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: 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