Today in the MHSAA: 10/16/15

October 16, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

First-time champions are always worth noting, and we found a few in checking out today’s media reports of Thursday action statewide.

Cross Country

The Calumet girls, ranked No. 4 in Upper Peninsula Division 1, and the unranked Houghton boys won the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference finals at Chassell – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Boys Soccer

Grand Rapids Union clinched its first league title since moving from the Grand Rapids City League to the Ottawa-Kent Conference, downing Muskegon 3-0 – Grand Rapids Press

Manchester edged Hillsdale Academy 2-1 to claim its first Independent Soccer League championship after winning only one league game in 2014 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Volleyball

Class B honorable mention Buchanan downed Class C’s top-ranked team, Bronson, in five sets, and also Class D No. 6 Mendon in five – Niles Daily Star

Class B No. 6 Mount Morris avenged a five-set loss to No. 5 Goodrich in September by sweeping the Martians to improve to 55-5-1 – Flint Journal

Zeeland West claimed its first conference title in this sport, defeating Holland Christian in five sets to claim a share of the O-K Green championship – Holland Sentinel

Good Reads

Longtime Burton Atherton leader Mary Down will become the third volleyball coach inducted into the Greater Flint Area Hall of Fame, having impacted a generation of players and more as a number of former players went on to coach as well – Flint Journal

Today in the MHSAA: 4/11/18

April 11, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

1. Boys Lacrosse: Joey Kamish scored in overtime to give Detroit Catholic Central its first win over 13-time reigning champion Birmingham Brother Rice since 1994, 10-9 – Observer & Eccentric

2. Girls Soccer: Division 3 power Hudsonville Unity Christian downed Division 2 No. 4 Holland Christian 2-0 – FOX17

3. Girls Soccer: Sarah Dawson scored half of her team’s goals in Jonesville’s 6-1 win over Hillsdale – Hillsdale Daily News

4. Baseball: Holland Christian’s Chris Mokma threw a five-inning perfect game as his team swept Hudsonville Unity Christian – Holland Sentinel

5. Baseball: Detroit Edison won a matchup of two of the best in the Detroit Public School League, 8-7 over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News

6. Boys Golf: Holland West Ottawa shot a 333 to win the Wooden Shoe Invitational by 20 strokes – Holland Sentinel

7. Baseball: Essexville Garber and Standish-Sterling split a doubleheader, with Spencer Mahar’s walk-off double in the eighth inning of the Dukes’ 7-6 win among highlights – Bay City Times

8. Girls Soccer: Sidney McClay scored with just under three minutes to play to give Romeo a 1-0 win over Berkley – Oakland Press

9. Baseball: Brett Sikorski threw a five-inning no-hitter to lead Bronson in its doubleheader sweep of Union City – Coldwater Daily Reporter

10. Boys Soccer: Longtime Parma Western coach Ron Rudland, the only coach in program history, retired after 33 seasons – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Also of note …

Coaches: Fruitport Calvary Christian girls basketball coach Brad Richards has put together a Class D power over the last many years. This past winter also included a large role in a fascinating reality show airing on the History Channel; he’s part of a search for Confederate gold in Lake Michigan – Local Sports Journal