Track Regional Preview.

Written Thursday May 18th at 10:45 PM

All meets with the exception of the North Farmington Regional is on Friday May 19th.

 (Saturday May 20th) Regional 6.1 @ North Farmington

FARMINGTON

HARRISON

NORTH FARMINGTON

BERKLEY

OAK PARK

SOUTHFIELD ARTS AND TECH

ROYAL OAK

WEST BLOOMFIELD

GROVES

SEAHOLM

Birmingham Brother Rice

Detroit Renaissance

Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit

Farmington Hills Mercy

Livonia Stevenson

Redford Thurston

BOYS PICK: When you look at a favorite heading into this meet, you got to look at Oak Park. The Knights won the Gold meet handily and could very well do well in this regional. West Bloomfield will score some points along with Southfield Arts and Tech. Royal Oak should do well in the distance events but end of the day this meet will be with Oak Park. PICK: OAK PARK.

GIRLS PICK: Oak Park is the three-time defending State Champs for a reason and they have athletes. It will be interesting because Seaholm and Royal Oak should battle it out in the distance events. The Knights will be looking to be on a mission and they should have no problem winning this regional but closer than the experts think. PICK: OAK PARK.

Region 8.1 @ Macomb Dakota

TROY

TROY ATHENS

Chippewa Valley

Anchor Bay

Macomb Dakota

L’Anse Creuse

Macomb L’Anse Creuse North

Sterling Heights

Sterling Heights Stevenson

Utica

Warren Mott

Port Huron

Port Huron Northern

BOYS PICK: This will be an interesting regional with Troy and Macomb Dakota being the two top teams in this regional. I expect Anchor Bay to score in distance events but this meet will come down to the Colts and Cougars, I’ll be shocked if someone comes out of nowhere and shocks everyone. Here I like the hosts. PICK: MACOMB DAKOTA.

GIRLS PICK: Just like the Boys this regional will come down to the Colts and Cougars. Macomb Dakota and Troy are deep and will score a ton of points in this meet. I said Macomb Dakota would win this regional in the Guys while in the Girls I’m going the other way around with Troy winning this regional. PICK: TROY.

Region 9.1 @ Orion

ORION

OXFORD

CLARKSTON

BLOOMFIELD HILLS

PONTIAC

ROCHESTER

ADAMS

STONEY CREEK

Utica Eisenhower

Romeo

Orchard Lake St. Marys

Brandon

Holly

Waterford Kettering

Waterford Mott

BOYS PICK: This is an interesting regional considering it is one of the toughest in the State. Grand Blanc and Romeo are the early favorites with their sprinting prowess, also the Bulldogs won the regional last season but keep an eye on Orion, Oxford, Adams, and Stoney Creek. Orchard Lake St. Marys will score in bunches as well. This will be a really close meet but I think Grand Blanc has a little bit too much for the field. PICK: GRAND BLANC.

GIRLS PICK: When I look at this regional, this is interesting. Orion, Clarkston, Bloomfield Hills, and Utica Eisenhower will score a ton of points. Waterford Mott will be a player in the distance events. Stoney Creek is a dark horse to watch. I can see this meet also going down to the wire but the Dragons have been red hot lately, hey why not this run will continue. PICK: ORION.

Region 15.2 @ South Lyon East

AVONDALE

FERNDALE

HAZEL PARK

Birmingham Detroit Country Day

South Lyon East

Cranbrook-Kingswood

Birmingham Marian

Clawson

Detroit Communication of Media Arts

Detroit Mumford

Detroit Old Redford

Livonia Claranceville

Madison Heights Lamphere

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep

Southfield Bradford

Redford Union

BOYS PICK: This regional will be interesting but when I see whom will win this one, it’s pretty clear. Detroit Mumford and Birmingham Detroit Country Day will be challenges to this team but this team has too much in the field events and sprinting events and that’s Avondale. PICK: AVONDALE.

GIRLS PICK: This one is interesting when you look at this regional at South Lyon East. Detroit Mumford will be a challenge along with Birmingham Detroit Country Day and South Lyon East is a wildcard. I think this will be an upset, I can see the Cougars winning this one. PICK: SOUTH LYON EAST.

MHSAA will not go to Flex Seeding Next School Year.

Written Friday May 12th at 3:30 PM

Well the reseeding debate surrounding the Girls and Boys Basketball Districts will have to wait at least another school year.

The MHSAA Representative Council according to the Basketball Coaches Association website voted down the flex seeding and equal division proposal earlier this month meaning that the league will still use the draw from a hat instead of coaches deciding what the district matchups will be for the 2017-2018 School Year.

The Basketball Coaches Association hopes the league will approve the district proposal for the 2018-2019 School Year.

It will be interesting what will happen come in June when the Volleyball and Basketball districts would be released but for the School Year in 2017-2018 the draws will be based out of a hat instead of the coaches deciding how the matchups would be.

Thoughts.

It will be interesting what the MHSAA does when they released the Volleyball and Basketball district matchups in June. I thought personally the league would go this route to flex the seedings and make the district tournament matchups very interesting but instead the league decided to not go with what the regular season records or what the other coaches say should be the matchups and instead left the fate on the pick of the draw.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest developments on this story.

Grand Blanc will join the Saginaw Valley League in 2018.

Written Wednesday May 10th at 11:20 AM

The Grand Blanc Bobcats will have a new conference to join and it’s not the OAA.

The Bobcats were accepted to join the Saginaw Valley League starting in 2018 according to the D-Zone and ESPN 100.9 FM that serves Mid-Michigan. Grand Blanc would be joining their rivals from Genesee County including Davison, Flint Powers Catholic, and Flint Carman Ainsworth.

The Grand Blanc Board of Education will vote on accepting the invitation to join the league on May 22nd. A move in which is expected to be approved.

Grand Blanc was voted out of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association last month because of travel. The league decided that Grand Blanc was too far north (It would had taken 27 minutes from Hartland, 26 miles. The Eagles would had been the closest rival in the league) and the league went further south. 

The Bobcats left the then Big Nine to join the KLAA in 2009 in a surprising move.

The Saginaw Valley League has schools in major cities throughout Mid-Michigan including from Mount Pleasant, Midland (Midland, Midland Dow), Bay City (Bay City Central, Bay City Western, Bay City John Glenn), Saginaw (Saginaw Heritage, Saginaw, Saginaw Arthur Hill), Flint (Merged Southwestern and Northwestern, Flint Powers, Flint Carman-Ainsworth), Davison, and Lapeer.

Thoughts.

This move made plenty of sense for Grand Blanc. They were a perfect fit for this league and they have their arch rivals in Genesee County with them. It reunites them with Davison, Flint Carman-Ainsworth, and Flint Powers from the Big Nine. Also, they will start new rivalries especially with Lapeer.

A lot of people questioned Grand Blanc's enrollment to join the Saginaw Valley as they do have an enrollment of 2260 kids in the school. The next highest is Lapeer with 1837 students and then Davison with 1695 students. Flint Powers Catholic will be the smallest school in the Saginaw Valley with 660 students. Flint Southwestern would had been the smallest enrolled school in the Saginaw Valley with 650 students but they are merging with Flint Northwestern to become Flint.

It would had been really hard for Grand Blanc if they joined the OAA because the southern schools like Farmington, Berkley, Royal Oak, and Ferndale would have to travel an hour and a half just to get to Grand Blanc. Grand Blanc’s closest rival if they would had joined would have been Clarkston but Oxford and Orion aren’t too far behind based on miles. Also enrollment would had been an issue as they are one of the biggest schools in the State.

It would had been the same thing with Lapeer because the southern Oakland County schools would have a difficult time traveling to a place like Lapeer. Lapeer’s closest rival if they joined the OAA would had been Oxford although they have had games against Rochester and Orion, among others.

The Saginaw Valley League is on the way up with schools with different enrollments in the league and in different cities. It also brings competitive balance along with the league and for Grand Blanc, it brings stability. I can only imagine how the league would look in 2018 with some powerhouse schools coming within Mid-Michigan.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this developing story.

MHSAA Releases New Locations for Wrestling and Girls Basketball State Finals.

Written Wednesday May 10th at 11:00 AM

The Girls Basketball State semifinals and finals will have a new home along with Wrestling.

Girls Basketball State semifinals and finals will move from the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State to the Van Norrad Arena in Grand Rapids. The Van Norrad Arena is the home of Calvin College.

The Individual Wrestling finals will be held at Ford Field in Detroit while the Team Wrestling finals will be at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, the home of the Michigan Kalamazoo Wings.

The moves to different locations were approved by the MHSAA Representative council. The moves were necessary to accommodate the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament if Michigan State were to host any games of the tournament.

The Palace of Auburn Hills was closing their doors which forced a move to Ford Field.

Thoughts.

I’ve been in Wings Stadium, it’s a beautiful place in Kalamazoo. I always loved seeing the Michigan Kalamazoo Wings when they were the Dallas Stars International Hockey League affiliate.

Ford Field made sense to host the individual wrestling finals.

I’m curious about the Girls Basketball State semifinals and finals being located in Grand Rapids at Calvin College. Well I’ve haven’t been there but I’ve been to Grand Rapids. I thought the Van Andel Arena, home of the Grand Rapids Griffins would have been a better fit to handle the tournament but the MHSAA believed that the Van Norrad Arena was a good location for the MHSAA to handle the tournament.

It will be interesting to see what happens and also if an OAA school gets to either Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, or Ford Field.

We’ll see what happens.

Hilbers Out at West Bloomfield.

Written Tuesday May 9th at 8:10 PM

West Bloomfield is now looking for a new Girls Basketball Coach.

Zach Hilbers has stepped down from coaching the Lakers Girls Basketball program. He spent six seasons coaching the program taking it over for coach Steve Larkin.

Hilbers also coaches track along with football as an assistant under coach Ronald Bellamy.

West Bloomfield had a tough season in 2016-2017, finishing at 6-15 losing to Farmington Hills Mercy 49-22 in the district semifinal. What didn’t help things was that Hilbers’s team lost center Jamila Elam as she transferred to Birmingham Detroit Country Day in the middle of the season.

Hilbers concludes his six seasons with a 28-49 record. He has coached some great players to come out of the program in Rachel Harnish, Sydney Davis, and Jordan Elam.

West Bloomfield will be very young next season in the White but they will have Mya Bobo, Ellie Soverinsky, and Destiny Monroe returning along with a solid Junior Varsity program.

Thoughts.

I was shocked when I heard Hilbers had stepped down from coaching Girls Basketball but he still will coach football with the Lakers as an assistant and he is a track coach with West Bloomfield.

When I look at West Bloomfield as a program, they don't really need a rebuild but there is talent over at Laker land. If I had to pick the next head coach at West Bloomfield, it’s an easy one for me, in Bert Mosley.

Mosley coached the Junior Varsity team under Hilbers and he has had great teams come out of West Bloomfield. He is a passionate guy whom is committed to getting the Lakers to where they need to be.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest developments on this story.

Track and Field League Meet Preview.

Written Tuesday May 9th at 12:05 PM

Here are some of my insight on the league meets for Track and Field this week so enjoy. The Red meet is on Wednesday, the Gold and Blue meets are on Thursday, and the White meet is on Friday.

Blue @ Farmington

Seaholm

Groves

West Bloomfield

Farmington

Harrison

North Farmington

Boys Insight: This will be an interesting meet because there are four solid teams in Farmington, West Bloomfield, Groves, and Seaholm. Groves and Farmington will be huge in the sprints, Seaholm is expected to do some damage in the field events and distance. There is the West Bloomfield factor, the Lakers are athletic and talented and can-do damage in the sprints and relays. Also, Harrison and North Farmington will score some points as well.

Girls Insight: Seaholm looks to be the favorite but keep an eye on West Bloomfield, they could be the toughest challenger to the Maples. Groves looks to be the Darkhorse along with the hosts Farmington. Harrison and North Farmington could score some points as well in this meet.

Prediction: I like Seaholm in the Girls because of their long and mid distance. In the boys, I like West Bloomfield in a tight race with Farmington, Groves, and Seaholm.

Gold @ Oak Park

Oak Park

Ferndale

Royal Oak

Hazel Park

Southfield Arts and Tech

Berkley

Boys Insight: When looking at this meet, Oak Park is the face of this division. Southfield Arts and Tech will give Oak Park some trouble. Royal Oak is a Darkhorse candidate. I don’t expect much from Ferndale, Berkley, or Hazel Park.

Girls Insight: Oak Park is the face of this meet, they are very talented. Royal Oak is solid in the hurdles and Southfield Arts and Tech in the field events. I don’t expect much from Hazel Park, Ferndale, or Berkley here.

Prediction: No one is touching Oak Park here in both Boys and Girls.

White @ Bloomfield Hills

Bloomfield Hills

Troy

Athens

Stoney Creek

Pontiac

Avondale

Boys Insight: There a lot of teams are solid in different areas. Bloomfield Hills is very solid this season but watch out for Stoney Creek they will challenge Bloomfield Hills. Avondale is your Darkhorse team along with Troy Athens. Troy is very improved as well so watch out for them as well.

Girls Insight: Troy and Bloomfield Hills are the best teams in this league. The Colts strength are the distances while the Blackhawks are very athletic and have depth everywhere. This has the makings of a close meet between those two teams. Stoney Creek is your Darkhorse.

Prediction: Girls it will be the hosts Bloomfield Hills, too much depth everywhere else. In Boys I like Bloomfield Hills like the girls, it will be a repeat performance in that area.

Red @ Oxford

Oxford

Orion

Clarkston

Adams

Rochester

Boys Insight: Orion has won the league title in the regular season but Adams will be the team that challenges the Dragons. Oxford is a huge threat in the field events and is expected to do some damage there. Clarkston is deep and Rochester is an interesting team to keep an eye on as well.

Girls Insight: Orion looks really good to take the crown outright but oddly enough it’s not Clarkston that they have to worry about sharing the crown with, it’s Adams. Adams beat Clarkston in the regular season but lost to Orion. Clarkston could do damage to both Adams and Orion.

Prediction: Orion has clinched at least a share of the league title but expect Adams to make a push here in the boys, they could very well win the meet. In the Girls, I’m not sure how Clarkston is going to play this but the Dragons match them depth for depth and I think they will be the ones that win it outright.

MHSAA Rules Two Clawson Players that transfered Ineligible due to Athletic Reasons.

Written Thursday May 4th at 11:30 AM
Updated Thursday May 4th at 6:00 PM

Well it’s a start but it doesn’t fix the problem.

According to State Champs, Tom Markowski, the MHSAA handed down a ruling that two students whom transferred from Clawson to Waterford Mott in March were deemed athletically ineligible for one school year.

The MHSAA decided that the transfers was athletically motivated.

The move means that the two players have to sit out the entire school year (180 Days) meaning that they wouldn’t be able to play sports for one school year at Waterford Mott. It’s to my understanding that both players play football and basketball.

The one year ban will begin in August in which both players will be Juniors next season.

According to Markowski, Clawson administrators filed a complaint with the MHSAA surrounding the transfers of these student athletes. Waterford Mott then send a rebuttal but Clawson responded to the rebuttal believing the students were transferring to Waterford Mott because of athletic reasons.

The league believed Clawson and informed Waterford Mott about their decision to keep the two players sidelined.

Waterford Mott officials were not punished like what happened last season surrounding their football team when they were caught having an illegal gathering and undue influence with student athletes to play at Waterford Mott.

The MHSAA found no evidence of influence surrounding these two student athletes.

Markowski in his blog wrote something really interesting but true. "If the players original school whom they are transferring out of doesn’t speak up and send their case to the MHSAA, then the league can’t do anything about it."

Maybe this is a wake-up call to everyone involved???

I wonder if this decision will get other schools to follow suit what Clawson did???

It's possible.

I know this subject is up for debate but you see schools like Detroit Cass Tech, Detroit Martin Luther King, Walled Lake Western, West Bloomfield, Waterford Mott, Macomb Dakota, Southfield Arts and Tech, among others have brought in transfers in the past. Some of these schools still continue it to do it to this day. The reason why students want to leave their original school is mainly because of these three issues that students and even parents have. The first issue is playing time for the student, they want to play. The second issue is that the student doesn't like the system that the coach has put in. The third issue, and I think this is the main issue why students want to transfer out and that's because the student feels that they have a better opportunity going somewhere else with their parents blessing and at getting looked at for a College Scholarship.

Many of these student athletes have taken advantage of the third issue by using the academic card to hide the belief that the transfer out of the original school is athletically motivated because of the belief that the student would go to a powerhouse school, become a star, and get that College Scholarship along the way.

Sometimes it doesn't work that way.

I’ve said this so many times in my podcast, OAA Now. I don’t have a problem if a student’s family moves in district, they can play right away because they are in district. What I do have a problem with is for example if a kid is from a suburban school in Oakland County and they wanted to transfer to Detroit to play for the likes Detroit Cass Tech and/or Detroit Martin Luther King and they still live in that Oakland County suburb then if the student wants to transfer then they must sit out for 180 days.

I also think that this rule should apply to those who are leaving from a public school for a Catholic League School but that’s for another day and another time.

The MHSAA got this one right, maybe this could be a wake-up call to everyone involved to think twice about transferring out and if they want to transfer out, then they know what the consequences are.

Here is the article written by Tom Markowski here.

http://www.statechampsnetwork.com/index.cfm/news-blog/in-play-with-tom-markowski/two-students-transfer-out-of-clawson-to-waterford-mott-ruled-ineligible-for-entire-junior-year/