Today in the MHSAA: 4/26/19

April 26, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A legendary performance from a Saginaw High long jumper topped our list of Thursday’s best performances stretching across five sports.

1. Track & Field: Saginaw High’s Tony Martin continued an incredible long jumping season Thursday by going 26-6, which would break the MHSAA all-Finals record by more than two feet – Saginaw News

2. Boys Lacrosse: Rockford held on for a 10-7 win over East Grand Rapids; Rockford was No. 4 in Division 1 and East Grand Rapids No. 3 in Division 2 entering the week – FOX 17

3. Boys Golf: Plymouth, No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, shot a 294 and No. 7 Hartland a 298 to set the pace at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association preseason tournament – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Track & Field: Annual contenders and neighbors Zeeland East and West met with East winning the girls meet and West the boys by identical scores of 82-55; East’s girls are No. 5 in LPD2 – Holland Sentinel

5. Baseball: Division 1 No. 15 Richland Gull Lake took an impressive sweep of No. 10 Mattawan, 8-5 and 7-0 – Kalamazoo Gazette

6. Baseball: Division 1 No. 11 Garden City continued its strong start with a 1-0 win over Division 2 No. 17 Detroit Country Day – State Champs Sports Network

7. Boys Lacrosse: Clarkston locked down Bloomfield Hills for a 12-7 win; Bloomfield Hills was No. 7 in Division 1 entering the week – Oakland Press

8. Softball: Grand Haven moved to 11-0 with a five-winning win over Division 1 honorable mention Rockford – Grand Haven Tribune

9. Boys Lacrosse: Traverse City United edged Traverse City St. Francis 6-5 – WPBN

10. Baseball: Division 1 No. 19 Bay City Western swept Mount Pleasant 4-0 and 7-2 – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Track & Field: From Wednesday, the Ishpeming boys and St. Ignace girls won the Division 2 Superior Dome Invitational, the Hematites for the fifth straight season – Marquette Mining Journal

Stripes Worn Well (Muskegon Chronicle)

March 1, 2012

Tim Flahive has battled diabetes for all but a few years of his life. But he's also filled half of those years with high school sports as a longtime official based in the Muskegon area.

The Muskegon Chronicle's Mark Opfermann tells the story of Flahive's final basketball game last week -- and makes us appreciate even more the significant role our officials fill to no fanfare.

A powerful excerpt:

He left the court with no fanfare, took off his whistle and shed a few tears.

But Flahive's story isn’t just about sports and an official leaving the hobby he loves. It’s about courage, getting back up and pressing on.

So, I guess it’s a lot like sports after all. But it’s a whole lot more about life.

That’s because when Flahive took the court last week, he did it with half of his left foot missing.

Click to read on.