Today in the MHSAA: 10/19/16

October 19, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

District soccer continued Tuesday and league champions were crowned in volleyball and cross country all over the Lower Peninsula – but the must-see stories are a pair of “good reads” coming out of the Jackson and Alpena areas.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Cross Country

The Caro boys – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and the No. 6 Shepherd girls won championships at the Tri-Valley Conference all-division final – Saginaw News

The Ubly girls and boys teams repeated as East champions at the Greater Thumb Conference championship race (Ubly's girls are No. 9 in LPD4), and the Reese girls and LPD4 honorable mention Cass City boys repeated as West winners – Huron Daily Tribune

Traverse City West swept the final Big North Conference jamborees, the West boys earning the league title and the Central girls finishing as overall league champion for the 14th straight season. The Central girls are No. 4 in LPD1 and the West girls are an honorable mention – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Harbor Springs’ boys (No. 2 LPD4) kept their undefeated season going with a third straight Lake Michigan Conference final championship, and Traverse City St. Francis (No. 2 LPD3) clinched the girls title – Petoskey News-Review

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 2 Portage Northern moved on with a 4-1 District win over Lansing Everett thanks to three goals by Ryan Melgar – Kalamazoo Gazette

Adrian Lenawee Christian freshman Zach Riordan set his school’s scoring record of 36 goals in an 8-0 Division 4 win over Clinton – Adrian Daily Telegram

Girls Swimming & Diving

LPD1 No. 2 Saline got past No. 10 Brighton 112-74 in a matchup of top Division 1 teams – Saline Post

Volleyball

Walled Lake Central repeated as Lakes champion in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with a five-set win over Brighton – Livingston Daily Argus & Press

Class A top-ranked Novi swept Canton to win its fourth straight KLAA Kensington championship – Oakland Press

Marine City improved to 8-1 in the Macomb Area Conference Gold and clinched a share of the league title with a three-set win over Warren Mott – Port Huron Times Herald

Good Reads

The story of Brooklyn Columbia Central standout running back Micah Raby is captivating, if not from this passage alone about how his adopted parents found him: “Inside the missionary’s hut, on an ordinary table lay an ordinary bible box containing an extraordinary sight, and it caught Doug and Sandy Raby’s eyes and hearts immediately. Inside that bible box – no bigger than a size 10 shoebox – was a 1-month-old boy named Joseph, one of two surviving triplets. His brother did not survive the birth and the birth parents decided to keep the other one, believed to be a girl, because it was the biggest and had the greatest chance of surviving.” – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Lincoln Alcona announcer Don Franklin first gave voice to the school’s athletic events in 1967, and will retire at the end of this school year with 50 years on the microphone announcing football and a number of other sports over a half century – Alpena News

Today in the MHSAA: 11/10/17

November 10, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10 

1. Volleyball: Top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep reaffirmed its status as favorite in a big way with a sweep of No. 2 North Branch in a Class B Regional Final – Oakland Press

2. Volleyball: No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian took top-ranked Rockford to a fifth set and closed out a slight upset of the reigning Class A runner-up – Grand Rapids Press

3. Volleyball: No. 4 Schoolcraft took top-ranked and reigning champion Bronson to a fifth set as well, but the Vikings prevailed for the Class C Regional title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

4. Volleyball: No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Marian avenged two losses this season to No. 8 Clarkston by downing the Wolves in a Class A Regional Final sweep – Oakland Press

5. Volleyball: Reigning champion and top-ranked Plymouth Christian Academy got past No. 3 North Adams-Jerome to move on in Class D – Hillsdale Daily News

6. Volleyball: No. 3 Lake Odessa Lakewood will play in another Class B Quarterfinal thanks to a Regional Final sweep of No. 6 Marshall – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

7. Volleyball: Honorable mention New Baltimore Anchor Bay won its first Regional title with a five-set victory over Sterling Heights Stevenson in Class A – C&G Newspapers

8. Volleyball: Honorable mention Southfield Christian earned its first Regional title in volleyball, downing Sterling Heights Parkway Christian 3-1 in Class D – Macomb Daily

9. Volleyball: Class C No. 10 Wixom St. Catherine and Detroit Edison Public School Academy both were playing for a first Regional title, and St. Catherine claimed it with a sweep – Oakland Press

10. Volleyball: No. 6 Unionville-Sebewaing swept reigning Class C runner-up Brown City to advance with a Regional title – Huron Daily Tribune

Also of note …

Volleyball: Class A No. 4 DeWitt won its first Regional title in any class since 2010 with a sweep of honorable mention Richland Gull Lake – Lansing State Journal

Volleyball: Honorable mention Cadillac won its ninth straight Class B Regional title with a sweep of Alma – Cadillac News

Volleyball: No. 8 Calumet claimed its sixth straight Regional title with a sweep of Iron River West Iron County in Class C – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Volleyball: No. 10 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart won a fifth straight Class D Regional title, defeating honorable mention Muskegon Catholic Central in five sets – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Volleyball: Reigning champion and No. 2-ranked Novi moved on to a rematch with Temperance Bedford by sweeping South Lyon in a Class A Regional Final – Observer & Eccentric

Volleyball: No. 8 Rogers City continued a highlight-filled week, claiming a Regional title with a sweep of honorable mention Bellaire after downing No. 2 Leland on Tuesday – Alpena News

Volleyball: Unranked Battle Creek St. Philip finds itself headed to the final week of the season again thanks to a Class D sweep of Climax-Scotts – Battle Creek Enquirer

Volleyball: Honorable mention Shelby moved on with a Class C Regional title, ending the dream season for Beaverton that included first league and District titles – Midland Daily News

Volleyball: No. 6 Farmington Hills Mercy also moved on in Class A with a sweep of Livonia Stevenson – Observer & Eccentric

Volleyball: Class B honorable mention Fruitport moved on to next week’s Quarterfinals with a sweep of Grant – Muskegon Chronicle