Today in the MHSAA: 11/5/15
November 5, 2015
Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Finalists for this season’s four MHSAA boys soccer championships were determined Wednesday, while a number of intriguing Volleyball District Finals were set up as well.
Boys Soccer
In a rematch of last season’s Division 1 Final, Canton won again over Rochester Adams, this time in an overtime shootout – Oakland Press
No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central held off No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central 3-1 in their Division 1 Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern earned its first trip to the MHSAA Finals with a 4-2 win over Mattawan in Division 2 – Grand Rapids Press
Mason’s penalty kick score with two minutes to play gave the No. 8 Bulldogs a 1-0 win over No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 2 – Lansing State Journal
No. 3 Williamston eliminated another top-five team, this time No. 5 Grosse Ile, to advance in Division 3 – Lansing State Journal
No. 2 Grand Rapids South Christian earned its fourth trip to the MHSAA Finals in six seasons with a 4-1 win over No. 10 Gladwin in Division 3 – Grand Rapids Press
Undefeated Burton Genesee Christian eliminated top-ranked Lansing Christian in a shootout in their Division 4 Semifinal – Lansing State Journal
Kalamazoo Hackett advanced to the Division 4 Final also by shootout, over Muskegon Western Michigan Christian – Kalamazoo Gazette
Volleyball
Flushing will play in its 11th straight District Final after downing St. Johns in Class A – Flint Journal
Class A No. 3 Grand Rapids Christian earned a rematch with East Grand Rapids by sweeping honorable mention East Kentwood – Grand Rapids Press
Temperance Bedford edged Saline 3-2 in a matchup of two more Class A honorable mentions – AnnArbor.com
Class B No. 7 North Branch faced league rival Frankenmuth one more time, sweeping the Eagles to earn a District Final match against No. 2 Mount Morris – Flint Journal
Class B honorable mention Buchanan set a school record with 46 wins in downing Dowagiac – Niles Daily Star
Class B honorable mention Marysville advanced by sweeping Marine City, a league champion this fall – Port Huron Times-Herald
Ithaca rightly made headlines early this fall by ending a 52-match losing streak to St. Louis, but the Sharks, an honorable mention in Class C, came away with the victory Wednesday – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Montague, No. 3 in Class C, kept building on its strong season by earning its first District Final berth since 2011 with a sweep of Hesperia – Muskegon Chronicle
From Tuesday, Manistique remained undefeated with a Class C victory over Ishpeming – Escanaba Daily Press
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