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: 4/13/16

April 13, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

As spring sports began picking up the pace with the warmer weather Tuesday, communities also celebrated lives of those now passed, including a statewide voice of high school sports.

Baseball

Big Rapids and Morley Stanwood wasted little time getting their offenses going, with Big Rapids coming out on top 19-14 in the only game of a doubleheader that got in before dark – Big Rapids News

Mount Pleasant got a no-hitter and two-hitter from its pitchers in a season-opening sweep of Midland Dow – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Pitchers Brandon Reed and Caleb Wascher each had 13 strikeouts as Millington swept Montrose 4-3 and 6-1 – Saginaw News

Boys Lacrosse

Birmingham Brother Rice survived another close game with rival Detroit Country Day, this time 8-3 – Oakland Press

Softball

Utica Ford, a regular contender at the statewide level, downed reigning Division 1 champion Warren Regina 14-4 – Macomb Daily

Stevensville Lakeshore downed Edwardsburg 13-3 in its first game of the season, but Edwardsburg stormed back with a 17-4 win over the annual MHSAA title contender – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Good Reads

Paul Carey was best known as a voice of the Detroit Tigers for a generation. But he also played a major role in Michigan high school sports, as we wrote about in 2014. Carey died Tuesday at 88 – Detroit News

Lacrosse rivals Battle Creek Lakeview and Harper Creek played each other with a common motivation Tuesday – to raise money and offer support for the family of Harlyn Radley, a local 6-year-old who died in a car crash in February – Battle Creek Enquirer