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: 5/10/17

May 10, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Top teams statewide faced off in local matchups in soccer and softball Tuesday, and check our “Good Read” at the bottom of this report for the story behind the voice that will be missed both in Battle Creek and by Michigan's wrestling community as a whole.

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

Standish-Sterling’s Sean O’Keefe won both games of a doubleheader against Freeland, the first in relief and the second game with a shutout – Bay City Times

Boys Golf

Escanaba shined with a 319 to win the Kiwanis Invitational at Northern Michigan University – Marquette Mining Gazette

Manistee Catholic Central clinched the West Michigan D League title – Manistee News Advocate

From Monday, Tecumseh edged Adrian and Clinton both by a stroke to win the Lenawee County championship – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Lacrosse

Division 2 No. 10 Midland downed Bay City Western 21-2 to clinch a fifth straight Saginaw Valley League title – Midland Daily News

From Monday, Division 1 No. 9 South Lyon finished an unbeaten run in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Kensington Conference with an 8-6 win over Plymouth – Observer & Eccentric

Girls Soccer

Kenna White scored twice to lead Division 1 No. 10 Plymouth past No. 2 Canton in a Kensington Lakes Activities Association South clash – Observer & Eccentric

Division 2 No. 18 Detroit Country Day held off multiple rushes by Troy Athens to secure a 3-2 win – Oakland Press

Softball

Hadlie Hinojosa and Taylor Nichols combined for five home runs and 17 RBI in Parma Western’s sweep of Jackson Lumen Christi – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Division 2 No. 4 Vicksburg and unranked Edwardsburg split a key doubleheader, Edwardsburg winning the first game 8-6 and Vicksburg the second 12-5 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Oxford shut down Lake Orion 9-1 in a matchup of Division 1 honorable mentions thanks to 15 strikeouts by Kaitlyn Bean; Lake Orion was up 8-5 in the second game when it was suspended because of darkness – Oakland Press

Girls Tennis

Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 5 Holland Christian won six of eight flights to claim the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green tournament championship – Holland Sentinel

Saline downed Ann Arbor Huron for the first time in eight years, 5-3 – Saline Post

Good Read

The Battle Creek and statewide wrestling communities are mourning the death of longtime Battle Creek Central coach Jeff McGinnis, who died Monday and was the longtime national anthem voice at the MHSAA Team Wrestling Finals – Battle Creek Enquirer