From the Desk of the Athletic Director: Winter 2012 Season Wrap Up
Our winter sport season is complete! Hard to believe!
Our Figure Skate Team (in its’ inaugural year as a varsity sport at Cranbrook) advanced to the State Championships after a stellar performance in District competition. Our “A” Team took first place and our “B” Team finished with a strong second place in Districts. At the State Competition in Traverse City during spring break, the “A” Team swept the junior/senior freestyle and brought home the State Championship Trophy! Individually, Madeline Koehler finished as State runner up (with her double lutz jump, spiral sequence and spin combination), while her sister Meghan finished third. At the State meet our “B” Team also finished eleventh overall.
The Alpine Ski Team brought home lots of hardware (medals and trophies) in the post season! Our Girls team ended the season as the Lake Orion Invitational Champions, Divisional Champions and brought home the Regional Championship Trophy! Our Boys team finished 2nd in Divisionals and also brought home the Regional Championship Trophy! This is the first time that both teams have advanced to the State Championships representing CK as MHSAA Regional Champions!
At the State Championships held at Boyne Highlands, the competition was fierce. Our Boys team showed their tenacity and represented the southern half of the State in form finishing as State Runner Ups silver medalists. Our Girls team also ended a great season with a Sixth place finish at the State Championships!
Individually senior captains Hannah Strauss and Jack Briggs were Divisional Champions in The Giant Slalom. Jack and senior captain Claire Giampetroni placed as Divisional runners up in the slalom event. Sophomore Julia Briggs was the Regional Champ in the Giant Slalom. Hannah and Claire also finished top ten in the GS event. Claire, Julia and Hannah also finished in the top ten in Slalom. Jack Briggs also brought home the gold for the boys team in the Giant Slalom event. Senior Captain Charles Ghesquiere, Aric Homovec, Collin Ghesquiere and freshman Greg Aikens also finished in the top ten in GS. Charles and Collin also finished in the top ten in Slalom. Julia, Claire, Hannah, Sarah Jane Post, Jack, Charles, Collin, Aric and Greg all made the All-Region Team. Coach Bruce Rosengren was chosen by the regional and State DII coaches as the Boys and Girls Coach of the Year!
At the State Championships Jack Briggs was the runner up by less than a half second in the Giant Slalom Event earning him First Team All-State. Aric Homovec finished 11th earning him Second Team All-State and Charles Ghesquiere finished 16th earning him 3rd Team All-State. In the Slalom event, Charles Ghesquiere placed 5th to make him 1st Team All-State. Briggs finished 8th and Colin Ghesquiere took 12th earning both boys 2nd Team All-State in Slalom. Hannah Strauss medaled at States in the Giant Slalom event finishing 5th earning her 2nd Team All-State. Claire Giampetroni finished 12th in the Slalom event which earned her a spot on the All-State 2nd Team. Freshman Greg Aikens and Julia Briggs were also honored on the Honorable Mention all-State Teams. Both our girls and boys teams were recognized for their excellence in the classroom on the Academic All-State Teams.
The Boys Swim and Dive Team qualified for the State Championships with 40 State qualifying times and the highest number of individual qualifiers in school history. Drew Branigan, Mitch Buccalo, Peerasorn Chantdansuwan, Alessandro Gutilla, Alex Hogan, Matthew Liu, Danny Misra, Frankie Misra, Isaac Mooney, Ben Schneider, Nate Tattrie, Jon and Stefan Withrow, and Webster Burton advanced to States.
At the State Swim Meet held at Oakland University, Cranbrook finished 5th overall. Senior captain Alex Hogan won the State Championship in the 200 Backstroke. Matthew Liu was runner up in both the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke by an incredible 100th of a second. Ben Schneider took 7th in the State in the 500 Freestyle. Senior Jon Withrow finished 10th in the 100 Backstroke. In the 200 Freestyle, freshman Alessandro Gutilla also finished 11th with Schneider taking 14th. Hogan also placed 11th in the 200 IM with freshman Mitch Buccalo finishing a close 12th. Dan Misra had a six second improvement in the 500 freestyle to place 9th and Gutilla placed 11th.
The Relays were also successful in the 200 Medley (4th… team of Hogan, Liu, Jon and Stefan Withrow) and the 400 Freestyle relay team of Hogan, Liu, Schneider and Gutilla took 6th place. The 200 Freestyle relay team of Tattrie, Frank Misra, Stefan Withrow and Schneider also finished 14th. All top eight finishers earned All-State honors for their performances.
Our Boys Hockey Team had another very successful season finishing 17-8-1 in the (third in the MIHL and Catholic League). Seniors Cameron Heath and Goalie Aaron Alkema along with sophomore Christopher Brown were honored on the All-State 1st Team. Seniors (Captain) Blake Manginell and Alex Alger earned 2nd Team All-State and senior Captain Ethan Weiss made Honorable Mention all-State. Catholic league honors were also awarded to captain Cameron Heath (All Catholic), Aaron Alkema (All League), and senior goalie Justin Kirk (All Academic). Cranbrook hosted the MHSAA Pre-Regional Tournament in Wallace Ice Arena. In Pre-Regional play, the Cranes took care of business in the first round with a win over Avondale High School but were upset in the Regional Championship game when a persistent Marysville Team scored an overtime goal to end the Cranbrook season.
The Girls Hockey Team maintained a high State ranking throughout the season and finished with a record of 19-5-2. The girls ended the season with a heart breaking loss in the first round of the playoffs. Seniors Amanda Schimpke and Goalie Colleen Jacoby earned 1st Team All-State honors. Senior captain Sydney Sakwa and Alexandra Higbee were recognized All-State 2nd Team. Sakwa also earned All-Catholic honors. Schimpke was also recognized on the All- League Team and senior Tory Hotchkiss earned All-Academic Recognition.
Our Girls Basketball Team Finished fourth in their Catholic League East Division with a winning record of 14 wins and 9 losses. Junior Tierra Binder was selected on the All Catholic Team. Senior Madi Heimerdinger earned All-Academic for her work on the court and in the classroom. In MHSAA District play, the team advanced to the District Finals after defeating Lamphere and Centerline High Schools but were knocked out of the playoffs by a highly ranked Country Day team.
The Boys Basketball Team finished the season tied for third in the Catholic League AA Division and advanced to the second round of the District playoffs after a great comeback win against Hazel Park in the first round. The team finished with a winning 12-10 record. Senior Captain Sterling Morrow earned a spot on the First Team Associated Press All-State Class B Team (first in school history) and was chosen to the second Team All Oakland County and
All Catholic Teams while junior Jason Miller was recognized on the All-League Team. Junior Alex David earned All-Academic honors.
Our baseball program hosted a Hot Stove event that featured CK alum Chris Ilitch (President and CEO of Ilitch holdings), alum Dan Dickerson (Radio voice of the Tigers) and Dave Dombrowski (President, CEO and GM of the Detroit Tigers). It was an intimate evening in Cranbrook Assembly Hall where our presenters spoke and took questions from the audience on the state of professional baseball and the Tigers organization.
In following the tradition of the Outdoor Classic to benefit Detroit’s Clark Park and the Operation Homefront game to benefit families with spouses serving overseas, the Boys hockey program hosted the third annual Benefit Game (Faceoff for Hunger) to support Gleaners Food Bank. The game featured two of the State’s top teams in Cranbrook and Brother Rice. There was a 70s theme that dated back to when the two schools first competed against each other in hockey. Both schools competed in raising donations and canned goods for the cause. All proceeds for the evening went to support Gleaners contribution to feeding those in need here in the Detroit area. Together, the two schools donated over $10,000 and canned goods to Gleaners!!
CK Girls Volleyball Coach Kathleen O’Connor was selected as one of the 39 greatest female athletes in Catholic High School League (CHSL) history! She was honored at this year’s Catholic League Girls Basketball Championship February 19th at U of D Mercy’s Calihan Hall.
The Athletic Department hosted a presentation on Concussions at the Girls Middle School March 14 for Cranbrook families. Our keynote speaker, Kenneth Podell, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Neuropsychology, Director of the Sports Concussion Safety Program, and Co-Director of the Concussion Clinic at the Henry Ford Health System. Dr. Podell also works with other area high school and universities in developing concussion safety programs, and has made numerous national, international and media presentations on sports concussions. Dr. Podell addressed concussion concerns in the middle school and high school athlete. Julie Middlin, Cranbrook Kingswood ATC, also presented on return to play guidelines. The evening was attended by CK administrators, coaches, parents of Brooksiders, our middle schools and the upper school and was extremely informative.
The Booster Club was given the green light to move forward on the building of a bathroom facility on the lower fields! The highly anticipated ground breaking took place March 14th with the project expecting to be completed by Lax Jam the first of June.
Booster Club Co-President John and wife Christine Giampetroni hosted our first Gold Booster Appreciation Social. CK friends and varsity coaches enjoyed great food (provided by Cranbrook dad Greg Ervin) and conversation will fellow boosters and members of the coaching staff and athletic directors of the upper and middle schools.
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Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303
(248) 645-3000
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303
(248) 645-3000
