Today in the MHSAA: 11/9/18
November 9, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
Thursday’s 32 Volleyball Regional Finals saw the elimination of 12 top-10 teams but all eight contenders ranked No. 1 or 2 move on as next week’s Quarterfinals were set.
1. Volleyball: No. 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep downed No. 3 North Branch in a power-packed Division 2 Regional title matchup – Oakland Press
2. Volleyball: Reigning Class C champion and current top-ranked Bronson moved on in Division 3 with a 3-2 Regional title win over No. 3 Schoolcraft – Sturgis Journal
3. Volleyball: Top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy continued its run this fall over rival and No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Marian with a Division 1 Regional Final sweep – Oakland Press
4. Volleyball: Unranked Richland Gull Lake avenged two sweeps by No. 3 Mattawan this season with a 3-1 Regional Final win in Division 1 – Kalamazoo Gazette
5. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Orion swept league rival and No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek for a Division 1 Regional title – Oakland Press
6. Volleyball: No. 2 Mendon came back from dropping the first set to clinch a Division 4 Regional title with a four-set win over No. 5 Battle Creek St. Philip – Sturgis Journal
7. Volleyball: Honorable mention Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian continued a title-filled run with a 3-1 win over No. 7 North Muskegon in a Division 3 Regional Final – Grand Rapids Press
8. Volleyball: No. 7 Adrian Lenawee Christian came back from a two-set deficit to down No. 3 Camden-Frontier in a Division 4 Regional Final – Adrian Daily Telegram
9. Volleyball: Honorable mention Onaway came back from losing the first set to upset No. 10 Rudyard in five in a Division 4 Regional Final – Alpena News
10. Volleyball: Kingsley won its first Regional since 2009 and ended Cadillac’s streak at nine with a sweep in a Division 2 matchup of honorable mention teams – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Also of note …
Volleyball: No. 5 Manchester swept Bath in Division 3 to earn its first Regional title in 25 years – Jackson Citizen Patriot
Volleyball: Kingston downed No. 8 Merrill in Division 4 to clinch its first Regional title in this sport – Saginaw News
Football: Central Lake coach Rob Heeke has announced his retirement; he led the team to the 8-player Division 1 title in 2017 – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Today in the MHSAA: 4/18/18
April 18, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
1. Girls Soccer: After opening this season 0-2, No. 4 Saline has won the first three games of league play including Tuesday’s over Ann Arbor Pioneer, 3-0 – Saline Post
2. Boys Lacrosse: Lake Orion continued its league dominance with a 15-10 win over Troy – Oakland Press
3. Girls Soccer: Lake Orion remained undefeated in league play on the soccer field as well with a 3-0 win over Royal Oak – Oakland Press
4. Baseball: Chelsea will name its field after former longtime coach and athletic director Wayne Welton – Ann Arbor News
5. Volleyball: Traverse City Central has hired former Benzie Central coach Jen Wright to take over the program; Wright most recently has been coaching the Trojans’ junior varsity – Traverse City Record-Eagle
6. Football: Junior varsity coach Jesse Fenstermaker has been promoted to take over Rogers City’s program as varsity leader – Alpena News
7. Football: Hillman promoted defensive coordinator Cody Allen to head coach as it heads into 8-player football for the first time this fall – Alpena News
8. Officials: Longtime sportswriter Al Wright gives his perspective on why it's gotten tougher to recruit officials for high school athletics – Midwest Sports Network
9. MHSAA: As part of its Black History Month features in February, State Champs! Network included a tribute to MHSAA assistant director Nate Hampton, who coordinates football, girls and boys basketball and girls and boys track & field – State Champs!