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: 4/15/19

April 15, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Michigan teams outraced the snow this weekend with a number of fireworks from the softball diamond, including a new career record holder for power-hitting prowess.

1. Softball: Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse’s Brooke Nadolny set the MHSAA career home runs record with her 56th and 57th in a sweep of Marysville – Macomb Daily

2. Softball: Division 2 No. 4 Eaton Rapids claimed the Saline Invitational title against a field that included Division 1 No. 6 Warren Regina – Saline Post

3. Softball: Bay City John Glenn won the Bay County Invitational with wins over Division 1 No. 7 Western, Central and Division 3 honorable mention Pinconning – Bay City Times

4. Baseball: Division 1 No. 11 Midland Dow downed Division 2 No. 14 Petoskey and Saginaw Heritage to win its invitational, but the Northmen did edge Division 2 top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley 10-9 – Midland Daily News

5. Softball: Division 1 honorable mention Walled Lake Northern won a Farmington Hills Mercy Invitational against a field that included Division 2 No. 9 Carleton Airport, another Division 1 honorable mention New Baltimore Anchor Bay and Division 4 No. 3 Rogers City – State Champs Sports Network

6. Track & Field: Alpena’s boys and girls teams celebrated school records and the boys team went on to win the Davison Invitational while Ann Arbor Pioneer won the girls championship – Alpena News/We Love Ann Arbor

7. Boys Golf: Marshall shot a 314 to win the Coldwater Invitational by two strokes ahead of runner-up Mattawan – Coldwater Daily Reporter

8. Softball: Traverse City West won the East Kentwood Invitational, and Kalkaska took the title at Adrian’s tournament – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Track & Field – The Addison boys and Sand Creek girls won Britton Deerfield Invitational championships – Adrian Daily Telegram

10. Girls Tennis: Trenton won a Grosse Ile Invitational that included Dearborn Divine Child and Brownstown Woodhaven along with the host Red Devils – Southgate News-Herald