Today in the MHSAA: 11/15/19

November 15, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

First-time Regional volleyball champions and big-time matchups of top-10 teams – and in a few cases both scenarios simultaneously – made for an exciting Thursday night.

1. Volleyball: No. 2 Lowell earned its first Regional championship in volleyball by getting past No. 4 Hudsonville in Division 1 – WZZM

2. Volleyball: No. 2 Camden-Frontier claimed its first Regional title in this sport with a five-set win over No. 8 Adrian Lenawee Christian in Division 4 – Hillsdale Daily News

3. Volleyball: Top-ranked and reigning champion Grand Rapids Christian went five sets to get past No. 3 Coopersville in Division 2 – FOX 17

4. Volleyball: Reigning Division 4 champion and top-ranked Mendon will return to the final week thanks to a sweep of No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip – Sturgis Journal

5. Volleyball: Ann Arbor Skyline got past honorable mention Novi in a Division 1 sweep to win its first Regional title in the sport – State Champs Sports Network

6. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Odessa Lakewood twice trailed before getting past No. 7 Parma Western in five sets in Division 2 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

7. Volleyball: Mount Pleasant also claimed its first Regional title in volleyball with a Division 1 win over Flushing – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

8. Volleyball: Macomb L’Anse Creuse North claimed its first volleyball Regional title with a four-set win over Fraser in Division 1 – Macomb Daily

9. Volleyball: No. 4 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian swept honorable mention Pewamo-Westphalia in Division 3 to clinch its first Regional title in the sport – Local Sports Journal

10. Volleyball: No. 6 Merrill also is a first-time Regional volleyball champion, thanks to a sweep of Fowler in Division 4 – Saginaw News

Today in the MHSAA: 10/19/16

October 19, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

District soccer continued Tuesday and league champions were crowned in volleyball and cross country all over the Lower Peninsula – but the must-see stories are a pair of “good reads” coming out of the Jackson and Alpena areas.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Cross Country

The Caro boys – No. 4 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and the No. 6 Shepherd girls won championships at the Tri-Valley Conference all-division final – Saginaw News

The Ubly girls and boys teams repeated as East champions at the Greater Thumb Conference championship race (Ubly's girls are No. 9 in LPD4), and the Reese girls and LPD4 honorable mention Cass City boys repeated as West winners – Huron Daily Tribune

Traverse City West swept the final Big North Conference jamborees, the West boys earning the league title and the Central girls finishing as overall league champion for the 14th straight season. The Central girls are No. 4 in LPD1 and the West girls are an honorable mention – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Harbor Springs’ boys (No. 2 LPD4) kept their undefeated season going with a third straight Lake Michigan Conference final championship, and Traverse City St. Francis (No. 2 LPD3) clinched the girls title – Petoskey News-Review

Boys Soccer

Division 1 No. 2 Portage Northern moved on with a 4-1 District win over Lansing Everett thanks to three goals by Ryan Melgar – Kalamazoo Gazette

Adrian Lenawee Christian freshman Zach Riordan set his school’s scoring record of 36 goals in an 8-0 Division 4 win over Clinton – Adrian Daily Telegram

Girls Swimming & Diving

LPD1 No. 2 Saline got past No. 10 Brighton 112-74 in a matchup of top Division 1 teams – Saline Post

Volleyball

Walled Lake Central repeated as Lakes champion in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association with a five-set win over Brighton – Livingston Daily Argus & Press

Class A top-ranked Novi swept Canton to win its fourth straight KLAA Kensington championship – Oakland Press

Marine City improved to 8-1 in the Macomb Area Conference Gold and clinched a share of the league title with a three-set win over Warren Mott – Port Huron Times Herald

Good Reads

The story of Brooklyn Columbia Central standout running back Micah Raby is captivating, if not from this passage alone about how his adopted parents found him: “Inside the missionary’s hut, on an ordinary table lay an ordinary bible box containing an extraordinary sight, and it caught Doug and Sandy Raby’s eyes and hearts immediately. Inside that bible box – no bigger than a size 10 shoebox – was a 1-month-old boy named Joseph, one of two surviving triplets. His brother did not survive the birth and the birth parents decided to keep the other one, believed to be a girl, because it was the biggest and had the greatest chance of surviving.” – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Lincoln Alcona announcer Don Franklin first gave voice to the school’s athletic events in 1967, and will retire at the end of this school year with 50 years on the microphone announcing football and a number of other sports over a half century – Alpena News