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: 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