Linked Up: 11/8/11

December 16, 2011

My online travels over the last 10 days have taken me to just about every media entity in Michigan as we've been tracking down football, volleyball and soccer results. Below are some of the intriguing stories I happened upon that you might want to check out as well.

See something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable? Send me a link at [email protected].

State meet an experience to savor  (Livingston County Daily Press & Argus)

Reporter Katie Noble ran at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals for Kinde North Huron in 2001. She explains how her perspective has changed during the 10 years since -- something any former high school athlete can appreciate.

Lincoln football: More than just football (AnnArbor.com)

Although Ypsilanti Lincoln's first playoff run ever ended after just one game, it gave those fans plenty to celebrate -- and AnnArbor.com's Jeff Sainlar put together a great multimedia look at how the team made history after going 0-9 in 2010.

Twin sisters key players for both Dow and Midland volleyball teams (Midland Daily News)

We hear a lot of stories of teams having two or three siblings, a set of twins or an occasional crew of triplets. But Saturday's District final at Saginaw Heritage included two teams from the same city both receiving major contributions sets of twins. Dan Chalk explained how similarities among those pairs benefited their respective teams in similar ways.

Marshall Thomas' coaching tree produces state titles on way to Saginaw County Hall of Fame induction (Saginaw News)

Thomas coached five sports and served as athletic director during his tenure at Saginaw High. But he's best known for leading a boys basketball power that has produced two more coaches who have gone on to win MHSAA titles. A fantastic legacy left by one of the friendliest people I've met in high school athletics, and Geoff Mott tells us about it.

Deckerville Eagles will move to 8-man football (Port Huron Times-Herald)

The Port Huron area looks to continue to be a center for 8-player football with another solid program set to make the switch. But it's not always an easy decision, and Jim Whymer tells us why and how Deckerville decided it was time.

Today in the MHSAA: 5/13/19

May 13, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Michigan high school teams are reaching postseason form, as the weekend was filled with league championships in a variety of sports, big time matchups in a few others plus a series of record book-worthy performances.

1. Track & Field: The Zeeland East girls and Zeeland West boys won O-K Green league meet titles; both are ranked No. 1 in LPD2 – Holland Sentinel Girls | Boys

2. Girls Tennis: Rockford, No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, scored four more points than No. 6 Holland West Ottawa at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red tournament to create a shared league title between the ranked programs – Holland Sentinel

3. Boys Lacrosse: Birmingham Brother Rice got past rival Detroit Catholic Central 16-12 to win the Detroit Catholic League tournament final; they were ranked Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, in Division 1 entering the week – Oakland Press

4. Softball: Division 3 No. 1 Millington scored a 3-0 win over Division 2 top-ranked Escanaba at the Eskymos’ invitational – Escanaba Daily Press

5. Track & Field: The Saline boys won their ninth straight Southeastern Conference Red title on the league meet’s final event, while Ann Arbor Pioneer won the girls championship – Saline Post Boys | Girls

6. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 3 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek downed No. 2 Midland 1-0, handing the Chemics their first loss – Midland Daily News

7. Softball: Division 1 No. 9 Hartland won the South Lyon quad, with a 1-0 win over the host and No. 4-ranked Lions – State Champs Sports Network

8. Girls Tennis: LPD1 No. 1 Grosse Pointe South earned a 6-2 win over No. 4 Midland Dow, which earned victories over No. 7 Troy and LPD2 No. 5 Holly at the GPS quad – Midland Daily News

9. Girls Tennis: Fruitport locked up its third straight O-K Black championship – Grand Haven Tribune

10. Track & Field: Milford completed a sweep of Lakes Valley Conference meet championships – Oakland Press

Also of note …

Girls Tennis: Ludington finished a sweep of Lakes 8 Conference championships by winning the league tournament – Ludington Daily News

Track & Field: The Otsego boys and Vicksburg girls won Wolverine Conference meet championships – JoeInsider.com

Track & Field: The Spring Lake girls earned a shared O-K Blue title with a league meet win, while Allendale’s boys won their side of the meet – Grand Haven Tribune

Track & Field: The Brighton boys and Northville girls won Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet championships – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Softball: Frankfort’s Natalie Bigley hit five home runs over a double-header sweep of Bellaire, including three straight in the second game – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Baseball: Sanford Meridian’s Hunter Merillat had two doubles during a loss to Pinconning to reach 68 for his career, tying the MHSAA record – Midland Daily News

Track & Field: Coldwater thrower Dylan Targgart tossed the shot 65-9 at the Williamston Invitational, a distance that would break the LPD2 Finals record – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Baseball: Division 1 No. 17 Grand Ledge swept DeWitt, sending coach Pat O’Keefe past 1,300 career wins – Lansing State Journal

Track & Field: Definitely worth watching is Texas high school sprinter Matthew Boling setting a national record in the 100 meters at Saturday’s UIL meet with a time of 10.13 seconds – Corpus Christi Caller Times