Today in the MHSAA: 10/23/19

October 23, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Boys Soccer Regional Semifinals began in full force Tuesday across the state, and today’s list of achievers is filled with those results – with some volleyball and swimming & diving mixed in.

1. Boys Soccer: Top-ranked Grandville Calvin Christian edged reigning Division 4 champion and current No. 6 Leland 2-1 in a Regional Semifinal – MI Sports Now

2. Boys Soccer: No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s fourth straight postseason shutout came over No. 3 North Muskegon in another high-powered Division 4 Regional Semifinal – Local Sports Journal

3. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Grosse Ile won another of the biggest matchups in Regional Semifinal play, downing No. 7 Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 6-0 – Southgate News-Herald

4. Boys Soccer: No. 4 Mattawan moved on in Division 2 with a 4-1 win over No. 10 DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

5. Boys Soccer: No. 5 Dansville got past No. 14 Hartford 2-0 in a Division 4 Regional Semifinal – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

6. Volleyball: Midland Dow finished a perfect run to the Saginaw Valley League North title with a sweep of rival Midland – Midland Daily News

7. Boys Soccer: No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central came back from an early 1-0 deficit to get past Clarkston 2-1 in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal – Observer & Eccentric

8. Girls Swimming & Diving: Zeeland, an honorable mention in Lower Peninsula Division 1, downed LPD2 No. 9 Byron Center 105-73 – Holland Sentinel

9. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Troy Athens advanced to a Division 1 Regional Final with a 4-0 win over Warren De La Salle Collegiate – Oakland Press

10. Boys Soccer: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley went to overtime to get past Rochester Adams 2-1 in Division 1 – Oakland Press

Also of note …

Football: The southwestern football community is mourning the death of longtime Galesburg-Augusta football coach Bill Maskill, who when he retied after the 1991 season was the all-time winningest coach in the sport in Michigan high school history – WWMT

Volleyball: From Monday, Bellaire swept Johannesburg-Lewiston to claim a share of the Ski Valley Conference championship, its first league title in this sport – Traverse City Record-Eagle

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