2018-19 Parade of Champions

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 20, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A total of 105 schools won one or more of the 128 Michigan High School Athletic Association team championships awarded during 2018-19, with two teams earning the first Finals championship in any sport in their schools’ histories.

Ypsilanti Lincoln celebrated its first MHSAA Finals championship by winning the Division 1 boys basketball title in the winter, and Millington claimed its first by earning the Division 3 softball championship this spring.

A total of 19 schools won two or more championships this school year, paced by two schools winning four: Pewamo-Westphalia won in boys basketball, girls basketball, competitive cheer and girls track & field; and Marquette won in boys skiing, girls skiing, girls swimming & diving and girls track & field. Five schools won three MHSAA Finals championships: Bronson, Detroit Country Day, East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and Hudsonville Unity Christian.

Winning two titles in 2018-19 were Chassell, Detroit Catholic Central, Houghton, Ishpeming, Ishpeming Westwood, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep, Lake Orion, Negaunee, Ontonagon, Sault Ste. Marie and West Iron County. Farmington Hills Harrison – in its final school year before closing this summer – also was part of two championships, winning the Division 1 boys bowling title and then as a secondary school in a cooperative program with Farmington and North Farmington that finished first in girls gymnastics.

A total of 28 teams won first MHSAA titles in their respective sports. A total of 53 champions were repeat winners from 2017-18 – and 22 of those won for at least the third straight season, while 12 extended title streaks to at least four consecutive years.

The Rockford girls lacrosse and Marquette boys skiing programs own the longest title streaks at seven seasons, while Lowell wrestling and Flint Kearsley girls bowling both have won six straight championships.

Sixteen of the MHSAA's 28 championship tournaments are unified, involving teams from the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, while separate competition to determine titlists in both Peninsulas is conducted in remaining sports.

Click Here for a sport-by-sport listing of MHSAA champions for 2018-19.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.

MHSAA Sportsmanship Summits to be Presented for First Time Since 2019 

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 28, 2022

The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s annual Sportsmanship Summit series will return this fall to be conducted for the first time since 2019, again focusing on sportsmanship both on and off the field of play.

The MHSAA has conducted Sportsmanship Summits across Michigan for more than 20 years, and this year’s series kicks off Nov. 7 in Marquette and finishes Nov. 16 in Ypsilanti.

MHSAA staff, with assistance from school administrators and the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, conduct Sportsmanship Summits. More than 800 students are expected to take part in the four workshops, where they will discuss the line that separates good from bad sportsmanship, both as athletes during competition and when it comes to cheering at athletic events.

Workshop sessions will feature hands-on activities including one session developed and instructed by members of the Student Advisory Council. At the end of the day the delegation from each participating school will meet to develop a school sportsmanship campaign. Breakouts at each Summit also provide a great opportunity for student sections to learn about appropriate student section behavior. There will be information for the veteran student sections, as well as guides for schools that want to start their own organized student sections for the first time.

“Winning is great, but good sportsmanship helps develop habits that can be used well beyond the playing field,” said MHSAA assistant director Andy Frushour, the lead Sportsmanship Summits presenter. “A lively student section can create a fun and exciting atmosphere at games, but we want to make sure students don’t take this a step too far. The Summits are a great way to learn from other schools around the state.”

Sessions will take place at the following:

• Marquette – Nov. 7 – NMU Northern Center – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Saginaw – Nov. 9 – SVSU Conference Center – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Grand Rapids – Nov. 14 – Sheraton Grand Rapids Airport Hotel – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Ypsilanti – Nov. 16 – Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Registration at each site is limited to the first 225 students and administrators. Schools are welcome to bring as many as 10 total representatives, including two administrators. For additional registration information, contact Andy Frushour at the MHSAA office – [email protected] or (517) 332-5046. Registration information also is available on the MHSAA Website.