Today in the MHSAA: 5/19/17
May 19, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Thursday was filled with Lower Peninsula Girls Tennis Regionals – and we’ve linked to coverage of nine – plus a matchup of the top two softball teams in Division 1 and a couple of big-time contests in girls soccer.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Baseball
St. Clair won a second straight game over Division 1 No. 17 Port Huron Northern to clinch a share of the Macomb Area Conference Blue title – Port Huron Times Herald
Boys Golf
Otsego repeated as Wolverine Conference champion by edging Edwardsburg by eight strokes at the league tournament – Niles Daily Star
Girls Soccer
Division 1 No. 6 Brighton finished off an overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association title run with a 2-1 win over No. 12 Walled Lake Northern – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Division 2 No. 12 DeWitt reached the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship game with a 2-0 win over No. 9 Haslett – Lansing State Journal
Division 1 No. 19 Saline downed Ann Arbor Skyline 1-0 to win a fourth straight Southeastern Conference Red title – Saline Post
Softball
The top two-ranked teams in Division 1 faced off in Macomb Area Conference Red play, with No. 1 Macomb Dakota coming back for a 3-1 win over No. 2 Utica Ford – Macomb Daily
Girls Tennis
No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Marian got past No. 2 Birmingham Seaholm to claim their Division 2 Regional – Oakland Press
No. 8 Flint Powers Catholic sent players to all eight flight finals and won five to claim its Division 3 Regional title – Flint Journal
No. 5 Rockford won its Division 1 Regional for the fourth straight season, scoring 28 points – Grand Rapids Press
No. 4 Holly posted a perfect 32 points to sweep its Division 2 Regional – Flint Journal
Top-ranked East Grand Rapids and No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern dominated their Division 2 Regional – Grand Rapids Press
No. 3 Bloomfield Hills dominated as well in scoring 30 points to win its Division 1 Regional – Oakland Press
Niles Brandywine claimed its third straight Regional title, edging its Division 4 field by two points – South Bend Tribune
No. 7 Portland claimed its third straight Division 4 Regional title, scoring 29 points – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
No. 9 Grand Rapids West Catholic won its Division 4 Regional by a point over No. 4 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – Muskegon Chronicle
Good Reads
Battle Creek Lakeview’s Jessalyn Genier has battled impressively through a senior year that’s included contributing as a standout in multiple sports but against a challenge most never have to experience – her mother’s suicide in October, which has driven her to consider ways she can have an impact in the future – Battle Creek Enquirer
Homer’s Scott Salow and Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s Dan Cimini coach two of the state’s top baseball programs, but are connected another more personal way – both nearly died from heart issues. Their teams will play Thursday in the Memorial Day Heart Classic at Comerica Park to raise money for the American Heart Association and Michigan Veterans – Jackson Citizen Patriot
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