Today in the MHSAA: 12/18/15
December 18, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Holiday break is nearly upon us, but heroics of December, these few included, are setting up what should be an interesting January and February for a number of teams all over the state.
Girls Basketball
Detroit Renaissance might be the best in Detroit this winter – and a contender in Class A – after handing a rare city loss to Detroit Martin Luther King, 68-65 – Detroit News
Muskegon’s Mardrekia Cook drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Big Reds a 55-52 win over Muskegon Oakridge – Muskegon Chronicle
Boys Basketball
Shawn Pardee is again starring for Millington this season – and missed his school record by only a point Thursday with 55 in an 83-77 double overtime win over Essexville Garber – Saginaw News
Frankfort and Traverse City St. Francis traded baskets over the final 20 seconds, with St. Francis getting the last in a 69-68 victory – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Andrew Terry’s fifth 3-pointer of the game gave Warren Lincoln a 61-60 final lead with 4.9 seconds to play against Center Line – Macomb Daily
Girls Swimming & Diving
Gladstone, runner-up at last season’s Upper Peninsula Final, edged Kingsford by three points in a tri-meet; Kingsford was sixth last season – Iron Mountain Daily
Track & Field
Longtime Kingsford athletic director and 2001 MHSAA Bush Award winner Don Edens, Jr., died Tuesday at the age of 70. Edens also was a longtime manager of the U.P. Track & Field Finals – WLUC
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