Today in the MHSAA: 4/19/17
April 19, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We fully support multi-sport athletes, and check out our track & field headlines today for a notable multi-sport performance helping two teams during the same day.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Baseball
Division 4 No. 9 Concord and Division 3 No. 8 Jonesville split a highlight-filled doubleheader; Jonesville won the first game 4-1 with 15 strikeouts by pitcher Chad Sommers, and Concord won the second 5-4 on a walk-off single – Jackson Citizen Patriot
Onekama’s sweep of Suttons Bay included the 400th coaching win for Portagers leader John Neph – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Boys Lacrosse
Rockford – No. 3 in Division 1 – got past Division 2 top-ranked East Grand Rapids 8-7 in a matchup of top teams from the Grand Rapids area and statewide – Grand Rapids Press
Softball
Richland Gull Lake swept Portage Northern 5-1, 18-10, after Northern had started the season 8-0 – Kalamazoo Gazette
Frankenmuth improved to 10-0 with a sweep of North Branch that included a five-run comeback in the second game – Saginaw News
Reigning Division 2 champion and top-ranked Richmond swept Croswell-Lexington, winning the first game 1-0 – Port Huron Times Herald
Track & Field
Hartland downed Pinckney 73-63 in part because of a hurdles win by freshman Ashlyn Shudick, who took time out mid-meet to score a goal for the junior varsity soccer team in its game one field over – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Marquette’s teams swept the boys and girls titles at the Superior Dome Classic over some of the other larger schools in the Upper Peninsula – Marquette Mining Journal
Today in the MHSAA: 10/15/15
October 15, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Championship are won on a seemingly daily basis in October, and plenty were earned and celebrated Wednesday – but please also check out some great reads at the bottom of this list, including a look at why specialization is increasing as a nationwide concern.
Cross Country
The Saugatuck girls, ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, won their ninth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference title with 12 runners earning all-league honors – Grand Rapids Press
Boys Soccer
LP Division 2 No. 5 East Lansing capped an impressive run through the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup by winning the final 3-1 over Grand Ledge – Lansing State Journal
LP Division 1 No. 15 East Kentwood secured its 12th Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title in 13 seasons with a 1-0 win over Grandville, helped in part by a pair of players whose ties the program go back to the early years of the run – Grand Rapids Press
LP Division 1 No. 7 Utica Ford shut out No. 14 Fraser to clinch the Macomb Area Conference Red championship – Macomb Daily
Unranked Birmingham Brother Rice stunned LP Division 1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central 2-1 in the championship game of the Detroit Catholic League A-B tournament – Oakland Press
LP Division 4 No. 11 Charlevoix clinched a share of the Lake Michigan Conference title with a 3-0 win over Grayling, thanks to a hat trick by Walker Drost – Charlevoix Courier
Saginaw Heritage scored the first goal Flint Powers Catholic had given up since Sept. 12, but the Chargers emerged with a 2-1 win and the overall Saginaw Valley League championship – Flint Journal
Volleyball
Lansing Catholic won the first volleyball league championship in its long history, beating Fowlerville in three sets to claim a share of the CAAC White title – Lansing State Journal
Good Reads
Single-sport specialization has become a topic of national focus and concern, and MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts was among association directors talked to for this report on why it’s a health-related issue and how states are working to promote multi-sport participation instead – NFHS.org
Vandercook Lake is enjoying its best football season in 45 years and plays for a league title this weekend, and is led by a three-sport athlete who has been on a long road back after Crohn’s disease led to his shedding 90 pounds only two years ago – Jackson Citizen-Patriot
The Christmas tree standing tall in front of the Capitol in Lansing this winter will come from Wakefield thanks to a donation by Florence Daniels in honor of her husband Jim, who coached Wakefield High's boys basketball team to 355 wins, 12 district the five regional titles in 28 seasons. He also was a member of Channing High’s Upper Peninsula championship team in 1944 and coached Al Inkala, who went on to become an MHSAA championship-winning girls tennis coach at Okemos – Lansing State Journal