Linked Up: 10/28/11

October 28, 2011

Each week I'll post links to stories that interest me most during my travels in online sports land. I was going to wait for next week for this first installment, but these seemed worthy of telling you about now.

See something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable? Send me a link.

Akron-Fairgrove and Owendale-Gagetown eager for long-awaited playoff games in first season of eight-man football bracket (Bay City Times)

These two teams provide multiple reasons why 8-player football has been such a strong addition -- most notably, it is providing our smallest schools with an opportunity to still play football despite fewer players, and succeed. The sport took off in this state in 2009, and this weekend mark the start of the first MHSAA 8-player Tournament. Akron-Fairgrove will play its first postseason game since 1992, while Owendale-Gagetown will play its first since 1979.

Olivet's Peters coaching his heart out (Battle Creek Enquirer)

I covered Olivet and coach Dean Peters for more than a decade, including during last season's first-ever Eagles run to the MHSAA football finals. One of the great people in high school coaching, he needed emergency double-bypass surgery earlier this month but is back in the coaching booth. Olivet faces Lansing Catholic in a Pre-District game.

Megan Hubbard a standout for Hanover-Horton cross country (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)

This is a neat story about a runner who is second-best on her team and has never won a race -- but also is likely the second-best to ever run at her school. Usually, we hear only about who finishes first.

Standley Lake football player Rhett Gutierrez overcomes eye disease (The Denver Post)
 
Almost always, links I post will be Michigan-related. But this story is just incredible. We've seen athletes with different degrees of vision impairment do incredible things in high school athletics. But this is the first time I've heard of someone overcoming that obstacle to play quarterback for his football team.

Today in the MHSAA: 10/7/19

October 7, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Many of the state’s top cross country teams continued prepping for the postseason this weekend at the Portage Invitational and county championship runs in the Detroit area, while Lower Peninsula girls golf and boys tennis teams finished up regular-season play with MHSAA Tournaments beginning for both this week.

1. Cross Country: The Ann Arbor Pioneer (LPD1 No. 1), Petoskey (LPD2 No. 2), Hart (LPD3 No. 1) and Kalamazoo Christian (LPD4 No. 3) girls and Brighton (LPD1 No. 1), Fremont (LPD2 No. 2), Hanover-Horton (LPD3 No. 1) and Breckenridge (LPD4 No. 1) boys won championships at the prestigious Portage Invitational against fields loaded with many of the state’s best – Athletic.net

2. Boys Tennis: Traverse City West won five flights to claim the Big North Conference Tournament and first overall league title since 2006 – Traverse City Record-Eagle 

3. Girls Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 2 Farmington Hills Mercy finished 175 points ahead of the field to earn the Oakland County championship – Oakland Press

4. Cross Country: Troy’s LPD1 No. 11 girls and Clarkston’s LPD1 No. 5 boys won Oakland County championships – Oakland Press Girls | Boys 

5. Boys Tennis: LPD3 No. 1 Ann Arbor Greenhills claimed the Detroit Catholic League Tournament title – Oakland Press

6. Boys Tennis: Oxford won its first league title in this sport, claiming the Oakland Activities Association Blue Tournament – Oakland Press 

7. Boys Tennis/Girls Golf: Byron Center swept Ottawa-Kent Conference Green Tournament championships in these sports, the LPD2 No. 10 tennis team just ahead of Holland Christian and golf ahead of runner-up Zeeland West – Holland Sentinel 

8. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 6 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian swept No. 4 Bronson to win the annual Polish Classic championship – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. Girls Swimming & Diving: Macomb Dakota claimed the Macomb County meet title – Macomb Daily

10. Cross Country: The LPD1 No. 9 Plymouth, Grosse Ile and Allen Park Cabrini girls and LPD1 No. 13 Plymouth, LPD2 No. 6 Dearborn Divine Child and Cabrini boys won Wayne County championships – Southgate News-Herald Girls | Boys

Also of note …

Boys Soccer: Big Rapids Crossroads went 1-0-1 to win the West Michigan D League Tournament – Big Rapids News