Today in the MHSAA: 5/13/19

May 13, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Michigan high school teams are reaching postseason form, as the weekend was filled with league championships in a variety of sports, big time matchups in a few others plus a series of record book-worthy performances.

1. Track & Field: The Zeeland East girls and Zeeland West boys won O-K Green league meet titles; both are ranked No. 1 in LPD2 – Holland Sentinel Girls | Boys

2. Girls Tennis: Rockford, No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, scored four more points than No. 6 Holland West Ottawa at the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red tournament to create a shared league title between the ranked programs – Holland Sentinel

3. Boys Lacrosse: Birmingham Brother Rice got past rival Detroit Catholic Central 16-12 to win the Detroit Catholic League tournament final; they were ranked Nos. 1 and 4, respectively, in Division 1 entering the week – Oakland Press

4. Softball: Division 3 No. 1 Millington scored a 3-0 win over Division 2 top-ranked Escanaba at the Eskymos’ invitational – Escanaba Daily Press

5. Track & Field: The Saline boys won their ninth straight Southeastern Conference Red title on the league meet’s final event, while Ann Arbor Pioneer won the girls championship – Saline Post Boys | Girls

6. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 3 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek downed No. 2 Midland 1-0, handing the Chemics their first loss – Midland Daily News

7. Softball: Division 1 No. 9 Hartland won the South Lyon quad, with a 1-0 win over the host and No. 4-ranked Lions – State Champs Sports Network

8. Girls Tennis: LPD1 No. 1 Grosse Pointe South earned a 6-2 win over No. 4 Midland Dow, which earned victories over No. 7 Troy and LPD2 No. 5 Holly at the GPS quad – Midland Daily News

9. Girls Tennis: Fruitport locked up its third straight O-K Black championship – Grand Haven Tribune

10. Track & Field: Milford completed a sweep of Lakes Valley Conference meet championships – Oakland Press

Also of note …

Girls Tennis: Ludington finished a sweep of Lakes 8 Conference championships by winning the league tournament – Ludington Daily News

Track & Field: The Otsego boys and Vicksburg girls won Wolverine Conference meet championships – JoeInsider.com

Track & Field: The Spring Lake girls earned a shared O-K Blue title with a league meet win, while Allendale’s boys won their side of the meet – Grand Haven Tribune

Track & Field: The Brighton boys and Northville girls won Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet championships – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Softball: Frankfort’s Natalie Bigley hit five home runs over a double-header sweep of Bellaire, including three straight in the second game – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Baseball: Sanford Meridian’s Hunter Merillat had two doubles during a loss to Pinconning to reach 68 for his career, tying the MHSAA record – Midland Daily News

Track & Field: Coldwater thrower Dylan Targgart tossed the shot 65-9 at the Williamston Invitational, a distance that would break the LPD2 Finals record – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Baseball: Division 1 No. 17 Grand Ledge swept DeWitt, sending coach Pat O’Keefe past 1,300 career wins – Lansing State Journal

Track & Field: Definitely worth watching is Texas high school sprinter Matthew Boling setting a national record in the 100 meters at Saturday’s UIL meet with a time of 10.13 seconds – Corpus Christi Caller Times

Today in the MHSAA: Soccer Semifinals

June 13, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The MHSAA Girls Soccer Finals will be played Friday and Saturday at Michigan State University’s DeMartin Stadium. Below is a sampling of coverage of how all eight finalists advanced.

Division 1: Top-ranked and reigning champion Novi will play for a repeat after getting past Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in a shootout – Observer & Eccentric 

Division 1: No. 5 Plymouth also advanced with a shootout after a late comeback to take No. 13 Troy to overtime – Observer & Eccentric 

Division 2: No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern will play in its fourth straight Final thanks to a shootout win over No. 9 Marshall – FOX 17

Division 2: No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian is headed to the championship game for the third straight season after a 3-1 win over No. 11 Flint Powers Catholic – Observer & Eccentric

Division 3: No. 7 Essexville Garber will play in the championship game for the first time thanks to a 1-0 win over No. 2 Warren Regina – Bay City Times

Division 3: No. 5 Grand Rapids South Christian will play for its first title since 2013 after a 2-0 win over No. 8 Boyne City – Grand Rapids Press

Division 4: No. 2 Royal Oak Shrine continued its dominating run with a 6-0 win over No. 9 Saginaw Nouvel – State Champs Sports Network 

Division 4: No. 3 Kalamazoo Christian upended top-ranked North Muskegon 1-0 – WWMT

Also of note …

Girls Soccer: Richland Gull Lake coach Jeff Corstange has stepped down after eight seasons, having led the team to three Division 2 championships – WWMT