Today in the MHSAA: 10/27/15

October 27, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A pair of notable volleyball accomplishments for two of the state’s top Class B teams tops the headlines from Monday’s action from across the state.

Cross Country

Detroit Catholic Central won its ninth straight Detroit Catholic League championship, while Waterford Our Lady’s Tessa Fornari won her fourth individual title – Oakland Press

Waldron senior Alicia Roney won the Sand Creek Invitational after finishing second each of the last two seasons – Hillsdale Daily News

Boys Soccer

From Saturday, Division 2 No. 1 Holland Christian downed No. 11 East Grand Rapids with a second-half goal to win a District title – Holland Sentinel

Also from Saturday, Leslie won its first District title, led by coach and former Mason standout goalkeeper Jake Derby, who also led the Leslie girls team to its first District title during the spring – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Volleyball

Class B top-ranked Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard continued its surge, downing No. 5 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep to win the Class A-B championship of the Detroit Catholic League – Oakland Press

The Catholic League C-D final matched unranked Madison Heights Bishop Foley and Allen Park Cabrini, but Bishop Foley built on a semifinal win over Class D No. 6 Waterford Our Lady by winning the title in four sets – Oakland Press

Saginaw Swan Valley, an honorable mention in Class B, downed Birch Run, Hemlock and Saginaw Valley Lutheran to set a school record by improving to 51 wins this fall – Saginaw News

Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News