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: 10/6/16
October 6, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Girls Golf Regionals teed off Wednesday with a record performance by arguably the state’s top team, and check out also the detailed coverage of this week’s MHSAA Update Meeting stop in Frankenmuth.
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.
Girls Golf
Top-ranked Rochester shot an incredible 289 to win its Lower Peninsula Division 1 Regional, dropping an already-impressive school record by seven more strokes – Oakland Press
Two-time reigning LP Division 3 champion and No. 4-ranked Spring Lake began its three-peat attempt with a Regional victory of 56 strokes – Muskegon Chronicle
Second-year program Shepherd reached the Division 4 Finals for the first time finishing third to Freeland and No. 3 Frankenmuth at their Regional – Saginaw News
No. 5 Brighton didn’t surprise by shooting a 314 to win its Division 1 Regional, but Hartland finished third to make the Finals for the first time – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Boys Tennis
Byron Center claimed what is believed to be its first league championship in the sport, edging Zeeland East by six points at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green tournament – Grand Rapids Press
Volleyball
Class B honorable mention Saginaw Swan Valley moved into first place alone in the Tri-Valley Conference Central with a sweep of former co-leader Freeland – Saginaw News
Neighbors Marine City (a 3-0 winner) and Class D No. 9 Marine City Cardinal Mooney played Wednesday in a “Purple Out” for pancreatic cancer research and awareness, a cause close to the Mooney program as coach Dennis Caufield’s wife Pat died after fighting the disease two years ago – Port Huron Times Herald
Good Read
The annual MHSAA Update Meeting series visited Frankenmuth this week, and MLive reported well why multi-sport participation and reaching student-athletes during their middle school/junior high years has never been more important – Saginaw News