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: 11/13/15

November 13, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The volleyball field was whittled to 32 teams Thursday; here’s a look at two matches from each class that jumped out from the webpage, plus a couple interesting reads to check out this morning.

Volleyball

Class A No. 2 Mattawan needed all five sets and extra points in two of them to down No. 10 DeWitt for a Regional title – Kalamazoo Gazette

Reigning Class A champion and current No. 6 Romeo needed five sets to get past honorable mention Utica Eisenhower – Macomb Daily

Class B No. 7 Goodrich won its first Regional title with a sweep of honorable mention Marysville – Flint Journal

Annual contender Lake Odessa Lakewood will return to the final week; the No. 3 Vikings swept No. 9 Grand Rapids South Christian – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Class C No. 6 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian upset No. 3 Montague 3-1 for its first Regional title since 1999 – Grand Rapids Press

Class C top-ranked Bronson continued its impressive run with a four-set win over No. 9 Schoolcraft – Sturgis Journal

Class D No. 8 Mendon will return to the Quarterfinals after a sweep of honorable mention Climax-Scotts that included two two-point set wins – Sturgis Journal

Leland, No. 3 in Class D, won its fifth straight Regional title, this time with a sweep of Fife Lake Forest Area – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Good Reads

East Grand Rapids yearly has one of Michigan’s top girls swimming and diving programs – and this fall, it’s driven in part by seven sets of sisters – Grand Rapids Press

Football has served a few purposes for Dansville running back Ethan Korb, a 2,000-yard rusher this fall and the son of a cancer survivor – Lansing State Journal