, and its girls are ranked No. 2 – Grand Haven Tribune | Holland Sentinel
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.)