Inglis Finds Next Home at MHSAA
December 4, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The theme chosen by Portage Northern’s student section for its hockey Regional Final in 1989 was “Kings of the Ice,” and as such they wore Burger King crowns as a sign of the royalty their classmates soon would earn.
Just before team captain Cody Inglis accepted the championship trophy, he skated to his friends and was anointed as well as one placed a crown upon his head.
Golden cardboard and all, Inglis received his team’s prize and circled the ice.
Inglis returned home that night eager to discuss the highlights with his dad Bill, a former professional player and one-time coach of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. But there was only one thing Bill had to say – and it’s a principle that’s continued to guide Cody throughout his career in high school athletics.
“I was really looking for his input and congratulations, and he looked at me and said very succinctly, ‘There’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. And you chose the wrong way,’” Inglis remembered this week. “At the time, I couldn’t see it with the perspective of a 17-year-old kid. But now I look back on it as the most valuable life lesson I’ve ever gotten.
“I knew he was proud of me. But the lesson he was trying to impart on me was doing things the right way is much more important than winning.”
Inglis has been doing things the right way for two decades while serving first at Suttons Bay and then Traverse City Central High School. He’ll bring a winning list of achievements and wealth of knowledge when he joins the Michigan High School Athletic Association staff as an assistant director in January.
Inglis, 42, has served as athletic director and assistant principal at Traverse City Central since February 2008, taking over after 11 years as athletic director at Suttons Bay. He also has served as secretary for both the Big North and Northwest Conferences and for 13 years as the northern Lower Peninsula representative of 125 athletic directors for the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
Inglis will serve as the MHSAA’s director of ice hockey, girls and boys cross country, girls and boys golf, and girls and boys bowling. In addition, he will assist in the direction of girls and boys skiing and girls and boys track and field, and be in charge of the junior high and middle school committee. Inglis also will assist with the administration of the MHSAA’s Coaches Advancement Program and provide his expertise as an instructor.
“We had more than 100 candidates, including a half dozen of the finest ADs in America – not just Michigan. They couldn’t be any better,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “Cody’s selection was based in part on his being just a slightly better fit to the job description we had in mind.
“He’s had to do some tough things as an administrator. But he’s got a personality that causes people to rally around him.”
On the move
Inglis’ dad, Bill, spent 50 years in pro hockey, most of his final 20 as general manager of the Kalamazoo K-Wings, and Cody grew up in lockerrooms around future pros like Ron Hextall, Dirk Graham and Marty Turco. When the Toledo Goaldiggers won the IHL’s Turner Cup when Cody was in sixth grade, he got to carry the cup through downtown. The family moved 17 times, and prior to the stop in Kalamazoo, Cody had never lived anywhere longer than 2½ years.
Inglis graduated from Portage Northern High School in 1989 and went on to Hope College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and his teaching certification. He also was the captain of Hope’s 1992 men’s cross country team and captain of the men’s track & field team in both 1992 and 1993, and earned academic All-America honors for cross country.
Given his ties to pro hockey, Inglis might have had an opportunity to follow his dad. But it wasn’t for him. After graduating from Hope, Inglis enrolled at Western Michigan University to study sports management. He went to class for one day and withdrew – his heart just wasn’t into it.
Instead, Inglis hooked up with his Portage Northern cross country coach Bill Fries and found what he did want to do – coach, and in doing so, teach athletics.
The rest is northern Lower Peninsula history.
Inglis hooked on at Suttons Bay as a 23-year physical education teacher and head cross country and track & field coach, and two years later took over the athletic department.
“I was thrown into the fire right away, but I had a desire to be in sports somehow and coaching was a passion of mine,” Inglis said. “It was kinda sink or swim. I realized the craziness and hecticness of it, but it was something I embraced. I was lucky to have the opportunity to do it at Suttons Bay, to grow there and have people who were willing to let me make some mistakes, learn from my mistakes and become a better administrator.”
Inglis has supervised a group of more than 100 coaches while at Traverse City Central, plus a group of more than 20 teachers and staff as part of his assistant principal duties.
He’s managed more than 100 MHSAA Tournaments, including Ski Finals, Football Semifinals and Hockey Quarterfinals, and a variety of lower tournament levels for hockey, wrestling, track and field, cross country, basketball and golf.
His programs have achieved plentiful success under his leadership. Traverse City Central won the Big North Conference all-sport award every year from 2008-12 and earned six MHSAA Finals team championships during his tenure. The varsity programs have produced 34 academic all-state awards over the past three school years – including 14 in 2012-13 – and 62 percent of the student body was involved in athletics last school year.
While at Suttons Bay, Inglis led an athletic program that won the Northwest Conference sportsmanship trophy nine times and earned two MHSAA Finals championships. He also redeveloped athletic boosters programs, oversaw construction projects and was instrumental in the rewriting of athletic policies at both schools.
He was recognized in the spring with the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award, which recognizes those who serve in high school athletics but do not always receive attention for their contributions.
Mentor to follow
Inglis was instrumental in the creation and later served as an assistant coach for the Traverse City Bay Reps ice hockey team, a co-operative headed by Traverse City St. Francis High School that’s now been in existence 15 seasons. He also was named Division 4 Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2002 by the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association after leading his team to a runner-up finish at the MHSAA Finals.
Inglis coached a string of girls cross country teams that made the top 10 at MHSAA Finals five straight seasons, plus 25 all-state athletes in cross country and track and field including three individual MHSAA champions.
He has been a member of seven MHSAA sport committees, including for ice hockey. He’s been a frequent presenter at the MIAAA’s annual conferences, covering topics including fundraising, budgeting, organizing successful tournaments, balancing multiple roles and responsibilities, leadership and technology. He’s also taught MIAAA Leadership Training Courses.
Of little surprise, Inglis has been greatly impacted by growing up following his dad. While mother Jeris was the rock of the family, Bill was Cody’s idol and made a significant impact on the manager Inglis has become.
“My dad was so good at the way he treated people. I just saw how he treated them, whether it was the Zamboni drive or an assistant or secretary, he treated them with so much respect,” Inglis said. “That’s the part I’ve really taken from him, how he treated people and the relationships he made. How you treat people in athletics is so key; they’ll treat you the same way back, I’ve found most of the time.”
Inglis received minor degrees at Hope in business administration and communications, and has completed a number of courses toward a master’s in athletic administration from Ohio University.
He is married to Carrie (Ham) Inglis, an MHSAA Finals cross country individual champion for Big Rapids in 1987. They have three sons.
PHOTO: (Top) Traverse City Central athletic director Cody Inglis converses with a member of his staff Tuesday. (Middle) Inglis shares a laugh with an official before Tuesday's girls basketball games. (Photos courtesy of Rick Sack.)
Scholars & Athletes 2022: Class C & D
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 8, 2022
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has selected 10 student-athletes from Class C and D member schools to receive scholarships through the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 33rd year of sponsoring the award, will give $2,000 college scholarships to 32 individuals who represent their member schools in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament. The first 30 scholarships are awarded proportionately by school classification and the number of student-athletes involved in those classes; also, there are two at-large honorees who can come from any classification.
Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
The 32 scholarship recipients will be recognized March 26 during the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
The Class C Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are: Korah Honig, St. Louis; Jillian Koski, Ishpeming Westwood; Ryann Locke, Springport; Ryan Doty, Clinton; Mert Oral, Ann Arbor Greenhills; and Ty Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford.
The Class D Scholar-Athlete Award recipients are: Megan Bennett, McBain Northern Michigan Christian; Mia Riley, Fowler; Ashton McNabb, Three Oaks River Valley; and Eli Shoup, Mason County Eastern.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class C Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
(NOTE: If an athlete intended to play and was part of a spring sports team in 2020, that sport is counted among the athlete’s total although the season was canceled due to COVID-19.)
Korah Honig, St. Louis
Played four years of varsity volleyball and will participate in her fourth of track & field this spring. Earned all-league and all-region in volleyball and qualified for MHSAA Finals in shot put and discus as a junior. Served as captain of volleyball and track teams and earned academic all-state in the latter. Participating in fourth year of student council and has served as vice president. Also participating in fourth years of school’s marching/concert, pep, jazz and steel drum bands and church praise band and is proficient playing 10 instruments. Served as section leader for drumline and clarinet sections. Also participating in quiz bowl and as sportswriter for school newspaper, and in fourth year of pep club. Will attend Indiana Institute of Technology and study business.
Essay Quote: “The definition of sportsmanship is when a sport is enjoyed for its own sake and a sense of fellowship with one’s competitors. The reason sports exist is because people enjoy playing them, and sportsmanship is what keeps the love of the game alive. Sports are more than winning but also building relationships and good competition.”
Jillian Koski, Ishpeming Westwood
Playing third season of varsity basketball, played fourth of varsity tennis in the fall and will play second of varsity golf and fourth of varsity softball this spring; also swam as a junior and participated in track & field as a freshman. Twice won MHSAA Finals flight championships in tennis and finished runner-up as a senior, and made Finals for swimming as a junior. Helped tennis team to three Finals championships and softball and basketball teams to league titles. Earned all-conference in golf and all-Upper Peninsula in tennis. Served as captain of tennis, softball and golf teams. Carried a 4.0 GPA through high school and is participating in second year of National Honor Society. Participating in fourth year of student council; served as class president the first three years and is serving as council president as a senior. Participating in third year of Business Professionals of America, also having served as president of that group, and earned national awards. Will attend Michigan State University and study business management.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship ideals keep the sports community thriving. … Through my experience, I have learned that sportsmanship is not simply being considerate to the opposing team. Each team must show compassion within themselves in order to be successful.”
Ryann Locke, Springport
Playing fourth season of varsity basketball, played two of varsity volleyball and ran two of cross country, and will compete in fourth varsity seasons of soccer and track & field this spring. Qualified for MHSAA Finals in track and earned all-state honorable mention in soccer, and earned all-area in basketball and was named league’s Most Valuable Player. Earned academic all-state in all five varsity sports. Served as captain of soccer and basketball teams. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and fourth on student council. Has participated in 4-H and Future Farmers of America throughout high school, earning a number of 4-H grand champion awards and FFA state recognition. Also participating in school’s Sources of Strength and Senior Strong organizations. Will attend Trine University and pursue pre-medical studies.
Essay Quote: “I cherish every moment when I get the chance to compete. I try to compete with a level of integrity that others can respect and acclaim. … It is a special feeling to walk off the court filled with pride, holding your head high, feeling triumphant. But sometimes you lose, you have to look opponents and coaches in the eye and shake their hand, tell them good job, embrace the fact that they were better than you in that moment.”
Ryan Doty, Clinton
Ran second varsity season of cross country in the fall and will participate in fourth of track & field this spring; also played varsity soccer as a freshman. Ran on two Finals-qualifying cross country teams and earned all-conference and all-region in track. Served as captain of cross country and track teams. Participating in fourth year of student government and has served as vice president, and participating in third years of National Honor Society and Hispanic Honors Society, having served in leadership positions in both. Participating in fourth year of International Club and has served as co-president. Formed Images and Ancestors, LLC, and created family tree with more than 4,000 members. Participated throughout high school in USDA botanical research. Served as team coordinator and competed at National TRAC Bridge Competition. Contributed to Clinton Mascot Rebranding Committee and served on school’s Student Engagement Committee promoting diversity and inclusion. Participated in mission trip to Romania. Has not decided where he will attend college, but intends to study genetics.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship is more than a buzzword, it is a lifestyle: a way of life that seeks self-improvement through the advancement of others. In order to have a successful team and athletic association, members must race not only for themselves, but also for those around them.”
Mert Oral, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Played four seasons of varsity tennis, becoming one of nine in MHSAA history to win three Finals championships at No. 1 singles, and helped Greenhills to two team titles. Earned Mr. Tennis Award after senior season and all-state for the fourth time, and also won 2018 USTA Midwest Closed Championships and reached finals of 2019 USTA Level 2 national tournament. Served as Greenhills tennis team captain as junior and senior. Participating in fourth season of Model United Nations and has served twice on executive board. Contributing for fourth year to school’s Peer to Peer math tutoring program and has served as club leader. Participated in two years of DECA, winning a state championship and qualifying for international competition. Served one year as class officer. Will attend University of Michigan and study biomedical engineering.
Essay Quote: “From day one our coaches preached to us that no matter if we win or lose, we should always do it with class, and we should strive our hardest to be ambassadors for the game, to demonstrate what tennis, and all high school sports for that matter, is about: sportsmanship. I began seeing competition and matches not as something to “win or lose,” but rather as opportunities to represent myself, my teammates, and my coaches to the best of my ability.”
Ty Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Played two seasons of varsity football and will participate in fourth of track & field this spring; also played varsity basketball as a junior. Qualified for MHSAA Finals in track and helped football team to Regional title; contributed in multiple sports despite significant medical challenges including three open-heart surgeries by age 3. Earned academic all-state in football and all-league scholar-athlete awards in all three sports. Served as team captain of football and track teams. Carries 4.0 GPA and is participating in second year of National Honor Society. Serving as student council treasurer and senior class president. Participating in first year of choral ensemble and previously participated in Future Farmers of America during the first two years of high school. Served as team leader during mission trip and has contributed to Goodfellow Food Pantry throughout high school, organizing a holiday food drive that collected more than 3,500 items. Will attend Hillsdale College and study English and applied mathematics.
Essay Quote: “In September 2021, my doctors notified my parents and me, for the first time, that I had one kidney. The experience struck a chord with me, instilling a thankfulness for everyday experiences I had not previously shown. Before that day, I had recognized the brevity of life but never the importance of life experiences.”
Other Class C girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Haley Anne Newland, Bad Axe; Karly Smith, Beal City; Isabel Contreras-Spencer, Grass Lake; Gillian Kuehnle, Hartford; Gabrielle Carey, Iron Mountain; Jordan Fox, Lake City; Isabel Henige, New Lothrop; Trinity Kolka, Sanford Meridian; and Anna McPherson, Saranac.
Other Class C boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Dylan David Reisig, Bridgman; Cole Garrison Stone, Carson City-Crystal; Samuel Peterson, Charlevoix; Jack Davis, Holland Black River; Isaac Backman, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep; Jack Hollebeek, Grandville Calvin Christian; Joshua M. Fairbanks, Roscommon; Jonah Cerone, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic; and Alex Tanner, Whitmore Lake.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class D Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
(NOTE: If an athlete intended to play and was part of a spring sports team in 2020, that sport is counted among the athlete’s total although the season was canceled due to COVID-19.)
Megan Bennett, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
Playing third season of varsity basketball, played four of varsity volleyball and will play fifth of varsity soccer this spring (after also playing as an eighth grader, allowed at schools with fewer than 100 students). Helped all three teams to District championships. Earned all-state recognition in soccer and basketball and all-league in volleyball, and earned academic all-state in all three sports. Served multiple seasons as team captain in basketball and volleyball. Serving fourth year on student council including second as part of executive committee. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and third of theater and choir. Participating in fourth years of Christ Committee and Chapel Team, and has served as president of both. Volunteers in church, school and community efforts. Is undecided where she will attend college, but intends to study criminal justice.
Essay Quote: “(Sportsmanship) is going out of one's way to help, congratulate, or simply acknowledge another player no matter the mindset one is in; it is the helping hand when a player falls down; it is the words of encouragement when another player is struggling. Sportsmanship is the way that others watching see Christ through an athlete's actions.”
Mia Riley, Fowler
Playing fourth season of varsity basketball and played four of varsity volleyball. Named all-state in basketball for second time as a junior in leading team to Division 4 Finals championship. Also earned all-state honors two seasons in volleyball. Served as captain of both teams. Carries 4.0 GPA and has been dually enrolled for three years at Lansing Community College; made LCC’s President’s list. Participating in third year of National Honor Society and has served as chapter vice president, and participating in first year on student council. Participating in fourth year of Business Professionals of America, serving as club president and having qualified for national competition. Has volunteered with church throughout high school. Will attend Ferris State University and study biology and pre-optometry.
Essay Quote: “Entitlement, foul play, ‘trash talk’, and plenty other unsportsmanlike conduct is prominent in sports. These are all things that I do not want my character to reflect when I participate in educational athletics. Instead, I strive to act … with nothing but respect, understanding, and kindness towards others in sports. It is unselfish, sportsmanlike acts … that help us to refocus our purpose for participating in sports in the first place: to compete with our teammates and have fun.”
Ashton McNabb, Three Oaks River Valley
Playing third season of varsity basketball and will play fourth season of varsity baseball in the spring; also ran three seasons of varsity cross country. Helped basketball and baseball teams to league championships and baseball to multiple District titles. Carries 4.4 GPA and will be named valedictorian. Earned all-league and academic all-state in baseball, and served as team captain of baseball and basketball teams. Participating in fourth year of National Honor Society and was first freshman inducted in school history. Serving second year on MHSAA Student Advisory Council and previously served two years as class vice president. Contributing to school’s Peer 2 Peer program, and has participated in church youth group throughout high school and as a volunteer with Urban Hope the last two years. Is undecided where he will attend college, but intends to study engineering.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship is such an understated topic; never do you go home and have dinner and talk about how ‘sportsmanship’ was at practice. … The crazier thing to me is that we have a standard for sportsmanship … without consistently defining it! We assume athletes naturally understand the necessity for sportsmanship on and off the court, and I think part of the problem is the lack of dialogue on the topic.”
Eli Shoup, Mason County Eastern
Playing third year of varsity basketball and will compete in fourth years of varsity baseball and track & field this spring; also ran four years of varsity cross country. Qualified for MHSAA Finals in cross country all four years and earned all-conference in basketball and track and all-district recognition in baseball. Helped cross country team to Regional title and baseball team to District championship. Earned academic all-state in cross country. Served as captain of cross country and track teams. Carries 4.0 GPA and will be named valedictorian, and earned 25 college credits with dual enrollment at West Shore Community College. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and first of varsity club, and has served as vice president of latter. Participating in school marching band and earned first chair for saxophone. Participated in 4-H throughout high school and received county fair reserve grand champion award. Is undecided where he will attend college, but intends to study mechanical engineering.
Essay Quote: “Many teams, including other ones I’ve been on, are very competitive. Newcomers don’t always feel welcome. Everyone is your friend until you supersede them, and then they are cold and resolved against you. Our cross country team wasn’t like that. We built each other up and congratulated each other on personal successes.”
Other Class D girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Ashton Hord, Felch North Dickinson; Tara Townsend, Frankfort; Alaina Roush, Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian; Anna Roberts, Hillsdale Academy; Meredith VanDerWeide, Hillsdale Academy; and Skylar Wiesen, Leland.
Other Class D boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Cole Robinson, Bellaire; Jack Matrella, Bessemer; Brayden M. Steenwyk, Ellsworth; Jacob Rademacher, Fowler; Jonas P. Lanser, McBain Northern Michigan Christian; and Samuel Paga, Petoskey St. Michael Academy.
The Class B scholarship award recipients will be announced Feb. 15, and the Class A honorees will be announced Feb. 22.
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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.