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: 11/2/15

November 2, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Cross Country and Boys Soccer Regionals finished up over the weekend and the final volleyball league tournaments were played in advance of this week’s MHSAA Districts. Click for a few of each that stuck out among the weekend’s media reports.

Cross Country

Fenton’s unranked boys won their first MHSAA Regional since 2006 and third in school history, outpacing No. 6-ranked Bay City Western in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – Flint Journal

The Alma girls will race at the MHSAA Finals for the first time since 1990 after finishing second at the LPD2 Regional in Bay City – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Soccer

Division 3 No. 10 Gladwin continued its best season ever, winning its first MHSAA Regional title by downing No. 11 Ludington – Midland Daily News

Division 4 No. 3 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian got past No. 5 Leland 1-0 to claim a Regional title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Girls Swimming and Diving

Brighton, No. 6 in LPD1, overtook Hartland in the final event to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West meet championship – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

The Concord volleyball team entered the Big 8 Conference tournament as the fourth seed, but with a victory earned a share of its fifth straight league title – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Class B No. 8 North Branch avenged an earlier loss to honorable mention Frankenmuth to win the all-division Tri-Valley Conference tournament championship, its 11th straight – Saginaw News