Today in the MHSAA: 10/18/18

October 18, 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 Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked Muskegon Western Michigan Christian earned a trip to the District Finals with a 3-0 win over No. 7 North Muskegon – Muskegon Chronicle

2. Boys Soccer: Unbeaten White Lake Lakeland outlasted Hartland in a shootout to move on in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Soccer: Benzie Central won its second shootout this week, this time against Boyne City, to move on to a Division 3 District Final – WPBN

4. Boys Soccer: Harbor Springs lost twice to Charlevoix during the regular season, but came back with a 3-1 District win in Division 4 – Petoskey News-Review

5. Boys Soccer: Charlie Parker scored both of his team’s goals over the final seven minutes to lead Spring Lake past Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 2-1 in Division 2 – Grand Haven Tribune

6. Cross Country: The Zeeland West boys (Lower Peninsula Division 2 No. 10) and Holland Christian girls (LPD2 No. 7) locked up Ottawa-Kent Conference Green titles – Holland Sentinel boys | girls

7. Cross Country: Bloomingdale swept the Southwest 10 Conference championship races – Sturgis Journal

8. Boys Soccer: Birmingham Brother Rice scored the game’s only goal during the second half to defeat Auburn Hills Avondale 1-0 in Division 2 – Oakland Press

9. Volleyball: Division 1 No. 3 Mattawan swept Richland Gull Lake in a matchup of Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference division champs – JoeInsider.com

10. Volleyball: Houghton Lake defeated Division 3 honorable mention Beaverton for the second time this season, handing the Beavers just their third loss overall – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Football: We are thankful for special moments like Friday’s at Mason, where Muskegon Orchard View and the host Bulldogs cheered Cardinals’ senior Fletcher Payne Jr. into the end zone – Muskegon Chronicle

Cross Country: From Tuesday, the Houghton girls (UPD1 No. 3) and Ishpeming boys (UPD2 No. 1) won Western Peninsula Athletic Conference meet titles – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Volleyball: From Tuesday, unbeaten Carney-Nadeau swept Norway to clinch the Skyline Central Conference small-school championship – Escanaba Daily Press

Cross Country: From Tuesday, Jonesville swept Big 8 Conference championship races – Hillsdale Daily News

Cross Country: From Tuesday, Holland Black River’s girls won the Alliance League title – Holland Sentinel

Today in the MHSAA: 5/6/19

May 6, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half

Finishes both close and historic highlighted the first weekend of May as top teams navigated the rain in many places in kicking off the final month of the regular season.

1. Softball: Grace Lehto nearly threw a perfect game as Division 2 No. 3 Eaton Rapids edged Division 3 top-ranked Millington to win the “marquee matchup” of the MI Stars Tournament – State Champs Sports Network 

2. Boys Golf: By way of a fifth-golfer tie-breaker, Gaylord – No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – edged LPD1 No. 6 Grosse Pointe South to win its invitational with a near-school record score – Gaylord Herald Times

3. Track & Field: Zeeland West’s boys won their 12th-straight Holland West Ottawa Von Ins Relays, while Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 6 Grand Haven and No. 7 West Ottawa’s girls shared their meet championship – Holland Sentinel

4. Boys Golf: Nathan Taylor finished as medalist to lead Muskegon Mona Shores to the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship, 30 years after his father won the same tournament – Muskegon Chronicle

5. Track & Field: The Muskegon Reeths-Puffer girls won their 10th straight GMAA title, and the Fruitport boys won their sixth straight – Local Sports Journal

6. Softball: Division 3 No. 7 Standish-Sterling edged No. 3 Sanford Meridian 5-4 to win Meridian’s invitational – Midland Daily News

7. Softball: Division 2 No. 4 Stevensville Lakeshore defeated Schoolcraft in the final to win its invitational for the first time – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

8. Boys Golf: Troy edged Rochester by 12 strokes to win the Oakland County Division 2 championship – Oakland Press

9. Softball: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer and Division 2 No. 5 Oakridge both won their fourth straight GMAA softball titles – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Track & Field: A total of 61 teams including a number of the best from multiple divisions participated at the Triangle Invitational at Saline – Athletic.net