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: 2/5/18
February 5, 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. 9 Stevensville Lakeshore finished ahead of No. 6 Niles and Division 1 No. 10 Battle Creek Lakeview to complete a Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title with a league tournament win – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
2. Hockey: After falling to Indiana power Culver Academy on Friday, Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central came back to down Ohio power Cleveland St. Ignatius 6-1 at the MIHL Prep Hockey Showcase – Observer & Eccentric
3. Boys Swimming & Diving: Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 10 Detroit Catholic Central got past No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice to win the Oakland County championship – Oakland Press
4. Boys Basketball: Foster Loyer scored 31 points in a 75-29 win over Bloomfield Hills to go over 2,000 for his career – Detroit Free Press
5. Girls Basketball: Morenci clinched a share of its first league title since 2004 with a 79-54 win over Ottawa Lake Whiteford in the Tri-County Conference – Adrian Daily Telegram
6. Cheer: Division 2 No. 2 Gibraltar Carlson claimed the overall title just ahead of host and No. 5 Southgate Anderson at the Southgate Invitational; No. 9 Dearborn Divine Child was third – Southgate News Herald
7. Boys Basketball: Ryan Arndt went over 1,000 career points for Bark River-Harris in its 85-45 win over Felch North Dickinson – Iron Mountain Daily News
8. Wrestling: Gladwin finished second at the Jack Pine Conference tournament to Beaverton, but by doing so clinched its first league title in the sport in more than a decade – Midland Daily News
9. Girls Basketball: Pittsford ran its winning streak to 70 with a 49-32 win over Athens, which entered the week also undefeated – Hillsdale Daily News
10. Wrestling: Division 1 No. 9 Hudsonville followed up a perfect regular-season run by winning the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red league tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Also of note …
Wrestling: Division 2 top-ranked Lowell celebrated nine individual champions on the way to winning the O-K White league tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Wrestling: Temperance Bedford and Tecumseh clinched Southeastern Conference division championships, with Bedford winning the overall league title – Adrian Daily Telegram
Wrestling: Edwardsburg finished off a second straight Wolverine Conference championship – Niles Daily Star
Wrestling: Coldwater followed a perfect dual run through the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference with a league tournament win – Coldwater Daily Reporter
Wrestling: Division 4 No. 8 Springport also followed a perfect dual run through the Big 8 Conference with a league tournament win – Coldwater Daily Reporter
Wrestling: Byron Center edged Holland with all 14 of its wrestlers placing to win the O-K Green league tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Wrestling: Belding placed 13 wrestlers to win big at the O-K Silver tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Basketball: St. Clair edged Warren Woods Tower 58-55 to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Gold championship – Port Huron Times Herald
Wrestling: Gladstone saw eight champions crowned in winning the Mid-Peninsula Conference team championship – Escanaba Daily Press
Wrestling: Brownstown Woodhaven won the Downriver League meet to share the overall league title with Southgate Anderson for the second straight season – Southgate News Herald
Wrestling: Division 3 No. 2 Richmond and Division 1 No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central added league tournament championships as well – Macomb Daily
Wrestling: Division 4 No. 3 Mendon, Comstock, Schoolcraft and Colon were among others that clinched wrestling league tournament titles – JoeInsider.com
Boys Swimming & Diving: LPD2 No. 5 Warren DeLaSalle won its sixth straight Macomb County championship – Macomb Daily
Girls Basketball: Charlevoix scored the final 13 points over 1:13 to beat Traverse City St. Francis 50-48 to create a first-place tie between the two in the Lake Michigan Conference – Traverse City Record-Eagle