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: 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