Today in the MHSAA: 12/7/15
December 7, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first week of girls basketball season and second full week of ice hockey season came to an end with key matchups between teams that should be among contenders over the next few months.
Girls Basketball
Bay City John Glenn turned a three-point halftime advantage into a 53-44 win over Southfield-Lathrup, a favorite in Class A this winter – Bay City Times
Haslett graduated most of the team that carried it to a Class B runner-up finish last season, but surged to 2-0 with a 64-27 win over Okemos – Lansing State Journal
Lansing Waverly got 37 points from a frontcourt featuring two players 6-foot or taller in a 50-27 win over East Lansing – Lansing State Journal
Freshman Kate McArthur made eight 3-pointers in her first varsity game to lead Warren Cousino past Sterling Heights 58-38 – Macomb Daily
Detroit Country Day trailed by as many as 16 during the second half against Midland Dow, but came back to win 68-64 – Oakland Press
Bark River-Harris made quick work of Upper Peninsula power Crystal Falls Forest Park, 51-25, in the former's season opener – Escanaba Daily Press
Ice Hockey
Painesdale-Jeffers improved to 5-1 on this young season with a 3-0 shutout of Kingsford – Iron Mountain Daily News
Rockford, ranked No. 8 in Division 1, scored the final four goals in a 5-1 win over No. 7 East Kentwood – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Swimming and Diving
Ann Arbor Pioneer won the annual Cereal Bowl Relays at Battle Creek Central, putting up 391 points to win the 69-year-old event – Battle Creek Enquirer
Good Read
Anyone who has watched the Flint Beecher boys basketball program return to elite under coach Mike Williams would have a hard time not rooting for the Bucs and their passionate leader – who, unbeknownst to most, also has battled against complications caused by multiple sclerosis – Flint Journal
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