Today in the MHSAA: 4/17/19

April 17, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Big-time matchups in soccer, baseball and softball highlighted a busy day of spring sports action across the state Tuesday.

2. Girls Soccer: No. 6 Hartland scored a major win over No. 10 Brighton, 3-1, in a matchup of top teams in Division 1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Baseball: Two-time reigning Division 2 champion Stevensville Lakeshore claimed a pair of one-run wins over Division 1 No. 9 Portage Northern – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

3. Softball: South Lyon East handed Division 1 honorable mention Walled Lake Northern its first loss, but Northern came back to take the second game of the doubleheader – State Champs Sports Network

4. Softball: Traverse City West and Kalkaska each handed the other its first loss in a doubleheader split – Traverse City Record-Eagle

5. Baseball: Hudsonville won the first game and was leading the second against Division 1 No. 16 Rockford in a key Ottawa-Kent Conference Red matchup – FOX 17

6. Boys Lacrosse: Traverse City United came back from a halftime deficit to edge Petoskey 8-7 – MI Sports Now

7. Track & Field: Alpena’s boys defeated Traverse City Central 92-71, highlighted by Gabe Bullis breaking his school pole vault record by seven inches at 15-7 – Alpena News

8. Baseball: Division 2 No. 10 Detroit Country Day emerged from a matchup of sharp pitchers to down Birmingham Groves 3-1 – Observer & Eccentric

9. Softball: Division 2 honorable mention Chelsea improved to 7-0 in handing Dexter its first losses of the season – Chelsea Sun Times News

10. Baseball: Kingsley earned what could become a key Northwest Conference sweep over Frankfort – WPBN

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Southfield Christian coach Josh Baker has stepped down to take a job at University of Alabama under Nate Oats, who formerly coached at Romulus before turning Buffalo into a mid-major power – MLive-Detroit

Wrestling: Hudson’s Jordan Hamdan was named Mr. Wrestler by the Michigan Wrestling Association – Adrian Daily Telegram

From High School to Olympic Swimming

July 11, 2012

Fans of U.S. Swimming already have plenty of reasons to cheer for Missy Franklin later this month at the Summer Olympics -- she's only 17, but qualified to compete in a U.S. women's all-time best seven events.

But fans of high school sports and what they provide athletes at all levels of ability can also support her for how she's chosen to compete when she's not racing against the best in the world.

Franklin, who lives in Colorado, has continued to swim for her high school team despite the financial rewards she could've earned by taking the elite swimmer's usual path of going pro.

A ton has been written about Franklin lately, for obvious reasons. Below is a link to a New York Times story from February that focused on her continued dedication to her high school team.

Before the Olympic Trials, There’s This Big High School Meet (New York Times)