Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/15
October 15, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.
Cross Country
The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal
LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press
LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily
Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press
LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier
Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal
Volleyball
Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal
Good Reads
Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org
Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal
Today in the MHSAA: 5/21/19
May 21, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Monday saw one of the spring’s busiest afternoons so far for league champions as at least 19 teams clinched shares or outright titles in a variety of sports.
1. Girls Soccer: Division 2 No. 14 Pinckney locked up the Southeastern Conference White championship, its first league title in this sport, with a 2-1 win over No. 10 Dexter – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
2. Girls Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked North Muskegon clinched its fourth straight West Michigan Conference title, with its seniors finishing 40-0 in league play over their careers, thanks to a 9-4 win over Division 3 No. 13 Whitehall – Local Sports Journal
3. Softball: Division 1 No. 6 Warren Regina edged Division 3 No. 3 Allen Park Cabrini 3-2 to win the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship game – C&G Newspapers
4. Girls Soccer: Division 1 top-ranked Novi moved to 20-0-1 with a 2-0 win over No. 14 Livonia Stevenson that clinched the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association title – Observer & Eccentric
5. Track & Field: Gladstone’s boys won their first Mid-Peninsula Conference meet championship, while Negaunee’s girls locked up their 10th straight – Marquette Mining Journal
6. Softball: Division 1 honorable mention Allen Park clinched a share of its ninth straight Downriver League title with a sweep of Gibraltar Carlson – Southgate News-Herald
7. Girls Soccer: Kingsley claimed its first Northwest Conference championship in this sport with a 1-0 win over Buckley – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. Baseball: Division 2 No. 2 East Grand Rapids clinched a share and then the outright O-K Gold title with a doubleheader sweep of Ada Forest Hills Eastern – FOX 17
9. Girls Soccer: Division 3 No. 4 Otsego finished a repeat title run in the Wolverine Conference with a 1-0 victory over Plainwell – WWMT
10. Baseball: Morley Stanwood picked up a share of a third straight Central State Activities Association Silver title with a 9-7 win over Kent City – Big Rapids News
Also of note …
Girls Soccer: Division 3 No. 9 Grosse Ile locked up a share of the Huron League title with a 2-1 win over Riverview – Southgate News-Herald
Softball: Macomb Lutheran North edged Madison Heights Bishop Foley 8-6 to clinch the Catholic League C-D title – State Champs Sports Network
Softball: Division 1 No. 3 Bay City Western locked up a second straight Saginaw Valley League North title with a sweep of Midland Dow – Bay City Times
Girls Soccer: A draw against Jenison gave Muskegon Mona Shores its third straight O-K Black title – Local Sports Journal
Boys Golf: Byron Center, No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship with a win at the league tournament – Holland Sentinel
Baseball/Softball: The Camden-Frontier baseball team and North Adams-Jerome softball team clinched championships in the Southern Central Athletic Association East – Hillsdale Daily News
Softball: Division 4 No. 8 Holton claimed its fifth straight league title and Muskegon Orchard View its third consecutive – Local Sports Journal
Boys Basketball: Longtime former coach Paul Polfus will bring nearly 700 combined girls and boys varsity victories when he re-takes over the latter program at Carney-Nadeau – Escanaba Daily Press