Today in the MHSAA: 10/23/15

October 23, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Notable milestones made headlines Thursday – among them, Rockford’s boys cross country team extending an incredible championship streak and one of Michigan’s best volleyball coaches being celebrated for 1,000 victories.

Cross Country

The Milford girls and White Lake Lakeland boys, both ranked No. 5 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, won Kensington Lakes Activities Association Lakes championships; Milford’s girls finished ahead of No. 4 Brighton and No. 12 Waterford Mott – Oakland Press

The Rockford boys, No. 1 in LPD1, won their 21st straight league title, claiming the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red; Rockford’s 10th-ranked girls added their third straight league title – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

Unranked Okemos edged No. 11 Portage Central in a Division 1 semifinal 2-1 after jumping out to a two-goal lead – Kalamazoo Gazette

Division 2 No. 14 Petoskey advanced despite three Cadillac comebacks, finally winning a 5-4 semifinal – Petoskey News

Division 3 No. 4 Hudsonville Unity Christian repeated as a district champion with a 2-1 win over No. 18 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Grand Rapids Press

Volleyball

Unionville-Sebewaing, an MHSAA semifinalist in 2014, won its fourth straight Greater Thumb Conference West title by avenging an earlier loss to Bad Axe with a five-set win – Huron Daily Tribune

Class D No. 6 North Adams-Jerome needed to reach 31-29 to win its first set against Pittsford before finishing a sweep – Hillsdale Daily News

Good Reads

Battle Creek Enquirer sports editor Bill Broderick says what a lot of former high school football players have felt in his message to seniors playing their final games this week and over the next few – Battle Creek Enquirer

Longtime Midland Dow, Pinconning and now Bronson volleyball coach Jean LaClair won her 1,000th match last week; her team is ranked No. 1 in Class C and she was the 2015 MHSAA Women in Sports Leadership Award winner – Sturgis Journal

Today in the MHSAA: 12/7/16

December 7, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s report could be renamed “buzzer beaters” as the first full Tuesday of girls and boys basketball season produced plenty of gutsy deciding shots during the final seconds of play.

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 Basketball

Ella Bontrager’s layup with three seconds to play after her steal with 21 seconds left gave Jackson Northwest a 44-42 win over Grass Lake – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Grace Reinhold’s game-winner gave Muskegon Oakridge a 47-45 win over Grand Haven – Muskegon Chronicle

Bloomfield Hills Marian emerged from its latest matchup of top Class A teams, downing Waterford Kettering 37-34 in overtime – Oakland Press

Mount Pleasant built an early 14-2 lead and held on to defeat McBain 44-39 – Cadillac News

Utica Eisenhower earned an impressive early-season victory downing Grosse Pointe South 53-42 – Macomb Daily

DeWitt came back to down East Lansing 59-58 in a matchup of top Lansing-area teams – WLNS

Boys Basketball

Battle Creek Pennfield downed Olivet 85-83 in overtime on Ronald Jamierson’s bucket with one second to play – Battle Creek Enquirer

Keyed by a strong perimeter shooting night by Carson Charvat, Three Rivers outlasted Niles 74-72 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Austin Harless’ free throws with three seconds to play gave Holly a 55-53 win over Flint Powers Catholic – Flint Journal

Ann Arbor Pioneer rose above playing without three injured starters to edge Southfield Christian 66-62 – Ann Arbor News

Lansing Waverly rode 21 second-half points from Jaden Sutton to a 51-47 comeback win over Holt – Lansing State Journal

Benton Harbor earned an impressive 57-36 win over Dowagiac in a matchup of frequent Class B powers – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Hillman’s Gunnar Libby went over 1,000 points for his career scoring 30 in a 68-51 win over Cedarville – Alpena News

After going 1-20 last season, Troy Athens is 1-0 with a nail-biting 46-45 win over Rochester Adams – Oakland Press