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: 5/8/17

May 8, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Muskegon County championships in a number of sports highlighted a busy weekend of action to kick off May, the final month of the spring regular season for most teams across the state.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Baseball

Division 4 No. 6 Muskegon Catholic Central won a championship game rematch with Montague 7-4 to claim the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tier 2 title – Muskegon Chronicle

Whitehall downed Muskegon Mona Shores 10-6, ending the Sailors’ GMAA Tier 1 title streak at five straight – Muskegon Chronicle

Bay City Western split with Mount Pleasant, getting a 1-0 shutout win from pitcher Cody Freed in the first game – Bay City Times

Division 1 No. 9 Livonia Stevenson came back to down Livonia Franklin 3-1 to win an all-city championship – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 2 Muskegon Catholic Central followed medalist Collin Powers to a Greater Muskegon Athletic Association win of two strokes over Mona Shores – Muskegon Chronicle

Gladstone edged the host by two strokes at the Escanaba Invitational as Carney-Nadeau’s Hunter Eichhorn shot a first-place 67 – Escanaba Daily Press

Boys Lacrosse

Division 1 No. 3 Hartland remained undefeated by ending No. 7 Brighton’s 51-game league winning streak with a 16-5 victory – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Softball

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer fell in its opener but came back to repeat as Greater Muskegon Athletic Association Tier 1 champion – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 2 No. 5 Muskegon Oakridge repeated as GMAA Tier 2 champion with an 8-2 win over Division 4 No. 4 Holton – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 1 No. 4 Walled Lake Northern won the 40-team Michigan Stars Invitational, with No. 5 Midland finishing third – Midland Daily News

Girls Tennis

Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 6 North Muskegon claimed its fifth straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship as Brittany Bailey won a flight title for the third time in four seasons – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Lakeview clinched the All-City championship, sweeping all eight flight titles – Battle Creek Enquirer

Track & Field

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s girls won their eighth straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association meet led again by standout Maryssa Depies – Muskegon Chronicle

Fruitport’s boys won their fourth straight Greater Muskegon Athletic Association title with three two-event winners – Muskegon Chronicle

Marysville swept the Algonac Muskrat Classic Small School titles, sharing the boys championship with Marine City – Port Huron Times Herald

St. Ignace’s girls won their Kiwanis Invitational, while Newberry’s boys claimed that title – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Lake Linden-Hubbell’s teams swept the Lakes Invitational titles – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Remus Chippewa Hills swept the Sanford Meridian Nite Trax Invitational titles; the girls team is ranked No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – Big Rapids News

LP Division 4 No. 4 Grand Haven’s girls edged LP Division 2 top-ranked Ada Forest Hills Eastern by 14 points at the Holland West Ottawa Invitational – Grand Haven Tribune

Centreville’s girls, No. 3 in LP Division 4, finished ahead of No. 6 Marcellus to win their invitational – Sturgis Journal