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: 2/17/20

February 17, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first MHSAA winter champions were crowned Saturday – congrats to Marquette on a girls and boys swimming & diving sweep. Find coverage of those meets also on Second Half, and check out this list of others who made the biggest headlines. 

1. Girls Basketball: Detroit Renaissance claimed its first Detroit Public School League overall title since 2011 with an 81-55 win over Detroit Cass Tech – State Champs Sports Network 

2. Boys Basketball: Cass Tech won its third PSL title over the last four seasons with a 66-41 victory over Douglass – State Champs Sports Network

3. Gymnastics: Howell won its first Kensington Lakes Activities Association title in this sport – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Wresting: Division 4 No. 2 New Lothrop celebrated nine District champions among 14 total Regional qualifiers – Owosso Argus-Press 

5. Hockey: Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central won a matchup of top-ranked teams, shutting out Division 2’s Livonia Stevenson 4-0 – Observer & Eccentric

6. Hockey: Utica Eisenhower clinched a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title with a 6-3 win over Division 1 No. 5 Macomb Dakota – Macomb Daily

7. Bowling: The Division 3 top-ranked Flat Rock girls and Monroe boys won Monroe County championships – Monroe News

8. Boys Basketball: Wyoming handed Grand Rapids Christian its first loss, 62-61, to move into a first-place tie in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold – FOX 17

9. Boys Basketball: Ann Arbor Skyline ended Ann Arbor Huron’s perfect run with a 53-40 victory – We Love Ann Arbor

10. Boys Swimming & Diving: Monroe’s Gavin Redden and Howell’s Hunter Gubeno won multiple championships at the prestigious MISCA Meet – MISCA Online

Also of note …

Hockey: St. Clair Shores Unified repeated as MAC White champion with a 6-5 win over Port Huron United – Macomb Daily

Bowling: Traverse City West’s girls and Cadillac’s Division 2 No. 3 boys locked up Great Northwest High School Bowling Conference titles – Traverse City Record-Eagle