Today in the MHSAA: 10/12/16

October 12, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Ranked teams matched up in cross country, soccer and volleyball Tuesday all over the Lower Peninsula with league trophies – with top-ranked teams in all three sports among those that won championships.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Cross Country

Pinckney’s Catherine Stone won the second race of her four-year varsity career to lead her team, ranked No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, to its first Kensington Lakes Activities Association West championship since 2010 – Livingston County Daily Argus & Press

The LPD3 No. 7 Saugatuck girls clinched their 10th straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title, while the top-ranked boys won their fifth straight championship – Holland Sentinel

Ithaca swept the Tri-Valley West Conference championships, the boys by a slim margin over St. Louis and the LPD3 No. 11 girls for the fourth straight season – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Soccer

East Lansing, the top-ranked team in Division 2, avenged an opening-night loss to Haslett by defeating the No. 18 Vikings 2-0 in the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship game – Lansing State Journal

Shelby clinched a share of the West Michigan Conference title, its first league championship since 2000, by avenging an earlier loss to Division 4 No. 2 North Muskegon 2-1 – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 4 No. 16 Adrian Lenawee Christian downed Manchester 4-2 to clinch the Independent Soccer League East championship and will face No. 7 Hillsdale Academy on Thursday for the overall title – Adrian Daily Telegram

Division 1 No. 5 Rochester Adams got past No. 4 Troy Athens 2-0 to guarantee an outright Oakland Activities Association Red championship – Oakland Press

Volleyball

Class A top-ranked Novi finished its third straight KLAA Central title with a sweep of No. 4 Northville – Oakland Press

Class D No. 3 Leland won a match of top-10 teams, downing No. 9 Suttons Bay in three sets – Traverse City Record-Eagle

For the second straight season, Marcellus clinched the Southwestern Athletic Conference Central title with a win over Decatur – Sturgis Journal

From Monday, St. Joseph downed Class B No. 3 Buchanan in five games in a significant upset; the Bears are 9-22 and the Bucks are 34-4 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Today in the MHSAA: 9/17/15

September 17, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press

Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Soccer

Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News

Boys Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News

Volleyball

Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star

Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times

Good Reads

We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald

Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer