Rivaling for a Cause
January 25, 2013
It’s impossible to include all the perspective we gain from every “Battle of the Fans” visit.
But this anecdote, although it didn't make Tuesday’s story about our Frankenmuth trip, tells of another great example for what student cheering sections can accomplish.
Frankenmuth and Millington are heated rivals, to say the least, separated by 13 miles and made more competitive by plenty of championship-deciding matchups over the years.
But for their boys basketball game Jan. 10 at Frankenmuth, student section leaders from both schools almost completely on their own set up the game as a cancer awareness night, complete with Frankenmuth students in black shirts and Millington’s wearing pink.
The idea was the brainchild of a of Frankenmuth section leader, who then received help from a local bank and contacted Millington to get the ball rolling.
Battle of the Fans has shown us the obvious – these student sections need strong leaders – but also the special things they can accomplish with additional initiative.
“Never Forgotten”
Two more rivals, Fennville and Saugatuck, met late last month for their second “Never Forgotten” boys and girls basketball games with proceeds going to the Wes Leonard Heart Team for the purchase of AEDs.
Players wore jerseys with names on the backs of friends and family members who had died, and those jerseys were then given to family members after the games. Officials Ace Cover, Chris Dennie and Kyle Bowen also donated their game checks to the Heart Team, as did the winner of that night’s 50-50 raffle.
Leonard died from sudden cardiac arrest after making the game-winning shot in a basketball game March 3, 2011. The two schools played their first “Never Forgotten” games last season.
More support for less specialization
I’m asked once a year at least about sport specialization – that is, athletes focusing on just one sport, often from an early age, and if it pays off some way down the road.
Most of my evidence to support my belief in the well-rounded athlete has been anecdotal, based on conversations with people at the high school and college levels over the years. But a British study published this fall in the Journal of Sport Sciences by University of Birmingham researchers provides some interesting empirical findings.
The study of 1,006 people from the United Kingdom showed that those who participated in three sports at ages 11, 13 and 15 were “significantly more likely to compete at a national rather than club standard” between ages 16-18 than those who had practiced only one sport.
In other words, the study found that those who played more sports at earlier ages played at a higher level during their high school-age years, which seems to contradict the one-sport focus philosophy.
Click for more perspective on the study from Chris Kennedy, the Superintendent of Schools in West Vancouver, British Columbia.
PHOTO: The boys and girls teams for Fennville and Saugatuck pose together after their "Never Forgotten" games Dec. 21 at Fennville High. (Photo courtesy of Al LaShell.)
Preview: Girls Lacrosse Finals' Debut at U-M Just Start of Stories to be Told
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 6, 2024
Both of Friday’s MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals are filled with storylines, starting with their moves to a new day and a new home.
Contested Saturday in the past, the girls championship games will be played at 4 and 7 p.m. Friday and for the first time at University of Michigan Lacrosse Stadium.
Division 1 will lead off and feature two-time reigning champion Brighton against Rockford, the state record-holder with nine MHSAA Finals titles. Division 2 will match up one of the top single-season scorers in MHSAA history in Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Claire Marosi against one of the leaders on the career goals list, Detroit Country Day’s Hadley Keating. She and the reigning champion Yellowjackets will take on an undefeated GRCC team led by a first-year coach who is making his third-straight Finals appearance.
Below is a glance at all four teams playing at U-M. Rankings as part of “best wins” are based on the Michigan Power Rating formula. Tickets cost $11 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online only at GoFan.
Both games will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
BRIGHTON
Record/MPR: 18-5, No. 3
League finish: Second in Kensington Lakes Activities Association West
Coach: Ashton Peters, sixth season (74-28-1)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2023), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 14-10 over No. 9 Bloomfield Hills in Semifinal, 18-6 over No. 6 Novi in Regional Semifinal, 17-6 and 19-11 (Regional Final) over No. 4 Northville, 8-7 over No. 2 Hartland, 9-8 over Division 2 No. 7 East Grand Rapids, 15-8 over Division 2 No. 4 DeWitt.
Players to watch: Gabi Buckenberger, sr. G (7.1 goals-against average, 111 saves). Cecilia Mainhardt, sr. M (41 goals, 15 assists); Ella Toth, jr. A (46 goals, 17 assists); Georgia Gill, sr. A (73 goals, 35 assists).
Outlook: Brighton has won the last two Division 1 championships and will be playing in the title game for the sixth-straight season. There is a load of crunch-time experience, starting with repeat all-state first-team selections Buckenberger and Mainhardt and repeat second-team honoree Toth. Gill also made the second team this season, along with junior defenders Keelin Ehman and Nya Nemecek, with junior attack Sophia Heady (38 goals, 15 assists) making the third team and sophomore defender Abbey Kissel earning honorable mention. The Bulldogs did take a 10-5 loss to Rockford on April 20, with its other defeats to Division 2 finalists Detroit Country Day and Grand Rapids Catholic Central, East Grand Rapids and Illinois power Hinsdale Central.
ROCKFORD
Record/MPR: 13-7, No. 1
League finish: Second in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mark Neumen, third season (40-19)
Championship history: Nine MHSAA titles (most recent 2021).
Best wins: 10-8 over No. 2 Hartland in Semifinal, 10-5 over No. 3 Brighton, 12-8 and 12-10 over Division 2 No. 7 East Grand Rapids, 16-6 over Division 2 No. 10 Grand Rapids Northview.
Players to watch: Naomi Green, jr. D; Aubree Frazier, sr. A (47 goals, 11 assists); Ella Larva, soph. M (40 goals, 6 assists); Madison Pyle, sr. A (47 goals, 16 assists).
Outlook: Rockford is returning to the Final for the first time since its most recent championship season, and actually started this spring 0-2 before winning 13 of its next 14 in-state games. (Four other defeats came to Illinois teams, including one as well to Hinsdale Central.) The Rams avenged their season-opening loss to Spring Lake in the regular-season finale, with the other two in-state defeats to Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Green, Larva and Frazier have been named to the all-state first team, with Pyle making the second team and senior attack Hope Deuel (27 goals, 28 assists) earning honorable mention. Sophomore midfielder Brooke Gordon (21 goals, 12 assists) also has topped 20 goals, and junior goalie Gracelyn Hosford gives up only 9.73 per game.
Division 2
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/MPR: 17-3-1, No. 2
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Liz Nussbaum, first season (17-3-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2023, runner-up 2022 and 2005.
Best wins: 13-6 over No. 5 Farmington Hills Mercy in Semifinal, 21-9 and 22-4 (Regional Final) over No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Marian, 21-7 over No. 7 East Grand Rapids, 10-9 over Division 1 No. 2 Hartland, 19-13 over Division 1 No. 4 Northville, 20-13 over Division 1 No. 3 Brighton.
Players to watch: Olivia Winowich, jr. M (41 goals, 17 assists); Mary Pavlou, jr. A (66 goals, 11 assists); Emma Arico, sr. M (32 goals, 18 assists); Hadley Keating, sr. A (76 goals, 18 assists).
Outlook: Country Day has been nearly as unstoppable as last season, when it lost only once. This time the Yellowjackets suffered two losses to Grand Rapids Catholic Central, another to Indian Hill (Ohio) and tied EGR all during the first month before winning their last 13 matchups. Keating and Arico are repeat all-state first-team selections, and Keating will finish as one of the state’s all-time leading scorers. Junior defender Brooke Winowich, Olivia Winowich, Mary Pavlou and junior attack Georgia Pavlou (32 goals, 35 assists) all made the all-state second team, with senior defender Alessia Sessa selected to the third and senior midfielder Sadie Rifkin (36/6) earning an honorable mention.
GRAND RAPIDS CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/MPR: 22-0, No. 1
League finish: First in O-K Tier 1.
Coach: Joe Curcuru, first season (22-0)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2011.
Best wins: 24-2 over No. 3 Haslett/Williamston in Semifinal, 14-10, 20-10 and 22-11 (Regional Quarterfinal) over No. 7 East Grand Rapids; 18-6 over No. 10 Grand Rapids Northview, 17-7 and 20-8 over No. 2 Detroit Country Day, 17-8 and 20-7 over Division 1 No. 1 Rockford, 14-13 over Division 1 No. 3 Brighton, 15-7 over Division 1 No. 9 Bloomfield Hills.
Players to watch: Cate Marshall, jr. M (66 goals, 37 assists); Brigid Byrne, sr. D; Sarah Rott, sr. A (68 goals, 40 assists); Claire Marosi, sr. M (152 goals, 32 assists).
Outlook: Curcuru came to Grand Rapids Catholic Central after three seasons and two straight Division 1 runner-up finishes with Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern. He’s elevated a Cougars varsity that finished just 7-9 a year ago but has beaten several of the contenders this spring in bringing a perfect record into this weekend. Marosi’s 152 goals are the third-most all-time for one season, and she, Byrne and Rott have made the all-state first team. Marshall and senior defender Emma Picarazzi have been selected to the second, with junior goalie Samaya Dean (6.76 GAA, 188 saves) making the third and sophomore midfielder Lily Engstrom (46 goals, 21 assists) and senior attack Payton Davis (15/32) earning honorable mentions. Junior attack Marin Ziegler (28/26) also adds scoring punch.
PHOTO Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Sarah Rott (11) and Cate Marshall (1) celebrate Marshall’s goal during the first quarter of Wednesday’s Semifinal against Haslett/Williamston. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)