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

Thanks, Mr. Woodley (Saginaw News)

August 24, 2012

LaMarr Woodley was a football star at Saginaw High long before he went on to the University of Michigan and now the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He's given students in his hometown the same opportunity for accomplishment without the cost they would've otherwise incurred this school year.

Students at Saginaw and Saginaw Arthur Hill plus the districts junior highs and middle schools were facing a $75 participation fee until Woodley stepped in earlier this month with a $60,000 donation.

Hugh Bernreuter has covered the majority of Woodley's career, and tells this story.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley pays participation fees for Saginaw Public Schools student-athletes (Saginaw News)