Today in the MHSAA: 11/3/16

November 3, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The four MHSAA Boys Soccer Finals are set thanks to some exciting Semifinal play Wednesday, while Volleyball Districts finished up their third day of six with a couple of notable comebacks.

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.

Boys Soccer

East Kentwood, No. 19 in Division 1, earned its fifth Finals berth over the last decade with a 1-0 win over No. 14 Novi – Grand Rapids Press

No. 6 Troy Athens took down unranked Rochester in a shootout to win 2-1 and advance in Division 1 – Oakland Press

Dearborn Divine Child won a matchup of unranked teams, downing Fenton 2-0 to advance to the Division 2 Final – Detroit Free Press

Mattawan, No. 12 in Division 2, upset top-ranked East Lansing 2-0 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Top-ranked Grand Rapids Catholic Central topped No. 13 Charlevoix to advance to its first MHSAA Final, in Division 3 – Grand Rapids Press

No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic just got past No. 13 Lansing Catholic to secure a spot in the Division 3 championship game – Flint Powers

Unranked Muskegon Catholic Central continued its unexpected run with a 4-3 overtime win over No. 18 Kalamazoo Hackett in Division 4 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Reigning Division 4 champion and current No. 6 Burton Genesee Christian upended No. 3 Ann Arbor Greenhills – Flint Journal

Volleyball

Lowell came back from a two-set deficit to edge Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in five in a match between Class A honorable mentions – Grand Rapids Press

Class B honorable mention Saginaw Swan Valley swept No. 10 Frankenmuth – Saginaw News

Essexville Garber’s Marlee Bromberg set a school record for kills in the Dukes’ 3-1 win over Bay City John Glenn in Class B – Bay City Times

Class C honorable mention Calumet dropped the first set to rival Hancock before coming back to advance – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Today in the MHSAA: 8/31/15

August 31, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.

Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.  

Cross Country

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle

Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal

The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times

Volleyball

Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press

Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune

Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Reads

The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel

Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle

More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun