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: 6/3/16

June 3, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Nine Upper Peninsula teams won the first MHSAA Finals championships awarded this spring season Thursday, while a number of Lower Peninsula teams positioned themselves for trophy hunts this weekend and beyond.

Girls Golf

Escanaba, Cedarville and Iron Mountain provided some surprises and streak breakers in winning MHSAA Upper Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Boys Golf

The top three ranked teams in Lower Peninsula Division 2 played in the same Regional on Thursday – with top ranked Ada Forest Hills Eastern finishing two strokes ahead of No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern and four ahead of No. 3 St. Johns as all three advanced to next weekend – Grand Rapids Press

Jackson Lumen Christi, No. 2 in LP Division 3, won its 11th straight Regional title – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Houghton won its third straight MHSAA title, Carney-Nadeau repeated and St. Ignace also won a championship at Upper Peninsula Finals – Second Half

Girls Soccer

Bay City Western avenged an earlier 5-0 loss with a 1-0 win over Midland in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Bay City Times

Traverse City West downed rival Traverse City Central 1-0 with the lone goal coming in overtime – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Division 1 No. 6 Bloomfield Hills needed a shootout to get past Waterford Mott, 1-0 – Oakland Press

Fennville downed Dowagiac 1-0 in Division 3 to advance to a District Final for the first time – Holland Sentinel

Boys Tennis

Ishpeming Westwood ran its MHSAA title streak to three straight, while a pair of powers shared the Division 1 title – Second Half

Good Read

We’re big fans of playing more than one high school sport, and so we’re big fans of the work of Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills senior Alexis Baskin, who recently received the Michigan High School Coaches Association Rich Tompkins Multi-Sport Athlete Award after earning a combined 12 letters in volleyball, basketball and track & field – Grand Rapids Press