Today in the MHSAA: 5/16/18
May 16, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.
1. Softball: Muskegon Mona Shores’ Taylor Dew hit her 49th career home run against Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills to tie the MHSAA record, while her team earned a share of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black title – Muskegon Chronicle
2. Softball: Division 1 No. 2 Caledonia and honorable mention Hudsonville remain tied for first in the O-K Red after splitting a doubleheader – FOX 17
3. Girls Soccer: Traverse City West clinched the Big North Conference championship with a 3-1 win over Traverse City Central – MI Sports Now
4. Softball: Quincy locked up the Big 8 Conference championship for the second straight season, with a sweep of Concord this time – Coldwater Daily Reporter
5. Softball: Division 2 No. 8 Muskegon Oakridge locked up a share of the West Michigan Conference title with a sweep of Ravenna – Local Sports Journal
6. Baseball: The Division 2 No. 19 Oakridge baseball team did the same, sweeping Ravenna for a share of the league championship – Local Sports Journal
7. Boys Golf: Charlevoix won the Lake Michigan Conference Invitational led by freshman Jake Beaudoin – Petoskey News-Review
8. Softball: Maddie Meredith drove in all four runs as Grand Ledge edged Fowlerville 4-3 in eight innings in the Greater Lansing Hall of Fame Softball Classic – Lansing State Journal
9. Softball: Taylor Carey starred in relief as Stockbridge got past Fowler 11-10 also in the Softball Classic – Lansing State Journal
10. Boys Lacrosse: Grand Rapids South Christian opened Regional play with a 13-5 win over Comstock Park, its first MHSAA postseason victory – SouthChristianSports.com
Also of note …
Softball: From Monday, Division 3 No. 10 Byron secured its eighth straight league championship with a sweep of New Lothrop – Owosso Argus-Press
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