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: 12/11/15
December 11, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A number of nail-biting girls basketball finishes topped Thursday’s statewide sports action, and we ran across some gymnastics, bowling and swimming and diving coverage as well.
Girls Basketball
Cassopolis came back for a 37-29 win over New Buffalo with a big fourth quarter while playing with their thoughts on coach Nat Pittman, who reportedly suffered a heart attack Wednesday – Niles Daily Star
Shannon Bates nailed a 3-pointer with five seconds to play as Bay City All Saints edged Standish-Sterling 34-31 – Bay City Times
Sydney Stine’s free throw with 9.2 seconds to play gave Montague a 38-37 win over Hart – Muskegon Chronicle
Birch Run broke away from Millington 56-50 on 30 points and 13 rebounds by Savanah Gibson, who has averaged 25 points and 17 rebounds over her last two games – Saginaw News
Traverse City Central beat Traverse City West for the first time in nearly two calendar years, coming back from an early deficit with an 18-0 run en route to a 49-38 victory – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Niles Brandywine made 12 3-pointers to down rival Buchanan 67-47 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Boys Basketball
Dexter scored only one point during the first quarter and trailed South Lyon by 14, but came back for a 56-52 win – Ann Arbor News
Bellevue scored with 21 seconds left in regulation to send its game with North Adams-Jerome to overtime, then emerged as the winner after three extra periods – Hillsdale Daily News
Bowling
Statewide power Battle Creek Pennfield won all-city titles with boys and girls victories over the teams from Battle Creek Lakeview – Battle Creek Enquirer
Gymnastics
In the first gymnastics headline we’ve seen this season (many teams begin competition in January), Tecumseh earned a victory over Adrian with the top two all-around finishers – Adrian Daily Telegram
Boys Swimming & Diving
Spring Lake defeated neighbor Grand Haven for only the second time ever, 96-90, and also beat Muskegon Mona Shores 149-34 – Grand Haven Tribune