Today in the MHSAA: 11/15/17
November 15, 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: Reigning champion and top-ranked Bronson will return to the Class C Semifinals after downing No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in four sets in the Quarterfinal – Coldwater Daily Reporter
2. Volleyball: Class B No. 3 Lake Odessa Lakewood went to five sets with No. 4 Niles before emerging with a 15-13 win in the decider and another trip to the Semifinals – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
3. Volleyball: Class A No. 4 DeWitt swept No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian to earn a trip to the Semifinals and matchup with reigning champion Novi – MLive-Lansing
4. Volleyball: Class C No. 10 Wixom St. Catherine earned its first Semifinal berth with a sweep of No. 6 Unionville-Sebewaing – Oakland Press
5. Volleyball: Class D No. 8 Rogers City knocked off yet another ranked opponent, this time No. 10 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart to earn a Quarterfinal win in five sets – Alpena News
6. Volleyball: Honorable mention Munising earned its first Semifinal trip with a four-set win over No. 7 Rudyard in Class D – Marquette Mining Journal
7. Volleyball: Fruitport won the first two sets close and held on to get past Cadillac in four in a matchup of Class B honorable mentions – Grand Haven Tribune
8. Volleyball: After splitting the first two sets, No. 6 Farmington Hills Mercy won the next two to down honorable mention New Baltimore Anchor Bay in four in Class A – Oakland Press
9. Volleyball: Class A No. 2 and reigning champion Novi earned a fourth straight trip to the Semifinals with a sweep of honorable mention Temperance Bedford – Observer & Eccentric
10. Volleyball: No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Marian swept honorable mention Midland to make it back to the Class A Semifinals for the first time since 2013 – Oakland Press
Also of note …
Volleyball: No. 6 Fowler swept honorable mention Southfield Christian to move on in Class D – Oakland Press
Volleyball: Laingsburg downed Shelby 3-0 in a Quarterfinal matchup of Class C honorable mentions – Lansing State Journal
Volleyball: Class C No. 8 Calumet also is headed back to the Semifinals, thanks to a sweep of unranked Houghton Lake – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Volleyball: Livonia Ladywood won a Quarterfinal matchup of unranked teams, sweeping Livonia Clarenceville in Class B – Observer & Eccentric
Volleyball: Top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep swept Corunna to move to 62-2-2 and into the Semifinals – NorthOaklandSports.com
Volleyball: Top-ranked and reigning champion Plymouth Christian downed annual power Battle Creek St. Philip 3-1 in Class D – WWMT
Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/15
October 15, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.
Cross Country
The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal
LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press
LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily
Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press
LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier
Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal
Volleyball
Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal
Good Reads
Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org
Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal