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: 10/5/15
October 5, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
One of the final weekends of the regular season included a record-setting performance in tennis and another in boys soccer, plus elite county-wide competition in swimming and diving.
Cross Country
Unranked Grand Haven finished ahead of Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 10 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Division 2 No. 5 Cadillac to win the large-school girls race at the Allendale Invitational – Grand Haven Tribune
Boys Soccer
Josh Busscher scored what would go down as the fastest goal (once confirmed) off the opening kickoff in MHSAA history, sending a shot into Division 4 No. 5 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s net four seconds in as Division 2 No. 1 Holland Christian went on to a 4-1 win – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Swimming and Diving
Battle Creek Lakeview won its All-City championship meet for the 12th straight season – Battle Creek Enquirer
Utica Eisenhower won the Macomb County Championships for the second straight year, setting a number of meet records in the process – Macomb Daily
Farmington Hills Mercy won the Oakland County meet for the 11th straight year and set meet records in the opening and closing relays – Oakland Press
Boys Tennis
Midland Dow’s Michael Szabo set what would be the MHSAA record for career singles wins, earning his 142nd and 143rd to surpass former Dow standout Johnathan Gurnee – Midland Daily News
LP Division 4 No. 6 Ludington and No. 5 Whitehall tied for the Coastal Conference tournament championship, with Ludington winning the overall league title thanks to a perfect dual match record – Muskegon Chronicle
Volleyball
Mount Morris, down to No. 6 in Class B, could jump back up the poll after beating Class A honorable mention Farmington Hills Mercy in its tournament final and finishing first ahead of a field including Class A No. 1 Novi and No. 2 Lake Orion – Flint Journal