Linked Up: 11/22/11
December 20, 2011
Thanksgiving week means a short one for most -- and more time for family, shopping, relaxation, watching the MHSAA Football Finals and hopefully a little additional reading.
Here are some suggestions from the last week and as we get ready to leave the fall and jump into the winter sports season.
Remember, if you find something high school sports-related that you think others would find useful or inspiring, send me a link at [email protected] and I'll check it out.
Okemos girl's cancer battle inspires Spartans (Lansing State Journal)\
We believe high school sports are about community. While not high school-related, this is a story about community and its power to do great things. Joe Rexrode tells us about 11-year-old Paige Duren and her battle against brain cancer – with the support of her community including big assists from the Michigan State football and basketball teams. She’s a two-sport athlete herself – playing soccer and basketball – and an inspiration to those who’ve come to know her. Rexrode makes it easy to understand why.
Sister act: Shaw, Halberg share much in common, despite more than 2,000 miles between them (Petoskey News)
That the Grunch sisters are excellent volleyball coaches isn’t a coincidence, Charlevoix people surely would say. But it’s a neat one that Liz (Grunch) Shaw and Christine (Grunch) Halberg both led their teams to their best finishes since 1989 (Halberg) or ever (Shaw). Shaw coaches their alma mater, while Halberg coaches 2,300 miles away in Washington. Steve Foley fills us in on how this worked out.
Avenall the right choice to lead Clarkston into volleyball history (NorthOaklandSports.com)
Clarkston coach Kelly Avenal was part of some great teams as a player, but until this past weekend Clarkston had never reached an MHSAA Finals weekend. Dan Stickradt tells us how she’s taken the program to the elite level while also giving a brief history lesson on how it got rolling toward that trip to Battle Creek.
Natural fit: Superior Dome was easy choice for 8-man final according to MHSAA (Marquette Mining Journal)
A few of us spent Friday night at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome, and count me among those who will look forward to making a return trip. Here’s some of the story behind the MHSAA’s selection of the Superior Dome as home of the inaugural 8-Player Football Final, as well as Semifinals most years.
Lowell's Noel Dean to Receive 2011 Power of Influence Award (AFCA.com)
The Red Arrows are headed back to Ford Field on Friday for the Division 2 Final, but Dean also will be scheduling a January trip to San Antonio, Texas, to receive this prestigious award from the American Football Coaches Association and American Football Coaches Foundation. Dean started his head coaching career at Bendle in 1991 before heading to Lowell in 1996. He's led teams to three MHSAA championships, and also the fundraising of $425,000 for cancer support through the "Pink Arrow Project."
Today in the MHSAA: 5/22/19
May 23, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The league championship portion of our spring continued in full force Tuesday, with today’s list of achievers topped by a team celebrating for the first time in a long time.
1. Baseball: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern clinched its first league title since 2000, sweeping Cedar Springs in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White – Grand Rapids Press
2. Track & Field: Pittsford’s boys and girls both edged Hillsdale Academy’s to sweep Southern Central Athletic Association meet titles, the boys by three points and the girls by just one; the Pittsford boys are ranked No. 6 and girls No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, and Hillsdale Academy’s girls are No. 1 – Hillsdale Daily News
3. Track & Field: Addison’s LPD4 top-ranked boys clinched their first Cascades Conference championship since 2003, and the LPD3 No. 4 Onsted girls also were victorious – Adrian Daily Telegram
4. Softball: Division 4 top-ranked Coleman clinched its fifth straight Mid-State Activities Conference title with a sweep of Breckenridge – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
5. Track & Field: Corunna’s girls locked up their fifth straight Genesee Area Conference Red title – Owosso Argus-Press
6. Baseball: Richmond swept Algonac to clinch a share of the Blue Water Area Conference title, its 19th in 21 seasons – Port Huron Times-Herald
7. Baseball: Kingsley swept Division 4 No. 14 Maple City Glen Lake to win its first Northwest Conference championship in 13 years – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. Girls & Boys Golf: Iron River West Iron County swept the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference tournament titles – Iron Mountain Daily News
9. Track & Field: Parma Western swept Interstate 8 Athletic Conference meet championships – Coldwater Daily Reporter
10. Track & Field: Clare’s girls and boys repeated as Jack Pine Conference meet champions; the girls are ranked No. 1 and the boys No. 2 in LPD3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Also of note …
Baseball: Division 4 No. 7 Beal City clinched a share of the Highland Conference title with a sweep of Leroy Pine River – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Track & Field: The New Lothrop boys and Byron girls finished championship runs through the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference – Owosso Argus-Press
Track & Field: The Centreville girls and Bloomingdale boys celebrated Southwest 10 Conference meet championships – Sturgis Journal
Baseball: Cheboygan swept Pickford to secure the Straits Area Conference title – Cheboygan News
Track & Field: Kingsley swept Northwest Conference league meet titles; the girls are ranked No. 2 and the boys No. 5 in LPD3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle Boys | Girls
Softball: Division 2 No. 5 Muskegon Oakridge swept Mason County Central to lock up its fourth straight West Michigan Conference championship – Local Sports Journal
Softball: Division 1 honorable mention Jenison swept Muskegon Reeths-Puffer to clinch the O-K Black championship – Muskegon Chronicle
Softball: Cheboygan finished its repeat run in the Straits Area Conference with a sweep of Pickford – Cheboygan News
Track & Field: Newberry’s boys and St. Ignace’s girls won Straits Area Conference league meet titles – Cheboygan News
Track & Field: The Rapid River boys and Felch North Dickinson girls locked up Skyline Central Conference meet titles – Escanaba Daily Press
Track & Field: Warren Mott’s boys and Macomb L’Anse Creuse North’s girls won Macomb Area Conference Blue meet titles, while Macomb Dakota’s teams swept the Red and are ranked No. 4 (boys) and No. 5 (girls) in LPD1 – Macomb Daily