Photos: Top Shooters & Award Winners
March 26, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Girls & Boys Basketball Finals the last two weekends showed off many of the best teams and players who took the courts across Michigan this winter.
The championships also provided an opportunity to celebrate a few more accomplishments with the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan “Top Shooters Challenge” contests and MHSAA recognition for leaders past, present and future.
Below are photos from a number of events that took place during quarter breaks and halftimes at Van Noord Arena this past weekend and the Breslin Center two weeks ago.
Top Shooters: This season’s BCAM top shooters contests again recognized the sharpest from the free-throw line and 3-point arc. This past weekend at Calvin College, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Madi Stevenson won the 3-point contest with Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Sarah Stuart runner-up, while Saline’s Ella Stemmer won the free throw contest and Manton’s Abby Brown was second.
At Breslin, Mio’s Drew Hess won the 3-point challenge with Kent City’s Eli Carlson second. Zeeland East’s Clayton Dykhouse and Owosso’s Carson Bornefeld tied for the free throw championship.
(See photo above, clockwise from left: Girls free throw finalists, boys free throw finalists, girls 3-point finalists and boys 3-point finalists.)
30th Scholar-Athlete Awards: Farm Bureau and the MHSAA presented 31 honorees with Scholar-Athlete Awards during Boys Finals weekend (one honoree was unable to attend). This year’s selections were honored at a banquet and then on the floor during halftime of the Division 3 Final.
Miss Basketball & Mr. Basketball: Detroit Edison’s Rickea Jackson was recognized on-court as the Miss Basketball Award winner during Saturday’s Division 3 game before leading the Pioneers that evening to their third straight MHSAA title. Mr. Basketball Award honoree Romeo Weems accepted the trophy at Breslin as this year’s top senior on the boys side.
WISL & Forsythe Awards: Adrian Madison athletic director Kris Isom was honored Saturday as this year’s recipient of the MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Award. The week prior, retired Negaunee and Brimley superintendent Jim Derocher and retired Buchanan, Benton Harbor, Comstock and St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic athletic director Fred Smith accepted Charles E. Forsythe Awards. All three were presented by Grand Haven Area Public Schools assistant superintendent Scott Grimes, who serves as president of the MHSAA’s Representative Council.
Battle of the Fans: Representatives from all three finalists from this year’s BOTF VIII – champion North Muskegon with Saginaw Heritage and Buchanan – took to the Breslin floor during the Division 2 Semifinals to receive their banners.
Council Approves Winter Schedule Update
December 23, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association today approved an adjusted regular-season calendar for indoor Winter sports, which under current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) orders may restart their seasons Saturday, Jan. 16.
All Winter sports activity had been paused by MDHHS on Nov. 18 to decrease spread of COVID-19. Girls and boys alpine skiing, with all activity taking place outdoors, was allowed by MDHHS to resume its season Monday (Dec. 21) and remains underway. If the MDHHS pause ends, indoor practices may begin again Jan. 16, with first competitions Jan. 22 for basketball, bowling, ice hockey and swimming & diving; and Jan. 25 for competitive cheer, gymnastics and wrestling.
The Council also approved one-year changes to competition limits in ice hockey and wrestling. In hockey, teams may play two games on one non-school day on two dates this season – with four games total during those two weeks when this opportunity is utilized. Wrestling teams are allowed two dates of competition per week this season, with competition limited to four teams at a site (and three matches per student per day of competition).
The Council also approved changes to the Winter tournament schedule pushing championships in most sports back to allow for regular seasons to be extended due to the late start. Following are the updated dates:
Boys and Girls Basketball
Girls Districts - March 8, 10 and 12; Boys Districts - March 9, 11 and 13
Girls Regionals - March 16 and 18; Boys Regionals - March 17 and 19
Girls QF, Semifinals and Finals - March 22 (QF), March 24 (Semifinals- 2 Sites) and March 26 (Finals)
Boys QF, Semifinals and Finals - March 23 (QF), March 25 (Semifinals- 2 Sites) and March 27 (Finals)
Bowling
Regionals - March 19-20
Finals - March 26-27
Competitive Cheer
Districts - March 5-6
Regionals - March 13
Finals - March 19-20
Gymnastics
Regionals - March 20
Finals - March 26-27
Ice Hockey
Regionals - March 15-20
Finals - March 25-27
Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving
Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Swim & Dive Finals - Feb. 27
Lower Peninsula Boys Dive Regionals - March 18
Lower Peninsula Boys Finals - March 26-27
Wrestling
District Week - March 1
Regional Week - March 8
Team Finals - March 19-20
Individual Finals - March 26-27
Currently, the start dates of Spring sports are not affected. If current orders further delay activity beyond Jan. 16, the MHSAA staff and Representative Council will devise updated plans that address both Winter and Spring sports. If current orders are amended to allow activity to begin earlier, the first days of practice and competition will be moved up accordingly.
“The Council has been working to give schools as much local flexibility as possible while putting together their winter seasons schedules,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “This flexible planning has been required of us all since June, and we will continue to advocate for kids in all seasons with our continued goal of three seasons played to completion.”