Ramping Up for Prepapalooza 2014
May 27, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Over the next five days, thousands of teams representing more than 700 MHSAA high schools will compete for championships at the District, Regional and Finals levels in 11 sports in what annually is the busiest week in Michigan high school sports.
MHSAA.com and Second Half are the places to be for results, coverage and live video from championship events all over both Peninsulas.
Total, 26 Finals champions will be crowned in girls and boys tennis, girls and boys track and field and Upper Peninsula girls and boys golf, with 36 Regional champions rewarded in girls and boys lacrosse and Lower Peninsula boys golf and 320 winners earning trophies in softball, baseball and girls soccer. All tournament rounds combined, more than 8,000 medals will be presented to individual winners or contributors on those team champions.
Game scores as they are reported for baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse will be available on the MHSAA Score Center throughout the week. Full results from golf Regionals also will be posted over the next five days, as will Finals tennis and golf results as we receive them from Lower and Upper Peninsula hosts (Lower Peninsula tennis opening rounds late Friday evening). Track and Field Finals results will be posted Saturday evening.
All MHSAA Finals from both peninsulas will be covered with stories and photos on Second Half by a crew of valuable correspondents from around the state. Second Half will continue its coverage at the Lacrosse and LP Boys Golf Finals on June 14 and the Baseball, Softball and Girls Soccer Finals from June 19-21.
Live championship races from all seven sites of MHSAA Track and Field Finals will be available on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV, beginning with the 3,200-meter relays at 10 a.m. at each site. The rest of the Upper Peninsula races then will continue, with Lower Peninsula championship races beginning again at 1 p.m. Highlights from this week's golf and tennis championship events will debut on MHSAA.TV in July.
PHOTOS: (Top) Runners push toward the finish during the 2013 LP Division 3 Final. (Middle) Members of the Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart tennis team hold up number ones to signify their place at last season's LP Division 4 Final.
Flashback 100: First-Ever WNBA Draft Pick Rocked at Salem, Won Titles at Tennessee
January 17, 2025
Caitlin Clark is the most recent No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, joining an elite group that includes Chamique Holdsclaw, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker — all decorated former top picks.
But the very first No. 1 pick in WNBA history was none other than Salem High School’s Dena Head.
Selected first overall in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft, Head’s career more than lived up to that status.
A standout at Salem, Head led her team to the Class A Semifinals in 1987 before the Rocks fell to eventual champion Detroit Cass Tech. That season, she averaged an impressive 27 points per game, earning Michigan’s Miss Basketball Award from the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. Her 748 total points that year still rank 13th on the state’s all-time single-season scoring list. She remains one of only 33 Michigan high school players to surpass 2,000 career points and one of just 24 to play in more than 100 career games. Over her high school career, she averaged 19.7 points per game.
Head continued her dominance at the collegiate level, winning two national championships at Tennessee under legendary coach Pat Summitt. She was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year in 1989 and later earned the SEC Player of the Year honor in 1992. On the international stage, she helped Team USA secure a gold medal at the 1991 World University Games and a bronze at the 1994 World Championships.
Before making WNBA history, Head spent seven seasons playing professionally overseas in Brazil, France, Spain, Italy, and Hungary. In 1997, she was selected first overall by the Utah Starzz in the inaugural WNBA Draft, playing three seasons in the league. She reached the postseason in 2000 with the Phoenix Mercury.
In recognition of her outstanding career, Head was inducted to the Salem Wall of Champions in 2016 — a fitting honor for a true pioneer of women’s basketball.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Jan. 10: Despite Launching Before 3-Point Line, Smith Still Tops Scoring List - Read
Jan. 3: Edison's Jackson Earns Place Among State's All-Time Elite - Read
Dec. 20: Future Olympian Piper Leads Grosse Pointe North to Historic Heights - Read
Dec. 13: The Other Mr. Forsythe in Michigan School Sports - Read
Dec. 6: Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat - Read
Nov. 29: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
(Photos courtesy of Salem athletic department.)