Today in the MHSAA: 10/28/16

October 28, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Three quarters of the MHSAA boys soccer semifinalists are set, and we gathered coverage from all 12 Regional Finals from Thursday, plus some key volleyball regular-season finales.

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.

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 19 East Kentwood got past No. 16 Traverse City West 3-2 – Grand Rapids Press

Unranked Rochester won its first Regional title since 2002 with a 1-0 Division 1 win over No. 15 Grand Blanc – Oakland Press

No. 14 Novi moved on with a 1-0 win over No. 13 Salem in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

No. 11 Mattawan upset No. 8 Holland 3-0 in a Division 2 Regional Final – Kalamazoo Gazette

Division 1 No. 1 East Lansing got past No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 1-0 – Grand Rapids Press

Unranked Fenton got past also-unranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 1-0 in Division 2 – Flint Journal

Dearborn Divine Child won another matchup of unranked teams in Division 2, 2-0 over Gibraltar Carlson – Dearborn Press & Guide

Top-ranked Grand Rapids Catholic Central edged No. 8 Paw Paw in Division 3 – Grand Rapids Press

Division 3 No. 12 Charlevoix downed Benzonia Benzie Central 4-0 for its first Regional title in boys soccer – Petoskey News-Review

Division 3 No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic returned to the Semifinals with a 2-0 win over No. 7 Clawson – Flint Journal

Unranked Muskegon Catholic Central continued its Division 4 run with a shootout win over No. 9 Grand Rapids Covenant Christian – Grand Rapids Press

Also in Division 4, No. 18 Kalamazoo Hackett downed No. 10 Lansing Christian 2-1 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Volleyball

Class B honorable mention Croswell-Lexington finished a second straight perfect run through the Blue Water Area Conference with a sweep of Armada – Port Huron Times Herald

Kingsford finished an undefeated season in the Great Northern Conference to claim that league’s championship – Iron Mountain Daily News

Unranked Hillsdale Academy dealt Class D honorable mention Camden-Frontier a five-set loss – Hillsdale Daily 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