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: 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