Today in the MHSAA: 10/14/15

October 14, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

With Lower Peninsula golf and tennis heading into the MHSAA Finals this weekend, it’s cross country, soccer and volleyball teams’ turns to claim league championships.

Cross Country

Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 5 Shepherd won its sixth straight Tri-Valley Conference Central girls championship with the top four finishers at the final league jamboree – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Soccer

Hillsdale Academy won the Hillsdale Cup and clinched a league title with a shootout win over Hillsdale High – Hillsdale Daily News

Division 2 No. 6 Spring Lake and No. 9 Fruitport will split the Lakes 8 Conference title thanks to the former’s 4-1 victory over Division 3 No. 11 Ludington on Tuesday – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Swimming and Diving

LP Division 1 No. 6 Brighton opened its new pool by handing honorable mention Grand Blanc its first loss this season – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Lake Odessa Lakewood, No. 7 in Class B, stayed undefeated in Greater Lansing Activities Conference play with a three-set win over Class D No. 5 Lansing Christian – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Class B No. 7 Chelsea clinched its second straight Southeastern Conference White championship with a sweep of Tecumseh – AnnArbor.com

West Bloomfield unseated two-time reigning champion Farmington Hills Harrison in the Oakland Activities Association White, coming back from a first-set loss to claim the deciding match – Oakland Press

Ortonville-Brandon continued a 13-3 run coming off a 3-7 start this fall with a 3-1 win over Flushing – Flint Journal

Good Reads

The MHSAA Finals preview of Port Huron-area boys tennis teams kicks off with a look at 50-year Armada coach Dave Fredette – Port Huron Times-Herald

The origins of the unique Ann Arbor Huron River Rat mascot are tough to lock down, but this report looks at a few theories – AnnArbor.com

Today in the MHSAA: 6/1/16

June 1, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Softball, baseball, and girls soccer MHSAA tournaments kicked off Tuesday and were filled with exciting matchups – but highlights were hardly reserved for just those three sports during one of our busiest days of competition each school year.

Baseball

Division 1 No. 5 Bay City Western got past rival Mount Pleasant for the final time this season, downing the No. 6 Oilers 7-3 to open their District – Bay City Times

Boys Lacrosse

No. 3 Okemos downed No. 7 Vicksburg 19-10 in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal at DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

Girls Soccer

Division 2 No. 3 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep downed Catholic League rival and No. 8 Warren Regina in the first round of their District – Oakland Press

Libby Amley assisted on the first goal and scored the game winner with 50 seconds to play at Bay City John Glenn came back to beat Bay City Central 2-1 in Division 2 – Bay City Times

Goodrich scored its game’s only goal in overtime to get past St. Clair 1-0 in Division 3 – Flint Journal

Softball

Bay City Western opened the postseason with a 1-0 win over Mount Pleasant in a matchup of teams earning honorable mentions in Division 1 – Bay City Times

Flat Rock’s Lauren Hoffman drove in the tying run in the seventh inning and the winner in the ninth to lead her team past New Boston Huron 5-4 – Monroe Evening News

Track & Field

Jackson’s Anthony Owens is on his way to perhaps graduating as the top long jumper in MHSAA history after breaking the 39-year-old record at the Selby Track & Field Classic with a leap of 24 feet, 8 inches – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Clare’s Kasey Staley tied the pole vault record of 11-6 at the Morning Sun Meet of Champions, matching the best by former Remus Chippewa Hills star and potential Olympian Kristen Hixson – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun