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

From High School to Olympic Swimming

July 11, 2012

Fans of U.S. Swimming already have plenty of reasons to cheer for Missy Franklin later this month at the Summer Olympics -- she's only 17, but qualified to compete in a U.S. women's all-time best seven events.

But fans of high school sports and what they provide athletes at all levels of ability can also support her for how she's chosen to compete when she's not racing against the best in the world.

Franklin, who lives in Colorado, has continued to swim for her high school team despite the financial rewards she could've earned by taking the elite swimmer's usual path of going pro.

A ton has been written about Franklin lately, for obvious reasons. Below is a link to a New York Times story from February that focused on her continued dedication to her high school team.

Before the Olympic Trials, There’s This Big High School Meet (New York Times)