Today in the MHSAA: 10/2/15
October 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Thursday was girls golf and boys tennis league championship day for many across the state, and also saw the second Upper Peninsula Final in two days decided by a point.
Girls Golf
Hanover-Horton claimed the Cascades Conference championship, beating East Jackson by nine strokes in the league tournament and led by freshman Kristin Thompson’s 92 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
The Kensington Lakes Activities Association is loaded this season, with Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 6 Plymouth winning the overall championship ahead of No. 3 Brighton and Division 2 No. 3 South Lyon – Livingston Daily
Sturgis won its first league championship in 25 years, shooting a 380 to finish first in the Wolverine Conference – Sturgis Journal
Grand Rapids West Catholic edged Coopersville by five strokes, shooting 355 to clinch the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championship – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, No. 3 in Division 2, edged No. 17 Grand Rapids Northview to move into first alone in the O-K Bronze – Grand Rapids Press
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer avenged an early-season loss to Grand Rapids Union to move into a first-place tie with Union in the O-K Black – Muskegon Chronicle
Marcellus Howardsville Christian scored two goals to St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic’s one during the second half of overtime to win their game 3-2 and claim a share of the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship – Kalamazoo Gazette
Boys Tennis
Midland Dow won its 10th straight Saginaw Valley League title, finishing seven points ahead rival Midland – Saginaw News
Traverse City Central won seven of eight flights at the Big North Conference Tournament to claim the league title for the ninth season in a row – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Bloomfield Hills fell to Troy in their dual but came back to win the Oakland Activities Association Red Tournament and share the overall title – Oakland Press
Girls Tennis
For the second straight day, an MHSAA Final was decided by a point; this time, Negaunee was the victor in Upper Peninsula Division 1 – Second Half
Volleyball
Class A No. 2 Lake Orion downed No. 8 Clarkston in three sets to improve to 39-2 and end Clarkston’s chances at a ninth straight league championship – Oakland Press
Good Reads
Bay City John Glenn will celebrate not only Homecoming tonight, but also the 50th anniversary of its first football team which “would supply the school with its first identity.” – Bay City Times
River Rouge senior Aaron Vinson has seen things and experienced heartache no youngster should, including the deaths of two siblings. But football has been part of what’s pulled him through – Detroit Free Press
The Capital Area Activities Conference Blue has belonged to powerhouses Okemos and East Lansing for boys tennis, but Holt is contending for its first league title since 1980 – Lansing State Journal
Today in the MHSAA: 8/31/15
August 31, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.
Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.
Cross Country
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle
Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal
The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times
Volleyball
Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press
Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune
Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer
Good Reads
The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel
Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle
More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun