Welcome Spring

The purpose of this newsletter is to recap the winter seasons for both middle school and high school, as well as communicate some important information for the upcoming spring sports season

Hello Berkley School District,

It is hard to believe that the winter sports season, the longest of the three seasons, is already at its end. The winter season is a tough season for many reasons, with all the holidays and breaks, the inevitable snow days, and the overall abundance of events each week, but it always seems to come and go so quickly. With our girls basketball program the only high school team competing in the MHSAA tournament, I would like to take some time to recap the winter season, and outline some highlights at both the middle school and high school level.

Before I recap the season, I would like to take some time to say thank you to all the parents, families, and community members that have supported Berkley Athletics so far this year. It is always appreciated when the stands are full of spectators, cheering on our student-athletes, and supporting them in their efforts. Our students put a lot of time into their sport, and they deserve an environment that acknowledges their efforts. A special shout out to all the people who have volunteered for events like running the concession stand, hosting team dinners, organizing events for senior night, middle school night, and parent/teacher appreciation nights. Our coaches work very hard to support our student-athletes, but having the added support of the community is always appreciated and welcomed. We cannot give our athletes the best environment without the help of the community, so we are very grateful for your help.

The winter season had some amazing highlights both athletically and academically! Here are some of the things that have taken place this winter season:

Middle School

• 10 middle school girls swim athletes went to the state meet! We had a total of 3 relays compete, as well as 7 different girls compete in an individual race at the state meet.
• The 7th grade Anderson boys basketball team went undefeated this season!
• While the season is not yet completed, we will also have a large group of middle school boy swimmers qualify for the state meet as well!

High School

• The Ski, Girls Basketball, Boys Swim and Dive, Hockey, and Wrestling programs all received Academic All State honors for their combined GPA as a team!
• For the first time in Berkley history, we were able to field a Unified basketball team! The team will have the chance to play a game at Little Caesars Arena on March 17th!
• 7 wrestlers received all OAA honors at the league meet that was hosted here in Berkley.
• Our Hockey team made it all the way to the Regional finals!
• Ava Sillars, one of two girls that competed in our co-op gymnastics team, qualified for states on the beam!
• Our girls Basketball program fielded all three levels of basketball for the first time in a very long time. With the leadership of head coach Clay Shaver, the program has done great things in a very short time.
• Boys Basketball fought hard, and made it all the way to the District championship game.
• The Ronthal siblings had a great season on the ski team, as both of them qualified and placed in the State tournament
• 8 boy swimmers placed in the OAA league meet and received a medal and a spot on the podium.

With the end of the winter season coming soon, I want to again thank all the coaches, parents, families, boosters, and community for all the time, sacrifice, and effort to support all of our programs! We have a very quick turn around as the spring sports season starts next Monday for high school!

As always, if you have any highlights, questions, or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me anytime!

Taylor Horn

taylor.horn@berkleyschools.org

248-837-8155

If you need some customizable gear for the season, please check out our sideline store! Berkley Athletics receives a portion of all sales from this site, so your purchases would help support the athletic programs and bring some school spirit to the stands!

Below are the highlights that were shared to the athletic department from the coaches of each respective sport.

Winter 1

Girls Swim and Dive (combined team)

This year we went 1-5 in dual meet seasons. We had a lot of tough competition this year; however, at the league meet, we had a 95% time drop in all our swims. We had 8 individuals and 3 relays qualify for states!

• 50 free

• Maggie Loree-31st

• Sydney Marchak--26th place dropping .56 seconds going 29.16

• Stella Peters-39th

• Paige Rhoda-20 dropping .28 seconds going 28.71

• Keira McEvoy-41st

• 100 Back

• Maggie Loree 24rd place

• Claire Bradley-23rd place

• 100 Breast

• Sydney Marchak-20th place dropping . 32 seconds going 1:26.78

• Isabella Glibota-17th place dropping 1.58 seconds going 1:25.96

• 200 Medley Relay 10th Place dropping 3.62 seconds to go 2:13.15

• Maggie Loree

• Sydney Marchak

• Lilly McLachlan

• Stella Peters

• Alt: Isabella Glibota

• 200 Free Relay 9th place dropping 5.64 seconds going 1:56.73

• Maggie Loree

• Sydney Marchak

• Stella Peters

• Paige Rhoda

• Alt: Claire Bradley

• 400 Free Relay 17th place dropping .44 seconds going 4:33.78

• Ava Glibota

• Paige Rohda

• Grace Burnham

• Lilly McLachlan

Norup Boys Basketball

• Norup 8th Grade went 6-4
  Norup 7th grade went 7-3

Anderson Boys Basketball

• Anderson 7th grade team went undefeated this season!

• Anderson 8th Grade Boys are unfortunately 0-11 so far this season. Our lack of experience has certainly gotten the best of us. Our scores may not indicate as much but there has been substantial team growth from where we started.
  
  

Winter 2

The Winter 2 season, which includes wrestling, Boys swim and dive, and volleyball, are set to finish up in the next two weeks. We will highlight them at the end of the spring season newsletter!

This winter, I continued my goal to participate in as many different program practices as possible. I was able to practice with the girls varsity Basketball team, as well as the boys Swim and Dive team this season.

I joined an entire practice with the girls Basketball team, and let me tell you, these girls are good! Their conditioning, skill, and team comradery is incredible and fun to be around. Their communication on the court is exceptional, and they do all of it with smiles on their faces! I didn't tell them this, but after I attended their practice, not only did I have one of the best night's sleep in a long time, but the next 2 days, my legs felt like jello! The girls Basketball program this year was so much fun to watch, and the program overall took a huge step forward this winter. I am very excited to see their continued growth over the off season and see what they will accomplish next year!

I was also able to join in on a boys Swim and Dive practice this winter! While my original plan was to swim with them the entire practice, I believe I only lasted 10 minutes! Their pace and intensity in the water was incredible! After swimming some laps with the boys, I got out and "helped" one of the coaches fix one of the starter blocks (in all reality, I needed to catch my breath!) Even though the boys swim team is small in number, I could really tell that the boys were having fun, and that some great relationships were being built.

I was unable to participate in a boys basketball, wrestling, ski, hockey, or gymnastics practice this winter, but I did pop my head in as often as possible just to watch and see how the dynamics were at practice. From what I saw at practices, and at their competitions, our winter programs share some of the same qualities. They are all very dedicated and passionate about their sport. Each program puts in a lot of time to get better and build quality relationships that will help them in their futures, whether that be a college sport, or simply being a good teammate in their future jobs. They understand the importance of hard work and focus, so that they can get the most out of each opportunity.

Below are the highlights that were shared to the athletic department from the coaches of each respective sport.

This has been an incredible season for Unified Basketball. Our players and partners worked so well together on the court. We played 9 games and won 3 but honestly winning and losing did not matter. The idea that everyone had fun and was allowed to play with their peers and families watching has been a fantastic time. Unified sports allow socialization through sports. The kids handled themselves so well and it allowed everyone to meet other players from different schools. Our most exciting time is coming up...we will be playing at LCA on the court after a Pistons game on March 17th!!

For those of you that do not know what a Unified sport is, it is a program that has students with special needs teaming up with students in regular education classes on the same team. They compete against other Unified sports programs from other schools and compete on the same night as our girls or boys basketball games. We offer Unified Soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and bocce in the spring.

If you are interested in attending the game at LCA, here is the link! Purchasing the ticket also give you admission to the Pistons game the same day! Link to tickets

The wrestling team went 6-9 this season and 2-4 in the league.

Some team highlights:

• The team received academic all-state honors for their efforts in the classroom!

• Team placed 4th in the Nick Midea Memorial tournament at Ferndale

• Connor Hambright placed 3rd in the OAA at the 106 weight class

• Tyson Danescu placed 3rd in the OAA at the 157 weight class

• Elliot Hoff placed 2nd in the OAA at the 165 weight class

• Thomas Dauphin placed 2nd in the OAA at the 175 weight class

• Honorable Mention: Brandon Levine (132), Ben Bullock (190), Chris Buchanan (215)

Captains on the team: Elliot Hoff, Thomas Dauphin, and Sophie Owens

M1 Griffins Hockey Team (combined with Royal Oak and Ferndale)

There were 7 Berkley students on the hockey team this season.

The Team received academic all state honors for their efforts in the classroom!

On January 27th, the M1 griffins held a Lucy Love fundraiser to help support research and family support for those currently fighting DIPG. DIPG is a type of tumor that starts in the brain stem and affects breathing, heart rate, and nerves. The fundraiser was a huge success, raising over $8000 to be donated to the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation and the LiveBrave2Gether Foundation!

The Griffins ended their season in the Regional Championship game against Catholic Central. The team finished with a 17-9 record.

Ava Sillars and Lydia Binelli participated in a co-op gymnastics team this year. The team is a combination of students that attend Berkley and Troy Athens

Ava Sillars placed 7th in the Floor at the league meet. She also qualified for the state meet, placing 8th on the Beam in the individual tournament on 2/2!

Lydia Binelli placed 7th in Bars at the league meet

The Girls basketball made some huge improvements this year, led by Head Coach Clay Shaver, as well as first year head coaches Scott Rowlett (JV) and Jillian Gomes (Freshman). These coaches are building a program that is built on communication, encouragement, and passion, and have done a great job this year rebuilding a program.

Varsity

This year, the varsity girls program went 17-5 in the regular season, and 8-2 in the OAA Blue Division (2nd place). The team received academic all state honors for their work in the classroom!

The varsity team was led by Maeve Nolan and Hailey Kirkwood, who received all OAA honors for their efforts this season, along with Madi Bonsall, Nadia Watt, and Avery Weingarden, who received All OAA honorable mention.

The varsity team will be playing in the District semi-finals today 3/6 at 5:30pm against Mumford. If they win, they will play for the District championship against the winner of Renaissance and Southfield A&T on Friday 3/8 at 7pm. Berkley is hosting the tournament!

JV

Head Coach Scott Rowlett and Assistant Coach Cali Weed established a winning formula in year one, turning around a JV program that ended with a losing record last year. This season brought a 15-7 overall record and a first place finish in the OAA Blue Division. Captain Emmy Warner ran the show with help from her fellow Sophomores Olivia Church, Molly McAskin, Z Diop, Claire O’Connell, Stephanie Hornak, Sloane McEvoy, and Simone Taylor. The Freshman production on JV was tremendous thanks to the starting guard tandem of Maisie Cameron and Addyson Skipton, and contributions from Samaya Kelsey and 5 quarter extraordinaire Norah Stahl. Congratulations on an amazing season!

With their win on February 27th, the Junior Varsity Bears, though unofficial, claimed a share of the “JV League Title” with their 8-2 record on the season against OAA Blue opponents.

Freshman

The Freshman squad continues to battle through a season of learning. February brought a big season highlight as the Freshman kicked off a “3 Level Sweep” of Troy on February 16th.

Follow @BerkleyGirlsBB on all social media platforms for all the latest news!

Varsity

The Varsity basketball team this year had a great season. They started off the season strong with a huge win over Troy High School, giving Troy their only regular season loss of the season. The boys battled hard throughout the season, dealing with some injuries, and running into some tough teams that played hard. The season was stopped short, losing to Groves high school in the district championship game on 2/1.

• Record: 14-8, 9-5 in the OAA Blue Division

• Captains: Andrew Cook and Micah Green

• Top Highlight: Upset Oakland County Top 10 Troy High a school to start the season. Their only loss of the year.

• Other season highlights: 9-5 in OAA Blue. Tied for 3rd place.

JV

• Record: 6-14, 3-11 in the League

Freshman

• Record: 4-13, 3-9 in the League

• Team Captain: Josh Bhagwan

• Highlight was a big league win at Royal Oak.

The Ski team, which is a co-op team with Troy Athens, had a great time battling the mild winter and lack of snow. The warm winter made conditions tough, but the team made the best of their opportunities and has a great season. There were 7 Berkley student-athletes on the Ski team this winter.

The ski team received academic all state honors for their efforts in the classroom!

Notable Highlights:

Tessa Rontal placed 6th place in the state in the Giant Slalom!

Jonah Rontal placed 33rd in the state in the Slalom, and 21st in the state in the Giant Slalom

Record: 4-4

Words of wisdom: The dedication you put into a team will be evident in your season results. Show up, work hard, and maybe we can play water polo!!

Captains: Ben Fredal, Gabe Sugarman, Adin Weiner

Season Highlights:

Berkley Bearacudas had a fantastic season. Not only did all team members drop time, they worked together to have a successful swim season. At our league meet, all swimmers returned for our championship meet in an individual event or relay. In addition, many swimmers qualified in the top 16 to help score points for our team. Our team placed 4th in our OAA Blue League! Below are some of the top 8 swimmers in our league who earned a medal and a spot on the podium.

All OAA: Noah Johnson- 100 Fly

200 Free:

Will Just

Zachary Marutz

200 Medly:

Jack Saltsman

50 Freestyle:

Adin Weiner

Ben Fredal

100 Butterfly:

Noah Johnson

Jack Slatsman

Zachary Marutz

500 Freestyle:

Will Just

200 Freestyle Relay

Zachary Weingarden

Noah Johnson

Mohamed Erreghaoui

Adin Weiner

100 Backstroke:

Ben Fredal

400 Freestyle Relay

Zachary Weingarden

Jack Saltsman

Noah Johnson

Ben Fredal

With Hurley Field under construction and unavailable this spring, we have partnered with Ferndale High School to use their facilities for our Track and Soccer programs. I understand that this is not ideal for the spring season, but we are going to do everything possible to make this season special for our senior class and support each program as best we can. Track meets will all be away this spring, and soccer will have a few "home" games that will be played at Ferndale.

The first and most important information for spring sports is registering on Final Forms! Final Forms is the new platform for athletics. It is where families will submit student physicals, as well as sign all the necessary forms required to be eligible to play a school sport. All documents must be signed and submitted before the first day of tryouts! Failure to do so results in your child not being able to try out for any sport.

The Athletic Boosters are a huge help to the Athletic Department. They help purchase jerseys, run the concession stands, and run the Facebook raffle page to help generate funds for our sport programs. All booster pass sales goes directly into the Boosters budget and help them support athletics!

Purchasing a Booster Pass grants you access to ALL home events (excluding MHSAA tournament events) the entire school year. If you have not purchased a Booster Pass yet, the Boosters set up a table by the ticket tables at the first 2 or 3 home events for every sport. Passes are $20 for students and $25 for adults.

Booster meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month, in the BHS Collaborative Center, at 7pm. Everyone is welcome to attend!

We would love to see you all at events this spring! Having a crowd and cheering on our Bears are a huge part of high school athletics. The atmosphere that a crowd brings is instrumental in providing our student-athletes with an environment that supports and cares about them.

With that being said, please know that any unsportsmanlike or negative behaviors at events will not be tolerated. The OAA (Oakland Athletic Association) has developed league wide "spectator expectation" guidelines that are to be followed at all times.

Please remember that spectators are not officials or coaches, and that the role of spectators is to encourage and support our student-athletes. Please help me in leading a positive environment.

Oakland Activities Association Spectator Code of Conduct

The members of the Oakland activities Association stand united in our pursuit of sportsmanship at all of our athletic events.

• Be Positive. Cheer for your team and not against opponents or officials.
  
• Respect the referees and game officials.
• Spectators are to remain in designated bleacher areas.
• All MHSAA rules and policies are in effect.
• Prohibited:
• Alcohol, tobacco, and vape pens
• Signs (unless approved by local administration)
• Indoors: Artificial noisemakers (e.g., whistles and air horns)
• Outdoors: Administrative discretion

• Throwing of objects. Help keep areas clean. Please use trash receptacles.

School Officials reserve the right to refuse admittance or remove a person(s) from an event due to inappropriate behavior.

BASEBALL

• The Berkley varsity baseball team is returning to Comerica Park. This year, the Bears will play against Detroit Country Day. A portion of the proceeds from the game will go to the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation.

• The game is Sunday, May 5th, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $25, and you will also receive a ticket to the Tigers game vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 29th. Please join us for a great night of baseball to support a great cause. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Coach Rawlik at Matthew.rawlik@berkleyschools.org

SOFTBALL

• Head Varsity Coach Arianna Savine hearnowarianna@gmail.com
• Head JV Coach Meg Boring meg.boring@berkleyschools.org

• Softball tryouts will be in the East Gym on March 11th and 12th from 3:45-6 PM and a parent meeting will be held on March 13th at 5:30 PM in the gym!

SOCCER

• Head Varsity Coach Zach Hobson zacharyhobson@gmail.com
• Head JV Coach Amber Klavon amklavon@gmail.com

• Tryouts are from Monday, 3/11 to Wednesday, 3/13 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at Ferndale High School.

TRACK AND FIELD

• Head Coach Les Hale 1fastoldman@gmail.com
• Assistant Coach Jared Purcell jaredmpurcell@gmail.com

• There are no tryouts for track and field, however, practices start on March 11th at 6pm at Ferndale High School.

BOYS GOLF

• Head Coach Brian Antioch brian.antioch@berkleyschools.org

• Tryouts will begin, weather permitting, on Mon. 3/11. Specific information will be sent out to families and athletes a few days before 3/11 with more information when weather forecasts can be confirmed appropriate for golf. If your athlete was not able to attend the tryout information meeting in Coach Antioch's classroom on Tues. 2/13, please make sure to email contact information to Coach Antioch so you will be included in the coming announcement about tryout details.

• Please send the following to brian.antioch@berkleyschools.org if your athlete did not attend the tryout information meeting:

• Athlete Name

• Grade

• Athlete Cell #

• Parent/Guardian Name

• Parent/Guardian Email

GIRLS TENNIS

• Varsity Head Coach Leonard Waldman leonard.waldman@berkleyschools.org
• JV Head Coach Allie Sperl alliesperl@gmail.com

• Tryouts will be held on March 11th, at Franklin Racquet Club.

• Players will be alerted as to when they should arrive for their try-out time-frame prior to March 11th...

• Preparing for tryout day:

• Arrive 10-15 minutes early to stretch

• Bring a tennis racket

• Make sure to be in some type of tennis/gym shoe.

• Dress appropriately to be able to move around the court comfortably

• Bring a water bottle

• Consider getting on a tennis court prior to tryouts with friends, family or an organized lesson with a tennis instructor to enhance your opportunity to make one of our squads.

LACROSSE

Any boys interested in playing lacrosse (No Experience Needed!!): Tryouts will start Monday, 3/11. We will start 5:30 pm at Royal Oak High School. Please be there early for check-in and make sure you are registered via Final Forms. Follow/Message @M1_lacrosse (on Instagram) or email Coach Ratliff (rob.m1lacrosse@gmail.com) for more info.

Girls Lacrosse tryouts will be March 11th from 5:30-7:30 at Royal Oak.

Please email head coach Alex Walus with any questions alex.walus@gmail.com

All spring middle school sports will begin on April 1st.

Tennis- Tryouts will be held at the tennis courts by Anderson Middle School from 4-6pm. Please contact head coach Robert Hall with any questions. roberthalljr24@gmail.com

Baseball and Softball- We are still working with Berkley Parks and Recreation to figure out times and locations for tryouts, practices, and home games. Please reach out to the coaches if you are interested, and they will share tryout/practice information when it becomes available.

Softball- Teri Falcon teri.falcon@gmail.com

Baseball- Ted Reithel tedreithel@aol.com

Track and Field- With the construction to Hurley Field taking place, the track and field team will practice in the open grass lot at Norup International School. Tryout/practice information is in the works! Please reach out to any of the coaches if you are interested in being on the team this spring, and they will get you information as soon as it becomes available!

Steve Hanna steven.hanna@berkleyschools.org

Beth Hanna beth.hanna@berkleyschools.org

Craig Rhoads craig.rhoads74@gmail.com

Orysia Divito orysia.divito@berkleyschools.org

Nicole Meisner nemeisner@gmail.com

With the passing of the August 2023 Bond, Berkley Schools teams are busy planning for upcoming construction projects. The Bond passage also allowed the District to dedicate Sinking Fund dollars to additional projects outside of the Bond scope to continue the work of updating facilities.

These monthly Bond & Sinking Fund updates will be maintained on the District’s website. See below for updates on the Phase 1 projects that are taking place in 2024 and 2025.

Hurley Field Turf, Track, Lights & Parking - Bond & Sinking Fund

• Phase 1 of the Hurley Field construction is part of a larger Bond and Sinking Fund project. It includes: turf, track, relocating discus and shot put, expanded parking and new lighting.

• Spring timeline update: Because the ground did not go through a deep freeze this winter, the Hurley track work can begin sooner than expected. Contractors will be onsite starting March 8 and will be removing the asphalt and placing the new aggregate base in preparation for the new track asphalt.

• Lighting update: Due to the current large Bond and Sinking Fund workload for the professional partners and an expanded Hurley Field scope, Hurley Field’s new lighting project has been moved to Phase II for the Hurley Field work. Phase II will include updated lighting (Bond), a new sound system (Sinking Fund), press box (Sinking Fund), team rooms (Bond), restrooms (Sinking Fund) and concession stands (Sinking Fund). This work will go out to bid during Summer 2025 and installation will happen in late spring/summer 2026.

• Parking update - Bond: A District team is working with the professional partners to finalize the expanding parking plans at Anderson/Hurley Field. The new plans will create separate entrance and exit points, a drop off and pick up outer loop and doubling the available parking spaces. This work will be completed during the track/turf construction this spring and summer. This work will go out to bid in March 2024, be awarded in April 2024 and will be complete by Summer 2024.

Phase 1: BHS BEAR Complex - Bond

• The District Field House is now named the BEAR Complex (Berkley Education, Athletics and Recreation). Design team meetings are complete for the BEAR. The architects will now take feedback from the design teams and create refined drawings. Those will be presented to the District Bond team for a detailed review at the end of March.

Phase 1: BHS Pool - Bond

• The District and BHS Bond team walked through the BHS Pool with the professional partners to evaluate the proposed work, take measurements and evaluate the space. The professional teams will now create plans and drawings for the space and meet with the BHS Pool Design Team to refine the work.

Baseball/Softball Fields - Sinking Fund

• The District will be adding a new home varsity softball field on the Tyler Field, just north of Berkley Building Blocks. The design team, along with Foresite Design, is working on design details. This new varsity field will include lights, dugouts, concession area and a permanent outfield fence. The work will also include an outdoor restroom location near the field. An additional softball/baseball practice field will be added to the Tyler Field in coordination with the City of Oak Park as well. The early timeline for this work is to begin construction in Spring 2025, with the goal of having our teams play their first game on the home field by Spring 2026.

• Planning and discussions are continuing for baseball field upgrades.