Today in the MHSAA: 11/18/15

November 18, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The 16 MHSAA volleyball semifinalists were set Tuesday night, and we’ve tracked down coverage of all 16 Quarterfinals.

Volleyball

Class A: Reigning champion and No. 6-ranked Romeo will return to Battle Creek seeking a repeat after downing Traverse City West – Macomb Daily

Class A: Top-ranked Novi also will be heading back to Battle Creek after sweeping Grosse Pointe North – Oakland Press

Class A: Unranked Livonia Churchill swept three close sets against Monroe – Observer & Eccentric

Class A: No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian downed No. 2 Mattawan to also advance in Class A – Grand Rapids Press

Class B: Top-ranked Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard remained undefeated with a win over No. 3 Lake Odessa Lakewood – AnnArbor.com

Class B: Reigning champion and No. 8 North Branch upended No. 5 Cadillac in four sets to continue its attempt at a repeat – Flint Journal

Class B: No. 4 Battle Creek Harper Creek swept honorable mention Coopersville to reach the Semifinals for the second straight season – Battle Creek Enquirer

Class B: No. 7 Goodrich earned its first trip to the Semifinals with a defeat of Livonia Ladywood – Flint Journal

Class C: No. 8 Brown City won its first MHSAA Quarterfinal ever, in four sets over New Lothrop – Port Huron Times-Herald

Class C: Top-ranked Bronson continued to justify its No. 1 ranking with a Quarterfinal win over No. 6 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – Sturgis Journal

Class C: No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis earned another trip to Battle Creek with a sweep of honorable mention Calumet – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Class C: Reigning champion and No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central ended the longest run ever for honorable mention Laingsburg – Lansing State Journal

Class D: Reigning champion and No. 2-ranked Battle Creek St. Philip got past No. 8 Mendon for the second season in a row in this round – Battle Creek Enquirer

Class D: Reigning runner-up and current No. 3 Leland downed honorable mention Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart to earn a return to the Semifinals – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Class D: Top-ranked Plymouth Christian continued its impressive run with a sweep of No. 9 Marine City Cardinal Mooney – New Baltimore Voice

Class D: Honorable mention Crystal Falls Forest Park earned a trip downstate with a four-set win over Rogers City – Escanaba Daily Press

Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News