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: 2/25/19

February 25, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A busy weekend across Michigan included Team Wrestling Finals (see coverage under “Latest Posts”), plus Bowling Regionals, Competitive Cheer Regionals, league swimming & diving meets and much more.

1. Bowling: The No. 4 Napoleon boys finished ahead of runner-up and top-ranked Bronson to win a Division 4 Regional, while the top-ranked Vandercook Lake girls claimed their Regional title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

2. Competitive Cheer: Annual powers Allen Park and Gibraltar Carlson finished first and second, respectively, separated by less than a point at their Division 2 Regional – Southgate News-Herald

3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Holland West Ottawa, top-ranked in Lower Peninsula Division 1, finished a sixth straight championship run in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red, winning the league meet ahead of No. 7 Hudsonville – Holland Sentinel

4. Competitive Cheer: Rochester Hills Stoney Creek won one of the strongest Regionals regardless of division, finishing ahead of qualifiers Adams, Utica Eisenhower and Sterling Heights Stevenson in Division 1 – Southgate News-Herald

5. Girls Basketball: Coldwater clinched its first league title since 1992 with a big win over Jackson Lumen Christi in the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference – Coldwater Daily Reporter

6. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 No. 2 Ann Arbor Pioneer got past runner-up and No. 4-ranked Ann Arbor Skyline to win the Southeastern Conference Red meet – We Love Ann Arbor

7. Bowling: The top-ranked Sturgis boys repeated as Division 2 Regional champs, ahead of No. 4 Coldwater and No. 7 Battle Creek Pennfield, while Pennfield’s No. 2-ranked girls won ahead of No. 5 Coldwater – Sturgis Journal

8. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD1 honorable mention Zeeland clinched the outright O-K Green championship after sharing it with current LPD3 No. 1 Holland Christian a year ago – Holland Sentinel

9. Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention Gibraltar Carlson edged LPD3 No. 10 Trenton to win the Downriver League meet – Southgate News-Herald

10. Bowling: Cheboygan’s girls finished ahead of runner-up and No. 6 Gladwin to repeat as Division 3 Regional champions, while Gladwin’s No. 5 boys finished first ahead of Cheboygan’s – Cheboygan News

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: East Kentwood claimed a share of the O-K Red title with a 58-42 win over Grand Haven – FOX 17

Boys Swimming & Diving: Ludington dominated in claiming its third straight Coastal Conference championship with a win at the league meet – Ludington Daily News

Boys Swimming & Diving: Corunna won the Independent Swim Conference meet to repeat as league champion – Owosso Argus-Press

Girls Basketball: Gobles claimed the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore championship with a 45-26 win over Martin – FOX 17

Hockey: Division 1 No. 12 Utica Eisenhower locked up the Macomb Area Conference Red title with an 8-3 win over New Baltimore Anchor Bay – Macomb Daily

Girls Basketball: Scout Nelson scored 21 points against Blanchard Montabella to become Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s all-time leading scorer – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Girls Basketball: Three Rivers’ Hadley Miller went over 1,000 career points in a 57-42 win over Vicksburg – Sturgis Journal

Boys Basketball: Alma clinched a share of the Tri-Valley Conference Central title with Freeland and Saginaw Swan Valley – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Girls Basketball: Bear Lake clinched a share of the West Michigan D League title with a big win over Big Rapids Crossroads – Manistee News Advocate

Girls Basketball: Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 53-31 win over Grayling – Petoskey News-Review

Girls Basketball: Mackinaw City claimed the Northern Lakes Conference title outright with a big win over Alba – Cheboygan News

Boys Swimming & Diving: New Baltimore Anchor Bay won the MAC White meet – Macomb Daily

Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 honorable mention St. Clair Shores Lakeview was the champ at the MAC Blue meet – Macomb Daily

Boys Basketball: Kingston earned a share of the North Central Thumb League Stars title, with Flint International Academy, thanks to a one-point win over Dryden – WNEM

Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD3 No. 7 Marshall repeated as champion at the Southwestern & Central Conference meet – Battle Creek Enquirer