Today in the MHSAA: 5/13/16
May 13, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As we draw nearer to the start of the postseason, top teams in a number of sports are facing off with championships and momentum on the line.
Baseball
Melvindale Academy of Business & Technology ran its winning streak to 17 straight in beating Ecorse 15-4 – Detroit News
Girls Soccer
Reigning Division 2 champion Richland Gull Lake beat Portage Central 2-1 in a matchup of winners of Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference titles – Kalamazoo Gazette
Softball
Macomb Dakota moved to No. 1 in Division 1 this week and downed honorable mention Romeo 8-1 on Thursday to claim a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title – Macomb Daily
Girls Tennis
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood came out on top in a matchup of elite Division 3 programs, downing Detroit Country Day 5-3 – Oakland Press
Division 2 top-ranked Midland Dow won every flight and lost just 10 games in championship matches to win the Saginaw Valley League tournament – Saginaw News
Track & Field
From Tuesday, Engadine dominated both the girls and boys competitions at the annual Mid Peninsula Small School Invitational – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Good Read
Grosse Pointe North baseball phenom Chad Lonkowski hasn’t taken long to make an impression at the high school level – the freshman who once led a team to the Little League World Series is now 6-foot-5 and 5-0 with a 0.00 ERA this spring – Detroit News
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