Today in the MHSAA: 11/3/15

November 3, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Monday saw the first games of this season’s MHSAA Volleyball Tournament – and with those, a number of key matches including a few that came down to the final set.

Volleyball

Class A No. 4 Lake Orion swept honorable mention Clarkston, guaranteeing an end to the Wolves’ string of eight straight District championships – Oakland Press

Portage Central won a matchup of Class A honorable mentions, sweeping Niles 3-0 in their opener – Kalamazoo Gazette

Class B top-ranked Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard started what it hopes will be a title run with a sweep of No. 10 Chelsea – AnnArbor.com

Class B honorable mentions Coopersville and Fruitport also met in an opener, with Coopersville coming away with a sweep – Grand Rapids Press

Also in Class B, Essexville Garber won a battle of Tri-Valley Conference teams, claiming the fifth game 15-12 to win the match 3-2 – Saginaw News

Concord lost the first two sets to Hanover-Horton in their Class C opener, but came back to win 3-2 – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Good Read

We’ve heard a few stories like this in the past, but they never get old. Algonac’s Morgan Beadlescomb is one of the top cross country runners in Michigan and won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title last season – and last week, pulled St. Clair’s Jack Keais to the latter's first sub-16 minute finish – Port Huron Times-Herald

Today in the MHSAA: 10/26/15

October 26, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

There was much more than football playoff pairings to discuss this weekend – most notably, MHSAA Boys Soccer Districts and the Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals.

Cross Country

All three Upper Peninsula girls team champions repeated, and Marquette standout senior Lindsey Rudden capped her career with a first individual title – Second Half

Two Upper Peninsula boys team champions repeated, but Negaunee stole the show with its first title since 1983 – Second Half

Boys Soccer

Tecumseh won its first District title since 2010 with a Division 2 shootout victory over Milan, improving to 10-1-3 over its last 14 games – Adrian Daily Telegram

Reigning Division 2 Final champion East Lansing, ranked No. 5, won its fourth straight District title, this time 3-2 over Haslett – Lansing State Journal

Eighth-ranked Mason finished a shutout of its Division 2 District, downing Chelsea 3-0 to win its three games by a combined 13-0 – Lansing State Journal

Gladwin, No. 10 in Division 3, won its first District title with a 1-0 victory over West Branch Ogemaw Heights – Midland Daily News

Grand Haven, No. 19 in Division 1, won its fifth straight District title with a 1-0 victory over Grandville – Grand Haven Tribune

Bloomfield Hills scored its only goal on a penalty kick in downing Birmingham Seaholm in Division 1 for its third straight District title – Oakland Press

Volleyball

Buchanan, an honorable mention in Class B, won the St. Joseph Invitational with a three-set victory over Class A honorable mention Niles in the final – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium