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: 10/15/15
October 15, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.
Cross Country
The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal
LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press
LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily
Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press
LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier
Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal
Volleyball
Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal
Good Reads
Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org
Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal