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: 8/31/15

August 31, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The final weekend of August was a giant weekend for MHSAA volleyball contenders, with some of the top regular-season events this fall providing opportunities for the best to see how they might match up when playoffs begin in two months.

Below are headlines for some of the key high school reports from across the state; the weekend’s football round-up will publish later this afternoon.  

Cross Country

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Maryssa Depies set a course record of 18:11.3 to win the Big Red Invitational at McGraft Park – Muskegon Chronicle

Flint Powers Catholic’s top individual finisher came in ninth, but the Chargers girls as a team were first at the Lansing Catholic Invitational – Flint Journal

The reigning Lower Peninsula Division 2 champion Grand Rapids Christian boys repeated as winner of the prestigious Benzie Central Invitational, finishing ahead of Traverse City West and Central, while Central senior Anthony Berry won individually in 15:24 – Grand Rapids Press

Boys Soccer

Tawas, a Division 3 semifinalist last season, finished first from an Elk Rapids Invitational field that included Berkley and Saginaw Nouvel – Bay City Times

Volleyball

Lake Odessa Lakewood, last season’s Class B runner-up and the second-ranked team in that class this week, eliminated Class A No. 6 Grand Rapids Christian to win the West Michigan Volleyball Officials Association tournament for the first time in a decade – Grand Rapids Press

Class A No. 4 Grand Haven continued its perfect run at its outdoor Battle of the Boardwalk tournament, sweeping three opponents to remain undefeated through the event's third year – Grand Haven Tribune

Battle Creek Harper Creek, No. 9 in Class B, improved to 17-0 by winning the Cereal City Tournament at Pennfield with a 2-1 championship match win over Temperance Bedford, an MHSAA semifinalist last season in Class A – Battle Creek Enquirer

Good Reads

The Holland Sentinel introduced its top female athletes in that area’s history Sunday, and highlighted nationally-known softball star Kathy Arendsen and her successes during one of the MHSAA’s first Softball Finals – Holland Sentinel

Anyone who follows high school football history will enjoy going through the Muskegon Chronicle’s sampling of top-20 moments from that area’s football past – Muskegon Chronicle

More than 60 former Shepherd High School players from the last 25 seasons returned for an alumni doubleheader Sunday to honor coach Jack Nartker, who will retire after this spring – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun