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: 6/5/17
June 5, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
What a weekend – 30,000 Michigan high school athletes took part in championships across eight sports, with Saturday’s Track & Field and Girls Tennis again leading the busiest day of the sports school year.
Second Half covered all 18 Finals events, and links are included to those as well as to coverage of a number of Districts in baseball, softball and girls soccer.
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.
Baseball
No. 17 Grand Ledge lost a teammate to a car crash at the start of last fall, and won Saturday’s Division 1 District title with him in mind – Lansing State Journal
Algonac claimed its first District title since 2011 with a 4-1 win over No. 10 St. Clair and 6-4 victory over reigning District champ Marysville, in Division 1 – Port Huron Times Herald
Plymouth got past No. 6 Canton in eight innings, 7-6, for a Division 1 District title win – Observer & Eccentric
No. 2 Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett emerged from a loaded Division 1 District that included No. 13 Grosse Pointe North and Grosse Pointe South – Detroit News
No. 5 Centerville won its fourth straight District title, downing Marcellus in a Division 4 championship game – Sturgis Journal
No. 7 Midland downed No. 19 Mount Pleasant 3-2 and then beat Bay City Central 5-3 to claim its first Division 1 District title since 2011 – Midland Daily News
Girls Soccer
A Division 1 District Final rematch saw No. 2 Brighton advance again, this time 4-0 over Hartland – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Troy took No. 9 Bloomfield Hills to a shootout and emerged as a Division 1 champion with a 2-1 victory – C&G Newspapers
In Division 2, Allen Park downed Dearborn Divine Child 2-1 to clinch its first District title in the sport – Southgate News Herald
No. 19 New Baltimore Anchor Bay tied its school wins record of 17 with a 4-0 Division 1 District title win over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley – Macomb Daily
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore also won its first District title in this sport, defeating Roseville in Division 1 – Macomb Daily
Cadillac claimed its first District title in girls soccer, downing Mount Pleasant 1-0 in Division 2 to move to 19-1-1 this season – Cadillac News
Softball
Top-ranked Macomb Dakota trailed No. 9 Utica Ford by a run with one out left in their Division 1 District Final, but knocked in two runs to win 5-4 – C&G Newspapers
Jenny Bressler struck out 17 to lead No. 3 Plymouth past honorable mention Canton 2-0 in a Division 1 District Final – Observer & Eccentric
No. 4 Rogers City claimed its sixth straight District crown, downing No. 10 Hillman 7-1 in a Division 4 championship game – Alpena News
No. 8 Ottawa Lake Whiteford got past honorable mention Morenci 3-2 in eight innings for a Division 4 District title – Adrian Daily Telegram
Girls Tennis
The four Lower Peninsula Finals were packed with excitement, led by a near-perfect score by Detroit Country Day in Division 3 and a tie for the Division 1 title between powerhouses Midland Dow and Northville. East Grand Rapids in Division 2 and Ann Arbor Greenhills in Division 4 also were victorious – Second Half
Track & Field
A dramatic run to the Lower Peninsula Division 1 girls title by Ann Arbor Pioneer and Southfield Christian’s first championship in the sport were among highlights of many Saturday. Lansing Waverly, Adrian Madison, Marquette, St. Ignace and Lake Linden-Hubbell also won MHSAA girls track & field titles – Second Half
Final dominating performances from stars like East Kentwood’s Khance Meyers and Corunna’s Noah Jacobs were among storylines from the seven boys Finals, which saw Meyers’ Falcons, Zeeland East, Chesaning, Whittemore-Prescott, Marquette, Newberry and Rapid River claim the team titles – Second Half