Today in the MHSAA: 10/21/15
October 21, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
League cross country finals and the second day of the Lower Peninsula boys soccer tournament dominated headlines as teams celebrated and continued to push toward next month’s MHSAA Finals.
Cross Country
The unranked Quincy girls won the Big 8 Conference final ahead of Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 8 Concord. Concord’s boys won their race – Coldwater Daily Reporter
The Traverse City Central girls, No. 6 in LPD1, and the West boys who are No. 12, won the Big North Conference championships races – Traverse City Record-Eagle
The Otsego girls, No. 2 in LPD2, won their third straight Wolverine Conference championship while the No. 10-ranked boys also won – Kalamazoo Gazette
The Shepherd boys, No. 4 in LPD3, and the No. 5 girls swept the Tri-Valley Conference titles – the girls ahead of No. 3 Ithaca – Saginaw News
Boys Soccer
Two of the best from the Grand Rapids area met in a Division 1 opener, with No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central outlasting No. 12 East Kentwood 3-2 – Grand Rapids Press
Warren DeLaSalle scored in the final seconds of overtime to edge St. Clair Shores Lakeview 2-1 in a Division 1 game – Oakland Press
Midland Dow avenged its only Saginaw Valley League North loss by downing champion Saginaw Heritage 3-0 in a Division 1 opener – Midland Daily News
Division 1 No. 16 Grand Haven headed home the winning goal in overtime to survive Jenison in their opener – Muskegon Chronicle
Unranked Birmingham Seaholm won its first district game since 2011, and did so against No. 18 Birmingham Brother Rice, 2-1 – Oakland Press
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