Today in the MHSAA: 11/11/15

November 11, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Volleyball Regional Semifinals were the matches of the day Tuesday, and while all were noteworthy, below is a sampling of some that especially stuck out.

Volleyball

In one of the biggest matchups of the Regional Semifinals, Class A No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian swept No. 5 Grand Haven – Grand Rapids Press

In another match of Class A powers, reigning champion and No. 6 Romeo downed No. 4 Lake Orion in five sets; Gia Milana’s 40 kills tied the fourth-most in MHSAA history – Macomb Daily

No. 10 DeWitt reached its first Regional Final as a Class A team with a sweep of Richland Gull Lake – MLive-Lansing

Class A honorable mention Utica Eisenhower needed a fifth set to down Fenton, which finished 40-12-7 – Flint Journal

Class B No. 4 Battle Creek Harper Creek ended a record-setting season for honorable mention Buchanan – Battle Creek Enquirer

Honorable mention Marysville took down No. 6 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in four sets in a key Class B matchup – Port Huron Times-Herald

No. 9 Schoolcraft justified its slight ranking above No. 10 Kalamazoo Christian with a 3-1 win in Class C after falling to Christian 3-1 only a month ago – Kalamazoo Gazette

Unranked Unionville-Sebewaing swept honorable mention Saginaw Valley Lutheran in Class C – Saginaw News

Class D top-ranked Plymouth Christian eliminated No. 6 Waterford Our Lady in three sets, improving to 32-5-1 – Oakland Press

Today in the MHSAA: 9/17/15

September 17, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.

Girls Golf

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press

Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Soccer

Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News

Boys Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News

Volleyball

Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star

Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times

Good Reads

We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald

Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer