Today in the MHSAA: 5/23/19
May 23, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The longest baseball game in MHSAA history and a headline-grabbing first-round Girls Soccer District game top today’s list of achievers from across the state.
1. Baseball: Division 3 No. 15 Blissfield finally edged Division 4 No. 4 Hudson 1-0 in a game that lasted parts of two days and 21 innings, the longest game in MHSAA baseball history – Adrian Daily Telegram
2. Girls Soccer: Brighton downed undefeated and No. 10-ranked South Lyon 3-0 on the first night of the Division 1 District – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
3. Track & Field: Shepherd’s girls locked up their eighth straight Tri-Valley Conference West championship, and the boys won their first league title since 2003; the girls are ranked No. 6 and the boys No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
4. Boys Golf: LPD4 top-ranked Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart picked up its second league title in two days, claiming first in the Mid-Michigan Golf Conference – Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
5. Boys Lacrosse: Plymouth earned a Division 1 Regional Final berth with an 11-8 win over Northville; Plymouth was unranked and Northville No. 4 at the start of the postseason – Observer & Eccentric
6. Softball: Division 2 No. 6 Spring Lake downed No. 8 Allendale 9-4 to earn the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championship – Local Sports Journal
7. Boys Lacrosse: Spring Lake got past Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 9-7 in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal; they were ranked Nos. 4 and 8, respectively, at the start of the playoffs – Grand Haven Tribune
8. Track & Field: The Alpena boys and Traverse City West girls won Big North Conference meet championships; Alpena is No. 5 in LPD1 – Alpena News | Traverse City Record-Eagle
9. Boys Golf: LPD2 No. 3 Gaylord shot a 315 to edge No. 10 Cadillac by five strokes and win the Big North Conference tournament – Gaylord Herald-Times
10. Track & Field: Saugatuck’s girls and boys locked up their sixth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference titles – Holland Sentinel
Also of note …
Track & Field: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart’s girls and Breckenridge’s boys (No. 3 in LPD4) won Mid-State Activities Conference meet titles – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun Girls | Boys
Softball: Marion picked up a share of the West Michigan D League championship with a sweep of Walkerville – Cadillac News
Track & Field: Harbor Springs’ boys and Traverse City St. Francis’ girls won Lake Michigan Conference meet championships – Petoskey News-Review | Traverse City Record-Eagle
Girls Soccer: Traverse City West downed Petoskey 2-0 to clinch the Big North Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Boys Golf: Lapeer shot a 322 to outpace Grand Blanc by seven strokes at the Saginaw Valley League championship – Midland Daily News
Track & Field: Adrian Madison swept meet championships in the Tri-County Conference; the boys are ranked No. 4 in LPD3 – Adrian Daily Telegram
Baseball: Bay City Western won a share of the Saginaw Valley League North title with a shutout sweep of Division 2 No. 13 Bay City Joh Glenn – Bay City Times
Track & Field: The Grand Blanc boys and Bay City Western girls won Saginaw Valley League meet titles – Flint Journal
Did You See That? (May 6-12)
May 13, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It matters not which school you support: All of us cheer on those who emerge from sad or challenging circumstances to return to the field of play. Those are stories with which we all identify, no matter where they take place or the athletes involved.
Grass Lake's Julia Covill and the Grayling golf team are among those we cheered on last week. Read on for why.
Good Read of the Week
One more race: A little more than a year ago, Julia Covill suffered a broken pelvis, shattered femur and a smattering of other injuries after losing control of her vehicle on a patch of black ice. The volleyball and track and field standout hadn’t participated in sports since – but returned to the track for one more race Tuesday to earn a final victory, even in crossing the finishing line of the 200-meter dash last. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
Boys Golf
Grayling returns to the course: Long drives and birdie putts were less significant details as Grayling returned to competition Wednesday for the first time since a car crash that rocked the northern Lower Peninsula, resulting in three deaths and five more hospitalizations. (Petoskey News)
TC West record falls: Cam Murray shot a 67 on Tuesday as Traverse City West won its Big North Conference event with a team score of 306. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Track and Field
Back on track: The Lake Linden-Hubbell boys and girls swept their home invitationals Friday in what was for many one of the first times those athletes had competed on a track this season thanks to lingering snow. (Houghton Daily Mining Gazette)
Down to the finish: The Battle Creek Lakeview boys and girls teams swept their Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference championship meets Friday, with the Lakeview boys clinching in dramatic fashion by securing a one-point win with a 1.23-second victory in the final event of the day. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Boys Lacrosse
Haslett/Williamston takes big step: The Vikings earned their first Capital Area Activities Conference tournament championship with a 13-3 win over Holt, the three-time reigning champ that had beaten Haslett/Williamston 14-3 on April 27. The win pushed H/W into the No. 10 spot in today’s Division 2 state computer ranking. (Lansing State Journal)
Novi hangs on: Novi survived to win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament championship game 7-6 after a last-second Brighton shot crossed the line just after time expired. (MLive Detroit)
Girls Tennis
FHN No. 1 again: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern continued to own its league Saturday, although this time in a new division. The Huskies won the first-ever O-K Bronze tournament championship by four points over Ada Forest Hills Eastern. FHN has won nine straight league titles. (Grand Rapids Press)
Wrestling
Meet Mr. Wrestler: Fowlerville’s Adam Coon added to his impressive list of accomplishments – including becoming the 17th MHSAA wrestler to win four Finals championships – when he was named Mr. Wrestler by the Michigan Wrestling Association. (Livingston County Daily Press & Argus)
Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame
High school stars inducted: High school standouts brought back plenty of memories as this year’s class was inducted Sunday into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. (Marquette Mining Journal)
Boys Basketball
Root resigns after 30+ seasons: Longtime Flint Ainsworth and then Carman-Ainsworth basketball coach Bob Root resigned last week, potentially finishing a career that began at Flint Northern in 1978. (Flint Journal)