Today in the MHSAA: 11/14/17
November 14, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Today's Top 10
1. Volleyball: Novi’s Erin O’Leary was named this season’s Miss Volleyball Award winner on the eve of her team’s Class A Quarterfinal against honorable mention Temperance Bedford; Novi is the reigning champ and ranked No. 2 – Observer & Eccentric
2. Volleyball: Class C top-ranked Bronson is plenty familiar with tonight’s Quarterfinal opponent, No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central – Sturgis Journal
3. Volleyball: Class B No. 4 Niles is hoping to add to its first District and Regional titles with a first Quarterfinal win, over No. 3 Lake Odessa Lakewood – Niles Daily Star
4. Volleyball: Class A No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian downed top-ranked Rockford in the Regional, a big step as the Eagles pursue their first MHSAA championship in the sport with No. 4 DeWitt up next – FOX17
5. Volleyball: Honorable mention Cadillac is set to continue an impressive tournament run tonight that started with an upset of No. 5 Kingsley in the District – Cadillac News
6. Volleyball: Facing Cadillac tonight is honorable mention Fruitport, which has some history with the Vikings from its Class B championship runs – Grand Haven Tribune
7. Volleyball: Class C No. 8 Calumet has a new outlook as it aims to return to Kellogg Arena, and will take on Houghton Lake tonight to earn that opportunity – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
8. Volleyball: No. 8 Rogers City is seeking to reach the Class D Semifinals for the second year in a row, and second time ever, with Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart up next – Alpena News
9. Volleyball: Meanwhile, No. 10 Sacred Heart will be playing in its fifth straight Quarterfinal and looking to break through to the weekend for the first time in this run – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
T-10. Volleyball: After a long-distance pep talk and a first Regional title, Class A honorable mention New Baltimore Anchor Bay will take on No. 6 Farmington Hills Mercy seeking to make the final weekend of the season for the first time as well – Macomb Daily
T-10. Volleyball: Honorable mention Midland is hoping to follow a strong senior class to the Class A Semifinals for the first time in two decades – NBC25
Did you see that? (June 3-9)
June 10, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The second of three weeks of spring MHSAA Finals came to a close with four more champions from lacrosse – plus 16 teams still alive in both baseball and softball, eight in girls soccer and 60 in Lower Peninsula boys golf.
See below for some of the biggest headlines from the week that was June 3-9.
Girls lacrosse
Champions of the west: A pair of Grand Rapids-area teams claimed the girls championships Saturday. Rockford defeated Bloomfield Hills United 16-7 in Division 1, while East Grand Rapids repeated in Division 2 with a 16-6 victory over Livonia Ladywood. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)
Boys Lacrosse
East-side excellence: Birmingham Brother Rice came back from an early deficit in the Division 1 Final to win its ninth-straight title by beating Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern 14-10. In Division 2, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood scored with 20.2 seconds to play to edge reigning champion Forest Hills Central 10-9. (Second Half D1) (Second Half D2)
Girls Soccer
Defensive standoff: Top-ranked Plymouth and No. 3 Novi needed a shootout to decide Friday’s Division 1 Regional Final. But Novi won that final round 2-1 to earn a 1-0 win and hand Plymouth its first and only loss this season. (MLive Detroit)
Powers survives comeback: Up 3-0 at halftime, reigning Division 3 runner-up Flint Powers Catholic advanced to within one win of returning to the Finals with a 3-2 Regional Final win over Lake Fenton. (Flint Journal)
Baseball
Oilers upend No. 1: Mount Pleasant, ranked No. 4 in Division 2, beat top-ranked Bay City John Glenn on the way to winning their Regional on Saturday. (Mount Pleasant Morning Sun)
MCC wins big: Muskegon Catholic Central moved on in Division 4 with a 9-0 Regional win over No. 2 Gobles in another of the weekend’s biggest baseball matchups. MCC entered the postseason ranked No. 5. (Muskegon Chronicle)
Softball
Dundee gets its chance: The Vikings won their first Regional championship and defeated two-time reigning Division 3 champion Clinton in the process Saturday at Blissfield. Dundee entered the postseason ranked No. 1 in the division. (Monroe Evening News)
Romeo prevails in pair of nail-biters: The No. 10-ranked Bulldogs were down to their final out before defeating Troy in a Regional Semifinal and then beat Hartland 3-0 in the championship game. Both Troy and Hartland were honorable mentions in the final Division 1 coaches poll. (Oakland Press)
Escanaba headed downstate: The Eskymos will face reigning MHSAA Division 2 runner-up Saginaw Swan Valley in a Quarterfinal for the second straight season thanks to a walk-off home run by sophomore Michelle LaFave in a 5-4 Regional Final win over Remus Chippewa Hills. (Escanaba Daily Press)
Boys Golf
SMAC East dominates: Top-ranked Battle Creek Lakeview in Division 1 and Marshall and Battle Creek Harper Creek in Division 2 all qualified for LP Finals, giving the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East three teams in this weekend’s championship tournaments. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
DeWitt outshoots No. 1: Previously unranked DeWitt shot a 313 to edge top-ranked East Lansing by a stroke at their Division 2 Regional at Gull Lake View. (Lansing State Journal)
Boys Basketball
CMU star takes over GRCC: Former Central Michigan University captain T.J. Meerman has taken over the Grand Rapids Catholic Central program after serving as an assistant coach last season at Grand Valley State University. Previously, Meerman coached the varsity at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills. (Grand Rapids Press)