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: 8/28/15

August 28, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Thursday saw the start of varsity football season, and nearly half of Michigan’s teams kicked off their fall.

Football’s first week in review will be posted Monday afternoon; in the meantime, there is more good news to report from today’s statewide headlines.

Cross Country

The Croswell-Lexington girls and Yale boys won the Mike Jackson Invitational, with Port Huron’s Rachel Bonner – fourth at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final last season – taking the girls individual title by 59 seconds – Port Huron Times-Herald

Girls Golf

Spring Lake set a school record shooting 321 to win the Big Rapids Invitational, also placing the top two individuals – Grand Haven Tribune

Good Reads

Longtime cross country and track and field official Doug Steward was quoted as saying he was close to retiring – in 2009. But this fall, after 51 years, he indeed will start his final races – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

The Lac Vieux Desert Tribe presented Watersmeet schools with $174,000 earlier this year that in part went to a new gym floor complete with the school's nationally-recognized Nimrod logo – Ironwood Daily Globe