Today in the MHSAA: 10/22/15

October 22, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Some of the state’s dominant cross country programs finished off their league seasons in sweeping fashion Wednesday, while the Lower Peninsula soccer tournament continued through half of its semifinals.

Cross Country

Sand Creek swept the Tri-County Conference championship meets, in both cases finishing ahead of runner-up Adrian Madison. Sand Creek’s boys are ranked No. 12 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – Adrian Daily Telegram

Hanover-Horton’s ranked teams swept the Cascades Conference meets, with the No. 3 in LPD3 boys winning for the ninth time in 12 years and the No. 10-ranked girls winning for the 16th straight season – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Clare’s No. 9-ranked girls and No. 11-ranked boys (in LPD3) swept Jack Pine Conference titles, the girls winning their sixth in a row and the boys their eighth – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

The Northville girls, No. 1 in LPD1, won their sixth straight Kensington Lakes Activities Association Kensington title, while the No. 3 Novi boys edged No. 2 Northville by seven points to claim their crown – Oakland Press

Boys soccer

Fruitport’s Noah Hendricks set a school record for goals in a season with 38, scoring in his 15th consecutive game to lead the No. 9 Trojans to a 7-0 district win over Allendale in Division 2 – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 3 No. 9 Whitehall scored an overtime goal to get past unranked Shelby in a district semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern survived No. 17 Grand Rapids Northview, 2-1 in their district semifinal – Grand Rapids Press

Volleyball

Manistique remained undefeated in dual matches this season with a five-set victory over Escanaba on the Eskymos’ parents night – Escanaba Daily Press

Today in the MHSAA: 9/17/15

September 17, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press

Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Soccer

Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News

Boys Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News

Volleyball

Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star

Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times

Good Reads

We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald

Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer