Today in the MHSAA: 5/25/16

May 25, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Top Michigan teams in girls soccer and softball matched up Tuesday as most prepare for the start of District play next week – and check out also a great story of sportsmanship from the Muskegon area.

Baseball

Richmond downed Armada 4-0 to clinch a 17th straight Blue Water Area Conference championship – Port Huron Times-Herald

Boys Golf

Essexville Garber won its fourth Bay County championship in five seasons, led this time by Graham MacBride’s 78 – Bay City Times

Boys Lacrosse

Midland came back to edge Bloomfield Hills 15-11 in a Regional matchup of strong Division 1 hopefuls – Midland Daily News

Girls Soccer

Division 2 top-ranked DeWitt downed Division 3 No. 2 Williamston for the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup championship – Lansing State Journal

Softball

Division 4 No. 2 Unionville-Sebewaing split with Division 2 top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley 0-1 and 7-6, only days after beating Division 1 top-ranked Macomb Dakota in tournament play – Saginaw News

Petoskey’s Emme Williams tied her school's pitching record of 26 wins and broke the runs record with 53 in a sweep of Boyne City – Petoskey News

Track & Field

Lake Linden-Hubbell continued a dominant run by sweeping both girls and boys Copper Mountain Conference meet championships – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Clare swept league titles in the Jack Pine Conference, the girls winning for the third straight season and the boys for the 13th consecutive spring – Mount Pleasant Morning News

Good Read

We love these stories of sportsmanship: North Muskegon soccer keeper Gus Keur made a big save during a collision in what was then a scoreless game, but after noticed the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer opponent who took the shot still on the ground – so Keur picked up her opponent and carried her toward the sideline. Reeths-Puffer scored not long after and won 1-0, but as Keur’s mother told her, more will remember her kind act than the goal she let by – Muskegon Chronicle

Stripes Worn Well (Muskegon Chronicle)

March 1, 2012

Tim Flahive has battled diabetes for all but a few years of his life. But he's also filled half of those years with high school sports as a longtime official based in the Muskegon area.

The Muskegon Chronicle's Mark Opfermann tells the story of Flahive's final basketball game last week -- and makes us appreciate even more the significant role our officials fill to no fanfare.

A powerful excerpt:

He left the court with no fanfare, took off his whistle and shed a few tears.

But Flahive's story isn’t just about sports and an official leaving the hobby he loves. It’s about courage, getting back up and pressing on.

So, I guess it’s a lot like sports after all. But it’s a whole lot more about life.

That’s because when Flahive took the court last week, he did it with half of his left foot missing.

Click to read on.