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: 11/4/15
November 4, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Girls Volleyball Districts continued Tuesday with 55 games across the state, but one of the biggest headlines told of a softball coaching hire in Monroe County.
Volleyball
Saginaw Heritage advanced in Class A with a five-set win over Mount Pleasant; the teams split during the regular season – Saginaw News
Class A No. 8 Rockford opened with a sweep of Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern – Grand Rapids Press
Class A No. 10 DeWitt swept East Lansing in their first-round match – Lansing State Journal
Reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip opened with a sweep of Marshall Academy coming off Saturday’s 1,000th win by coach Vicky Groat – Battle Creek Enquirer
From Monday, Carney-Nadeau fell in the first two sets before winning the final three of its Class D opener against Felch North Dickinson – Escanaba Daily Press
Softball
Former standout catcher Caitlin Blanchard, who led Petersburg-Summerfield to an MHSAA title in 2010 and then starred at University of Michigan, will return to her high school as coach – Monroe Evening News