Did You See That? (April 8-14)
April 30, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Near-constant rain – and for our northern schools, plenty of snow – has stalled many teams during this spring season.
But there still were plenty of notable performances as most schools returned last week from spring break and battled the elements to get back into the swing.
Below is a look, with links to coverage, of some of news and results that stuck out most:
Softball
Lake Orion mourns longtime coach: Former Lake Orion softball coach Denny Davis, who retired in 2009 with 503 wins and more than 30 seasons in the dugout, died after a heart attack on April 7. His funeral was Thursday. (Oakland Press)
Strong start: Sturgis opened its season with a no-hitter by pitcher Dominique Beach over Three Rivers in a 7-0 win. (Sturgis Journal)
Girls Tennis
Strong start II: Traverse City Central – a top team in Division 2 last season – beat Division 1 powers Midland Dow and Saline on Thursday at the Midland Tennis Center. Traverse City Central will play in Division 1 this spring. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Golf
Rockford rules Winding Creek: Through snow, wind and freezing temperatures, Rockford went low against 16 other teams to win Saturday’s Zeeland East Invitational with a score of 314. Junior A.J. Varekois shot a one-under 70 to finish as medalist. (Grand Rapids Press)
Soccer
Gull Lake golden: The Blue Devils beat rival Plainwell 2-1 on Friday in a game that likely gave Gull Lake some added push for the first Division 2 state rankings released today. Gull Lake is ranked No. 5 and Plainwell sits No. 6. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
MHSAA
Minter honored with Norris Award: Longtime MHSAA official and former assistant to the director Tom Minter has been named the Vern L. Norris Award winner for this year and will be honored at the MHSAA’s Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet on May 4 in East Lansing. Minter has officiated MHSAA games for 48 years and continues to serve as a clinician at training sessions all over the state. (Second Half)
Football
Mifsud heads to Parma Western: After 16 seasons leading a strong Dearborn program, coach Dave Mifsud was hired as the new leader of Parma Western’s last week. He led Dearborn to eight playoff berths over the last nine seasons – with 11-win finishes in 2004 and 2006. He is taking over a program seeking its first playoff appearance and coming off a 1-8 finish. (Jackson Citizen Patriot)
Monroe Jefferson’s Cisco steps down: After 47 seasons and more than 400 games leading Jefferson’s program, coach Marc Cisco announced his retirement last week. Including three more seasons as an assistant, he coached in the program for a half century. (Monroe Daily News)
Boys Track and Field
Northern wins Port Huron matchup: The boys track meet between Port Huron and Port Huron Northern came down to the day’s final event, the 1,600-meter relay. Northern finished seven seconds faster and a little more than four points better. (Port Huron Times-Herald)
Girls Lacrosse
Chargers survive Saline: Flint Powers Catholic, which missed last season’s Division 2 Semifinals via a one-goal loss to eventual runner-up Okemos, held off a comeback attempt by Saline to earn a 15-14 win Saturday. (Mlive.com)
Boys Lacrosse
Defining win: That’s how the Grand Haven Tribune defined the Buccaneers’ 12-7 victory over three-time Division 2 champion East Grand Rapids – which also has finished MHSAA runner-up in its division three times. (Grand Haven Tribune)
Today in the MHSAA: 5/23/17
May 23, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The last week of the regular season for most in baseball, golf, soccer and softball got rolling with a bevy of championship matchups, both for high-powered leagues and across regions – with Gaylord’s boys golf team continuing an especially impressive tournament run.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Baseball
Byron Center won the second game of a split with No. 2-ranked Holland Christian, 3-2, to win the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title ahead of the reigning Division 2 champion – Holland Sentinel
Detroit Western International came back from a 3-0 deficit to win its 10th straight Detroit Public School League championship with a 5-4 victory over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News
Mount Pleasant held on to first place in the Saginaw Valley League, but now only shares the lead with Midland after splitting with Division 1 No. 19 Saginaw Heritage – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
St. Johns opened the 56th Capital Diamond Classic with a 5-4 eight-inning win over Division 4 No. 6 Fowler – Lansing State Journal
Girls Golf
Upper Peninsula Division 1 Houghton continued its latest surge with another invitational title Monday, this time at L’Anse Golf Club with Kaaren Liston shooting a 43 to finish first individually – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Boys Golf
Charlevoix locked up the Lake Michigan Conference championship shooting a 322 at Grayling Country Club – Petoskey News-Review
LP Division 2 No. 3 Gaylord upped its winning streak to eight straight tournaments with a victory at the Traverse City Central Invitational – Gaylord Herald Times
Girls Soccer
Division 3 No. 10 Birch Run shut out No. 9 Frankenmuth 1-0 to regain a share of first place in the Tri-Valley Conference East – Saginaw News
Plainwell got past Division 3 No. 11 Otsego 3-0 to claim a share of the Wolverine Conference title – Kalamazoo Gazette
No. 17 New Baltimore Anchor Bay upset No. 2 Utica Eisenhower in a meeting of top teams in the Macomb Area Conference Red and statewide Division 1 – Macomb Daily
Division 1 No. 7 Rochester Adams downed Rochester 2-0 to claim the Oakland Activities Association Red title – Oakland Press
From Saturday, Division 4 No. 7 Madison Heights Bishop Foley got past No. 20 Royal Oak Shrine 1-0 in the Catholic League Division II-III title game – Oakland Press
Softball
Division 3 No. 4 Napoleon broke up a close game in the fifth inning in downing Parma Western 5-0 to win the Al Glick Tournament at Spring Arbor – Jackson Citizen Patriot
Division 2 honorable mention Eaton Rapids followed the shutout pitching of freshman Grace Lehto to the Mid-Michigan area’s Softball Classic championship with a 4-0 win over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal
Houghton and Lake Linden-Hubbell combined for 60 runs over a doubleheader, the Lakes winning the first game 20-15 and the Gremlins the second 14-11 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Warren Regina won a matchup of recent state powers, downing Farmington Hills Mercy 14-6 to claim the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship – Macomb Daily
Division 4 honorable mention Waterford Our Lady downed Wixom St. Catherine 5-0 in the Catholic League C-D final thanks to a no-hitter by Hannah Davies – Oakland Press
Division 2 No. 6 Stevensville Lakeshore swept Niles to claim the outright Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West title – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Track & Field
From the weekend, the LP Division 1 top-ranked Rockford girls clinched their 20th straight Regional title finishing ahead of Okemos and Grand Ledge in Division 1 – Grand Rapids Press
Good Read
Born without a left hand, Stockbridge freshman pitcher Carson Robinson has always shown plenty of determination and had his share of success. This spring, he has dominated on the mound – after also playing football and basketball this school year – Lansing State Journal