Today in the MHSAA: 10/4/19
October 4, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As the weather dipped toward what we expect every fall, teams in a variety of sports continued locking down league titles Thursday with MHSAA Tournaments beginning in boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls golf and boys tennis next week.
1. Boys Tennis: Midland Dow — No. 6 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – clinched its 14th straight Saginaw Valley League championship, emerging first from a close race at the league tournament – Midland Daily News
2. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 2 Okemos finished its run to a Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup title with a 4-0 win over Division 3 No. 6 Lansing Catholic – Lansing State Journal
3. Boys Soccer: Traverse City West downed Alpena to lock up its 10th straight Big North Conference title in this sport – Up North Live
4. Boys Soccer: Birmingham Seaholm got past Lake Orion 2-0 to clinch the Oakland Activities Association White title – Oakland Press
5. Boys Soccer: Dexter downed Chelsea 1-0 to clinch the Southeastern Conference White Tournament championship – Chelsea Sun Times News
6. Girls Golf: Plainwell shot a 381 and won a tie-breaker with Dowagiac to claim the Wolverine Conference Tournament title – Sturgis Journal
7. Boys Soccer: Fremont prevailed in a shootout to get past Newaygo 3-2 in the Central State Activities Association Gold Tournament final – Local Sports Journal
8. Boys Soccer: Division 3 No. 12 Elk Rapids downed Harbor Springs 4-1 to earn a share of the Lake Michigan Conference championship – Traverse City Record-Eagle
9. Girls Golf: The Mid-Michigan Golf Conference Tournament was canceled, and Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart was awarded the league title based on its overall scores from MMGC jamborees – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
10. Volleyball: No. 2 Hudsonville won a matchup of ranked teams in Division 1, getting past No. 9 Grand Haven 3-1 – Grand Rapids Press
Also of note …
Boys Soccer: From Wednesday, Dearborn Heights Crestwood clinched the Western Wayne Athletic Conference title with a 5-3 victory over Melvindale – Southgate News-Herald
Did You See That? (May 6-12)
May 13, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It matters not which school you support: All of us cheer on those who emerge from sad or challenging circumstances to return to the field of play. Those are stories with which we all identify, no matter where they take place or the athletes involved.
Grass Lake's Julia Covill and the Grayling golf team are among those we cheered on last week. Read on for why.
Good Read of the Week
One more race: A little more than a year ago, Julia Covill suffered a broken pelvis, shattered femur and a smattering of other injuries after losing control of her vehicle on a patch of black ice. The volleyball and track and field standout hadn’t participated in sports since – but returned to the track for one more race Tuesday to earn a final victory, even in crossing the finishing line of the 200-meter dash last. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Boys Golf
Grayling returns to the course: Long drives and birdie putts were less significant details as Grayling returned to competition Wednesday for the first time since a car crash that rocked the northern Lower Peninsula, resulting in three deaths and five more hospitalizations. (Petoskey News)
TC West record falls: Cam Murray shot a 67 on Tuesday as Traverse City West won its Big North Conference event with a team score of 306. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Track and Field
Back on track: The Lake Linden-Hubbell boys and girls swept their home invitationals Friday in what was for many one of the first times those athletes had competed on a track this season thanks to lingering snow. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette)
Down to the finish: The Battle Creek Lakeview boys and girls teams swept their Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship meets Friday, with the Lakeview boys clinching in dramatic fashion by securing a one-point win with a 1.23-second victory in the final event of the day. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Boys Lacrosse
Haslett/Williamston takes big step: The Vikings earned their first Capital Area Activities Conference tournament championship with a 13-3 win over Holt, the three-time reigning champ that had beaten Haslett/Williamston 14-3 on April 27. The win pushed H/W into the No. 10 spot in today’s Division 2 state computer ranking. (Lansing State Journal)
Novi hangs on: Novi survived to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament championship game 7-6 after a last-second Brighton shot crossed the line just after time expired. (MLive Detroit)
Girls Tennis
FHN No. 1 again: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern continued to own its league Saturday, although this time in a new division. The Huskies won the first-ever O-K Bronze tournament championship by four points over Ada Forest Hills Eastern. FHN has won nine straight league titles. (Grand Rapids Press)
Wrestling
Meet Mr. Wrestler: Fowlerville’s Adam Coon added to his impressive list of accomplishments – including becoming the 17th MHSAA wrestler to win four Finals championships – when he was named Mr. Wrestler by the Michigan Wrestling Association. (Livingston County Daily Press & Argus)
Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame
High school stars inducted: High school standouts brought back plenty of memories as this year’s class was inducted Sunday into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. (Marquette Mining Journal)
Boys Basketball
Root resigns after 30+ seasons: Longtime Flint Ainsworth and then Carman-Ainsworth basketball coach Bob Root resigned last week, potentially finishing a career that began at Flint Northern in 1978. (Flint Journal)