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: 10/15/18

October 15, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

1. Cross Country: The DeWitt girls, No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, and No. 12 Corunna boys claimed Greater Lansing Invitational championships – Lansing State Journal girls | boys

2. Cross Country: Traverse City St. Francis’ girls (LPD3 No. 6) and boys (No. 15) swept Lake Michigan Conference titles, and Harbor Springs’ Jeremy Kloss won his fourth league individual championship – Petoskey News-Review

3. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 10 Fruitport downed No. 9 Whitehall to win its third Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament in four seasons – Local Sports Journal

4. Boys Tennis: Unranked Traverse City Central and No. 6 Midland Dow shared their Lower Peninsula Division 2 Regional title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

5. Boys Tennis: LPD1 No. 5 Northville locked up its first Regional tennis title since 1995 – Observer & Eccentric

6. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 9 Centreville avenged a loss to Division 4 No. 2 Mendon to win the Southwest 10 Conference tournament title – JoeInsider.com

7. Volleyball: Division 1 honorable mention Battle Creek Lakeview locked up its third straight All-City title – Battle Creek Enquirer

8. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Adrian Madison edged Onsted by two points in both sets to win the Lenawee County tournament for the third straight season – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Cross Country: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer swept championships at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association city meet – Local Sports Journal

10. Volleyball: Pentwater defeated Marion to earn the West Michigan D League tournament title – Manistee News Advocate

Also of note:

Girls Swimming & Diving: From Thursday, LPD1 No. 8 Brighton clinched a share of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title with a win over honorable mention Hartland – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Boys Soccer: Marysville claimed its second straight Macomb Area Conference Gold title with a 2-0 win over Roseville – Port Huron Times-Herald

Boys Tennis: From Thursday, Gibraltar Carlson claimed its fourth straight Regional title, in LPD2 – Southgate News-Herald