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.
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: 8/20/18
August 20, 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. Boys Soccer: Salem defeated reigning Division 1 champion Detroit Catholic Central in a shootout to claim the Balconi Invitational title at Canton – Observer & Eccentric
2. Girls Golf: Reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern came back to win the Lober Classic at Grand Traverse Resort, ahead of first-day leader Muskegon Reeths-Puffer – Traverse City Record-Eagle
3. Boys Tennis: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern finished 3-0 at Traverse City West on Friday, in the process earning coach Dave Sukup the 600th match win (boys and girls combined) of his career – Grand Rapids Press
4. Volleyball: Reigning Class C champion Bronson opened with a title at the 24-team Carrie Adams Tournament at Battle Creek St. Philip – Sturgis Journal
5. Boys Soccer: Midland Dow downed Grand Blanc, Haslett and Saginaw Swan Valley during an undefeated run at the Saginaw Heritage Invitational – Midland Daily News
6. Volleyball: Muskegon Western Michigan Christian went 7-1-1 over the first two days of the season, including a 4-0 run to win the Holton Invitational – Local Sports Journal
7. Girls Tennis: Last season’s runner-up Iron River West Iron County played reigning Upper Peninsula Division 2 champ Ishpeming Westwood to a shared title at the Kingsford Invitational – Iron Mountain Daily News
8. Cross Country: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart swept the Division 3 races and Charlevoix swept Division 4 at the annual Ryan Shay Invitational – Athletic.net
9. Boys Tennis: Hudsonville, which tied for 11th in LPD1 last season, finished just ahead of Traverse City Central (which tied for 14th) to win Central’s invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle
10. Boys Soccer: Ludington opened 3-0 with shutouts of Shelby and Fruitport and a 5-1 win over Muskegon Reeths-Puffer at the Fruitport Invitational – Local Sports Journal
Also of note …
Boys Tennis: Armada named its courts after coach Dave Fredette, who is entering his 53rd year after starting the boys program at the school – Macomb Daily