Today in the MHSAA: 12/15/15

December 15, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We haven’t reached January, and at least a pair of Michigan's best high school bowling teams appear in midseason form as evidenced by their scores Monday.

Girls Basketball

Reigning Class D semifinalist Waterford Our Lady had to hold off Wixom St. Catherine all the way to the final seconds of overtime to emerge with a 55-53 victory – Oakland Press

Manistee got out to a 16-0 lead on the way to defeating Cadillac 46-29 – Manistee News Advocate

Two-time reigning Class A champion Bloomfield Hills Marian has a new starting lineup this season, but is coming up with similar results including a 49-43 win over Flint Powers Catholic – Mlive-Detroit

Boys Basketball

Farwell celebrated the end of a 24-game losing streak with a 52-43 victory over Coleman – the Eagles first victory since early 2014 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Boys Bowling

Vandercook Lake improved to 3-0 with an 18-12 win over Jonesville, rolling a 1,228, which according to the state coaches association is the 10th highest ever in Michigan high school competition – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Girls Bowling

Macomb Dakota has a number of new bowlers after winning the Division 1 championship last season; but so far, so good, as the Cougars beat Utica 28-2 – Macomb Daily

Good Read

Temperance Bedford wrestler Hunter Gandee is more well-known outside of his high school for carrying younger brother Braden on his back on multiple walks from their hometown to Ann Arbor to raise awareness for cerebral palsy. Hunter was named Sports Illustrated High School Athlete of the Year on Monday – Bedford Now

Today in the MHSAA: 8/24/15

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

All MHSAA fall sports but football kicked off competition last week, with cross country, boys soccer, girls swimming and diving and volleyball starting Saturday.

Below are some notable headlines from the first weekend of this season, plus links to coverage.

Cross Country

St. Johns hosted its second “Under the Lights” meets Friday; Ithaca’s girls and Saugatuck’s boys bested fields loaded with much larger opponents – Lansing State Journal

The St. Joseph girls and Bridgman boys won championships at the Niles Stampede – the St. Joseph girls, who finished fourth in Lower Peninsula Division 2 last season, by a large margin – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Girls Golf

Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox, last season’s LP Division 4 individual champion, came back to defeat Brighton freshman Annie Pietila at the two-day Lober Invitational at Grand Traverse Resort – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Soccer

Two of the state’s powers met in the championship game of the Detroit Country Day Tournament on Saturday – with 2013 Division 1 runner-up Bloomfield Hills downing the host Yellowjackets 1-0 in a shootout – Oakland Press

Girls Swimming & Diving

Howell won its Kenzie Klassic, which honors swimmer Mackenize Watts, who died in 2005 at age 15. The school also raised enough money to award three scholarships and begin funding cardiac-related causes – Livingston Daily

Volleyball

Novi won the Lakeshore Classic by coming back after losing the first two games to beat Grand Haven 3-2 in a rematch of a 2014 Class A Semifinal – Muskegon Chronicle

Battle Creek Harper Creek, for the first time, won the gold championship at the long-running Carrie Adams Memorial Tournament hosted by reigning Class D champion Battle Creek St. Philip – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Read

Mike Steele, a Midland Dow grad and now pitching coach at Long Beach State in California, argues that parents need to raise their athletes to compete instead of providing specific training in one sport – Midland Daily News