Chrisinske, Inglis Receive Bush Awards

June 5, 2013

Two athletic administrators respected as mentors and role models in their respective regions and throughout the state – Dave Chrisinske of Middleville Thornapple Kellogg and Cody Inglis of Traverse City Central – have been named the recipients of the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Allen W. Bush Award for 2013.

Al Bush served as executive director of the MHSAA for 10 years. The award honors individuals for past and continuing service to prep athletics as a coach, administrator, official, trainer, doctor or member of the media. The award was developed to bring recognition to men and women who are giving and serving without a lot of attention. This is the 22nd year of the award, with the selections being made by the MHSAA's Representative Council.

Chrisinske has served as an athletic director the last 21 years and for 36 years total in public and community education. He came to Thornapple Kellogg in fall 2011 after 32 years with Allendale Public Schools, where he taught and coached before serving 19 years as athletic director and also as assistant principal and community education director. He has coached football, basketball, baseball and volleyball at school or youth levels, and also is a registered MHSAA volleyball official.

The 1972 graduate of Stockbridge High School also worked for Coopersville Community Education for two years after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in group social studies from Grand Valley State University in 1977. He earned a master’s in educational leadership from Grand Valley State in 1992 and became a Certified Athletic Administrator in 1997.

Chrisinske continues to lend his time and expertise to a number of committees and community efforts; he has served as a region representative for the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association for a decade, on various MHSAA committees including the baseball and wrestling sport committees and the scholarship classification committee, and on three successful school bond committees that led to new buildings and outdoor athletic facilities at Allendale. He also was a district representative for the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association for 10 years and has served on recreation committees for both Allendale and Thornapple Townships.

Chrisinske was recognized as the MIAAA Region IV Athletic Director of the year in 2004, and as Athletic Director of the Year by the West Michigan Officials Association in 2006 and West Michigan Umpires Association in 2011.

“Dave Chrisinske has become a go-to person in his league and community, always willing to share his knowledge and enthusiasm for high school athletics and serving student athletes,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. “His dedication shines through as well in his efforts with the MIAAA and as a frequent host of MHSAA tournaments. We are pleased to honor Dave Chrisinske with the Bush Award.”

Inglis also has served as an athletic director at two high schools, dating back to 1997. He spent 11 years at Suttons Bay, first as a teacher and also as assistant principal and middle school principal. He has spent the last five years as athletic director and assistant principal at Traverse City Central High School. Inglis is a 1989 graduate of Portage Northern High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from Hope College and master’s from Ohio University.

He coached boys and girls cross country and track and field at Suttons Bay from 1995-2008, leading his teams to numerous conference championships and the girls cross country team to a runner-up finish at the 2002 Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. He was named Cross Country Coach of the Year after that season by the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association, and the MITCA Track Coach of the Year the following spring. He also served as an assistant coach for eight seasons for the Traverse City St. Francis-led cooperative hockey program.

Inglis has been a member of the MIAAA since 1997, became a Certified Athletic Administrator in 1999, and has served as an MIAAA region representative since 2001. He too is a regular host of MHSAA tournaments in a number of sports and has served as a member of the track and field, hockey, skiing and cross country sport committees and the site and officials selection committees. He was named MIAAA Region 2 Athletic Director of the Year in 2003. Inglis was league treasurer and secretary for the Northwest Conference from 1997-2008 and has served as Big North Conference secretary since 2009.

He’s also active in a number of community programs, including Boy Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Special Olympics, the Suttons Bay Township Recreation Committee, the Suttons Bay Art Festival and with his church.

“Cody Inglis is named time and again by his fellow athletic administrators as someone of integrity and character,” Roberts said. “He’s passed on these and various lessons to his coaches and athletes, but also as a regular speaker at the MIAAA’s annual conference. His impact continues to affect those he works with regularly in the Traverse City area, but also others across our state. He is a deserving recipient of the Bush Award.”

MHSAA Member Schools Continue Rebound in Sports Participation with 2022-23 Climb

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

July 14, 2023

Participation in Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored sports increased for the second-straight school year in 2022-23, continuing its recovery from a COVID-related decline and despite another decrease in school enrollment among the MHSAA’s 750 member high schools.

A total of 268,071 participants were counted across the 28 sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments – a 2.7-percent increase from 2021-22 as participation has grown a combined 9.9 percent from a drastic downturn in 2020-21 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022-23 increase of 2.7 percent also came as enrollment at MHSAA member schools fell 3.2 percent from the previous year. More specifically, boys participation rose 3.4 percent to 156,501 participants, despite a 2.9-percent decrease in boys enrollment. Girls participation rose 1.7 percent to 111,570 participants despite a 3.4-percent enrollment dip. MHSAA participation totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.

A total of 18 sports saw increases in participation in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22, with wrestling the largest gainer by 15.7 percent to 10,477 athletes – a rise in part attributable to a 41-percent increase in girls participation to 874 wrestlers which coincided with the second year of the MHSAA sponsoring a girls-only division at its Individual Finals. This year’s wrestling total was the sport’s highest since 2012-13.

Boys bowling enjoyed the next largest increase at 8.1 percent to 4,417 participants. Five more sports saw increases in participation by at least five percent over the previous school year – girls track & field (5.6 percent to 16,470 participants), boys lacrosse (5.6 percent to 5,038), girls lacrosse (5.3 percent to 3,215), girls bowling (5.3 percent to 2,826) and football (5.2 percent to 34,997).

Also enjoying increases in participation during the 2022-23 school year were boys track & field (up 4.9 percent from 2021-22), girls competitive cheer (3.5 percent), boys basketball (3.2), girls tennis (2.9), girls volleyball (2.5), girls skiing (2.0), girls basketball (1.4), boys golf (1.3), boys soccer (0.9), baseball (0.8) and girls soccer (0.3). Of the eight sports that did see declines in 2022-23, four experienced decreases in participation that were lower than the 3.2-percent decrease in enrollment at MHSAA member schools – boys ice hockey (-1.4 percent), boys cross country and boys tennis (both -0.9 percent) and softball (-0.7).

Football, with a combined 34,997 participants over the 11 and 8-player formats, remained the most-played sport during the 2022-23 school year in posting its highest total of athletes since 2018-19. Boys track & field (23,211) and boys basketball (20,663) were next for total participants, followed by girls volleyball (19,270) – which remained the most popular girls sport – and then baseball (16,663) and girls track & field (16,470).

For the second-straight year, girls skiing (854 athletes) posted its highest participation total since 1998-99. Boys golf (6,916) joined wrestling in posting its highest total since 2012-13, and girls volleyball enjoyed its highest participation since 2017-18. Boys track & field, girls track & field and baseball all posted their highest participation totals since 2018-19.

The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for compiling of its national participation survey. Results of Michigan surveys from the 2000-01 school year to present may be viewed on the MHSAA Website – www.mhsaa.com – by clicking on Schools > Administrators > Sports Participation Listing.

The following chart shows participation figures for the 2022-23 school year from MHSAA member schools for sports in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament:

 

BOYS

 

GIRLS

 

Sport

Schools (A)

Participants

Schools (A)

Participants (B)

Baseball

662/21

16,629

-

-/34

Basketball

730/1

20,662

721

13,788/1

Bowling

422/14

4,393

415

2,826/24

Competitive Cheer

-

-

352

5,942

Cross Country

671/3

7,981

668

6,859/7

Football - 11 player

526/108

32,280

-

-/128

                  8-player

127/13

2,575

-

-/14

Golf

547/57

6,809

384

3,708/107

Gymnastics

-

-

106

562

Ice Hockey

322/14

3,113

-

-/16

Lacrosse

183/15

5,015

127

3,215/23

Skiing

125/2

923

124

854/3

Soccer

480/15

13,221

485

11,863/58

Softball

-

-

645

11,722

Swimming & Diving

278/24

4,108

287

4,931/65

Tennis

303/17

5,981

335

8,169/34

Track & Field

694/2

23,208

692

16,470/3

Volleyball

-

-

718

19,270

Wrestling

497/288

9,603

 

/874

(A) The first number is the number of schools reporting sponsorship on the Sports Participation Survey, including primary and secondary schools in cooperative programs as of May 15, 2023. The second number indicates the number of schools that had girls playing on teams consisting primarily of boys.

(B) The second number indicates the number of additional girls playing on teams consisting primarily of boys and entered in boys competition.

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 1.3 million spectators each year.