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: 1/19/18
January 19, 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.
Today's Top 10
1. Wrestling: Division 2 No. 5 Gaylord claimed its 11th straight Big North Conference championship with wins over Alpena and Petoskey – Gaylord Herald Times
2. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 3 top-ranked Holland Christian got past No. 6 Otsego 108-75 in the high school debut of standout Ian Miskelley – Holland Sentinel
3. Boys Basketball: The Northwest Conference title race opened back up Thursday as Maple City Glen Lake handed Frankfort its first loss of the season to create a three-way tie atop the standings – Traverse City Record-Eagle
4. Girls Basketball: Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central asserted itself in first place in the Huron League with a 52-47 overtime win over New Boston Huron – Monroe Evening News
5. Bowling: The Bay City Western girls won an overtime match over Midland for first place in the Saginaw Valley League, while the Chemics’ boys also remained undefeated in league competition – Midland Daily News
6. Hockey: Petoskey ended an 18-game, eight-year losing streak against Traverse City Central with a 6-1 win over the Trojans – Petoskey News-Review
7. Boys Swimming & Diving: Rockford earned a 167-148 win over Grand Haven in a matchup of LPD1 honorable mentions – Grand Haven Tribune
8. Boys Basketball: Baldwin’s Blake Dockery scored his 1,000th career point in his team’s 77-62 win over Walkerville – Big Rapids News
9. Boys Basketball: Ewen-Trout Creek star Jake Witt grabbed 24 rebounds to go with 24 points and seven blocks in his team’s 63-42 win over Chassell – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
10. Football: Traverse City West coach Tim Wooer has resigned to return as coach at Kingsley; West was 9-2 last season in Wooer’s 10th at the helm, and Kingsley was 1-8 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Also of note …
Cheer: The Battle Creek Enquirer explained one of the most impressive skills in competitive cheer, the back tuck, and why it’s the slam dunk or home run of that sport – Battle Creek Enquirer