Kearsley Community Schools is proud to announce the three individuals and one team that comprise the Kearsley Community Schools Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Individual honorees were selected by a committee in three categories which are aligned with the district’s motto of Pride, Tradition and Excellence. In addition, a team was selected and will be honored at the 2024 Homecoming football game vs. Holly on Friday, October 4, 2024.
The “Pride” inductee will be honored at the Class of 2024 Senior Athletic Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 29th at 7pm in the KHS Auditorium. The “Tradition” inductee will be honored at the Senior Honors Convocation ceremony on Thursday, May 30th at 7pm in the KHS Auditorium. The “Excellence” inductee will be honored at the Class of 2024 Commencement exercises on Saturday, June 1st at 7pm at The Whiting in downtown Flint.
Individual and team plaques of all inductees will be prominently displayed on the “Hall of Fame wall” in the halls of Kearsley High School.
Team: 2012 Girls Bowling
The 2012 Girls Bowling team, led by head coach Robert Ploof along with assistants Pam Ploof and Doug Brownfield, recorded a historic season culminating in the program’s first MHSAA State Championship. Prior to the state tournament the team enjoyed an outstanding regular season going undefeated with an 8-0 record and winning the Flint Metro League Championship. The regular season also saw the team win the Best of the Best Tournament and defeat rival Davison, the top-ranked team and eventual State Champion in Division 1.
Upon entering the Division 2 State Tournament the Hornets headed to Bay City for the regional at Monitor Lanes and brought home a Regional Championship and earned a trip to the MHSAA State Finals. While competing in the Finals at Century Bowl in Waterford, Kearsley ended qualifying in second place. In the semifinals, the Hornets defeated defending State Champion Charlotte, and in the finals the team defeated Tecumseh, the No.1 ranked team in the state to bring home the title!
Team Members included Lindsey Ploof, Chyanne Hibbs, Jessica Dawes, Holli Hollister, Kayla Emmendorfer, Amanda Thompson, Becca Iversen, Teagan MacDonald
Pride (Student-Athlete): Aaron Hynes '06
A 2006 Kearsley graduate, Aaron was an outstanding scholar-athlete, earning academic All Big 9 three times while competing in wrestling and football. He recorded an individual record of 209 wins and 29 losses while becoming a four-time All-State wrestler and two-time Individual State Champion earning titles in both 2004 and 2005. Aaron also helped lead a strong team to a Big Nine Conference Title in 2003 as well as four consecutive District Titles (2003-2006) and a Regional Championship in 2004.
Upon graduation, Aaron went on to have an outstanding collegiate career at the University of Michigan. Aaron was a member of the UofM wrestling program from 2006 to 2011. He finished with a career record of 89 wins and 54 losses, finishing as high as 5th place in the Big Ten Conference. He also earned an appearance in the 2008-09 NCAA Championships!
Tradition (Staff Member) - Chris Christensen
Chris Christensen was an exceptional teacher and coach for Kearsley from 1974-2002. During his time as a teacher he taught multiple disciplines including special education, history, and physical education and was active in Special Olympics events.
Chris served as the head coach for the Kearsley Hockey program as well as both the boys and girls tennis teams. He posted a 427-221-45 record over his 28 seasons leading the hockey team! He was the first hockey coach in the Flint area to reach 400 career wins and at the time of his death in 2002 he had the most wins in Flint Area High School Hockey history.
Throughout his career, Chris's hockey teams won six conference titles, six regional titles, and finished in the top four twice. His 1986 team recorded one of his best seasons in school history with a trip to the MHSAA State Championship game, where they fell to Trenton. The team had a remarkable run winning a Big Nine Championship while beating rival Flint Powers three times to capture the conference crown taking a 21-5 record into the postseason.
Excellence (Notable Alumni) - Patti Yorks
Patti was an exceptional student when she attended Kearsley Schools, graduating with the Class of 1987 as the valedictorian. An incredible scholar, Patti was allowed to take classes with upperclassmen including taking Calculus as a sophomore, something that had never been done before or after that time.
After graduating from Oakland University, Patti returned to the district and served as an elementary teacher from 1991 to 1998 and then a counselor. Patti moved into administration in 1998 as a building principal at Weston, Buffey, and eventually Armstrong Middle School. In 2010, Patti was promoted to central office as the Curriculum Director, Assistant Superintendent and finally as our Superintendent in 2012. She served six years as the district superintendent, before retiring in 2018. Pattiwas highly respected and admired by her staff, the students and the community.
Patti was not only the first Kearsley alumni to become the Superintendent of the district, but she was also the first female Superintendent to serve our community.
Congratulations to all the members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024!